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Its spring in Melbourne and I thought I would take a few photographs of flowering ornamentals.  These are African Daisies and as tough as old boots, but don't they look great.

Clivia are a striking plant, shade loving and drought tolerant, though they have benefited from our rather cool wet winter this year.

Spanish bluebells grow freely under our Apricot tree.  They contrast well with the Clivia in the background.

This Californian Lilac is sweet smelling and beautiful in spring.  It attracts pollinators more than any other plant in my garden.

I usually give the lawn a top dressing of sieved homemade compost every 3 months, and its due now.  I don't think it needs it yet though, so I'll skip it this time.

September 2016.

Here's a look at what's going on in my garden today.
 
My Freesias are starting to flower, and this one already fills the courtyard with its buttery-sweet aroma.

If you look carefully you can see a few greenfly on my rose. I washed them off yesterday, but I may have to spray them with Eco-oil to remove them entirely.

I really like this pink Camelia, but I must find a solution to the leaf damage I seem to get every year.

Its been flowering profusely for 3 months, and is still providing me with specimens like this one to enjoy. The bee seems to be enjoying it at least as much as I am.

Similarly, this Hebe has been flowering through most of the winter.

August 2016

Its 9 months since this all organic lawn was layed.  Its still healthy and growing well even though its a summer variety, which is supposed to dislike cold weather.  

Its been top dressed twice (at 3 monthly intervals) with a 9litre bucket full of granulated chicken manure, but I plan to change to sieved homemade compost in future.  

It's spring next week and I have been sowing summer flowers in my propagators.

Just a few days ago, I planted flower, veggie and herb seeds in 2 of my 3 propagators and most of them are already starting to break the surface of the soil.  They include Marigolds(s), Lupins, Coneflower, Nasturtiums(s), Red Salvias(s), Sunflowers(s), King Red Rex Proteas(s) and King Cream Proteas(s), and they will all be planted out in a few weeks.  Those marked with an (s)  are saved seeds.

In my 3rd propagator, I am growing Lavendar, Pink Geranium, Red Geranium, Coleus, Marguerite Daisy and New Guinea Impatiens cuttings taken from plants in my garden. 

Most of the seeds are growing in jiffy (fibre) pots.  (2 seeds in each pot to be thinned to the strongest seeding), but I have also sown batches of seeds in plastic mini pots, and they will need to be transplanted later into more jiffy pots.  This will take up quite a bit of space, so to free up that space I will need to plant out cuttings and early seedlings as soon as possible. 

 

May 2016.

These Purple Coneflowers are a new addition to my collection, and I'm looking forward to following their progress when I transplant them into a drip irrigated bed in my front garden next spring.  From what I have read they will grow well in our climate and attract pollinating insects.

April 2016

The new lawn in February.

December 2015.

Its summer and a little late to be laying a new lawn, but here goes.  I have just finished making hot compost, and have used 9 wheelbarrow loads of it and 8 bags of aged cow manure to cover the prepared ground and embed the drip irrigation system.

The turf has been ordered and will be delivered in about a weeks time.  I will spray its roots with aerated compost tea before laying, and meanwhile I will be busy keeping the soil and compost moist and protected with shade cloth so the microbes can get busy preparing the soil.

Same view showing the irrigation laid in a grid pattern.

November 2015 (2)

This Carpet Rose has a rambling habit, but it makes a welcoming sight positioned here alongside our drive.

November 2015

The Victorian State Rose Garden Annual show was very well attended this year and the weather although a little cool at first was beautiful.

The roses were about a week past their very best, but nevertheless a fine display as usual.
 
Located 32 kilometers south west of Melbourne in the city of Wyndham, the State Rose Garden was awarded the International Garden of Excellence by the World Federation Of Rose Societies in 2003, it was the first rose garden outside of Europe to receive this Award and the only one (at that time) cared for entirely by volunteers.

August 2015 (3)

Next week is spring and the red camelia is still flowering profusely.  This bloom is rather special, I dont think I've seen better since the plant was purchased over 20 years ago.

This polyanthus was a pot plant this time last year, so I am very pleased its flowering so prettily this year in the raised bed.

Still filling the courtyard with wonderful aromas every day, this daphne has flowered right through winter.

