garden update in words not pictures
1. after a night of heavy rain i was thrilled to smell the strong sweet perfume of the newly opened ginger flower. the sight of its delicate pale lemon flowers and orange stamens is pleasing but the perfume is bliss inducing. for me i think perfume is an even more evocative and powerful stimulus than seeing - i wonder if this is true universally?
2. the possum nesting box is empty but there are many signs of their nocturnal activities. there is poo on the stone path near the loquat and feijoa shrubs which have now completely recovered from last year's leaf munching. i have heard the distinctive harsh cries of possum in the front lately and it is noticeable that they have eaten most of the young leaves at the top of the cotinus. they are welcome to them. the leaves will start to shrivel up and fall off soon anyway. when this happens i hope they have a backup plan.
3. yesterday i had a satisfying conversation with my 2 year old grandson about the peculiar capacity of succulent plant leaves to hold water. we had a fun time picking the leaves and squashing them to see and feel the water. the pot containing mixed succulents has a raggedy look now but it was worth it.
4. the Euphorbia (i can do caps if i have to but it is not easy with one hand) rigida that looked as if it was dying has a tiny bud emerging on the ground next to it so there was healthy developing going on after all under the surface.
5. i'm hoping to see similar signs of growth on some transplanted rainbow ferns to let me know they have accepted their new home but so far they look stunned and exactly the same as when they were planted several weeks ago. are they sulking? will they survive? only time will tell ...
6. one of the echiums had grown too large so a couple of weeks ago i radically trimmed it back. it looked very unattractive but i knew this was only temporary and already new buds are sprouting on its bare branches.
2. the possum nesting box is empty but there are many signs of their nocturnal activities. there is poo on the stone path near the loquat and feijoa shrubs which have now completely recovered from last year's leaf munching. i have heard the distinctive harsh cries of possum in the front lately and it is noticeable that they have eaten most of the young leaves at the top of the cotinus. they are welcome to them. the leaves will start to shrivel up and fall off soon anyway. when this happens i hope they have a backup plan.
3. yesterday i had a satisfying conversation with my 2 year old grandson about the peculiar capacity of succulent plant leaves to hold water. we had a fun time picking the leaves and squashing them to see and feel the water. the pot containing mixed succulents has a raggedy look now but it was worth it.
4. the Euphorbia (i can do caps if i have to but it is not easy with one hand) rigida that looked as if it was dying has a tiny bud emerging on the ground next to it so there was healthy developing going on after all under the surface.
5. i'm hoping to see similar signs of growth on some transplanted rainbow ferns to let me know they have accepted their new home but so far they look stunned and exactly the same as when they were planted several weeks ago. are they sulking? will they survive? only time will tell ...
6. one of the echiums had grown too large so a couple of weeks ago i radically trimmed it back. it looked very unattractive but i knew this was only temporary and already new buds are sprouting on its bare branches.
What a lovely set of experiences, particularly the massacre of a succulent in the name of education and bonding! Sorry your ferns are sulking, hopefully they just need a little more time. There may be lots going on underground, settling in ready to put forth a great new show. Hope you heal soon, so frustrating for you.
ReplyDeleteMaybe your ferns would like some milk and water. Mine gets the rinsed out milk bottle full. Read somewhere that ferns and roses like milk. Who knows?
ReplyDeleteYour writing is not suffering from your injury Catmint! I love reading about your perfume enticing, possum out of the box and squeezing succulents with your grandson . . . hope your Euphobia, ferns and Echiums will all thrive for you. Do not worry about the capital letters . . . your vignettes are just lovely and a joy to read. I hope you are improving. Perhaps your plants are in an empathic mode for the moment.
ReplyDeletevery nice post! I can almost smell the ginger flower. hope your ferns survive
ReplyDeleteHi catmint, there are lots of things happening in your garden. In our garden the possums are busy too; we always have to protect some of the fruit we grow! I have planted them a native garden and incorporated the fruit trees. they love it. It is nice to play with the grandchildren and at the same time instill a love of gardening. My oldest grandson, now a medical student at QU moved out from home and at his new pad he shares with two friends, he made a vegetable garden!
ReplyDeleteYour question; Catmint, I do not think so; I just thought mine was long enough and I also needed a change. As long as you do not get a notice from google it is fine. Don't worry!
dear plantalicious, thank you for your lovely friendly comment.
ReplyDeletedead diana, they are my babies, so i'll try milk - never heard of that before.
dear carol, thank for what you say about my writing. i harbour doubts about my writing ability so encouragement helps.
hi fer, one day i guess we'll be able to put scents on our blogs.
hi titania, i'm glad you have possums, their numbers are decreasing round here. thanks for answering the question.
cheers, cm