Self care by growing a garden

[Shaz51]

hydrangeas dont grow well up here @Daisydreamer , @Former-Member 

my grandma loved them , buy when she cme up north here , they dont grow well up here

my MIL and Mum both have green thumbs 

with me i like easy growing plants and small bushes ----- mr shaz likes my way of thinking xx

[Daisydreamer]

That picture is super helpful @Former-Member thank you! I will have to keep that in mind 🙂

Yes easy growing things plants is probably where I will start too @Shaz51 🙂 Looking forward to a trip to bunnings to see what I can find. Really impressed with how their garden sections have been growing too, although there are a few love plant shops near me I'll go to as well to support small business 

[Former-Member]

@Daisydreamer  I live in a cool temperate climate and grow vegetables in raised garden beds (mine are 3 sleepers high). I use 30cm squares. You can grow a lot of veg in 1 sq metre using this method. Whilst we have a more formal appearing kitchen garden, our ornamental garden is more cottage like, with a few different seasonal bulbs in it; plants in this genre tend to self seed readily or propagated by cuttings or divisions which can save a few $$ if one is patient.

[Former-Member]

Lovely to get some rain today after some hot weather. Was able to get some weeding done and filled our green bin with the weeds and some tree prunings. 

[Adge]

I'm a shrubs, trees & groundcovers person @Daisydreamer I've not grown any Veggies in about 25 years, although I did have success with vegies back then.

Growing Veggies requires richer soil, much more (regular) watering, & fertilizing.

Considering that I forget to fertilize anything (& often forget to water too) - not a good idea.

My garden is looking very frazzled (fried) - it's not rained in about 3 or 4 months.

I don't water things regularly, like I used to (years ago).

No rain here in Summer, hot & dry - All our annual rain is in Winter.

Native plants are my forte, although I like a lot of exotics too.

Studied Environmental Management (Grad Dip Sc) years ago, & worked for 12 years in Gardening, retail & production Nurseries.

I'm trying to resuscitate my poor frazzled Bouganvillea - having taken 15 years to grow (still small), I don't want it to drop off the perch right now.

I've loved rescuing Nursery "Throw-out plants" (in the Nursery bin), in the past - That looked worse for wear, & unsaleable.

One success was an almost dead Rottnest Island Pine (Callitris preissi) - That is (20 years later) now very healthy, & at least 8m high (in my front yard).

Adge

[Daisydreamer]

Hi @Adge 

It's a good point about the rainfall- I'm really aware that rainfall is super unpredicatable year to year too, so I will need to be prepared to do lots of watering when we are between rainfall.

I love the idea of rescuing unsaleable plants. Your Rottnest Island Pine sounds amazing! 

[Former-Member]

Milder weather with light rain with more predicted = ideal conditions for a bit of gardening. Got a heap of weeds pulled out and 3 plants I had in pots put in ground.

[Smc]

@Former-Member, we certainl got plenty of rain here... and some parts of the state got a lot more than us!

Picked my first tomato of the season today, a "Lollypop" cherry tomato. I would have left it another day or so, but something else started eating it and made a small hole in the side, so rather than lose it, I trimmed it and enjoyed the remainder. First one of the season is special... 🙂 Some of the tomato plants are stil a bit lackluster, others are looking lush and lovely, and have green fruit developing.

Our peach trees and pear tree were in full fruit when we got the heavy rain and the following hot days, so the fruit suffered a bit. I picked up heaps of windfalls, trimmed off damaged bits and bottled them. Better than losing them completely.

The Scarlet Runner beans I planted by the fence are very leafy and covered in red flowers, but they don't set well in hot weather so very few beans at present. They should start setting in Autumn. Have also planted some Borlotti beans and other green beans, hoping they'll grow fast enough. I've got a healty sweet potato plant, and there's two climbing zucchinis (Trombincino) looking lush but not yet fruiting. A lot if it has gone in later than I wanted, but hoping hoping not too late.

Also tucking in some herbs, strawberry plants and "pretties" in the bed with the Scarlet Runners and some of the tomatoes- veggies at the back against the fence, little things in front. It's close to the back door, so that makes it easy to duck out and get some thyme or basil to add to dinner.

[Sophie1]

@Smc @Former-Member  lovely to hear of garden progress 

Here is my harvest from last 2 days !!! 😱😱😱 .. tomatoes are going gangbusters so will need to start cooking them soon ! 

And there's a couple of snack size capsicums too

my garden has brought me so much joy and excitement each day - MsS has also enjoyed caring for it and seeing the results

the basil, mint, chives and oregano have been fabulous as well  

[Sophie1]

@Former-Member @Smc @Daisydreamer @Adge @Shaz51 

I live in south eastern Australia - what veggies should I be planting soon ?