It has been a beautiful Autumn with good rain early in March; a superb display of colour with the deciduous foliage from April to late May and long-lasting zinnias, dahlias and salvias, as well as a repeat-flush of roses; and lots of gardening activities, creative pursuits and local exploratory trips!
Autumn vies with Spring in my affections. The weather is much more stable, though is tempered by the knowledge of the impending Winter, only to be assuaged by the parade of brilliant deciduous colour, as each tree prepares for its Winter dormancy.
The verandah is such a vantage point, the backdrop changing daily.
The zinnias and dahlias lasted well into late May, having been touched up by a few early frosts, and Ross has finally put them to bed with a good layer of protective mulch.
The roses have taken centre stage again with a wonderful Autumn flush. These photos were all taken this Autumn. I have organised them into their separate beds:
Soho Bed:
Top Row: Left to Right: Just Joey; Fair Bianca; LD Braithwaite and Alnwyck.
Bottom Row: Left to Right: The Childrens’ Rose; Mr Lincoln; Eglantyne and Icegirl.
Moon Bed
Top Row: Left to Right: Golden Celebration; Heritage; Windermere; William Morris
Bottom Row: Left to Right: Lucetta; Jude the Obscure; William Morris; and Troilus
Main Pergola
Top Row: Left to Right: Mme Alfred Carrière and Adam
Bottom Row: Left to Right: an older Adam bloom and Souvenir de la Malmaison
Hybrid Musk Hedge : Left-hand side : White Roses
Top Row: Left to Right: Autumn Delight and Penelope
Bottom Row: Left to Right: Penelope and Tea rose Sombreuil on arch.
Right-hand Side: Pink Roses
Left to Right: Cornelia on arch; Stanwell Perpetual and Mutabilis
Rugosa Hedge
Left to Right: Fru Dagmar Hastrup and Mme Georges Bruant
House
Left to Right: Cécile Brünner first two roses and Mrs Herbert Stevens
Shed
Top Row: Left to Right: Viridiflora and Archiduc Joseph
Bottom Row: Left to Right: Archiduc Joseph and Countess Bertha
I have organised the rest of the garden blooms by colour:
Blue :
Top Row: Left to Right: Wild Petunia, Ruellia humilis; Violet; Pasque Flower, Pulsatilla;
Bottom Row: Left to Right: Poor Man’s Lavender Plectranthus neochilus; Plumbago; and Hydrangea
Green :
Top Row: Left to Right: Tree Dahlia buds and Elkhorn Fern
Bottom Row: Left to Right: Rosebud Salvia new bud and Bells of Ireland, Molucella
Orange, Gold and Yellow :
Top Row: Left to Right: Paris Daisy with Salvia, Indigo Spires; Woodbine; and Paris Daisy
Bottom Row: Left to Right: Hill Banksia, Banksia collina; slightly older bud of Rosebud Salvia; and Orange Canna Lily
Pink :
Top Row: Left to Right: Fuchsia; Salvia; Christmas Pride, Ruellia macrantha;
Bottom Row: Left to Right: Rosebud Salvia, Salvia involucrata; Christmas Pride; Pink ‘Doris’
Red :
Top Row: Left to Right: Grevilleas Lady O and Fireworks; and Salvia ‘Lipstick’
Bottom Row: Left to Right: Grevillea Lady O; Echeveria and Azalea Dogwood Red
Purple :
Top Row: Left to Right: Mexican Heather, Cuphea hyssopifolia; Cigar Flower, Cuphea ignea
Bottom Row: Left to Right: Dames’ Rocket, Hesperis matronalis, and Violet
White :
Top Row: Left to Right: Nerines; Honeysuckle; Strawberry flowers and first of the Paper White Ziva jonquils for the season!
Bottom Row: Left to Right: Autumn Crocus; Windflower; Tea, Camellia sinensis; and Viburnum opulus – an out-of-season bloom.
We have been very busy and productive in the garden, gradually crossing jobs off the list! Weeding is a constant in the Soho and Moon Beds, as well as around the feet of all the shrub roses and bulb patches.
We have just dug up either side of the shed garden path, so the shed roses are now in garden beds and we planted out many of the potted cuttings, which we took from my sister’s garden at Glenrock. All are doing well!
We also made two arches out of old gate weld mesh, one leading into the future chook yard and supporting Cornelia (photo 2) and Sombreuil (photo 3);
and the other on the corner of the shed, with Reve d’Or (photo 3) and Alister Stella Grey (photo 4) either side.
