Very Early Spring in our Garden

Warm breezes and a different quality to afternoon's light signal a change to Spring here in our subtropical home. Although the nights have still been cool, a sense of the season turning came earlier again this year than the flipping of our calender's page to September. It is a glorious time of year here which I relish before the heat of Summer takes hold. 

Out in the garden, green-tipped new growth abounds and more and more flowers are coming into bud and bloom. The mandarin tree is covered in promising white blossoms, purple lavender spires scent the air, plump mulberries are ripening and delicious, the passionfruit  in a pot is sending out its first tendrils and the veg patch waits, under a blanket of mulch, for new plantings. 

Creamy petals and a tinge of pink on a salvia's bloom.

Ripening mulberries on our little tree.

Little native raspberries beginning to form too.

The intriguing bloom of an iris.

A mass of perfumed lavender blooms.

White blossoms on our mandarin tree.

Early growth on our new passionfruit vine.

Chocolate Cosmos has a chocolate-y scent!

This Spring, I plan on adding even more salvias to the garden, with plants gifted to me by a new gardening friend, along with different varieties of cosmos. Packets of Cosmos 'Picotee' and Cosmos 'Sensation' seeds have arrived. I ordered my seeds from Green Harvest, an Australian organic seed supplier based up in the Hinterland not too far a drive from here. (I am not affiliated with Green Harvest in any way; I just like to buy my seeds from them.) 

There's so much to look forward to in our garden this Spring! I'd love to know what you are planning to grow as the season changes where you are in the world.

Meg

 

Lately

We are spending all our days at home now like so many others all around the world.  There is work and school to do from home throughout Monday to Friday. Our old wooden table is set with schoolbooks and our study is, for now, a makeshift office. Around and in between this different way of working and learning, there is much that is happily and reassuringly the same about home.

 Homemade pumpkin scones with jam & a dollop of thick cream.


  Fresh, spray-free fruit & veg in my custom-order box.

Crunchy cornflake crackles.

As always, there's much home cooking cooling on the kitchen bench. This nourishes us, sustains us and, in the case of these cornflake crackles, indulges us in a little childhood nostalgia when days did indeed seem more carefree than they do just now. While this refined-sugar free version of these honey joys, is far less sweet than those I remember from my girlhood days, they are every bit as yummy and the bottom still sticks to the patty paper case! 🙂

The first eggplant flower.

A delicate little snow pea flower too.

In the veggie patch, the seedlings I planted weeks ago are growing taller and leafier and the first flowers on the eggplant and snow peas have emerged. The buzz of honeybees, blue-banded bees and teddy bear bees, begins early in this north-facing part of our garden. Our own teeny-tiny little native bees are there among the flowers too but they are just quieter. I am harvesting homegrown lettuce, spring onion, herbs, mandarins and spinach and can't wait to pick the first snow peas to munch on!

A novel & one of those cornflake crackles.

Everyday, I find myself with a book (or three) in my lap which is not that unusual in less extraordinary times either. The pile of books I borrowed before the libraries closed is dwindling. Some of the novels have been ho-hum but I am very much enjoying In Love with George Eliot by Kathy O'Shaughnessy.  It's been quite fascinating to learn more about the life of Marian Evans, who wrote under the nom de plume of George Eliot. Perhaps, when there are no library books left on my bedside table, I will seek out one of George Eliot's Victorian novels to read. 

Little blue & cream drawstring bag.

While my bedside table is emptying of novels, my sewing table has a growing pile of old linens from which I am making little drawstring bags. These are my favoured project right now. Each finished bag is tucked into my present box for later gifting. They are perfect for holding a washcloth and bar of soap or a few packets of flower seeds and a card. While I am often 'distracted' by sewing up these bags, I have made some progress on a couple of unfinished garments too. (If I ever finish them, I'll show you! 😄)

Early morning light along the path.

Each and every day too, there are early morning and late afternoon walks, with each other and our lovely Sir Steve dog, along the winding paths of our leafy neighbourhood. The Autumn light at these times of day is gentle and soft. Quite a way along one path, nestled safely into the fork of a tall gum's branches, there is a precious koala. With a handpainted sign at the bottom of 'her' tree, letting us all know she's up there, this fluffy native has become quite a neighbourhood celebrity! Can you see her way up high in these branches?

A fluffy koala in a gum along a neighbourhood path.

Just as this koala is settled and snug in her tree, so too are we in our home. In these uncertain times, I would not want to be anywhere else. 

