A SUMMER SURPRISE.....

We have returned home to the heat....not the heat of Melbourne mind you, though I found some days there unbearably hot as the heat rose from the ground to sear my face. That was when the temperature was over the 40 mark, and I can't begin to know how it was around a year ago when the searing heat  was in excess of 46 degreesC... and so many people lost their lives in the firestorms.  

No...this is tropical heat and humidity accompanied by rain....rain....rain.  The wet season has returned after years of pretense and we are back to what we used to know....and I'm not liking it one little bit. 

But something wonderful has happened to my front garden.....  My waterwise garden, filled with heat loving plants, needing very little attention, fertilizer or water has suddenly bloomed with a wonderful massed display of white crocus, revelling in the inches of rain that has poured from the sky.....

    So I have taken some pics to share with you....

             Still wet with the morning rain...so beautiful

 

These little flowers are taking great pleasure

in the hot wet summer days........

RAINDROPS ON ROSES......

Don't you love the rain?

Just look at these raindrops on the white rose,
making the most of their time before the sun comes out
when they'll disappear, leaving everything they touch refreshed.....

So many songwriters have been inspired by the rain -

Come Rain Come Shine
September in the Rain
A Rainy Night in Georgia
Rainy Days and Mondays
Didn't it Rain
Here Comes the Rain Again
I Can't Stand the Rain
Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head
and that's just a few that come to mind........

Hopefully , the lawns will return, the gardens grow
and the dams will fill with this precious commodity

My newly planted veggies will make the most of it.

Just check out this italian parsley........

Seems to have grown overnight

Make the most of your time in the sun little plant,
You'll soon be adorning some of my wonderful winter dishes !

THE LAST OF THE CROP

We've had a great crop of lemons this year.

The lemon tree is the preserve of the man of the house, and I don't go there..... The only thing I'm allowed to do is pick them, but only when I've been given permission by the boss of the tree !

These are the last of the crop, and some are about to find their way into my pantry in little bottles. They'll be ready for active duty in about 6 weeks

I just love the taste of preserved lemons. They add tang and flavour and give a real LIFT to many of the dishes we'll have during the winter..... Tasty tagines with their middle eastern spices.....rissottos cooked to perfection (sometimes), with fresh salmon....and the wonderful pastas with pesto, smoked salmon and a good splash of olive oil. Yum...I can taste them already.

But duty calls and I must away to the kitchen.......

ALMOST GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT !

I'm a gardener, or so I like to think. But I'm always amazed when I watch the gardening programs on TV, just how little I know.

I become very enthused after watching Peter Cundall (now retired ) and his ilk, making things look just so easy......mmm...I think to myself, I could grow/ do/ make one just like that ! But does it ever happen. You guessed it. By the time I've made the trip to the back garden, if the enthusiasm hasn't already waned, the sight of the weed infested plot soon puts paid to any ideas I might have had to try something different.

The thing that really gets me about these TV shows is, how come the soil looks so rich and moist, just like a chocolate cake, yes, almost good enough to eat ?

Mine on the other hand.....well enough said, but it's not for lack of trying. I've got the compost bin, the grass clippings, the shredded paper, the veggie scraps, blood and bone. My garden shed is filled with all the goodies needed for success (environmentally correct of course) and I've got the books, the newspaper cuttings et al. I even belong to a garden club, and regularly discuss my failings with other members, who sympathize but don't have the answers.

However.....things are starting to change. What do you think of this great pumpkin ! Isn't it something ? Huge !!

Unfortunatley.... it's not mine. It's one that grew in Pete's Patch in the Botanical Gardens in Tassie. I'm hoping for one just like it soon.

I'll keep you posted.....