Ross defined the edges of the vegetable beds with old recycled fence palings and planted out young vegetable seedlings, which he then mulched. We are really enjoying their Winter crop in our salads at lunchtime.
From front to back in the photos below: red and green mignonette lettuce; spring onions; broccoli; spinach; cos lettuce and kale. 
We harvested the pumpkins, which again engulfed the compost heap, zinnia bed and maple tree, as well as the last of the tomatoes, making 3 bottles of green tomato chutney.
We also have plenty of late Autumn fruit, now that the bats have gone, though I suspect our citrus is fairly safe anyway! Unfortunately, the figs did not ripen in time, but the Golden Hornet crabapples have lasted well on the tree.
All the new citrus are growing madly and bearing fruit – the lime (photo 1) has a particularly fine crop and the lemonade (photo 2) is also bearing well.
The cumquats have been an absolute picture, both in full blossom and fruit.
We picked 6 Kg of fruit to make into cumquat marmalade and there was still fruit left!
The loquat trees were in full bloom for weeks,
attracting huge noisy parties of rainbow lorikeets,
which then went on to eat the Duranta berries, along with the Crimson Rosellas
and huge flocks of King Parrots.
Up until early May, we had even larger flocks of screeching Little Corellas in the thousands, gathering in the trees, recently vacated by the bats,
then flying off en masse right on dark to their roosting trees to the north,
occasionally accompanied by the odd Galah!
We have enjoyed flyovers by the local Gang-Gangs (photos below) and Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos. We even had a rare flypass by a Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo, en route to the local mountain forests. 
Other exciting glimpses included three Dollar Birds (photos 1 and 2) and a Figbird (photo 3), both Summer migrants, normally found further north.
Other larger birds in our garden at the moment include very quiet Australian Magpies (photo 6), a pair of courting Australian Ravens (photo 2), a Grey Butcherbird (photo 3), Pied Currawongs (photo 5), Spotted Turtle Doves (photo 4) and our Blackbirds (photo 1), which have been on holiday and have just returned.
And our littlies: the Eastern Spinebills (photos 1 and 2), Silvereyes (photo 3) and Double-barred Finches (photo 4).
all of whom do a stirling job keeping the bugs in check.
We found this delightful Grey Fantail nest in our old camellia tree at the front door.
The slightly cooler weather has been wonderful for pursuing creative tasks from cooking to sewing, embroidery and paper crafts. I made my son a delicious carrot cake, using a recipe from https://chefkresorecipes.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/carrot-cake/ for his birthday:
and hot cross buns for Easter Friday, using a recipe from https://bitesizebakehouse.com/2017/04/08/cranberry-hot-cross-buns-2/ , with a fun Easter Egg hunt in the garden with friends on the Sunday.
My friend Heather, who visited us during the Candelo Arts Festival and is the Melbourne agent for Saori (http://artweaverstudio.com.au/), gave us a Saori weaving workshop and we were thrilled with our woven runners.
I gave my friends Rae, Brooklin and Kirsten, a hand embroidery lesson, inspiring Rae’s wonderful exhibit. I was so impressed!
I made embroidery rolls for their birthdays,
as well as a pair of felt appliqué cushions for my sister’s bed.
And another decoupage floral card and a paper owl, assembled from a German kit, which was given to me by my daughter in Berlin.
And finally, there were the bouquets from the garden! Masses of colourful zinnias…
and bright dahlias;
Scented roses;
Simple blue salvias and bold hydrangeas;
And wonderful mixtures of colourful blooms!
How I love arranging flowers!
And finally, we had some wonderful days out, exploring new spots and revisiting old haunts. The Bendethera day in March was rather inclement and while we could not reach our final destination due to the amount of water in the final creek, we did ascertain that our vehicle could manage the 4WD tracks for a future camping trip and despite the rain and constant cloud, it was still a lovely day out.
We had much better April weather for our Monaro drive to Delegate, Jindabyne (including the wonderful Wildbrumby Scnapps Distillery in photo 2) and Thredbo (the Kosciuszko chair lift in photo 3) and discovered a wonderful birdwatching and trout fishing venue, Black Lake, near Cathcart, on our way home (photo 5), where we saw six elegant Black-Winged Stilts (photo 6).
