More strawberries next year!

Now is the time to get your new strawberry seedlings propagated for next year. Just peg a runner from the parent plant onto a pot of soil with a bent paper clip and eventually it will set its own roots so you can sever the 'umbilical' cord when it establishes itself. More strawberries next year!

Home grown fresh tomatoes

There's nothing better than home grown fresh tomatoes and right now they are in abundance in my backyard garden. There's always more to pick everyday and we have to pick them before they fully ripen and let them ripen indoor so the bugs don't get to them first. We use them in most of our dishes be them just salad, stir fry or use them in sauce, salsa or chutney. Whatever way they are used they will be yummy.

It's a jungle in there!

I've been slack on keeping my greenhouse tomatoes pruned and they've grown out of control. Looks like a jungle in there! Anyway even if I was on top of the pruning this greenhouse is still too small for growing tomatoes. I need a bigger greenhouse but I don't have the space for it..

Showy cacti

I can't remember where I got these cacti from but they sure have multiplied with showy display every year. All they need is some water with plenty of sunshine and stand back and watch them do what they do best; showing off.

Avon Rose

The Avon Rose growing in my front yard is a hybrid tea rose with good fragrance and long stem blooms. The dark red flowers hold their colour well even in hot weather thus making it one of the better cut flowers.

Lili Marlene Rose

While we're talking about floribunda roses, another favourite is Lili Marlene. Surprisingly they look very much like Icebergs roses but red. They do attract powdery mildew quite easily unlike the Icebergs.

La Minuette Rose

La Minuette Rose is a nice little floribunda rose which will do well in a decent size pot. White with hot pick edge blooms are great for bouquets.

Double Delight Roses

Double Delight Roses are a favorites in our household for its perfume and lovely two tone color of white center with red outer petals. So that's why we have a few bushes growing together because they look spectacular en mass in bloom.

Camp David Rose..I think.

This is Camp David Rose..I think. That's because I've moved my roses from one place to another that I may have gotten them mixed up now, especially if they're similar in color or types. Well I'm 90% sure its Camp David because it has that blood red color, lovely sweet fragrance and tall hybrid tea trait.

Bearded Iris Silkirim

Another of my favorite bearded iris would have to be Silkirim. Nice isn't it? Too bad they don't last very long..so enjoy while we can.

Princess Alexandra of Kent Rose

Another rose I bought on the weekend was Princess Alexandra of Kent, a David Austin Rose. It has large flowers of a warm, glowing pink. They are full-petaled and deeply cupped in shape, all enclosed in a ring of outer petals of a softer pink; creating a most pleasing effect. And the fragrance is magnificent!

Blooming marvelous!

Blooming marvelous!  We're having a few hot days so all the icebergs are blooming their heads off. Any hotter and they'll burn.

Harvesting Garlic

Woohoo! I'm harvesting my garlic! These are the first lot of garlic I've ever grown so I'm really excited. I can't remember the date I put them in the ground..probably around March so they should be ready by now. Traditionally you should plant garlic on Australia Day and harvest them on Melbourne Cup Day but I go with my instinct so here they are. I'll keep them in a cool dry place and they should keep for some times.

Burgundy Iceberg

I succumbed to my temptation; I bought another rose bush on the weekend! Its the Burgundy Iceberg I was telling you about. So now I have the whole Iceberg Roses Collection from the white iceberg to blushing pink, brilliant pink and now finally the burgundy pink.

Broad beans update

Finally we have some broad beans we can harvest. They sure take a long time to grow but now they have pods growing everywhere so we might just keep them for a little bit longer.

Joyfulness Rose

Another favorite rose of ours is Joyfulness; a hybrid tea rose with long stem and big blooms. Excellent as cut flowers so the flowers usually last longer as cut flowers rather than leaving them on the plant at the mercy of the weather and pests.

Bearded Iris Burgundy Bubbles

Here's another of my bearded iris collection and its called Burgundy Bubbles. It has a strange strong smell, not a bad smell but kind of like chocolaty?

Groovy!

All my hippies come out to play. Peace, Love & Groovy Baby!

Bearded Iris Sound of Gold

Bearded Iris is another one of my favorites to grow in my backyard. They're easily propagated from rhizomes but the only drawback is that they only bloom in spring. Some may bloom again in the cooler autumn weather but they're generally not continuous flowering. I have eight varieties growing and this one is Sound of Gold, the only yellow one I have.

Christian Dior Rose

The Christian Dior rose is a classic long stem hybrid tea red rose with strong perfume. However I think nowadays there are better looking roses out there that smell even better. So maybe they need to come up with a new and improved Christian Dior Rose if it has to live up to the name.