Rescued from the marauding cockatoos

These sunflowers I rescued from the cockatoos.  I enjoy them in my outside garden but they will last longer in a vase.  Some I have left, covered in netting to allow the seeds to mature.  The netting should deter the screeching marauders but their beaks are strong and I only hope they are not that hungry that they will remove the netting.  The cockatoos even uprooted a sunflower plant which is not puny by any means.  One must have landed on the plant and in the process of breaking the big flower head away, pull out the shallow rooted sunflower.  I will plant more next year, or rather in October this year.  It is so pleasant to see the bright faces of the flowers.  Anyone needing cheering up should walk in a field of blooming sunflowers.  Maybe Van Gogh painted some for that very reason.
The garden is not at its best at the moment.  The tomatoes and eggplants are providing me with vegetables for the table.  The silver beet will look better in a couple of weeks, though I have been picking a leaf or two when in need.  The butternut pumpkins are growing bigger.  The roses are blooming.  And yet, with all these I Can see the patches of slow growth and unhealthy looking specimens.  One of these is the kale which shot up to glory and then suffered from caterpillars invasion.  I should have acted immediately but the large leaves are curled in and on inspection I will find tiny caterpillars all over and trying to remove them is not that simple.  Perhaps I shall pull out the kale and chop it up for compost.  I must remember to chop up some comfrey leaves to help with the composting.  Comfrey is so easy to grow, from division.  I had the tiniest of plant from my previous garden, which was languishing in a pot, but picked up very quickly when I transplanted it in the ground with plenty of compost.  They are in flower at the moment, looking quite pretty.  The self sown borage are still too young to flower but I expect to have more of those cheerful blue flowers soon, before the end of summer.  The single borage flower, (see picture), looks good floating in a jug of water, or punch or in a salad.

Borage does not like being moved.  I have put a few seedlings in a pot for a friend and I will advise her to leave them in the pot which should then be placed in a spot where she would be happy for the seeds to drop.  The bees love them and what could be nicer than listening to the humming of bees when working in the garden.  I should also say, when sitting in the garden, but it is a rare occasion when I can just sit and enjoy my planting.