We introduced friends to Bay Cliff and Greenglades (also see: https://candeloblooms.com/2016/12/13/wonderful-wonboyn/) in late April (see if you can guess the tracks on the beach in photo 7!); 
and Aragunnu (also see: https://candeloblooms.com/2015/09/11/aragunnu-and-bunga-head/) in May, two of our favourite spots on the coast;
as well as revisiting Nunnock Swamp and Alexander’s Hut (also see: https://candeloblooms.com/2016/10/18/south-east-forests-national-park/).
And we went canoeing on Back Lake at Merimbula, where we photographed a beautiful Azure Kingfisher, as well as a teenage cygnet and white egrets.
We are so lucky to have such easy access to these beautiful unspoilt natural areas! Next week, I am returning to our dreamy roses!
This is the recipe that I used for my St. Valentine’s Day Cake on Tuesday a fortnight ago, when I was a little desperate, as our food supplies were getting low and there were none of the usual cake ingredients like apples, oranges or lemons! BUT, we had carrots! Perfect! And because this recipe is normally for a 23 cm (9 inch) round cake and the heart tin was smaller, I was able to use the leftover mixture to make a 13 cm (5 inch) tiny round cake for another special lady for her birthday three days later. I kept the cake in the fridge and was hoping it would still be fresh enough for the Friday and it was! Carrot Cake keeps so well – it’s just that this recipe is so delicious, it usually gets eaten in one sitting! So without further ado, here it is…!!! (Sorry about the slightly blurry photo- not one of my best!)
BUT if you want to be truly decadent, here is the icing recipe and it is divine on this cake!
I’m sure this cake will become a new favourite, mind you I still really enjoy that apple cake…! Thank you again! xxx
These recipes have been long-time favourites with my family. In fact, they are inherited from my childhood, when Mum used to make it using an early Indian cookbook called ‘Curries from the Sultan’s Kitchen’ by Doris M. Ady (Reed, 1968). As kids, we used to love mixing up all the fragrant and colourful spices. It was so much more exotic than the ubiquitous curry powder of the times! All of the recipes serve 4-6 people and we often had delicious leftovers for the next day.
Even though we have such a wealth of multicultural dishes these days compared to my childhood, the combination of all the different colours, textures, scents and flavours still makes these recipes a wonderful birthday treat and is indeed a feast for all the senses!
Using the rest of the ghee, fry the meat.
Add spice/ onion mix and 1 cup beef broth. Cover and simmer on a low heat for 1.5-2 hours.
Serve with rice, chapatis or pappadums; sambals and small bowls of sultanas; dessicated coconut; sliced banana; mango pieces; mango chutney and plain yoghurt.
* Note : Ghee is basically clarified butter. It comes in a green tin, but if you cannot source any ghee, you can make it yourself: Simmer 500g melted butter for 1.5 hours; Strain through a fine muslin into a metal container. Luckily, it is readily available from most supermarkets these days.
Peel, core and dice 2 Granny Smith apples and squeeze over the juice of 1 lemon.
Cut 1 Lebanese cucumber into quarters lengthwise and slice finely. Remove seeds.
Chop 3-4 tomatoes roughly.
All these recipes can be made beforehand, so all you need to do on the night is steam the rice, heat up the curry and fry the pappadums. As kids, we used to love watching the latter bubble and swell as they quickly cooked! Just be careful of the hot oil, which tends to spit!
Drain 680 g fresh, whole-milk ricotta in a fine mesh sieve placed in a large bowl for 1 to 2 hours until very thick (unless it already is very thick, in which case, eliminate this step!)
In a small saucepan, combine 475 ml whole milk and 4 cardamom pods. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the milk until it reduces by half (30 -45 mins).
Using an electric mixer, beat 170 g softened unsalted butter.
Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed and beat for a minute or so until everything is very smooth.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pans and smooth top with a spatula. Bake 25-30 minutes till skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pans on racks for 20 minutes, then remove from tins and cool completely.
Make the ricotta filling:
Using an electric mixer, whisk drained ricotta, 120 ml heavy cream and 95g icing sugar until quite smooth (30 seconds).
Using an electric mixer, beat 170g unsalted butter, 125g icing sugar, 1 tsp rose water and 1/2 tsp cardamom until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Brush cake layers on all sides with milk syrup. Place one cake round on a cake stand or serving platter, then top with one third of the ricotta filling, leaving a small border around the edge of the cake. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and ricotta filling.
Frost top and sides of the cake with the mascarpone frosting. Use strips of Gladbake under the cake so you don’t get icing all over the plate.
Top with 50g chopped and toasted pistachios and candied rose petals for garnish; chill until ready to serve.
