Patch Next to Garage

Before I left for holidays, I worked on this patch, planting herbs and flowers here with the intention of turning this originally pebble-filled patch with a few straggly succulents and weeds infestation into a display of flowers and herbs of various kinds, colours and heights. This is the look after I returned : The daffodil which greeted me just on the day I left had withered, replaced by another which greeted me on the day I returned :

The sunset red diosma is growing well and flowering more. I am expecting to see it grow up to 1.2 width by 1.2 height. Diosma is a common hedge grown here in Melbourne. It has aromatic leaves and gorgous display of tiny flowers that can cover the whole bush :

One of the large rosemary plantlet which I have propagated from the mother rosemary plant. The soil at this patch is actually clayey (but I still find lots earthworms) but I hope this rosemary can thrive here with the availability of sun. If it does, this rosemary will be contrasting with the other low bushes since it has the potential to grow quite tall :

The oregano which I planted here from its original pot seems to be growing better and happier. This herb is low-lying and tend to spread out. I intended that it acts as a groundcover as seen in the botanical gardens. See http://organic-is-better.blogspot.com/2009/02/botanic-gardens-potting-on.html

Two Blue Marguerite (Felicia amelloides) with blue daisy-like flowers are also planted. These are small evergreen bushes which are low-lying. The blue flowers will contrast with the yellow flowers of the daffodils :

I also planted one dwarf marguerite daisy 'Annabel' (argyranthemum frutescens) which can grow to 1m width and 0.7m height and produces white flowers. Some of the older leaves look a little yellow :

Candy tuft (iberis sampervirens) is a mat-forming perenial groundcover. I planted two right in front of the patch since it is low-lying. One of the candy tuft died leaving a little left to survive while the other candy tuft is not doing to well. If still not thriving I will replace them with a bulb plant :

It will take a long while before I see the fruits of this patch. For now, I will be faithful to pull up weeds that find their way onto this patch.

Herbs Galore!

First thing I did when I returned home after 2.5 weeks is to take a peek at my precious garden. I was very glad that things were under control (all thanks to my friend Paul for tending to it while our family was away). Great to be back to see wonderful growth of my herbs. The mints in the 50cm and two 30cm pots are so fat. I had to quickly harvest them to give them away : The two rosemary cuttings which I have propagated have also grown bushier :

The mother rosemary plant (which was attacked by powdery mildew previously but won the war) has put on so many new growth and gone bushier. Time for harvest :

Three new cuttings which I have propagated from the mother rosemary are also showing signs of growth :

My lemon verbena has grown but I wish it has grown bushier...there must be a way to do that :

The spring onions from seeds were straggly at first but after 2.5weeks (charlie carp treatment before I left), they are doing well and can be harvested anytime :

My curry plant has gone really really bushy in a neat way with all the trimmings I have done beforehand :

Bay tree put on so many new leaves...wow! :

Thyme was completely chopped off low but returned with a complete bushy hair-style. Time to harvest :

Vietnamese mint is spilling over th 40cm pot with wonderful growth. Time for harvesting again :

Golden Sheen Pittosporum and Cyclamens

I am back in Singapore catching up with family and relatives. Had a bit of time to spare to update my blog while my boy is busy playing with all his cousins. What a wild time they are having. Here's a close-up of my golden sheen pittosporum. If this hedge is successfully grown over the next few years, I think it would be a really nice natural fence cum wind-break : The three pots of cyclamens which I planted into Patch 5 (shady spot) are doing well. The flowers are still looking good. I hope they will survive the summer heat (heavily mulched) and produce new corms underground and new flowers next autumn/winter :

Work at New House

Before I fly off again after moving into my new place, there are lots of work to do. One of it is pruning my pittosporum golden sheens, watering and fertilising it since it is spring. This is how they look like after my job, a few of them are shorter than the rest as I did not bother to measure using a string. :P

Although I have sown some tomato seeds recently but I do not have the feeling that they will work out. Feelings can be very true at times. Sometimes when my gut tells me that it wont work, it really wont, and sometimes when my gut tells me that it will, it will. Anyway, that made me buy a pot of beef steak tomato from Kmart and planted it into the new vege patch 1.

I spent a bomb at Kmart buying pots of flowers for the patch in front of the garage : Diosma Sunset Red, Candy Tuft, Annabel dwarf marguerite daisy, Blue Marguerite.

I planted them into the patch in front of the garage, plus one pot of rosemary which I have propagated and a pot of oregano which I hope will become some sort of edible groundcover. Thyme is another candidate which I am still considering about. It will take time and care before the patch be transformed into a nice flower and herb area. The front portion has yellow daffodils and I intend to plant King Alfred daffodils to another portion so that there is contrast in heights of all the flowers and herbs :

The three 'uprooted' snow pea plants (below) have been planted into Patch 2 of my new backyard.

Hope they survive the transplanting shock :

I also bought three pots of strawberry. Pretty leaves.

Had two planted into Patch 3 :

And the third one into a pot :

Pomegranate, Kalanchoe & Daffodils

The pomegranate tree has sprouted new flowers as spring settles in. I was attracted to this pot of trailing kalanchoe at Bunnings. It is a succulent that produces stunning red flowers. I bought it and have it hung at a shady corner of my new backyard. Looks like I am beginning to give more attention to flowers.

Two daffodils at the vege patch of the rental house have opened just two days before I move out. Thanks daffodils for that!

And then this daffodil greeted me yesterday just before I fly out of Melbourne. Thanks for such excellent timing!