Winter is officially here

We enjoyed our usual warm and wind free Autumn months right up until the 1st of June but the last 10 days have seen winter blow in convincingly.

My frangipanis are slow to lose their leaves and the odd flower but the Crepe myrtles are bare and the climbing Wisteria is yellowing.

I lost my Dad late last year and this really affected my ability to ensure I had succession flowers for Autumn and as such I was not able to supply flowers for Mother's Day in May for the first time since starting to sell my flowers three years ago. We returned him to Lightning Ridge NSW for Anzac Day (April 25) as promised with a little of him sprinkled in his favourite places since then.

It is remarkable how many plants have seeded themselves in my growing area - I did manage to get on top of the weeding ( we have had some lovely wet weather lately but not too much as elsewhere) and was careful to thin and leave in the young seedlings that I have come to be able to recognise at such an early stage of growth. Larkspurs and lace flowers should be ready for early Spring harvest.

I have successfully grown Anemone from seed collected last year and the Ranunculi corms that I dug up and replanted are looking lush - fingers crossed for lots of pretty long lasting blooms this Spring.

The roses are even offering a few of their beautiful fragrant blooms before having a well earned rest.

The Dahlias have all gone to sleep and provided some seed to save for next years "wait and sees". I have many second and third year plants for the 25/26 season that are promising merely as garden favourites not so much as cut flower unicorns. I have begun digging up tubers and placing them into storage. I hope to have many of my collection available for purchase from September. I will again make them available at our local markets as I enjoyed this very much last year.

We have a new pup - Matilda - she is a blue cattle who's parents were stumpy tails but she has a lovely white tail intact. At three months old she is a blur of action with so much to learn about our crazy world.

If you read this far - thank you - I hope you enjoy the cooler months - hibernate, be kind to yourself, eat comfort foods and remember to breathe. x