frazzled sugarplum mum AKA KittyZ in the Chaos Cave

While pruning the couple of roses I have, I decided to stick the cuttings into pots. They are doing well for all I just left them outside. The cuttings were from my one and only tree...a white..........and a small pink climber. There is also lemon balm, candy tuft, dianthus, chrysanthemum, lavender, sage, hydranger, passionfruit, ivy and oregano. The passionfruit, roses, candy tuft, dianthus, lavender, sage and oregano have obviously taken. 

I have finished putting the bark down around the high raised garden beds at the bottom of the yard. This also included putting up a double 'just big enough' chicken wire compost bin lined with cardboard. The former compost area will be either a pumpkin site or a comfrey one. The pumpkins could always  take over the lawn. The unfinished bed is 2 sleepers high unlike the other beds next to it which are 3 sleepers high. They don't look that deep because the bark covers the bottom sleeper. I was planning on making this the legume bed for this coming growing season.  Maybe I should raise it higher????
I planted a mulberry tree in the corner of the lawn area, iris in the narrow bed along the top of the rock wall and yellow and pink/white short Asiatic lilies across the front of the mulberry bed and along the high side fence bed. I have 20 more orange ones to plant but the bed I was thinking of hasn't been finished.


I also planted a native climber at the foot of the low brick wall. Eventually it will grow along a trellis running the length of the wall and accompany kiwi fruit and passionfruit.

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I finished the floral Jacob's Ladder Quilt Block that I was doing as an extra to the CW BOM on About.com/quilting Handpiecing Forum. I had endless trouble with this machine pieced block. The handpieced block had gone so well.  It was my fault and included not cutting the right sizes, machine playing up....the usual. The colours are too saturated in the photo.

#3 son helped by putting wire on the frame for the climber and a grape vine.

 

Mushroom that has come up in one of the vegie beds.

Broad beans.

Mustard.

and a very early, sprung up from nowhere pumpkin.

Well I have discovered another wonderful gardening blog full of the most amazing pictures of flowers, a great garden and loads of sound advise. It also happens to link to some of my favourite blogs and others that I have sneeked a peek at: I can see that I will love them too.

http://fennelandfern.co.uk/

Below is a short introduction from their blog.

This is who we are

Fennel and Fern provides fresh inspiration for gardeners through stylish photography, inspiration boards, profiles of real gardens and expert advice. We want to empower a new generation of gardeners to take up spades against a gradual separation from the land. Gardening is not a terrifying science for older people. It starts in your window box or on your desk, and extends over the 270,000 hectares of gardens in the UK. We're passionate about working with nature, and this means organic wildlife gardening. If those words sound off-putting, read on. It's not as fantastic as it seems.

Some of the fruit tree order arrived yesterday: two cherries, three apples and two nectarines.  I was going to keep them in pots because of the heavy clay soil. However, after some checking it seems that the gyspum I added a couple of months ago has worked well enough in the large bed and the fence bed to allow direct planting.   The clay in these two beds has broken down quite a bit. Besides the gypsum I added blood and bone to attract worms and plenty of mushroom compost. I would have added manure if I could have got some. I don't have a car.  Besides the fruit I also planted some shrubs that have been sitting in pots.

My garden beds have looked a little funny with all the pots sitting in them. It looks like I am growing pots instead of flowers and trees. It took me all day to do the planting and other jobs but I was very happy at the end of it.



The cherries ...Compact Stella...went along the side fence.  That bed had to be widened. Compact Stella is a self pollinator that keeps to less than 3 metres high. 

 ]

The apples are dwarf  'Ballerina' columnar trees....Polka, Bolero and Flamenco.
They grow up to 3.5 metres tall and up to 60cm wide.  Perfect for my bed.



The Nectazee nectarines are miniatures growing no more 1.5 high and wide.  It is difficult to see the nectarines in the photos as they blend in with the compost.
Three nectarines, including two boronia, and the camelia were replanted.



