The weather over the weekend was sensational .. blue skies, cloud puffs, warmth, birds, bees and happy chooks. I threw open the gate to the chook paddock and out they marched, disappearing over the hill.
Do you have a secret garden? Years ago I went on holiday to Australia and came back to find a vege garden installed near our forest, miles away from the house and devoid of water. Oh dear out of sight out of mind – get the picture? Needless to say I was shocked if not mildly amused when I stumbled on it.
Anyway, over the years it has grown yakons, spuds and pumpkins for us although the yields of the latter have been diminishing each year thanks to very dry summers. So with this in mind, I opted not to plant those from the cucurbit family, but instead shoved some Cliff Kidney spuds into this space.
I had the usual amount of fun prepping the garden too! Weeding, trimming resident geranium, gloating at the garlic which is self seeded and grows on the ‘outside’ of the garden and enjoying the wildlife that was watching my endeavours.
Hubby had previously broad forked the bed as it was compacted .. I’m not a fan of disturbing the soil, but sometimes it is necessary. Our ATV close by was loaded with coffee grounds, planting mix, Rok Solid fish / seaweed fertiliser and the contents of a well pickled Bokasi bin which gets tossed into holes in the garden and buried.
What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday .. getting grubby in the garden and wiping my hands unceremoniously on my pants. Who cares, I do the washing ..
The spuds are now safely entrenched in the soil, coffee grounds and fertiliser have been strewn about … and to top it off, it rained last night, how good is that? While this bed doesn’t get all day sun, I’m hoping that we may be removing the odd potato in time for Christmas. More on that later ..
Golden Queen with some rain on the horizon ..
I love the way the garden wakes up after winter .. our orchard is a mass of blossoms providing tucker for bees and bugs and a promise of fruit to come.
With my camera (also slightly dirty) not far away, I took loads of photos .. loving the magic that the weather has created.
Loquats
Quince blossom
Seeds have finally gone into a tray and are currently sitting in the garage on a heat pad.
And at last I have finally preserved some lemons and thrown some blanched broccoli in the freezer.
Did I say that I have also patted myself on the back?
Happy gardening
You really deserve that pat on the back, Julie! I love the idea of a secret garden, and fortunately for the garden, you have found it and can now offer it some TLC. 🙂
Do you have a good recipe for preserving lemons that you can share? I always seem to have an excess of them and the one recipe I have tried wasn’t all that great. Your jar is looking good, with cinnamon sticks, peppercorns and a bay leaf from what I can tell. 🙂
It has been getting some TLC for ages now. Such a lovely little garden .. just in the wrong place. LOL I do have a fabulous recipe for preserved lemons Joanne, which my good friend Greg Malouf prepared. Here’s the rather long link .. enjoy! Oh they are coriander seeds 😀
https://cooked.com.au/Greg-Malouf/Hardie-Grant-Books/Moorish/Pickles-and-preserves/Preserved-lemons-and-limes-recipe a good friend of mine
Coriander seeds? Yum even better! I’ve printed out the recipe, thank you so much! 🙂
Wow, what a great blog this month, it looks beautiful and the shots are fantastic. Very thoughtful images, I like the out of focus background and the subject in just the right spot nice and sharp and bright. The jar of Lemons is gorgeous. I want that jar on my bench. Nice work Julie.
Hey Dallas … thank you! I’m so pleased you enjoyed the post and pics. That jar is good isn’t it? Shot it at night with the light from the stove on! LOL …
I very much enjoyed all your photos Julie. Carl and I were particularly taken with the kereru pics. Gorgeous colours of spring at your place!
Hey Rom … nice to know that you popped in. That kereru was amazing .. he/she couldn’ have cared less about me. I was talking away to it while taking a stack of photos. Glad you enjoyed the pics Miss!
Beautiful photos! I love the chickens, and your pigeons (I think?) are so colorful. Your blooming and all our plants are thinking about winter.
