So much grass so little time...

Here's another small section of the back yard.

At the bottom of the first photo is actually an L-shaped section of path (yes, a path that leads to nowhere.)

At the front left of that photo you can see a small patch of dirt where I have started pulling the grass to try to create a garden space. There's a small part already done at the back of the compost bin too.

Speaking of the compost bin; it was one of my greatest finds to date, someone around the road from here had decided that they no loner had a need for it so I bought it home in pieces, rebuilt and for the grand total of $zero had a compost bin. I've wanted one for a long time but always thought the cost of buying one would be too high.

I've been thinking that I need to put plants around the bin to disguise it; both it's appearance and it's smell(which is actually not too bad.)

Looking at the front garden a couple of days ago I couldn't help but be disappointed at how quickly the chamomile I bought has grown. I know that seems like a strange thing for a gardener to say but it has grown from about 5cm tall to approximately 25cm (high and wide) in only a month so it's definitely outgrown it's place in that garden.

Looking at the chamomile made me think that I should put herbs around the compost bin; I have the chamomile, a feverfew, curly parsley, opal basil and can, of course get more. I also have two lavender plants which are waiting for removal to a garden with more space and some peppermint seeds.

The third photo shows more grass; what it doesn't show is the sandstone, that's why the grass is so high there, it's growing around a pile of sandstone so can't be mowed! You might just be able to see the sandstone in the fourth photo?

The sandstone was also a great find, via Freecycle, the amount that is there (enough to fill a 6x4 trailer) would've cost me a small fortune to buy and I'm very reluctant to invest any real money into a rented property. My initial intention was to build a pond with the sandstone as a border however I am now going to use it to create a border around the planned Kitchen Garden.

First things first; there's a lot of grass to be cleared (as you can see) it's been way too hot today but hopefully I can get some more cleared this evening. I love daylight savings! 

This list was inspired by the backyard jungle.

Kindest Wishes,AJ

The Vines...

After we got home from the park on Sunday evening I was on a bit of an energy buzz and decided to get some more plants into the yard. The plan here is that the vines will take over this section of the yard and kill off all the weeds over spring giving some new grass a chance in autumn before the frosts come in for winter.

Lebanese Cucumber

Jack Black Zucchini

Jap Pumpkin

Sweet Corn

Zucchini (more corn)

Overview of the space.

 Of course there are seeds to be grown in this space also; spaghetti squash, button squash, baby bear pumpkin and two types of watermelon.


This list was inspired by creeping, crawling vines...

Kindest Wishes,
AJ

Weather means more when you have a garden...

We have a bindi problem here, well that would be an understatement, everything with prickles, barbs or thorns grows in our lawn and wouldn't you know it, very little real grass. I'm sure it would literally take me WEEKS to hand pull all the weeds and I'd only be left with dirt once I got into it, being too fussy to leave ugly grass! So I took the decision to use a weed and feed spray, last year. I never did though because it wouldn't spray properly, the hose nozzle kept bursting off it. Fortunately, Dad to the rescue, I learned that it was just because the "o" ring on the bottle spout was ruined, unfortunately Dad left it until after the effective period to tell me about this so the majority of the bottle has been sitting there waiting for me to use it. Herein lays the importance of the weather; you need to have very little wind or something to guard the rest of the plants in the yard that you do not want to kill. The other requirement of the weather is that it not rain for 7 days. Wouldn't you know it, every day since the beginning of spring has either been too windy or forecast to be shortly followed by rain. It's enough to make a girl cry, not to mention the kids standing on the bindis! I'm running out of time; soon the bindis will be all set in, the other weeds I can probably deal with but please, let me deal with the spikey ones the only sensible way possible!

Other things that needs to be taken care of in the garden:

1. Plant vines; pumpkins and zucchini seedlings straight into the ground and (more) pumpkins, watermelon, spaghetti squash and button squash into pots to germinate.
2. Plant Maiden Hair Ferns, Begonias (border) and Devil's Ivy (probably in a pot with a trellis to prevent it taking over) in fernery.
3. Find something to plant under the pine trees in the front yard to prevent the "dust bowl" effect.
4. Learn more about Cyclamen to try to get them to grow outdoors (I have one plant and 3 seedlings in punnets.)
5. Transplant carrots from ex-vegie garden to box.
6. Finish planting Primulas in round bowl (project started by R.)
7. Plant Native Frangipani seeds in pots to germinate
8. Plant out ex-vegie garden with gazanias, pig faces (maybe these should go under the pine trees?) and shrubs.

There's more to be done, there's definitely more however my mind is coming to a standstill with the end of the night and there will always be another "to do list" with a garden to maintain.

This list was inspired by Marcelene Cox who said:
Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans.

Kindest Wishes, AJ

Buy Nothing New Month

Inspired by a friend committing to this challenge I have decided that I shall participate in it also. I have realised I have a couple of new items to pay for on Ebay (silly little fad things that R simply must have) but after those are paid for there will be nothing new this month.

Buying nothing new doesn’t mean going without. Make a Buy Nothing New Month pledge and you can beg, buy, barter and swap for whatever you need, as long as it is pre-loved, but with the exceptions of necessities (including food, drink, medications and hygiene products) you can’t buy anything new.

Further to this I have also decided that I am going to try harder than ever this year to take the commercialism out of our Christmas. Every year I say I'm not doing that again, not spending money in the toy sales, then a month before Christmas and then a week before Christmas, it's quite absurd really! Our children end up with more toys (or "things" as they get older) than they even look at generally and there always seems to be more packaging than gifts at the end of the day. The waste is hideous; not just financially but environmentally, so much unnecessary plastic, paper and cardboard, not to mention the wire and tape and the like.

Prior to the month starting (and totally unplanned) I purchased a large amount of vegetable seeds, unusual varieties and colours of vegetables (and fruits technically.) I'm proud to say they were all from home producers rather than commercial producers and will arrive with hand made labels and packages so I feel less like I've cheated the challenge by buying them just prior to it. Honestly, I didn't plan it that way in any case! Maybe they can be counted as food and none of that matters anyway?

More about Buy Nothing New Month (BNNM) here.

Kindest Wishes,
AJ