Saturday 19 March 2016

The End of Summer

I meant to post this ages ago, as Summer died and Autumn reminded us that Perth had temperatures lower than 40°C.

The seasons are turning, Summer into Autumn, with the Easter weekend providing a promise of rain and storms to rejuvenate the garden.

The Council in their infinite wisdom and eagerness to kill the grass in the storm-water drain, forgot to take the wind into consideration and succeeded in killing one of our favourite bankias. It is being replace, by us, because we feel its loss dreadfully.


Strangely, Mum is holding back on letting the Council feel the full force of her wrath, or mine for that matter, despite the fact that this is not the first plant they have successfully murdered through simple ineptitude. 

I present one very dead banksia. 
Thankfully, other banksias have responded well and are covered in their candlestick flowers.



At the end of Summer the Mulla Mulla dried and seeded and hopefully will result in a verge of Mulla Mulla next year. Only that will stop Mum from buying more, despite the survival of this one. 


The fuchsias are out, dancing in the breeze that wafts down the patio. They often remind me of Fantasia, and the flowers dancing in the waterfall. Though there is no greater delight than popping open the buds to reveal the splash of colour still hidden within.


Another plant in full colour was the Golden Shower. After years of nothing, which equated with years of Mum worrying if it would survive/do anything, it now managed to put on a bigger and better show each year. 


A couple of Hoyas Mum is always thrilled to see flower. These two are well established and don't need rebuking like a couple of the ones who grace the Family Room coffee table.



Not a Hoya

As Autumn encroached more and more, the winter flowers began to show signs of establishing. This usually begins with the Apple Blossom Camellia...


... and the Silver Princess that towers over the letterbox.

Having updated Mum's professional photo with one standing in front of one of the Wattles on campus, we decided we needed to get one  for our own garden.
It's a weeping tree, commonly known as a Zig Zag wattle as its leaves and flowers zig zag off from the main branch. Currently its in bud but I'm looking forward to the flowers and the proof that it's survived its first summer.


On to the wildlife we share the garden with... 
The frogs seem happy, throughout the garden, vocalising their presence of an evening or enjoying the shade of the waterlilies of a day. We've yet to see the water lilies flower but they are probably still re-establishing themselves after Mum and I completely re-did the frog pond. 



The dragonflies and damselflies are also present and happy though they possess a speed that makes them nigh impossible to photograph. 



The Red-capped Gum was in full flower which not only meant that the driveway was a hazard to bare feet, but that the air above was rent with the shrill complaints of the rainbow lorikeets who constantly forget that they are obliged to share the space with the wattle birds and camera-wielding humans.







When they get the chance, the Pink And Grey Galahs also pay us a visit, perching in the top branches of the Silver Princess.




With Summer feeling like a time of dormancy, it is delightful to step outside in the cooling weather to discover the harvesting of the future. The mango tree seems to have hit water and has shot up to a healthy 6 feet. We're going to have to chop its head off some time to encourage it to branch out a little and to stop it from shading the entire garden.


In another corner of the garden the Locquat is promising to be laden with fruit again after a less productive year last. I haven't yet decided which recipes to try out, but I do know I'm going to be fighting the budgies again this year.


The bees are happy and Mum and I are happy as a result, though I have begrudgingly accepted that this may be one bee hive I won't be able to harvest.
Dad is less happy as he lost his Owl box, and isn't partial to bees anywhere near him, but as they are halfway up the giant Jacaranda, and bees are good for the garden, it's acceptable.


The pomegranate is covered and I keep harvesting more than I can possibly eat,
I keep thinking of my self as Persephone, but keep wondering how she could possibly have stopped at 6 seeds. 6 fruits more like.





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