Hi Tim. I really love the chook pic too and the pigeon is so very colourful. Such a beautiful bird and large .. Yes we are heading into spring – the weather has been gorgeous the last few days. Yay!
Oh,you do have one very happy, well-fed garden. I am thinking about planting a quince tree but have left it too late for this year. Quince or medlar, not sure which.
Hi lovely .. we have a Turkish quince and just planted 3 Chinese quince. The latter are budding up nicely and I think I spotted some blossom the other day. Not sure about a medlar, but I am a fan of quince.:D Yes a very happy and well fed garden.
Which do you think is best for a small garden? Turkish or Chinese?
That is such a good question. Hmmm we have only just planted the Chinese. The Turkish which is probably 5 years old is a nice sized tree. Pruning is the go. But you might like to check the net to be sure 😄
I will investigate.
It all looks beautiful Julie (and fab photos). How lucky you are to get rain at the right time. Is that lichen on the plum tree with the blossom?
Hi Anne .. thank you. I know so lucky with the rain. And yes that sure is lichen on the plum tree. Lots of it at our place .. I’m never sure really whether it is good or bad. Thanks for stopping by 😀
lively and nice 🙂
Hey Joshi …it is spring lively isn’t it? Thanks for your comment 🙂
How fabulous is your Springtime post! I was just thinking the other day that t’s time Julie did a big fab post! Gorgeous and inspiring. Love our garden and countryside Miss Kiwi. Getting down and wiping dirt hands on pants, dirty finger nails, love t all.
Hello Francesca … Your comment had me grinning. I’m a shocker for wiping my hands over my pants, t shirt whatever. Always have dirt under my nails including now! LOL Oh I do so love this time of year when the wind stops and it isn’t raining (ha ha). I’m so pleased that enjoyed the post. I think that keyboard may have died! You are hilarious … Next time I’m in Melbourne, I’m coming to see you! 😀
that was meant to read your, not our. As you may gather, my keyboard has almost died. I have to part with my laptop and become silent for a while.
😀
There’s nothing better than wiping hands on ‘I don’t care’ pants, and you should be patting yourself on the back– that’s some mighty fine looking compost. Thanks for sharing your lovely spring.
I do wipe my hands on my pants .. naughty me! LOL That’s planting mix and I can’t take credit for that one .. but you would love our homemade compost, it is fantastic! So pleased I can share our spring with you 😀
What a life! 🙂 Your garden looks so beautiful and peaceful. You could host a cooking/gardening show there.
Thank you! I like the idea of that cooking / gardening show! 😀
So pretty! Everything looks so fresh and well kept.
Thank you .. love this place!
Beautiful assortment of photos, Julie. I loved the bird (pigeon?) and wonder what it is feeding on.
Oh thank you. That certainly is a pigeon it is called a kereru and is native to NZ. It was having a lovely time snacking away on a Nikau palm. Thankfully we have loads of them at our place. 😀
Oh well done! You so richly deserve a pat on the back. I love spring too. Love seeing the blossoms and bees, hearing the birds…it’s all so magical. Such a load of work in the garden though, isn’t it? Who put in that little dry garden by your forest? How odd. First thing I though of is putting a water butt near by to catch some rain water. Seems a shame to go to all the work of planting and have it too dry later in the season. Love how the chickens march right out of the enclosure. When the caretaker came to the meadow in OXON, she’d let the chickens out and they’d disappear into the tall meadow grass and just be gone…lol. 😀 Good thing they came back when they were called. 😀
Hello gorgeous! How are you V? ha ha .. love that expression ‘pat myself on the back’. Sometimes I try too! LOL … Yes loads of blossoms and bugs and bees – the garden is alive. Yes lots of work indeed. Ha, hubby put in the garden – sneaky. Waited until I went away and then put it in the strangest place. He loves planting trees and putting in gardens! I should endeavour to get some sort of water catchment here. Get cracking Julie! Oh yes those chooks love it when they are allowed out. Gone! Love them.
