A hiatus

Wow, apologies for the lack of posting around here! I promise it was an unrealised self-imposed hiatus...life just gets so busy sometimes!

Yesterday was one of those "hey, let's do something today" days. We buzzed around the Brisbane area, visiting markets, hardware stores, plant shops, pet stores and got home around two. Filled with the excitement of...well, a Saturday, we immediately jumped in the garden and started hoeing the ground up to make it usable. Well, I say 'we'...I planted all the pots.

After mulch, fertiliser and a bit of fish water, we're ready for day two. Hopefully the winter this year won't be so cold, otherwise our babies will be gone before we know it (and the $100 they cost!).

Anyone doing any exciting work around the house/garden? If you just wish you were, check out the Pioneer Woman's "Home and Garden" section (I should get paid for this...).

My oh my!

All of my baby plants are growing so well! It must be the odd weather we are having, because everything is either flowering or bursting with fruit! The tomatoes are looking good; the pumpkin has flowers; the cucumbers have flowers; the eggplant is huge!

Spending the day with my washing machine...

Today's a ritual cleaning day in our house. Sundays are filled with washing powder, plastic gloves, pegs and newspapers. I love the feeling of stumbling out of bed, letting the Boy sleep for an extra half hour and just spending a few minutes by myself. I get to check on my plants and my birds, and I get to just revel in the joy of a Sunday morning.

This afternoon will be spent tidying, vaccuming, cooking, taste-testing, watering and perhaps some study for the four exams I have this week. But for now? I'm listening to the Buble (Michael Buble) and enjoying the lovely spring breeze floating through the veranda doors.

Nursery newborns...

Went to the nursery this afternoon, and went a tiny bit overboard. We bought passionfruit, mandarins, sweet potato, coriander, more basil, strawberries, eggplant, pumpkin, cucumber, carrots oregano and new lettuce! Our garden is beautiful now!

I have to draw up a plan, let me know if you have any tips (I know my lemon tree loves the sunshine)...I want it to be easy to walk around and stll see everything -- not that it's huge or anything, I just am used to the few pots on the side of the balcony).

Next up -- fruit salad trees! What a lovely idea.


(This is my mandarin tree - so excited!)

Let it grow, let it grow, let it grow!

This is my garden. Seeing as we live on the 2nd floor of an apartment block, we don't have a lot of room to spare for my little plants. I have: a lemon tree (dwarf), lettuces (3x), tomatoes (2x), basil, rosemary, broccoli, zucchini and celery. [Sorry the photos are so dark -- they seemed quite a bit lighter this morning!]



But they still grow quite well (this is my buddy basil). This is the oldest plant I have and, as you can see, is getting quite woody. Will need to be replaced soon.


This is the ever pretty celery. Got it at a green market for quite the good price.


This is the tomato plant my sister gave me (one of two). They seem to be doing ok with the height difference, but we'll see :)


Lettuce plant! So handy and so big! Again, from a green market. It was convieniently planted with three types of lettuce, so it's like a mixed salad straight from the garden.



This is the beginnings of a beautiful friendship (my broccoli plant). I always stress that seeds won't grow so I overplant just about everything and then am always quite sheepish when they are so close together.