February rolls around...we are having a glorious warm summer and the rain has stayed off, so our plants haven't been drowned.
Dad's been marking progress on my apple trees. We've been eating tomatoes and apricots. And mum's been harvesting grapes.
Dusty's still chasing lizards and grasses. I have now a push mower and pruning saw in my arsenal of tools. The rain lilies have come and gone, and the wisteria has it's sneaky tendrils cut back.
The back of our house the cabbage trees been lopped, and the trees behind the fence so now there's a vista into the creek and the house on the other side can now see straight into ours (as we can see theirs).
I'm not use to that much change and can only say well that cabbage tree will grow back. But I mourn a little whenever there's treeicide.
At Woodside I've grown a little wildflower patch with alyssum, snapdragons and phacelia. We've had a lazy summer so there's not much to harvest, because we sowed so sparingly last year. I think everyones feeling the crunch, since Cyclone Gabrielle last year had such an impact on everything, that planting had been delayed and everyone's crops were out of sync. I'm just thankful I still have a garden because things could be much worse.
The little seedbomb has flourished into nigella and alyssum by the garage, along with helichrysum or strawflowers.
I'm contemplating a move toward more indoor plants this year. My brother hasn't made any further plans for his Versaille orangerie yet but would be interested to see what he does with his patch of lawn that he claims is a 'waste of space'. It all has to go with his massive chandelier in the dining room.
Our home isn't so fancy and dad wants to keep the lawn shade free for his daily weather temperature reading. My brother said he could live in a state house where they have no trees at all. But I don't think they have grass either. Most of the state houses are on gravel, ashphalt or maybe on broken up concrete and glass, where the temperature is off the charts. I don't know how people can live without any greenery, but I do see artificial grass sometimes that gets so hot it burns your feet, and while you don't have to mow it, apparently its just as much maintenance as a real grass lawn because you have to vacuum it.
People don't seem to mind about artificial grass and plastic pot plants, but I do. Sis gave away her pilea plant to her friends to keep as she's now back in the country. So I may have to gift her a new one so she can continue to exercise her green thumbs.
