garden view from my window

At the moment this is what I see from my front window.  The red rose is Mr Lincoln.  It has been flowering since October and I must remember to feed it and the others when I can free myself from the necessary chores of pruning the overgrowth that is inevitable with the rain and warmth we have been getting. 
The jacaranda is still looking beautiful even when it is dropping its blue flowers every minute.  The footpath is strewn with the flowers and they look lovely before they turn brown.  I sweep the dead flowers when I can and use them as mulch.  No point in putting them into the compost bin.
I am also seeing the agapanthus opening up, both the blue and yellow.  The agapanthus may be a noxious weed but I love to look at the flower heads dancing in the summer breeze.  I remove the seed head before they get a chance to spread.  Last year I covered some seeds from the miniature agapanthus with potting mix, in a two litre ice cream tub and now I have the tiny seedlings waiting to be planted out.  I may grow them in containers that need only be brought out for show when in flower.  The agapanthus do take up a lot of room so having the miniature variety in containers may be the way to go.

After the rain

In between the heavy downpour I went out into the garden to check for damages.  The jacaranda flowers are barely opened and they have been blown on to the footpath.  The dills are bent double, their seedheads burdened with raindrops.The coriander is too delicate to stand up to the downpour and even the rotund hydrangea bush is feeling the weight of the droplets hanging from every leaf and petal.
I don't complain about the rain.  I merely worry about the seedlings, especially of the sunflowers, which are a bit slow this year.  I suspect the low temperature is slowing down their growth.  After today's heavy downpour I hope they will survive the onslaught of snails and slugs, which are bound to be on the lookout for delicate morsels.  Last January the sunflowers were in full bloom but I am not very hopeful this time.

poppies

I harvested the poppy seeds, the red and mauve, before the pounding rain.  Many of the seeds would have fallen to the ground but I wanted to harvest some to give away.  The red poppies started blooming even before November and by Remembrance Day there was a lovely patch near the front fence, attracting passers by.  The brilliant red was a contrast to the delicate pink of the ballerina rose.

  The stems look delicate but they somehow manage to survive the wind and rain.  The mauve poppy however is a show of strength.  Even when the paper thin mauve petals have been blown away the plants look majestic with their upright pods.  The poppy seeds germinate easily but the seedlings do not like being transplanted.  If you need to move them do so when they are still little.  You can start sowing the seeds from late winter.

Mermaid

The Mermaid rose is a beautiful climbing rose too rarely seen in the home garden.  Mine came from a cutting taken when the neighbour's climber spilled over the fence on to my previous garden.  I had the rose growing in a pot for several years and when I came to this garden I planted it against the north east facing fence. It did not take long for it to shoot up.  I will quote Stirling Macoboy's description (from Macoboy's Roses). "The shining foliage is more or less evergreen, and the huge, perfect flowers are single, softly scented, and of palest yellow crowned with great bosses of amber stamens which remain in beauty after the petals fall."  When I have the cut flowers inside, I would leave them in display when the petals have dropped because I just love the look of the stamens. At this time of the year when I am driving around the suburb I look out for the Mermaid and I have seen a couple draped over the front fence.  I am vigilant in stopping my Mermaid from doing that as I would have to battle with the thorny branches when they get out of hand.  I prune the branches the moment they come up to the top of the fence.

abundance of broad beans and herbs

I am not complaining but giving away broad beans and herbs can be hard work.  (From the top, broad beans, golden marjoram, pennywort with celery, oregano and coriander in bloom, and dill).  It is so wonderful to see the fat beans.  I have been harvesting them at different stages of growth.  The young ones are delicious, simply fried in a little butter and this dish makes a substantial topping on toast for breakfast.  The fat mature pods have been picked and the beans steamed.  I was going to freeze the excess but knowing the failure of home freezing I will dry the beans instead.  I may dry enough to make a small serving of falafel!
The dill plants are flowering and I am expecting a lot of seeds which I shall save to use in my cooking.  I will allow others to self sow for more dill plants in the garden.  A salad of broad beans and dill with a dressing of lemon juice and olive oil is delicious.  Just so I do not run out of dill in the next couple of months, I am looking after baby dills I am discovering in different parts of the garden.  I am doing the same with parsley as most of the plants are going to seeds and if I don't make an effort to nurture some babies found around the garden I will end up having to buy parsley in summer.
Coriander tends not to do well in summer, bolting after sending out a few leaves.  I have enjoyed the coriander in late winter and early spring and they now overgrown and full of flowers.  I will sow a few more seeds in shady areas and make sure they are watered well.
The golden marjoram patch is wonderful to look at.  It would look good in a hanging basket but I can be quite forgetful about watering them so I have decided not to bother with the decorative hanging baskets.  The oregano are sending out flower buds and I am picking bunches to dry.  They are handy to have in the pantry for pizzas and tomato dishes.
The pennywort is sending out suckers.  This has been called athritic herb as it is supposed to bring relief to those suffering from this dreaded disease.  I like to eat it raw.  I hope my patch will grow bigger so I can begin to harvest the leaves for a Malay salad.  

roses proudly displaying

 

The roses are blooming all over the garden at the moment.  The two proudly displaying their beauty are the Ballaerina and the Desert Glo.  The Ballerina came with me from my previous garden where it was providing me with cascades of pink blossoms through October  and November, year after year.  It was given to me as a cutting nearly thirty years ago and I have given away many cuttings since.  It is a graceful  climber with the added advantage of not having thorns.  It can easily cover a fence but do remember that its weight may not be good for the fence.  I have one growing near a fence but I will not allow it to establish itself on the fence itself.  I have learned my lesson.  If you look at the close up picture of the Ballerina you will see that the flowers appear in large clusters which make them so endearing.

The Desert Glo covers one half of the arbour over the path leading up to the house.  The colour changes from pink to apricot and in the late afternoon you can almost see the flowers glow.  The Pierre de Ronsard covers the other half of the arbour.  At the moment there are masses of buds.  I cannot wait to see them open up and when that happens I do hope there will still be some of the Desert Glo to make a perfect arch.  I shall be feeding the plants with potasium to encourage the flowering.  I shall also be looking for aphids.  I hope the lady birds I see amongst the leaves are working hard.

A little surprise and more blooming marvelous

For the past five years I have enjoyed the fragrant flowers from my pot of lily of the valley.  They will open in the last week of October and will still look good on Cup day.  I have left the corm untouched but would add compost and feed the plant seaweed solution. In late winter I did not see any sign of life from the pot.  I was going to look for new plants but imagine my surprise when I noticed new life shooting through the soil.  This picture is of  my one and only stalk of lily of the valley and it will see Cup Day.  I shall look for more corms and will plant them in the ground beneath the jacaranda.  I have to pick the pot up to enjoy the sweet fragrance and it is worth it.

The flowers are opening up everywhere.  The blue sage flowers and roses look so good together.  The poppies are braving the heavy downpour but their delicate petals seem to survive.  The mauve and red poppies look after themselves.  They self sow and I try to thin them out but I hate throwing out seedling so they are transferred to different nooks and corners of the garden.  I cannot say I have a neat and tidy garden but at the moment every inch seems to be blooming marvelous.

This dark red pelargonium is producing masses of flowers this year.  I have a few shades of red of this easy to grow favourite.  It grows so easily from cuttings.  A neighbour came to ask for some cuttings and I am only too happy to give them away.  That way I keep the bush pruned.