This cake was delicious! Very rich and very good for osteoporosis, though not so good for the waistline!!! I loved the rosewater and cardamom flavour, set off well by the pistachio topping! A great success and my son loved it!
There are a number of different methods for making candied rose petals. I consulted a lovely little book in our home library called ‘Edible Flowers‘ by Claire Clifton. A variety of flowers can be used : tiny rose buds or rose petals; violets; mimosa; lilacs; cowslips; fruit or herb flowers and mint leaves. Pick them on a very dry day, remove all the stems and green, trim the white heels from the rose petals and wash and dry thoroughly. I discovered the reason for the latter advice when I picked a lovely LD Braithwaite rose, only to find 3 tiny snails also enjoying the petals. Be assured that I did not use the petals they were on and I did wash the rest of the rose very well! I also used our first violets for the season.
Set the oven temperature to 180 degrees Celsius and line a loaf tin with Gladbake.
Bring to the boil in a saucepan : 1 cup chopped pitted dates, 1 cup sugar, 1 tbsp butter and 1 cup boiling water. 
Take off the stove and immediately add 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, which will cause the mixture to fizz! Allow to cool.
Add 1 well-beaten egg. Mix in 2 cups sifted self-raising flour and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
Spoon into loaf tin and cook in the oven for 45 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t overcook or get too dry. Delicious with butter, but equally tasty on its own!
Dutch Ginger Cake
I use the glace ginger in its own syrup, sold by Buderim Ginger. Do not use crystallized ginger.
I often used to make both Date Loaf and Ginger Cake at the same time, because they both take 45 minutes to bake. Their flavours also complement each other well.
Set the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a 20 cm round cake tin with Gladbake.
Melt 125 g butter. Sift 1.75 cups plain flour. Add 1 cup castor sugar and 125g chopped glace ginger.
Mix in melted butter and 1 well-beaten egg. 
Spoon mixture into cake tin. Glaze with milk and 30 g flaked almonds.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Do not expect the cake to rise too much. It’s more of a flat shortbread. Cut into thin wedges!
Date, Honey and Ginger Cake
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line a 24cm square cake tin with Gladbake.
Boil 1 cup water in a saucepan, add 150g chopped pitted dates and 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, then remove from the heat and set aside.
Beat 250g softened butter with 250g castor sugar and 350g (1 cup) honey with electric beaters until light and fluffy, then add 3 eggs, one at a time.
Fold in 450g sifted plain flour, 1/2 tsp salt, another 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 2 tsp ground ginger, 2 tsp mixed spice, 1 tsp cinnamon and 150g (1.5 cups) lightly chopped walnuts.
Drain the dates, saving the liquid, and fold dates into the batter. Add enough water to the saved date liquid to make up a cup (250 ml) and add to the batter. Stir well till combined.
Pour mixture into a tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 20 mins , then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Mrs. Wilson’s Walnut Cake
Preheat the oven to 160-180 degrees Celsius and line a 20cm springform cake tin with Gladbake.
Cream 125g butter and 150g castor sugar. Add 1 egg and beat till light and fluffy. Stir in 3 tsp grated lemon rind or lime rind and 2 tbsp brandy.
Sift 50g plain flour and 50g self-raising flour together and fold into the mixture gently with the nuts. Spoon mixture into tin. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.
I use cookie cutters in appropriate seasonal shapes instead. For example, sleighs, fir trees, Santa Claus and stars for Christmas;
Wombats, kangaroos, kookaburras and other Australian animals for Australia Day or international visitors;
And rabbits, eggs, flowers and hearts for Easter.
I have a big tin of cookie cutters from my children’s childhood and still find it hard to resist purchasing new shapes when I see them!
Even though these biscuits take a while to make, I still often make them before a big car trip, because it’s a generous recipe, making a large number of biscuits, which last well (apart from gobbling them up!)
Cream 250g butter and 175g brown sugar, a pinch of salt and the grated rind of one lemon.
Sift 250g plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 2tsp mixed spice and 2tsp cinnamon.
Fold flour mixture into butter mixture and add 1dsp milk.
Roll out thinly. I often use a sheet of Gladbake between the rolling pin and board to prevent sticking.
Cut our shapes and place on a biscuit tin lined with Gladbake. Bake for 5-10 mins.
Easter Biscuits
Preheat oven to 190-200 degrees Celsius.
Rub 125g butter into 250g plain flour with your fingers.