August 2015 (2)

Its still winter here in Melbourne, and colder than usual, but in 2 weeks to the day it will be spring.  My flowering plants already know this, and are making preparations for the warmer weather to come.  My apricot tree is the first of my fruiting trees to come into blossom, and a welcome sight it is.

This nasturtium has survived the winter although it was knocked about a bit by frost earlier in the month.  Its a beautiful plant and it is edible.  I eat the peppery/sweet leaves to help me with digestion, and they work well.

This Hebe loves the cooler weather.  Its a handsome plant and the flowers are a delight.  Great to have it around this time of year, and I think I will take some cuttings again this year.

Another winter flowering favourite, hellebore flower all winter and are as tough as boot leather.  They grow under the canopy of deciduous trees and thrive in partial shade.  I have recently planted a lemon coloured variety and a white and pink variety to add to my collection of this unusual plant which looks like its used to coping with snow.  (We don't get snow where I live).

They're so generous with their flowers these small cyclamen.  They look great in this bed nested amongst the lush green foliage of spanish bluebell and red clivia.

August 2015

After wrecking Lil's lawn by using it as a parking lot for surplus soil (making Ecobeds) for the last couple of years, its time to put things right.

Once I've trimmed the sleepers and bolted them together, I will lay the brick mowing strip on a concrete base and grout it in.  The ground will be dug and the subsoil broken up with a large crowbar.

A layer of compost will be added to the surface and drip line irrigation installed.  When the turf arrives I will spray the roots with aerated compost tea (high fungi concentration) before laying it.  The aim is to encourage the roots and attendant micorrhizal fungi to penetrate deep into the subsoil looking for ground water, and be as independant of irrigation as possible.

I have a few King Alfred daffodils in flower at the moment, they certainly help brighten up the garden in the rather bleak wintery weather we have been having lately.

Miniature cyclamen are great in a small urn like this one.  Once they have finished flowering, they will be transplanted into an adjacent irrigated garden bed.  I have a few of them scattered around the garden grown in the same way last year.  They will last several years with minimal care.

June 2015

We have just past the winter solstice here in Melbourne and although I dont have a lot of winter flowering plants here are a few of them.  The Camelia (above) is full of flower as usual, and although it is now at least 20 years old, this example is still compact and manageable due to regular pruning after flowering has finished.

I have about half a dozen Hebe varieties in my garden, but this is the only one which flowers in winter.  Its a handsom plant, but needs protection from hot summer sun.

This Jade bush flowers prolifically in winter and although it has been quite cool recently, we still have a few warmer sunny days to bring out the bees looking for pollen and nectar.

April 2015

If I had the space my front garden would look like this tranquil spot in the Geelong Botanical gardens.

February 2015 (2)

A robust and drought tolerant plant, this Sedum has such delicate flowers which morph from pale green buds to pink flowers to brown without losing their form.  A real asset in my small succulent garden area.

Bees love them too.

February 2015

This sunflower is about 7ft tall in the old language.  It has stood up to 41deg C temperatures and damaging winds without significant problems.

This lovely pale pink geranium decorates the end of one of my Garden Ecobeds.

Alongside the pink geranium above are a short row of red salvias, just starting to come into bloom.

This beautiful rich pink geranium is growing happily under the protective canopy of my olive tree.

November 2014.

This is Diana, Princess of Wales.  It was a birthday present from my youngest daughter last year.  Its still in a large pot, and I need to find it a new home soon.  Maybe I'll make a dedicated small Ecobed to do the job.

April 2014

This website contains information about some of the ornamental plants I grow in my garden.

I have an organic garden in the outer suburbs of Melbourne Australia.  Our climate is warm temperate with mild winters but subject to fierce heat in summer and occasional droughts.

My main website "Gardening with Ecobeds" introduces a new style of gardening designed to cope with the above challenging environment.

Other websites cover such topics as "Growing Organic Vegetables", "Growing Organic Herbs" and "Controlling Garden Pests".  The full list is shown in the sidebar.

Each website has an ongoing blog, which deals with new events in my garden, but the pages on each website are live and constantly updated as new ideas either work and are adopted or fail and are removed.  

Take a little time to check out my websites.  They are not commercial, and if you can find something helpful, I will be delighted.