Springtime!

Enjoying the outdoor area

My big rooster rules the orchard and occasionally attacks me if he thinks I am upsetting his girls!

My little chook with only one working leg, hops everywhere

Silver laced wyandotte rooster and hen, rhode island red hen and indian runner

Cutting my raised garden bed to size

Neddie working hard

Snow peas and green peas

Cherry tomatoes, rainbow chard, and trying carrot seeds under the board

Peas, lettuce, zucchini

Rocket, lettuce, chives

Peas, capsicum, spring onions, tomatoes

Potatoes

Fruit tree in flower

Spider in web in the fruit tree

Nectarine in flower

Love watching the bees at work

So much pea straw and the backyard is slowly transforming...

More pea straw kindly delivered by my brother

The bottom bale had to be broken up so that we could get it off the trailer

Down the side of the house, untidy and weedy

Adding pea straw

Notice pepper tree here

Zena enjoying the sun in her cat run

...and Jasper

All this pea straw had to be carted from the carport

Looking better presented and I can now see the gaps where I will need a few more natives to be planted

Pepper tree now gone! My new handsaw is coming in very handy.

Finished with a little pea straw left for a couple more garden beds.

The two plants on the left were tiny tubestock plants last winter, growing quite quickly. I am looking forward to next year when I can take photos to compare to tubestock that has been planted this winter. I have one more large bale of pea straw left to be used in the fruit orchard.

Sleeper raised garden beds slowing coming together...

My brother kindly donated timber sleepers to me months ago and I am finally getting around to working out how to build raised garden beds, for someone not handy at all!

These sleepers were easy to make into a bed as they have steel posts that I was able to push into the ground to hold them into place, then laid newspaper down and filled with pea straw, 3 blocks of potting mix (add water and it expands) and 3 bags of cow manure.

Added a couple of bed bases that came with the house, planted lots of kale and spinach for my daily green smoothies and sowed peas, snow peas, lettuce, beetroot, onion, rocket and chive seeds. Fingers crossed at least some of the seeds sprout.

 Picked up a hand saw from the local hardware store today and after work tonight tried cutting through the sleepers to trim to shape. Surprisingly much easier then I thought and in a short time managed to make four cuts, although did work up a sweat.

 Very happy with this cut!

Nicely trimmed to shape, just need to add a few screws to hold it firmly together, although don't think it is going anywhere.

Second raised garden bed coming together, just need to screw it together to hold in place, then can add the newspaper, peastraw, compost and manure ready for my spring plantings. Can't wait to get fresh corn on it's way. Finally think I have worked out where to grow my veggies. These garden beds are right at the back door step, on the way to the fruit orchard with the chooks and ducks, which I let out each morning and put away each night. It is the perfect spot to keep an eye on everything as well as watching from the kitchen window.

 It is fantastic to have my gardening mojo back :D

Front Garden Transformation!

It's been 7 months since my last update, how time flies... Over the last couple of months the front garden has had a makeover!

Before the cardboard was held down with bricks and pallets to stop the weeds growing, but quite an eyesore.

Half way though covering with pea straw

  

A couple of months later and the peas are growing well, there are also about twenty native tubestock plants in there growing. See is you can spot them!

 I planted fifteen native tubestock plants last weekend here.

Received my delivery of two rolls of pea straw this morning, very exciting!

Here is the front yard fully dressed or nice and warm as suggested by a passerby. 

I spread it very thickly with the hope of smothering the weeds and the grass. I'm hope to pick up another 10 native tubestock, including a quandong seedling tomorrow from State Flora. I put my name on the waiting list over 12 months ago for a quandong seedling and got a call this week letting me know that they are in stock.

State Flora are fantastic if you are wanting to grow native plants, black tubes are $2.95 and green tubes $4.95. Last weekend I went in with a couple of pieces of tree I wanted and the gentlemen assisted me to find matches as well as helping me to select a further thirteen shrubs (1-2m high) that grow well in my climate with minimal water. Definitely recommend!

 Two wattles planted here

All that is left of the two rolls of pea straw

 Before

After, now just after suggestions on what to plant, as it only gets a few hours of sun a day.

The white potato creeper slowly covering my gazebo is out in beautiful white flowers