Meg

Autumn Beckons

Autumn beckons; later sunrises and earlier twilights bookend days that are cooler now and do not carry the weight of Summer's humidity. A gentle breeze has been whispering thoughts of longer sleeves and lightweight scarves, of house socks and ballet flats, of toasted cheesy sandwiches and homemade pies and of warming throws for reading an evening away. 

Autumnal Apple Pie

Autumn feels like it is here in the air around me, in the fading Summer flowers of the garden, in my thoughts of sewing a simple tunic for wearing over those aforementioned longer sleeves and of returning to the knitting of the deep bottle-green wrap that I began last time Autumn visited us here.

 The last of Summer's Zinnias in a posy.

 Sweet fabric and a little vintage doily for a dress.

Autumn is present too in my more reflective mood; in the thoughts that come while rolling pastry and catching scents of cinnamon, in not-necessarily garden plans made while spreading compost over Summer-spent garden beds and in the quiet daydreams that form while looking out to a gentler blue sky from my spot on our long verandah.  

Earth & home & resilience on my mind...

Autumn is my favourite time of year and I am so very glad it's here. Are you looking forward to the change in season too?

Meg

Out In My October Garden

Just a little over a week ago, our garden was as parched and listless as so many other gardens where we live. There'd been next to no rain over Winter and early Spring. The drought, that's had a firm grip on landscapes along our country's East, felt like it was beginning to bite in our pocket of suburbia. The view from my front verandah was hazy and dry, the grass underfoot brown and crunchy, the little creek bed empty and silent and the leaf drop from the trees was just incredible. Thankfully, storms have rolled through over the ridge here this week and brought with them replenishing rain. 

Homegrown Lebanese Cucumber.

In our garden now,  plants are beginning to bloom and starting to ripen. I'm most excited about the cucumbers. I'm growing salad veg, like lettuce and cherry tomatoes, in pots over the coming Summer as I expect it's going to be very hot and, despite this past week's rain,  very dry too. On a bit of a whim, I did plant a few cucumbers in the veg patch. Although they took quite a while to get growing, they've taken off now and the first little Lebanese cucumbers are forming. There is nothing like fresh, crunchy cucumbers straight from the garden! 

 One ripe and juicy strawberry with more yet to ripen.

A cluster of blueberries

 Little yellow tomatoes are starting to ripen.

Besides the cucumbers, there are strawberries, blueberries and little yellow cherry-like tomatoes deepening their colour as they ripen in their pots. Pick again lettuces and chives are growing together in pots too but up on our back verandah where I can move them out of scorching sun easily. Happily, and with abandon, flat-leaf Italian parsley and sweet basil have self-seeded too. Fresh herbs for free!

A fragrant Gardenia bloom beginning to open.

 The pretty pink flowers of Grevillea 'Dorothy Gordon'.

The deep blue centre of an African Daisy.

A pink gerbera beginning to bloom.

The first Gardenia bloom has begun to unfurl its creamy petals. The scent of these flowers is simply sublime. I can't wait to bring a little bunch of them inside when more open up. A new plant in the garden, an African Daisy (Osteospermum) which I grew from a cutting, has its first flower. I love its bright white petals and deep blue centre. So pretty! Another pretty plant blooming in my garden is a gerbera gifted to me by a friend. I love its light pink petals. The native grevillea, Dorothy Gordon, has burst into bloom in the back bottom corner of the garden. The birds are enjoying it very much.

 Supervisor extraordinaire! 

Someone else enjoying the garden is Sir Steve dog. He came out with me yesterday to 'supervise' the digging over of the soil where our poor avocado tree used to be. Needless to say, he did very little digging and opted to warm the soil with his tummy instead!

We've been fortunate to have rain here. There are many in Australia living through unprecedented and heartbreaking drought. I hope rain clouds gather above them soon and that nature brings the water they so desperately need. It makes such a difference.

Meg

The Freshness of Spring

After a very dry Winter, Spring has brought with it such welcome rain. Rain that has sparked the new growth of this new season.  The grass is growing green again. After their deciduous Winter, the first leaves are unfurling on the plane tree. Creamy, fragrant blossoms cover our mandarin tree. The bees and the butterflies are busy, attracted by the emergence of more and more flowers. While I am excited too, by the blue of the cornflowers and the deep orange buds on the hibiscus, I am more enchanted this year by the freshness of Spring's green.

 New leaves emerging on the Plane Trees.


A honeybee foraging in a mandarin blossom.

A little cucumber seedling.

Feathery new growth on  Yarrow.

