garden in february

a quick garden update of how things are looking this february.

the lime tree is happy and making more limes. they should be ready soon! 

i have some great flowers blooming.

 

i never really planted much flowers in the past

 

but i really love these ones

 

they keep getting fuller and fuller.

the corn is almost ready, might try some soon

 

can you wait too long to harvest it?

 

and i finally have three full boxes of tree seedlings in FULL sun. it has not been easy to get to this point and I am very happy, still 3 more to get to this point but we are making progress.

and then there is this beauty in the front succulent garden, with a little yellow flower in the center. i always think if a plant flowers it must be happy. and this little plant looks happy to me.

cactus and succulents

the other weekend i went to the cactus and succulent society of south australia spring show. it was great. they had some amazing plants on display grown by some of their members, and then they had a huge number of plants for sale.

 

i got this new spikey cactus on the right in the black pot, and the cactus looking euphorbia in the pot on the left.

 

i also got 4 living rocks. i had 2 before but they both died, i think from under-watering. i spoke with the grower, and they need no water in winter and 1 teaspoon of water a week in the warmer months. will see how i go this time, i might also give 1 away for a pressie.

 

i have never really had cactus before, but they are becoming more interesting to me. the shapes, forms, and textures are amazing to me. 

 

and we bought this little succulent plant with red tips in a red pot. again might become a pressie but right now it is being enjoyed at my place.

in recent times

i recently got a part time job, and this is a good thing. but for the next 4 weeks i am covering annual leave for another person which means i am working full time. this is a shock to my lifestyle and definitely i am feeling it.

needless to say i am behind on my blogging and a few other things, like working in my studio. at least i can update the blog right now. more on the studio when i get in there.

no we did not get another dog, but we did bring otto to meet another mini schnauzer that lives near by.  his name is oscar, they had a great time playing together.

apparently schnauzers are a breed of dog that can recognise other schnauzers, but i am not sure if this is true. they were cute together.

 

and speaking of otto, can you believe how many dog toys one dog needs? he loves them all.

 

 a small succulent i have had for a year now is flowering. it makes me smile.

i did find a few minutes in the rain to plant out some seedlings, lots of basil, some golden berries, tomatillos, leeks and cucumber.

 

  

some things in the garden have been surviving having little paws step on them sometimes, so maybe there is hope for my tomatoes this year. time will tell.

i hope to get on top of my schedule soon, but it might be a bit slow around here as i get through the next 3 weeks.

succulent show and sale

today we went to the annual cactus and succulent society show and sale.



it was amazing. there were so many cool plants.



first there was the different categories that were judged.



these ones below are grafted cactus. i have never seen anything like it before.



they are like space creatures. totally amazing.



then after the show part, there was the sale part. it was well set up to for purchasing. you took a box and walked around talking to the succulent and cactus enthusiasts, who has plants for sale, you could take the ones you want and based on the tagging system you paid for them all at once at the end. this meant that you didn't have to keep paying out money and it was easy to just keep taking plants until you had a full box.



or in my case 2 full boxes.

now i just need to find a place for them in the garden.

exhibition install - room for growth

the exhibition that i am in with three other lovely ladies opened today. i will post some images of the opening soon, but for now here are some install images.



here are the three other ladies shel, rosie, and amanda getting the install underway on the first day of installation for the show.

it took a while and a bit of moving things around to get it right. here is shel putting some final retouches on the wall after installing the leafy hoe.

this is a finished corner of the show, my work is the black and white ones on the wall and the domes on the plinth. shel's work are the gardens tools, amanda's the hanging terrarium and rosie's the cross-stitch circle.

one of the walls from the show, left to right is my garden badges displayed on some ribbon, 4 printed and embroidered pieces by rosie, a garden tool sprouting metal plants by shel, then the black and white piece by me again.



these are some of amanda's succulents and cacti on the plinth, and her terrariums hanging on the left. shels's leafy hoe is on the back wall. and part of a giant cross-stick by rosie is on the right hand wall.

and this is shel at the end of the 2 day install, happy and ready for a well deserved beer.

my succulents

i really like growing food, but i also like growing succulents. they are weird plants that can grow in a variety of situations that are not normally plant friendly, like really rocky, or sandy soil. this little patch of dirt always gets dug up by birds, so the plan is to let the succulents take over so the dirt gets covered, preventing the birds from making a mess.



this is my collection of succulents that i have outside the door to borris' house. they make me smile every morning when i leave for work.

this is my front garden just outside my front door. it is a bit shady but also gets sun and it turns out that succulents really like it here. the plant on the far left, the happy tree was in my back garden when i moved in, in full sun, and looked like it might die any second but now in a pot in the front and it is a very happy happy tree.

this is the collection just outside my front door. the tall scraggly looking one i got a the farmers markets a year ago and it just keeps growing longer and taller. i am not sure what it is. the large grey pot holds my pony tail tree, an absolute favorite of mine.

and finally this is a patch of dirt in between me and my neighbours. the dirt is very sandy and things are growing slowly but it looks much better than when i moved in, and helps keep the dirt in the garden.

and that's it. just another of the little things that make me happy and they don't really take much time at all to care for, especially in winter with all the rain we are getting, the plants are just happy.