This Month In The Garden

JUNE
Initially, I didn't think that there would be much to photograph in the garden this month.  How wrong was I.

The cacti are doing surprisingly well.

Above is the centre of a Swamp Lily, at least I think that this is what it is.  It's an Australian Native which we've had in the ground for around five years and is yet to flower.

Cherry Tomato in flower.  There's been a good crop this year but the fruit is too sour to eat.  Perhaps the fruit have not had enough sun.

Strawberries are fruiting now too...but I really thought that summer was their growing season?

Some of the wattles are in flower. Here are a couple of ants making their way to a feast of nectar.

Angophoras have been sprouting all over the garden.  I love the colours and the textures of the seedlings.  Unfortunately, most sprout in awkward positions and are not viable.  This one is growing in alongside a potted Kaffir Lime bush.  

I planted six or seven of these Conestick bushes in the garden about seven years ago.  This is the first time that flower heads have formed.  I'm looking forward to seeing the first flowers.

When it comes to Cymbidium Orchids, I think I can safely admit to having a green thumb!  Already, there are about eight spikes forming on my four potted cymbidiums.  Unfortunately, they are all the same variety and I have given away tens of these plants over the past twenty five years or so. Each year I promise myself that I will purchase a new variety but I've never got round to doing this.

It's still June, so I was very surprised to find that the mulberry tree is full of new buds.  Sorry, but the picture quality is not good.  I was so surprised by this find, I just had to post.

  Now that the Winter Solstice is over, the days can only get longer.

Happy gardening!

Nature at Work.

This summer I have zucchini growing in the garden.  Initially the two (yes two) plants I've grown from seed did really well.  Then, after a very wet period, one of the plants developed a fungal disease and a treatment with an organic spray didn't prevent it's loss.

The one healthy plant continued to grow and I have harvested around eleven fruit off the plant.
Next six days of temperatures over 35oC and all the developing fruit shrivelled up.

Today, (after a short spell of cooler days) the flowers are back, and I have at least two fruit well on their way.

I have been assisting fertilization of the female flowers by collecting pollen from the male flowers, using a small paint brush, and dusting it onto the pistels of the female flowers.
The fruit is so fast growing that I swear that if I sat by the zucchini plant all day, I'd actually see the fruit grow!
I plan to make a little more room for zucchini in my vegetable patch next summer.

There are between twenty and thirty sage plants growing in two pots in my herb section of the garden.  Herbs seem to grow best, perhaps because they are growing in pots rather than in the poor soil typical of my local area.
Sage leaves, quickly browned in butter until crisp, make a tasty garnish for many dishes.
Most of my herbs are protected from our family of brush tail possums with either chicken wire or bird netting.