Saturday Musings _ Things to do

Well now I'm suddenly back into gardening, there are so many projects I'm considering.

Big Gardens
I would love to start turning the back lawn into gardens, but I think that is going to have to wait awhile. Our lawn is on very bad soil at the moment. Very compacted, But I'm planning on doing these tests soon to see just how bad the soil actually is. Very bad is my guess. I think that I will have to use a no-dig style garden over every section of the lawn, so help build up suitable soil for gardening.
The lawn is basically divided into three sections, (see the photos below) I have different plans for each section, but there are reasons, why I can't get started on them yet.
Here is a photo of the whole lawn from the back step. Please excuse the rubbish and such in the garden, I'm slowly getting better about keeping a tidy garden.

The three sections are viewed from this point.
1) The first section is the one closest to the house. The vegetable baths, drain onto this section of the lawn, (when I'm watering). For this section I would like to create a cottage style garden with lots of daisys, bulbs and other stuff I haven't discovered yet. The problem with this section is it is held up using a retaining wall, which I'm pretty sure I will need to raise so I can build up the soil using my favourite no-dig style.
2) The second section is under the clothes line, it will also need the retaining wall built up and I suspect this will be the last garden to be developed. My plan at the moment is to have a sandy style garden with mostly low ground cover and plants that have low water needs. I am planning to keep the clothes line, as much as it is ugly.
3) The third section which runs along the back fence. At the moment there is a metre strip with a pine log style border. (Which I hate by the way). We have just had the privet cut out, but there is still a lilac and a few low fleshy plants. I don't really know what they are, but maybe one day I will take photos and see if anyone can identify them. My plan for this garden is a natural habitat garden with mainly natives. I had hoped to get this garden planted this year, but it is not going to happen. I didn't get the no-dig soil set up early enough, and now it is time to plant the plants and I haven't killed of the lawn etc. I did consider starting the no-dig part now, so I could plant in spring. But I suspect with level four water restrictions on the way , I'm better waiting and planting next Autumn. I'm sure I'll survive the wait, and it gives me plenty of time to plan.
So that is the lawn projects, which are long term goals.
But what about short term projects?

African Violets

I inherited these two African Violets off my Nana, they are in pots that I made for her one christmas. But I think they are due to be re-potted, so I am in the middle of learning how to do this. All a bit scary. I promise I will do it one day. At least I now know that you can buy special potting mix for African Violets.

Inside plants
I went for a walk through our local nursery today and boy did I start drooling. I was mainly looking for indoor plants for our bedroom and the master bathroom. For the bedroom I think I'm going to get cyclamen as mentioned in an early post and these miniature bamboo ferny things, which will match the bamboo in the courtyard.
For the main bathroom I saw lots of wonderful plants, some trailing ones and the maidenhair fern looked so beautiful and delicate.

Vegetable garden
The vegetable garden is still going, but I do need to plan some more plantings. I want to plant more silver-beet and rainbow chard, which is being eaten all most every night some weeks. As I mentioned early in the Rhubarb post I am planning to set up a perennial vegetable garden down the back of the garden. I'm thinking about planting rhubarb, raspberries, aspargas and artichokes at the moment. I'm still going to plant in baths, but this time I am going to try putting sand and gravel down before I place the baths. I am hoping this will stop some of the weeds growing up around the baths.

So there are some of the projects I need to get started. I might start by looking into where I can buy sand and gravel for the perennial vegetable garden and potting mix for the African Violets.

Rhubarb

One of my favourite foods has always been rhubarb. Last year I decided I needed to grow some. It has been struggling in pots, while I decide how I'm going to set up my perennial food garden beds. But yesterday I was amazed by the large leafs and the colour in the sunlight.

Photo Hunter - cooking

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Today we pulled out our walk-in pantry and over the next few weeks we are going to make a laundry. But on our dining room table I ended up with all the things I use on a weekly to monthly basis to cook.
So to me all the things in this photo are the basis of all my cooking.

Herb Spiral

Accidently made this post, might as well finish it. Dad has still not arrived. Very typical of him. Safely I can say that as he refuses to read my blog because he considers it a diary, which to him is very personal.
Any hoo back to the herb spiral.
While waiting for Dear Dad, I've been wandering around all the blogs down the side of my page. At sturts page I found this post about a herb-spiral
I won't post a picture, because I don't have his permisson. But it looks like a really cool way to grow herbs.
Got to rush, car just pulled into the drive way.

cyclamens

It is a rainy Friday afternoon in Canberra and I'm waiting for my Dad to arrive for a visit. There is no point in me starting anything too productive, so I thought I would blog.
At the moment I have a beautiful pink cyclamen sitting on my kitchen bench between the sink and on the window. I orginally brought it for the bedroom, but I haven't found a suitable pot yet, and to be quite honest I think I would miss it now if I removed it from the kitchen bench. I just love it. I love the look of the flowers; they are so delicate looking, but somehow sturdy at the same time. But I also love the leaves, the colour and shape are so distinctive. I'm starting to think, that cyclamens are going to become a favourite of mine. My plan at the moment is to buy a couple, and put them in nice pots and rotate them between the bedroom and the courtyard. I have read that cyclamens do much better as house-plants if they get sometime outside in the cool night air. I haven't managed to take a photo of the cyclamen, my mum has taken the camera on holiday. But I have searched for some on the net.

This is very similar to the one on my kitchen bench, but mine is smaller


I searched the Gardening Australia website and found this factsheet the photo below is from the factsheet. That is a lot of cyclamen.

Mouthfuls of Heaven

Following in the Steps of Nigella Lawson - One Saucy Bite At A Time

Here is the blog that has got me back into my blog, my garden and cooking.
The recipes are yum, and I'm loving reading what has been cooked each week. Love you Bells. Thanks again

Yum

Green Thumb Sunday

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Well after a long break, a friend has inspired me to get back into my blog. Life has been a bit up and down recently, and the garden has been plodding along without much help from me. I've watered and I harvested most vegetables and stuff, but that was all. No new plants at all. For today's Green Thumb Sunday, I thought I would show some photos I took of my miniature harvest. We loved all the tomatos and I was so proud and happy to eat my own sweet corn. We also had lots of fun pulling up all the potatoes.