Add 125g castor sugar, a handful of currants, 1/2 tsp each of mixed spice and cinnamon and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Mix in 1 beaten egg with 1 tbsp brandy and form a paste.
Roll out thinly on a floured board. Here again, you can use a sheet of Gladbake between the rolling pin and board to prevent sticking.
Using a fluted round cookie cutter, cut into rounds. Sprinkle with caster sugar if desired.
Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Be careful to not burn or brown too much.
Annabel’s Ginger and Apricot Biscuit Slice
Line a 30cm x 24cm baking tin with Gladbake.
Place 100g butter and 3/4 tin sweetened condensed milk in a pot and heat gently till the butter melts. Remove from heat. Crush 375g sweet biscuits.
Mix 1 cup finely-chopped dried apricots, 1/2 cup finely-chopped crystallized ginger, 1 cup dessicated coconut, 1 tsp ground ginger, 2 tbsp lemon juice and finally, the crushed sweet biscuits.
Add butter and condensed milk mixture and stir to combine. Press biscuit base into the prepared tin and set in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Make Lemon Icing : Melt 50g butter and mix to a smooth consistency with 3 tbsp boiling water, 1 tsp lemon juice and 3.5 cups icing sugar.
Spread icing over biscuit base and sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger and 2 tbsp chopped pistachios. When the icing is set, cut into slices and store in a cool place.
During their childhood, my kids had many wonderful birthday parties at home in an era of MacDonalds-hosted parties! Their friends used to love our parties! Admittedly, they were a lot of work and often it was so tempting to wriggle out of them as the party day approached, but once all the preparation was done, we really enjoyed them!
The birthday table would be set with lots of colourful tasty dishes including :
For drinks, we’d make a delicious fruit punch from a large tin of pineapple juice, 2 large bottles of orange juice and apple juice and pieces of pineapple and chopped kiwi fruit, passionfruit, mint and ice blocks- so much nicer and healthier than fizzy drinks with red food colouring! I’m sure the parents appreciated it!!!
The birthday cake is always special! I love that moment when the birthday cake, aglow with candles, emerges out of the dark! It’s so magical! 
Ross’s favourite birthday cake is a layered sponge cake with cream and strawberry jam- see recipe later. His birthday is in the Spring, so one year, we decorated the top of the cake with dusted icing sugar, pink striped candles and apple blossom.
I loved it when the kids were finally old enough to cook my birthday cake!
We have also made very rich chocolate mud cakes, carrot cakes and even pavlovas for birthday cakes.
As you can see from the photos, we always have a lot of fun decorating the birthday cake! Flowers are essential! Often, I will ice the cake and mark out the birthdayee’s name or age in silver cachous balls or fruit, but sometimes, I just dust the top with icing sugar. I have some wonderful plastic cake stencils, which I use to create beautiful patterns. 
Candles vary from metallic silver or gold to coloured stripes and dots; singing candles and frustrating candles, which won’t blow out; long skinny tapers and even sparklers, which are very dramatic! We always tie a bow around the cake knife. Once the candles are blown out, the birthdayee cuts the first slice and makes a wish!
As the kids got older, the parties became fewer, though just as memorable, and the kids were able to have much more input. Caroline’s 18th birthday party was a surprise party, organized by her friends and hosted at home.
Jen had a wonderful Middle eastern party for her 19th birthday just before she left to start her university studies. All the guests came dressed as Arabian sheiks, harem girls and belly dancers. One clever fellow came as a camel in a coat. He bought 2 matching tweed coats from the op-shop and cut one up to cover a polystyrene foam boulster hump.
Sending lots of meringue kisses your way, darling Jen! Happy Birthday once again and may your year continue to be filled with lots of wonderful adventures, laughter, love and happiness! xxx
PPS. We have been checking out the planets at 4 am each morning in the first week of February. See : 
Add 1 tsp grated nutmeg, 1 tsp ground allspice, 1 tsp ground cinammon, 3 cloves ground, 1 cup fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs, 1 cup sifted wholemeal self-raising flour and 1/2 cup slivered almonds. Let stand for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, double-grease the pudding basin to ensure the pudding turns out easily. Grease the bowl well with butter, put in the fridge for 15 minutes, then grease it again and refrigerate until ready to use. In the old days, I used to tie the pudding mixture up in a boiled, sterilized calico pudding cloth, but it was messy to clean up at the end and in the hot, humid Queensland Summers, I would invariably end up with a mouldy pudding by the time Christmas arrived. It is so much easier and quicker to use a bowl, so it is well worth investing in a classic pudding basin!