My own enthusiasm for the garden, which had waned with the lack of rain, has returned anew. Little seedlings, cucumber and snow peas mostly, have been tucked into warm, replenished soil. Pots of multicoloured petunias have been planted up and will no doubt flower soon. Clumps of day lilies have been divided and replanted in the little garden by the front gates and a dwarf mulberry tree settled into a pot where it will hopefully thrive. It seems that rush of fresh Spring green, that followed that most welcome rain, has lifted my inner-gardener's hopes!

I have deeply felt the change from Winter to Spring this year, more strongly than I can remember in years gone by.  How about you? How have you responded to the turning of nature's seasons in your part of the world?

Meg

p.s. I am keenly aware of how lucky we have been to receive rain here. There are many in Australia; farming families and communities, their stock and our wild creatures; struggling with terrible drought.  I hope that the heavens will open over their parched lands soon. Xx

Here & Now 23

Our Winter days here begin and end with glorious skies.  The sun-warmed sky of the early morning glowing with golden fire and the tell-tale dusky pink sky-ribbon that signals a cold night ahead. These days begin and end with extra layers, jumpers upon jumpers and thick socks within  slippers all encased in an extra blanket or two. As each day warms, as most do during our Winter, we peel off some of this extra warmth but enough remains to remind us that this is the coldest season of our year. 

 The gentle light of a fragrant candle.

Warm and nourishing porridge.

A warm blanket for an old friend.

Hearty Winter soup.

 The warming flames of a bonfire.

Now is a time of year I relish for its distinct difference to our Summers; those scorching days seem far away...

Loving //  The gentleness of beautiful Winter's light.

Eating //   Bowls of warming, nourishing soup.

Drinking //  Pepperminty hot chocolates just so I can wrap my hands around the mug!

Feeling //  Toasty in all my Winter layers.

Making //  Time for sewing little things like this sweet tea towel bag.

Thinking //  A fire pit in my backyard would be lovely!

                           

Dreaming //  ... of toasting jaffles and marshmallows in my imaginary fire pit!

Is it Winter or is it Summer where you live?  There are others posting their own Here & Now happenings over with Sarah at Say, Little Hen. You could visit with them awhile there or join in and share some of your season with us.

Meg

Overcast Winter Days

The Winter sun has been obscured by heavy grey cloud the past couple of days. It's been cold and we've had a few showers come through, enough to dampen things a little and keep the washing from the line. Time, for me, tends to go slowly on wintery, overcast days. I tend to spend them in the warmth of "inside". Rather than being drawn out into the garden, by the warm sunshine of blue-sky days, I am nestled instead in the warmth of home. As I wait for that sunshine to break through those thick clouds, there are simple things like soup and stitching, books and baking to fill these overcast days. 

Hearty & nourishing soup.

A little knitting to lengthen my shawl.

An inspiring book to read.

A little project all sewn up.

Some delicious baking too.

Whatever the weather of your coming weekend, I hope you enjoy whatever it is you choose to do.

Meg

Here & Now 20

We've rarely left home the past couple of weeks. It's school holidays here and with very few plans we've been absorbed by the simple happiness of our home. Gardening, baking, sewing, knitting, reading and playing both inside and outside have filled our days. Friends and family have come to share morning teas and afternoon teas out on the verandah. Sir Steve dog has been for his daily stroll around the neighbourhood and occasionally to the park in the back of our old ute. (He barks the whole way there, sharing his quite obvious joy with everyone!) Nightfall comes earlier now that Autumn is here. We tuck ourselves up in our beds with our books, lightweight blankets ready for the crispness of the early morning air come the morning. These are ordinary days but they are good days...

The Autumnal colours of natural dyes.

Delicious and chewy Honey & Ginger ANZAC biscuits. 

A mustard-y yellow sailor top for Autumn.

A bowl of homemade pumpkin soup.

The beginnings of a shawl.

One of Autumn's changing leaves.

Loving //  All of Autumn's glorious golden colours.

Eating //  Morning tea biscuits out on our verandah. (Chocolate chip cookies & ANZAC biscuits too.)

Drinking //  Sparkling mineral water with a little lime juice squeezed in.

         

Feeling //  Content.

Making //  Plans for how I'll use the little stash of the fabric I dyed ages ago. 

Thinking //  That young people, like this little girl who helped convince her city's council to ban 
                           plastic straws, can be so inspiring. 

Dreaming //  ... of a mid-May holiday to Melbourne, a city I have never visited before!

So, this is the here & now of my April. What's been happening during your April days? To join in with Sarah's lovely link-up, over at Say, Little Hen, just visit her there. She's just moved house and run a knitting workshop so there's lots to read about and her photos are gorgeous too. 

Meg