I must post these pics of Cleopatra Magnolia before I forget. She seems to be the same every year, hasn't grown any taller, but always gives a wonderful display from mid-July to mid-August.
Last week I went to Mitre 10 and bought an entire Strawberry planter box kit. It had the planter box, the strawberry potting mix, strawberry fertiliser, and straw. I had to buy the strawberries plants separately. I bought three Camaro strawberry plants to give them plenty of room. They are now set up on the verandah with some plastic trellis protecting them from birds. I hope we manage to get some juicy fat strawberries this season.
In other news the Garden Club had a visit to the Buddhist Temple Garden in Flat Bush. This was an interesting Chinese/Japanese meditation garden/courtyard in front of the temple. There was a line of bright daffodils at the entrance and clipped camellia hedges. There were the classic oriental style plants - mondo grass between the pavers, Japanese maple, more camellias, cherry trees (not in blossom yet) and indoors pots of orchids. After the Temple closed for the day and everyone had gone home the nuns and monks stayed behind to look after the garden.
We had lunch at the vegetarian cafe and I bought a book called 'Tending Life's Garden' which has some wisdom from the Buddha.
The frost came in and stealthily wrecked havoc on my not-so-hardy plants - the fuchsia, the balsam, the monstera, and exposed spider plants.
I bought a bracket so I could hang baskets/buckets off the verandah wall. Along with the ivy geranium, I have another spider plant that cascades on to my rearranged pot corner, which now has a mix of succulents, rosemary, hypoestes snake plants, jade plants and aloe vera.
I tidied up the potted area in front of the wisteria, by mulching with newspapers and clay/limestone cat litter, so I now have a gravel garden that hopefully will smother all those creepy buttercups. I have sown some spinach in egg trays, and I have also tried to keep the kikuyu in check from next door's driveway border by smothering it with a tarp, which I may then place more pots on top. So everything is gearing up for spring!
I even managed to get along to Woodside and dug a garden bed for a new strawberry patch or maybe potatoes. I haven't forgotten you, garden!
