Lessons learned in a winter garden

We have had a gloriously wet winter here in Adelaide, which has thankfully absolved me of any need to remember to water the garden. It has been so wet though, I think the correct adjective for the soil is soggy rather than damp, and that brings its own challenges.

Sunlight, Rain, and Waiting for Seeds to Germinate

Due to the constant rain, and accompanying cloudy weather, sunshine has been in short supply which has stunted the growth of some seeds that I planted several weeks ago. But now after a couple of weeks of sunshine, the nasturtiums, cornflowers and poppies have had a chance to germinate and finally get established. I check their progress every day and delight in every new leaf that I see.

 There is absolutely no sign at all of the ranunculus that I sowed from seed, rather recklessly ignoring all of the sage planting advice provided to me on the seed packet. In fact, I might have been so cavalier with regards to these seeds that I told them to ‘bloom where they are planted’. Well, they’ve shown me who’s boss.

I planted white anemones back in April, and they are flowering magnificently and are keeping the local bees busy collecting all of the pollen. There’s lots of leaves from the grape hyacinths, and jonquils, or maybe daffodils, time will tell, but as yet no flower spikes. The rain and lack of sunshine may mean that they just won’t flower this year.

Just before I hit the ‘publish’ button on this post, I saw the tiniest purple flowers on my grape hyacinths. I should have read ahead in this post about ‘patience’ being the feature of a successful gardener.

Garden Pests and the Art of Relocation

While there hasn’t been much to see in the plant area, there has been much activity in the garden pest area. In fact, the local caterpillars have adopted my garden as the sequel to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, voraciously munching their way through my geranium, Lamb’s Ears and of all things, Lavender. It is a twice daily task that I have set myself to go out and remove the caterpillars, by offering them a nice new home in the vacant garden over the back fence. There are plenty of juicy green weeds that could do with being eaten away by these little blighters, but they always seem to prefer my side of the fence.

On Monday he ate through one parsley leaf, on Tuesday he ate through 8 geranium leaves and was relocated to a abandoned garden…

Lessons in Overwatering: A Warning for Potted Lavender

Knowing myself as I do, I deliberately kept the plug in the bottom of the pot I planted lavender in. The plant was going to be kept on the verandah, well away from any rainfall, so having a way to retain any water that I remembered to give the plant seemed like a good idea.

One rainy day I decided to move this pot into an unsheltered position so that I wouldn’t have to water it by hand. Excellent thinking, I thought. 

Except, it rained for almost two weeks straight, and the pot filled with water, and lavender, a plant that can tolerate heat and periods of drought certainly did not appreciate the volume of water it was, frankly, swimming in.

This is not as bad a it got,unfortunately. You can’t see the lavender in the pot because it isn’t there, not submerged. Thought I should clarify that.

I have now removed the offending plug, drained out the water, and let the plant dry out. I hope it feels happier. I have asked it, but it was too offended by my previous treatment to offer me much of a reply.

To add insult to injury, I’ve also cut the lavender back. Tell me again why it eyes me suspiciously whenever I come near?

Planting Hyacinths and Learning the Art of Patience

Many weeks ago, I confided in my sister that I felt that I was in danger of becoming a version of Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bouquet for those far too young to understand the cultural reference), from the 1990s TV show Keeping Up Appearances. She loved a themed gathering, and spared no effort in putting one together. I think my favourite one was her Inside, Outside Barbecue with Finger Buffet. 

Happily, my sister reassured me that I do have a little way to go before I reach that level of affectation, but in the meantime, why don’t I plant a hyacinth bouquet?

I thought that was a brilliant idea and I set out that day to get my bulbs, and planted them at the requisite 12 cm deep. It's interesting to observe that  I took note of these planting instructions, unlike the ranunculus seeds. For many, many, many weeks there has been no indication of growth at all in that particular pot. I did begin to wonder if the bulbs had rotted with all of the rain we’ve had and they would need to be thrown away.

Imagine, if you will, my complete delight when I noticed green leaves emerging from the soil a few days ago, and just yesterday, I could see a cluster of tight green flower buds already formed, even before the leaves had fully grown from the soil.

Patience has its own rewards. It is also a virtue, so I am told

Cultivating a Niche Online Journal

This gave me a rather salient lesson. I love The Willows Journal, and it gives me so much delight and joy. The creative side of it, the self expression, writing, editing, photographing and learning all about the technical bits in the background. But, there is a very human part of me that would love to reach more readers, who seeks validation in that way, but TWJ is very niche. I understand that. It is a small and particular corner of the internet, in a time when we're often told that people aren't looking for stories about other people's lives, but answers to their own questions. 

However, little by little, I have faith that the seeds that I have planted with this little journal will grow. It is currently putting out its roots and letting them strengthen before the greenery pops its heads up over the rim of the pot. In the meantime, I’ll keep nurturing it, and most importantly of all, enjoying it. 

Its amazing to see how much growth can occur within just two weeks. I am looking forward to see what these look like in another fortnight

Over to you

Over to you…what is something in your life that you are waiting to bear fruit? How do you manage to keep your expectations realistic and your enthusiasm primed when all the work is unseen?

Darn possum follows me everywhere!