My weekly blogs

Well the early frost I have predicted has arrived and I have just managed to get most of my tender plants inside. The ones that can take a little colder temperatures like the Large Tree Fern, Ginger Lily, Grevillea, Fuchsia and the Sky Flower have been covered with some bubble-wrap. The garden is in a mess at the moment as I have been digging up several trees and plants to bring inside where they will reside until late spring next year. Living in a small house necessitates being ruthless with getting rid of things that you do not require, including plants. I have had to prune heavily the Iochroma cynea as it has grown so tall I could not get inside the conservatory. There is also a lot of prunings to shred and leaves to tidy up and bulbs to plant still.

At long last I have found some time to update this blog. Things have been slow in the garden the last few weeks and I am just caching up in my preparations for the winter that I think is coming earlier than usual. The winds we had earlier has blown down the Castor Oil plant, but I have tied it back and it is still growing well. The Angels Trumpet has recovered from the earlier frost and is producing some flowers. The last of the Chilli peppers has been harvested and is being used in various meals. Several of the more tender plants have been dug up and after being washed are being brought inside for the winter. Shown here are a grafted hibiscus that produces red or white flowers, yellow Lantana, Tropical Fuchsia and Cestrum. The place where the pots have been removed is being re-planted with pots of bulbs that has been planted last year.

The frost earlier this month caught the Angels Trumpet a little, but it is recovering. The Bomerea is still flowering and producing seed pods. The grape vine is gradually being pruned. The Pheonix palm is outgrowing its pot and will have to be taken down and re-pot.