The climber was also removed from  its pot and put in the ground. 
Remaining pots mark spots for future fruit tree/vine planting.

No, there were no disaster! 

We have had several days of rain which was great for all my water tubs but probably doesn't speak well of my gutters as most of it was collected outside my side door from overflow. Have to get up there .... now that will be a sight. It is a lovely sunny day today so the plants will probably have a boost. I went out to get some rose cuttings and ended up weeding the top garden and chopping up prunings straight onto the bark. I also dispersed some ripe agapanthus seeds....who knows?? .....and took cuttings from lavender, the grevillea  and the English Box (I think that is what it is). The driveway now has multiple stems and weeds drying out on it. That's my excuse anyway for not having got back up the hill to clear them. Along the way I weeded the North side bed of the @#!^*# onion weed which I have been weeding everywhere else too. More about that next post.

A quick tour of the garden revealed that it hadn't been washed away and that most everything was doing OK. At least that's what I think...being a newbie at all this I'm not sure what I am supposed to expect.
First snow pea flower....Whooohooooo and they are growing.

  
The strawberries have settled in.
 
The Chinese Greens in the garden bed are happy and the bugs love them so much they are leaving everything else alone. I say ...at this stage...enjoy ...but I'd best get out the organic spray. Garlic is happy.



Bok Choi is happy.



and everything in the larger three raised beds seem happy.

I have finished June's Civil War BOM.. Jacob's Ladder is also called Underground Railroad.

It was handpieced.

I am taking part in a BOM (Block of the Month) on the Handpiecing forum of About.com/quilting.
http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ab-quilting&tid=57777

The theme is CW ...Civil War...blocks. Quilting101 on Civil War Quilts http://www.quilting101.com/styles/civil-war-quilts.html

1. June ....Jacob's Ladder.
http://www.womenfolk.com/quilt_pattern_history/underground_railroad.htm
http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/bible_quilt/bible_ladder.htm
For the pattern: Marcia Hohn's Quilters Cache, Jacob's Ladder: http://www.quilterscache.com/J/JacobsLadderBlock.html

My fabrics for this block will be red/rust and blue.



While aware of the questions of authenticity of some of the blocks thought of as CW Era (see Barbara Brackman :Author and Quilt Historian:
http://www.barbarabrackman.com/index.aspx  we are not worrying about this too much in keeping with our motto...STRESS FREE BOM. We want involvement to be as stress free as possible and to include as many as want to join in the quilting circle.

Facts and Fabrications, Unraveling the History of Quilts & Slavery: http://www.ctpub.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=1049
International Quilt Study Centre & Museum, Lecture "The Underground Railroad Quilt Controversy: Looking for the Truth" by Laurel Horton.
http://www.quiltstudy.org/connections/resources/podcasts_video.html

The only requirement is to be working on a CW block each month.

Some participants will be doing the same block every month ex those doing Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilts. Other's like myself will be following through a selected block each month. Still others will be working on the blocks for other patterns doing the Underground Railway Quilt, Dear Jane Quilt, Baby Jane, The Freedom Quilt, Civil War Sampler, Civil War Heritage and many other Reproduction Quilt patterns. For some beautiful photos of these see http://dchuntington.blogspot.com/

Dear Jane: http://www.dearjane.com/

Even though the BOM will be conducted on the Handpiecing forum those participants who want to use a sewing machine are most welcome,

Again in keeping with the stress free motto those participants who would prefer to use their stash and use fabrics not generally considered CW are welcome to do so. The ladies of the Era would have used whatever they had to hand as well.

Participants can start at any time as well as feel free to leave off whenever they like.