I’ve been just fine but a little quiet on the blog! Not like ol’ motermouth me! But we’re working very hard to get a few home projects done before R has to return to the UK for two months, so yesterday we laid down some insulation in my studio walls and roof (100 yr old house) and I had to crawl into small attic spaces with the itchy pink stuff, so to avoid contact I got out the Halloween box and wedged my bum into my 16yr old self’s bell bottoms, a safari shirt and a black bobbed wig! Blog post coming LOL.
Whoa Julie!!! Everything looks awesome! You must be thrilled. Loved the picture of your raised beds. So well kept, I could learn a thing or two. As usual, wonderful photos and report! Enjoy your Spring, it looks like it just jumped up! Take care. Bob
Bob! Hello .. everything is looking very awesome. I can’t help standing by and going wow. Yes those raised beds are a treat – positioned on a hillside. Glad you enjoyed the update .. took me a while didn’t it? Oh I am enjoying spring Bob .. loving it. You take care too and always so good knowing that you have stopped by 😀
Hi Julie….and thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures! I love your garden. 🙂
Hi Josephine … love it when you stop by! Brilliant. Glad you enjoyed the pics too 😀
As well you should – hubby too I imagine. Looks like you have been quite busy but then seems you are always occupied with this or that. Bravo!
Great photos, as always!
NZ and Australia thoughts are creeping back in… Nothing concrete but something’s brewing…
Hey Julie thanks Miss. Nice to know that travel plans might be on the agenda. Brilliant! 😀
A kiwi spring. What could be more beautiful? Nothing.
Hello Debra .. what a lovely thing to say. Thank you as always …
Dirt under the nails and wiping hands on pants is the only way to go.. It’s lovely, fair one, at your place…..
It is the only way to go . I have been ruining gardening pants for years 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Roberta 🙂
Oh yes indeed Julie…xx
I didn’t originally see the first photo, so I had to look up the word chook.
It is one of the ‘trick’ words from down under 🙂
Nice post ! Your garden looks so beautiful, and so quiet. Congratulation !
Thank you .. It is very quiet. Except it’s rooster hour and our new lad is having a crow 😊
Hi to you both happy aniversary. As usual great photos, I see your preserving is coming on! I won’t have much to do when I come as you will have it all in hand! Really looking forward to seeing all the new planting. Whoever it was said is that lichen on the tree you have to move quickly not to get it on to your self, especially when you are lining up shots! You have so much in the to garden.
LOL Bill xxx
I know happy anniversary to us! Glad you like the pics Bill. I was so pleased to finally get a jar of lemons preserved. More to come. Much more to see since your last visit .. Loads of lichen at our place .. that’s for sure! HUgs
Oh Julie and your enchanted garden . I love all the pics, the birds and bees and oooooo that blossom. Thank you beautiful lady <3
And thank you so much Gill 😃
Lucky, Lucky You! Spring has arrived~
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Hey Linda .. at last. It has arrived. Yay!
Julie you always make things look so magical. Spring is such a beautiful time and if you allow yourself to get caught up in the busyness of it all then you miss it. I a glad for your dirty camera, so you can share your wonderful images.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Thanks so much Sarah. I like the dirty camera too … well used! LOL
Lovely shots, Julie 🙂
Thank you so much!
Lovely post. Great photos. And yes, you deserve a BIG pat on the back.
Ha ha I think so too! 😃
Beeyootiful!
Aw shucks …😆
Well done, Julie! Such glorious photos too.
Hey Cynthia … thank you. Great to see you here!
The 2nd photo of a pigeon-like bird perched atop some kind of plant – what is the bird and what is the plant? I love your jar of lemons!
Hey Julie ..that’s a wood pigeon. Big, beautiful and colourful. Glad you like those lemons, they taste pretty good too!
Whoops .. The plant is a Nikau Palm
Both are stunning!
Thanks Miss 😊