Hot, dry and thirsty....

People who are into gardens, generally love to hear about all kinds of gardening around the world too. Since I have joined the realm of the' Blogger', I now have a more intimate insight into gardens on the other side of the world. I read lots of other gardening blogs and am always fascinated to read about the opposite seasons of what we have. Their seasons are not only opposite to what we are experiencing, but often a lot harsher than ours.

 Whilst I pray (and whinge a fair bit) about the drought we are sick of, and the extreme heat - that we're over! I read about many folks on the other side of the world, tucked up inside, with snow, rain and chill .Short days with no hope of any gardening for months! I wondered what it would be like to have no garden for months, asleep under the snow till Spring . The dedication of the gardeners who move all manner of tender plants into hothouses, covering others with snow protection blankets and placing tender seedlings indoors! Saying farewell to their gardens as they lose leaves and go to sleep for the season under a blanket of cold snow. I realise that I am fortunate to live in a temperate region that varies greatly with four seasons, but still allows me to garden year round. We have harsh conditions in many parts of Australia that certainly try the keenest gardener, and maybe that's why I'm always buggered and English gardeners are ready to garden like the clappers come spring. They're all rested up over winter!

Still, a decent rain, would certainly bring a little joy back into my garden and free up some of the time I spend watering and moving hoses - remember! we are on one and a half acres - no easy feat to keep watered.

This isn't gardening!! It's exhausting, and still looks dry and crappy. I don't bother with many 'pretties' this time of the year, it's hard enough keeping established plants alive. I'm also holding off from giving all my roses ( many,many roses) the summer prune they need - I don't want to scorch the foliage that will be exposed on extremely hot days -February is usually our hottest month! I never thought I'd be one of those people wishing summer over, yet please, please let it be over. Bush fires started our Spring off, the worst our State has seen, and it's been a hot, dry summer ever since. (Sigh)

It's threatened to rain many times, and even teased with a light shower - you know, just enough misty rain to wet the leaves. I've used wetting agents this year with gay abandon, and yet the soils are dry and large cracks are now appearing. The clay soils here swell with rain and literally shrink with drought, often damaging the root systems of trees and shrubs and lawn. It`s stormy again this week. Please, please let it RAIN............woohoo, it`s finally raining!

Froggy Boy and that other strange thingy.

Froggy Boy lives in my greenhouse. He mostly lives in a tall thin jar that has water in it and an ivy growing roots. I don't know where he came from, we generally don't get frogs up around the house even though we have the large pond some distance away. Anyway, Froggy Boy has been keeping me company for a few months now, in his jar. I replace the water every now and then with rainwater from the tank when he is not at home. I don`t know where he goes when he`s not in his jar but he usually turns up next time I`m in the greenhouse. He has plenty of mosquitos to eat - not sure what else he dines on though.

I moved the jar today into a spot where he has more foliage when he climbs out. Hope he approves.

And this is the other odd thingamy,  hanging off the handle of my clothesline.

It`s a cocoon of some sort, a moth or butterfly I suppose. You always think I`ll keep an eye on it and see what comes out. But you usually just find an empty cocoon one day. I`ll try to keep a close watch on it to share with you when it comes out.

Trouble in Paradise

What trouble I hear you asking. Trouble of the worst kind....Pond trouble. Oh, ?...what`s wrong with the pond? HOLES IN THE LINER trouble. Now if you have a small pond, you`ll be thinking - cant be that bad, can it? Well the short answer is YES it`s BIG trouble, cause my pond is the size of a small dam and FULL TO THE GILLS of fish and aquatic plants, concrete beach, wooden jetty and massive sandstone rocks all around! This is what it used to look like.........

 

The pond is now about sixteen years old and the liner is on the way out. I have done some remarkable repairs over the last few years but now we have so many issues that it`s time to plan how we are going to fix this problem, hopefully permanently.

After extensive research, it amounts to this - new liner with possible future problems OR concrete. The liner is the cheapest solution, but will still cost over $2000! Concrete on the other hand is more expensive but more permanent, without the ongoing issues we have had with a liner.

So, I have just completed my absolutely last repair job on the pond, having to let the water levels drop very low to do this. Many of the established plants on the outside of the pond and liner are finding ways to get their thirsty roots in! This is when I knew it`s cover it in, OR fix it up, time.

 

 

So, what to do. It looks like we have to take it all apart and start again. NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT, but it looks like that's how we will be breaking our backs this autumn.

There is a tonne of silt on the bottom of the pond, super heavy plants that have grown up and over the original baskets they were planted in, an over abundance of koi fish of all sizes. The wooden jetty, set in pots full of concrete around the jetty feet and a concrete shallow beach area where the kids used to catch tadpoles when they were little, are going to be a challenge. All of this has got to come out! Then we have to somehow stockpile the fish and plants somewhere else for a few weeks while the work is done. (should be interesting catching them)

That`s a lot of work before the hard work begins! No wonder we have put it off for as long as possible. My backs aching just thinking about it!

 

So I guess I`ll start pruning plants back and work out a plan of attack. There are many prized plants around the pond that will need to be protected like the Weeping Japanese Maple. I always get a bit anxious when concrete trucks, pumps and workmen traipse about the site without any thought to the years of growth on the surrounding site. I`m pretty sure I will be hovering anxiously when the time comes, trying to protect plants I cant remove. Will keep you posted when we make a move on the pond in cooler weather.....