Some more links and lots of photos:

For a complete overdose of Civil War blocks try webshots:
http://www.webshots.com/search?query=civil+war+quilt+blocks&new=1&source=chromeheader
Overdose on Flikr:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=civil+war+quilt+blocks
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=civil+war+quilts&m=text
Underground Railroad:
http://www.webshots.com/search?media=photo&query=underground+railroad&queryChannel=&sortBy=&source=search_menu
Jacob's Ladder:
http://www.webshots.com/search?media=photo&query=underground+railroad+jacobs+ladder&queryChannel=&sortBy=&source=search_menu
http://www.flickr.com/photos/knitsmith/2594793689/
Dear Jane:
http://www.webshots.com/search?media=photo&query=Dear+Jane&queryChannel=&sortBy=&source=search_menu
Barbara Brackman's Fact sheet on the Quilt Code:
http://www.womenfolk.com/quilt_notes/brackman-ugrr-quilts.htm
Terry Clothier Thompson, Civil War Quilts:
http://www.terrythompson.com/civil1.html

A few friends have asked about what gardening sites I like and which have inspired me in my 2 month old gardening journey. Some are from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Those highlighted in red are my favourites.  Readers have to remember that if they want to take note of articles and information from a different hemisphere then the "facing the sun" is opposite to what they are used to.

The Organic Gardener  http://www.the-organic-gardener.com/
Cornell University   http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gardening/homegardening/index.html
The Dervae's Family   http://www.youtube.com/user/dervaes,
Herbs   http://www.youtube.com/user/kldhf524
GardenWeb http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/
The Bayou Gardener  http://www.youtube.com/user/webcajun

Aussie writer, gardener and connoisseur Jackie French   http://www.jackiefrench.com/garden.htm
Christian's smallholding somewhere in Victoria   http://www.youtube.com/user/theproducegarden
Claire's allotments somewhere in the UK     http://www.youtube.com/user/clairesallotment
Sustainable Gardening Australia     http://www.sgaonline.org.au/index.html
ABC (TV) Gardening Australia  http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/
Fora for Fauna   http://www.floraforfauna.com.au/createagarden/take_a_tour.asp
Backyard Organic Gardening   http://home.vtown.com.au/~dbellamy/contents.html
How to Kill Just About Anything   http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=786015
Notebook Magazine    http://www.homehints.com.au/for+the+garden/1794/hint+tip/how+to+compost
Yates Seeds  http://yates.com.au/

Claire's allotments somewhere in the UK     http://www.youtube.com/user/clairesallotment
The Allotment Channel Great Britain  http://www.allotmenttv.co.uk/
The Garden Channel   http://www.thegardenchannel.tv/
My Tiny Plot  http://www.mytinyplot.co.uk/

I put chicken wire along the fence facing South. This photo doesn't show it but the wire has been extended further along to the bottom part of the fence. This bed isn't ideal.....drainage and shade problems....but should have sufficient sun in Spring through to the middle of Autumn for the raspberries that I have planted there. There are also broad beans, some peas and sweet peas. I didn't intend having mixed planting in this narrow bed or with raspberries but the planting site for the raspberries was changed at the last moment. I won't replace any plants after their harvesting: just leaving the raspberries with perhaps Alpine Strawberries.



My first Bok Choi harvest. Small but yummy.

First frost ......after I had the high raised vegie beds finished....came through last night.  I covered all with the clear/white plastic and everything was fine.  Trying to get myself some hard tubing to use to make hoops to put over the beds. It will be much easier for me to slide the plastic on then.



Planted some lavender...Lavender Lady and Blueberry... at the top of the small rock retaining wall.






Planted some natives near the unit. A Correa ...Win's Wonder and a Callistimon...Little John.  The big pots will be for cherries later on in the year.




The spiky green leaves are Kangaroo Paw: Big Red and Bush Diamond which is white. The two small pinkish shrubs are Crowea Exalata: Brindelong Compacta. The tree behind is an olive.





My clay soil: the reason I have to put in raised beds and plant in pots until the soil has been broken down some.

