Sunday, April 30, 2017

feijoa

I picked up these feijoas from under the tree in my outside garden.  I have another tree in the garden, with a few quite large fruits.  They will drop when they are ready.

Monday, April 24, 2017

still ripening

There are still vegetables and fruits waiting to ripen on the trees and bushes.  The only pumpkin in my garden is a butternut growing in one of the garden boxes.  A few seedlings appeared in spring and I pulled out all but one, which grew along the cucumber vine, which has long gone.  Only one fruit set on the pumpkin vine and I don't know if there'll be enough warmth to ripen it.  Even if it is not fully ripened I can still cook the butternut but I don't expect it to be great.

There are still a few chillies and capsicum waiting to ripen but this shiny red capsicum I picked after taking the picture.
Another capsicum.
Chillies, red and green.
I could have left these Granny Smith apples on the tree a bit longer but I would lose them to the possums and cockatoos.  They were crisp and sweet with a slight tartness.
This pomegranate tree does not get a lot of sun but this year I counted nine fruits which, to me is a bumper crop.  I don't know if the fruits will turn the glorious red I see in other gardens.
Tinge of red on these fruits.
This feijoa will drop when it is ripe.  I hope to get to it before the birds as there are hundreds of them looking for a feed in the garden at any time of the day.

Monday, April 10, 2017

Autumn lilies

From the month of March the belladonna lilies begin to show off their blooms, pink and white.  The flowers appear before the scrappy leaves.  For this reason this lily is also known as the naked lady.

The lily loves hot dry condition and I have discovered that those bulbs situated in that part of the garden exposed to the sun are the ones to flower first.  I have the bulbs in different parts of the garden and it is a nice surprise when I see the flower buds making an appearance from above the fat bulbs in early autumn.

The pink serine is another autumnal lily so much loved for its simple beauty.

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Capsicums and chillies

I planted a few varieties of capsicums and chillies in pots a few years ago and most of them are still with me, returning every spring to flower and fruit.  The red capsicum could wait a few more days to ripen fully but I have a dish in mind to cook.  The pale green banana capsicum is sweet and good in stir-fires.  The Scotch bonnet orange chillies was a Christmas present from a fellow gardener.  I have yet to test its hotness.  It has a reputation of being on the top end of the heat scale.  I cannot live without my chillies and would keep adding new plants to my collection.