Friday, October 21, 2011

Coming up the path to the front door

is a pretty little trip
at this time of the year.
Everything is so green
and new
and lush.
And plants seem to sprout and grow taller
before your very eyes.


The perfume of the magnolia
and wisteria
is divine.

Here's Charlie,
our super energetic cat!
He has a spot picked out for each part of the day -
mornings are on the front chair ...
then he moves round to the north side of the house...
early afternoon is spent in the garden against the back fence...
late afternoon it's the top of the outdoor table...
and finally just before dinner time,
it's the back porch.
His exercise for the day comprises
the stroll
between sun traps!
Just as well he is cute!
How else could you get away with being soooo lazy!


Unlike Charlie,
I've been a little less lazy :)
This was the state of our glasshouse
after being abandoned over winter...


Not a pretty sight.
It's had a bit of a tidy up,
'cos I'm determined to make it work this year.
I am struggling to grow tomatoes here,
not through any lack of trying though.
The first year was a disaster,
the second year only marginally better.
Well,
this year,
I have read,
and googled,
and got all the information.
I have cleaned it from top to toe
and I've painted the fence behind it
('cos somewhere along the way I read it helps
if there is a dark wall behind,
it helps radiate the heat - makes' sense I thought).
I've planted my first four tomatoes,
and I also planted seeds for more.
Who knows what will happen,
but if determination counts for anything,
I'm winning :)


I've decided to have a go at growing quite a few things from seed,
some vegie seeds,
and flower seeds.
Hope they ''happen''


This is one of them that is happening:)
and I am quite excited really.
It's a sweet pea seedling,
liberally surrounded by a dozen or so snail pellets!!
I've not had much success with these either.
Mostly when I plant them,
not a single sprout appears,
so you can imagine my surprise
and delight,
when I spotted several of these coming through the ground
a couple of days ago.
The snails don't stand a chance!!!
I have also had stern words with Charlie
as these are planted in the back garden,
and I do not want to see him park his furry body on top of them
whilst sunning himself!!
I have dreamy notions
of vases of sweet pea
liberally dotted around the house
filling the rooms with their perfume:))
I'll let you know how that dreams pans out!

And what's so interesting about this picture...


... well, not so much really
except that the hedge that's growing behind the wooden fence
used to be another 15 - 20 foot higher
until yesterday.
I feels like someone has turned the light on
in the back garden.
I cannot get over how much light the hedge was blocking.
This is going to help my tomatoes
I'm sure.
I'm also thinking
we will have about another two or three hours
of sun in the afternoon
before it disappears.
Guess Charlie will be happy about that too.
I'm off to check my seeds:)
See you.



2 comments:

Elizabeth said...

You have been sooooooooooooo busy. I don't know how how you do it all. Your place looks sonice, I can't wait to visit. I just love Charlie

Leeanne said...

Well you are not like that cat of yours! I used to have a great vege garden and spent many hours tending the vege and flower patches, but no longer, not with my quilting business and two sporty teens.If it wasn't for these sporty teens I would still have a vege garden with knee high weeds.
Always a pleasure to visit your patch.