Friday, October 1, 2010

Back From Holidays

We have been away for a little while on a family trip to Victoria, so what's happening in our garden now?

Before we left, I madly planted out all the vegetable seedlings I had in our damp soil. It doesn't seem to have rained while we were away, but most seedlings survived. I also committed an act of vandalism, cutting off every flower on my 'Purple Podded Dutch' peas. Peas take about a week to reach picking size from flowers, and mine had just started flowering. If I had left the flowers, the plants would have gone to seed before we returned. It paid off -- I returned home to this:


There are plenty of other flowers around too. My quince, which was only in bud when we left, is now in full bloom:


And so is the chervil (Pity! I will plant more):


The Melaleuca nodosa is covered in creamy fluff-balls:


And I was able to pick this lovely 'Forellenschuss' lettuce:


A quick wander down the back showed me that the Cheese Tree was producing. The fruits aren't edible, but they are fun to look at.



And on our first evening home my husband discovered this handsome fellow in the laundry. He is standing at the back of the laundry tub, and the metal splashback is 55mm high, so this huntsman could fit comfortably on a man's palm. I love them -- unless I'm surprised by them! The most dangerous thing about huntsmen is the way people react to their imposing size.


We are also being entertained by the local magpie family. Their two chicks have fledged and are following their parents around the neighbourhood, squawking for food all the while. I managed to catch an overworked parent about to apply the grub to the gullet.


Stay tuned for my travel photos!

3 comments:

Lanie said...

Your quince tree is beautiful. I love coming back from holidays to see the garden (no other reason, just the garden).

Jamie said...

I'm with Lanie re the quinces, but I was going to say about that beautiful tree: "envy, envy, envy" as well as "hope it fruits beautifully!" And yes, holiday snapz please.

Anonymous said...

I'm loving the purple pea pods :)
...and I haven't seen a cheese tree in ages :)