Monday 27 January 2020

In My Garden After the Rain

There's a little bit of magic that falls with long-awaited rain. It's there in the way it turns what was so brown and dry into that which is lush and green. It's there in the way freshness and energy return to what was wilting and listless. And it's most definitely there in the way it draws us back out into the garden.

A sweet little bird ornament nestled in a leafy nest.

Out in the garden this morning, barefoot on green grass no longer crunchy beneath my feet, it was almost sloshy in some places! I eagerly pushed aside the sugar cane mulch and found that the rain has soaked in well, replenishing the Summer-sapped soil. The rain and storms we've had this past week have brought much needed water to our backyard landscape. What a joy!

Fragrant and lush Mother-of-Herbs border.

After such good rain, there's quite a bit of work that needs doing in the growing-again garden. My first job this morning was to trim back this thick Mother-of-Herbs border. I have grown this in my top garden from a single cutting given to me by a friend. It has spread along the front edge of this garden bed quickly and keeps the soil well contained. It can take over though if not pruned back so this morning I gave it a good haircut. This was a lovely and fragrant chore as cutting it back released it's pungent scent into the air. I breathed it in deeply!

Ceylon Spinach is growing well now.

The Ceylon Spinach (Malabar Spinach) has taken off with the rain and this morning I wove and twisted it around a spare triangular frame I usually use for cherry tomatoes. I am really pleased this plant is growing well as it is very nutritious and provides a good source of greens when other leafy veg might struggle in the heat. I haven't used it in my cooking before so will need to find out best ways to prepare it. 

 A tiny mandarin on our tree.


The mandarin tree, branches drooping with lots of raindrops, has many little green fruits forming now. The promise of our own juicy mandarins to come!

Lovely little load of worm castings from our worm farm.

We raked back the sugar cane mulch from the mandarin tree's drip line and sprinkled over a layer of worm castings from our worm farm before replacing and topping up the mulch. I did the same with the orange-flowering hibiscus that my once-three-year-old son chose for the garden.  It is covered in its vibrant flowers right now. 

Bright orange hibiscus flower.

There are quite a few more butterflies flitting around in our garden now that the rain has returned. This morning I caught a flash of powdery blue, from the wings of a Blue Triangle Butterfly as it fluttered past. 

Nibbled leaves and stems on pink pentas.

Where there are butterflies though, there are caterpillars and it seems where there are caterpillars, there are magpies!

 A hungry magpie seeking out a caterpillar for lunch from leaves of tiny Pentas.

Caterpillars are munching on the leaves of my pink Pentas and I am leaving it up to the magpies that visit our garden to deal with them. I watched this magpie seeking out a plump caterpillar from the leaves of a little Pentas plant that has sprung up in the front garden. There's no need for spraying in our garden because I find that creatures like birds and ladybugs take care of imbalances when they happen. I know too that a few caterpillars will probably escape the beady eyes of these magpies and that just means more butterflies!

First bromeliad.

Our last job in the garden this morning was to plant up this bromeliad. I have not grown a bromeliad before and so I will need to learn what conditions this particular one grows best in. As it's in a pot, I will be able to move it to different parts of the garden before I decide where I'll plant it permanently. I do like its red flower spike!

It was so lovely to spend the morning out in the garden again. While it was humid and hot in the sun, we didn't come back inside until nearly eleven o'clock. Not long after, another brief shower came through bringing more  longed-for rain to our garden. 

Meg










19 comments:

  1. Isn't it nice about having some rain. I can't believe my front lawn was completely dead brown and now it's green about needed a mow. I replied to your comment on my blog. Have a good week...it's all starting again need to get my head in the game and iron the school uniforms today and get the kids to polish their shoes. Kathy

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    1. Hi, Kathy. I too am trying to get my head around school tomorrow so have just finished wiping my son's school bag over. I will have to iron uniforms later on too. It's a totally different routine to holiday times, isn't it! Meg:)

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  2. Thank you for this little wander around your lovely lush garden in the north. I love to see gardens in other climates to my own cool southern one. Your plants look so happy, and lovingly cared for with lots of lovely worm poo:) Hope the rain continues at well-spaced intervals for you!

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    1. I too love to see how others grow and tend their gardens in different climates. I was in awe of some of the gardens I saw in Tassie last time I visited. Rain has made all the difference here and I think the worm poo will work its magic too. Meg:)

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  3. Yay!!! Finally you got rain!

    I didn't know Malabar spinach was also called Ceylon spinach. Actually while growing up in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) we simply called it spinach. :)
    I remember not liking the spinach I found here after I came to the US.

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    1. I am really excited to have this spinach growing in my garden, Nil. I first saw it growing in at the city farm and bought a plant from their nursery. It does well in our sub-tropical climate. I picked some very young leaves and vine tips this morning to put in an omelette and it was delicious. Meg:)

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  4. So happy you have received some life giving rain Meg. I love how the garden stands tall when it rain as if to say ahhh.

    Your garden is looking really good. Hope you continue to get showers.

    There has been no rain here and another hot week ahead, but there is a glimmer of hope that next weekend might bring some rain. I really hope so, my tanks need filling.

    xTania

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    1. I do so hope you get some rain soon, Tania. It's awfully hard for a garden to thrive without it. Meg:)

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  5. How lovely to do some gardening after the rain. I am interested in the Ceylon Spinach as it might be something I will grow as I have not had much luck with vegetables in recent years and decided it wasn't worth the effort especially as they need a lot of water.

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    1. Rosie, the Ceylon Spinach is really thriving since the rain has arrived. I picked some of the younger leaves and vine tips this morning to add to an omelette and it was delicious. I hope it grows well for you if you decide to plant it. Meg:)

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  6. It must be truly a pleasure to be outside with all the new growth at once. I loved reading this post.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed reading about my garden, Marlene. I love to be outside in the garden when there's been rain and the plants are thriving again. It brings me a lot of peace. Meg:)

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  7. So glad you got your rain! Amazing what a good rain does...your plants look so nice and healthy! Andrea

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    1. I lost quite a few plants during the extended dry period we had but it's amazing how everything else has bounced back so quickly. It brings a lot of joy! Meg:)

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  8. It must be such a relief to be getting rain again and so good to see the difference it makes to the garden. Long may it continue. X

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    1. Fingers crossed, Jules, for more regular rainfall here. To the far north. there's now been so much rain that there's been some flooding. Australia really is a land of extremes! MegXx

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  9. Like Jo I love to see gardens in other climates. The plants you have growing in your garden look so different and exotic to me. I am so glad to read that you finally have had some rain, it must be such a relief, I do hope you get more soon.

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    1. Definitely a relief to have decent rain. It makes such a difference to the garden and to me! I adore gardens and plants and find how other people garden and what they grow to be fascinating. I love cottage gardens in particular as they are so whimsical and full of flowers which I adore. MegXx

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  10. You've described the smell and sensation of long awaited rain, perfectly! I had to drink that wet earth smell in for a long while. Then when I crossed the flooded gully in my thongs, the feel of water up to my ankles was divine. It's like the earth started breathing again, and everything came back to life!

    It was great reading about your return to the garden, and all that it made you do and feel. Yay, for rain!!!

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