Clean and sterilize pudding silver and let dry before use. I have a much prized collection of old shillings, sixpences and threepences, which I count out every year after eating the pudding, as they are not so easy to come by now. When our family was young, we also bought each family member their own significant sterling silver charm – a lyrebird for Ross (which has disappeared since) , a thimble (well-chewed) for me and a pig, camel and hippo for the kids, representing their alter-egos. Note that the silver used must be sterling silver, so modern currency cannot be used. Also, be extra carefully when eating, so that you don’t swallow the charms or break a filling or dentures!!!
Fill the pre-greased pudding basin with the pudding mixture and smooth the top flat. Cover the top of the basin with 2 layers of Gladwrap for a tight seal, then 2 layers of aluminium foil and tie around the lip of the bowl with string, then create a string handle to lift the bowl in and out of the boiling water.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, then lift in the pudding basin and replace the saucepan lid. Make sure you don’t put too much water in the saucepan, as the pudding bowl will displace water. If the pudding bowl is sitting on the bottom of the pot, put a folded teatowel between the bottom of the pot and the pudding bowl, so the heat is not concentrated on the base.
When cold, refrigerate pudding till Christmas.
When you reach dessert, remove the decoration, then pour over spirits – rum, brandy or whiskey and set it alight! When the flames have died down, cut slices for everyone, hiding any exposed silver as you go, and serve with Hard Sauce or Rum Butter, both recipes of which also come from Barbara Beckett’s book ‘ Creating Gourmet Gifts’ and both of which can be made days or weeks beforehand.
Sift 1.5 cups plain flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg and 1/4 tsp salt.
Add fruit and nut mixture to the above, then fold in the flour and spice mix.
Pour into tin and flatten the top.
Decorate with blanched almonds in your desired design.
Bake in 150 degrees Celsius oven for 1 hour, then reduce the temperature to 140 degrees Celsius for 1.5 – 2 hours, covering the tin with reflective aluminium foil, if the top of the cake looks like it is burning .
I love Stanwell Perpetual! She is so modest and unassuming, yet so generous with her blooms. She is often the first and last rose to bloom in the season and she has a divine fragrance! The following photos show : Heaven Scent; Lolita and our two dark horses: our unidentified climber and Alnwick.
We visited Canberra on the hot Tuesday and caught up with old friends, who both work at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. The gardens are a real show at the moment and so impressive! There has been so much growth and development since our last visit 10 years ago.
Afterwards, we called in to the lovely Heritage Nursery at Yarralumla (
We arrived home to discover that the blue Dutch Iris and ranunculas had finally opened.
The poppies are a real show of happiness!
The ranunculas always remind me of Can Can girls, with their frilly skirts and rich exotic colours!
‘Madame Lemoine’ (white Lilac) and the ‘White Caviar’ (Magnolia below) are still flowering, but the bluebells and ‘The Bride’ have bowed out. It looks like we could get a bumper crop of navel oranges!
A few more unexpected discoveries :
The anemones continue their amazing display!
This is the last of the tulips, as well as the first blooms of a Scented Geranium.
The Banksia and Fortuneana roses are throwing plenty of blooms and our daisies are looking very happy!
‘Green Goddess’ has been joined by this exotic bromeliad bloom.
Lots of garden tasks this week!
We transplanted the herbs to new pots and replaced the Russian Tarragon with the tastier French Tarragon, banishing the former to the vegie garden. We planted out the Heritage tomatoes, the lettuces, the red cabbages and the mixed capsicums and sowed sunflower and carrot seed.
We planted the Jacobean Lily at the bottom of the steps, where its red blooms will be a real eye catcher. And we tied back the climber Clos de Vougeot, which is covered in blooms and found a home for my 3 metal fairies in the shady reading nook.
Ross found a perfect spot for his Pink Rock Orchid in a natural depression in the trunk of the Pepperina tree, where it can be seen from all angles of the garden.
And we celebrated Ross’s birthday at the end of the week. Finally, I can show you a photo of the gift I made him – a cushion covered in his favourite rain forest birds! It was so difficult finding Ross-free time to make it and I was almost caught out a number of times towards the end! He loved it !!!
A pod of 8 Humpback Whales even made it to the party (though a day late!). We were so thrilled to finally see some and they were so close into the shore. The adults and their babies are heading back down south for the Antarctic Summer!