I've been trying to get the raised vegie beds done for some time but was waiting for the garden centre owner and his chain saw to tidy up the ends of the old hardwood stumps I got from him.  The staff at the centre were a bit rough in their cutting with the sleepers being different lengths and some very rough at the ends. I didn't feel up to getting out the chainsaw or circular saw myself.  Anyway, I've ended  up going ahead and making the beds regardless. I couldn't wait any longer as my seedlings were heading off looking for more soil than was in the trays.  I can always do the trimming later when I have more time, energy and no numb arms.

My makeshift greenhouse/nursery bed for seed trays.  Works well. Just extended by another 2 bales.




The pile of garden bed soil is only now going down. Storn is on watch for the little terrier from next door to come outside and play chaseys up and down the fence line.



Sleepers put in so that soil and compost could be put on top of newspaper on grass.  Note my workstation under the deck.  Several jobs lined up there: lettuce to plant, lawn cage for the guinea pig, dried bamboo stalks to sort........You can see my chair...under the blue work bag....and my thermos for tea......It is like an expedition every time I come downstairs.



Tree panting positions are marked by tubs.  Most plants will be going into tubs until the clay soil has broken down more.

Broad beans, peas and flowers along the fence.



Working on the raised vegie beds. The white bags are mushroom compost and some gypsum off to the right.



Last bed to fill.


Middle bed waiting to be planted.





A pretty native shrub.



Lavender and rhubarb. I love cooked rhubarb and its lovely pink colour.



Rosemary and another native, a grevillea shrub.


Another lavender.  I love lavender and have already got some struck from the variety I had, but hope to have some new and different cuttings from these plants in the future.  I would really like to be able to landscape the rest of the yard from this mixed start I have made around the lawn. Lots of cuttings, layerings and seed gathering and sowing in the future ..... I hope. 



Today's mushroom pick.



Part of tomorrow's planting.

I dug up  part of the perimeter of the lawn area to put in beds, for the trees I have ordered for June. While there is loads of bitumen and paved area there isn't much that is well drained or sunny....and that's not counting the pipes, the neighbour's trees and houses and my own buildings taking up all the room. I have done the bare minium but can do more if necessary. Fortunately the trees are all dwarf or miniatures or as is the case with the avocado and fig ..confined to pots.

Chopped up homemade mulch....twigs and leaves from rubbish in the yard.

More mushrooms have come up as have some broad beans.

Apologies for the funny angles.  This south facing fence is always shaded ....who knows what will grow.  But....I have put in a few seeds to see if anything happens. If not it will be ferns and violets.  The bunker next door is the neighbour...close hey?  Now you can see why one of my limitations is shade.



I have widened the bed across the retaining wall ..nainly to kill the grass and weeds around the rocks.  Allysum and candy tuff have been sown here.

These are some native NON THORNY climbers that I hope will soften and beautify the look of the unit.

Thinking I would be getting the raised beds done yesterday, I worked on digging out grass clumps to be used in the lawn, opening the heavy clay soil to spread blood and bone, gypsum and lime and many layers of newspaper to kill the weeds. I also put down black plastic to go under the sleepers for the paths between the beds. I plan on putting down bark. I could only get half of the third bed done as the sleepers were in the way and they are too heavy for me to lift. It is all such a lot of effort...hope it is worth it.  Since my kids turned into teenagers I am left to do 'all but' everything and it is way too much for me, my joints and my feet. Took everything out of me yesterday.

As I have to do the deck soon, I took the opportunity to make a nursery retreat for seedlings and some established plants that I haven't planted yet, to protect them from frost.  We have already had the first frosts. It came up higher than previous years. The plants in the already established straw bed did well with a plastic cover over them.

Although the fruit trees won't be here until June I started preparing the bed for them. The soil is heavy clay so I spent much of the day digging out turf to be used in bare patches in other parts of the lawn, spreading gypsum to break up the clay and putting down blood and bone to attract some worms and some straw until I can get some newspaper to put down to kill weeds and grass. Pop's fork got plenty of use today.

I am still working on getting different garden beds tidied. I am working on the bottom of the yard here.
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