Ongoing maintenance and pretty flowers
Along with my seeds from Liz at Eight Acres I received a tiny packet of kefir grains, and a wonderful sheet of instructions to answer my many questions.
It didn't seem as though that would be enough and since I had never even tried kefir I was not sure how long to leave it fermenting. At first I took it out too early, but now am leaving it for two days and it is getting thick and effervescent. I use it with a frozen berry smoothie cube and some other fruit - some of my frozen lychees still left over from last year are at last being used up! Thank you Liz for introducing me to the world of kefiring! !
I got stuck into the veggie garden over the weekend and removed some dying tomato plants, then rigged up some trellis for the vines to climb on. Along this fence I have choko and luffa, with some bok choy and ginger in front. It all looks rather untidy at the moment, but once the vines grow you wont see the assortment of trellises. My neighbour has a hedge of hibiscus on the other side of the fence so it is rather lovely to have those flowers popping their cheery heads over the top.
The paths tend to get quite weedy, and I laid some cardboard down, but know this is not the perfect answer. I have some old carpet in another section, and that has been the best path surface I have ever used. Just need to find some more....
I am loving this bouganvilla - so well behaved, not like the wild one I grew a couple of years ago. The flowers start off orange and turn to pink - how cool is that!
That and the bleeding heart are slowly covering the fence out in the front to create a wall of living color.
another colorful plant that does well in my garden is coleus and I got two freebies from a friend. This variegated one
and this plain one.
We have been taking plastic bags to the beach to pick up seaweed and laying it down underneath the hay mulch . During the wet season it is not so much a case of keeping the soil moist, but making sure that nutrients are not all washed away. I like to have plenty of mulch that can be decomposing slowly and preventing weeds from sprouting up.
So I guess this weekend calls for a few more beach walks and a bit of gardening.
I got stuck into the veggie garden over the weekend and removed some dying tomato plants, then rigged up some trellis for the vines to climb on. Along this fence I have choko and luffa, with some bok choy and ginger in front. It all looks rather untidy at the moment, but once the vines grow you wont see the assortment of trellises. My neighbour has a hedge of hibiscus on the other side of the fence so it is rather lovely to have those flowers popping their cheery heads over the top.
I am loving this bouganvilla - so well behaved, not like the wild one I grew a couple of years ago. The flowers start off orange and turn to pink - how cool is that!
So I guess this weekend calls for a few more beach walks and a bit of gardening.
I had never heard of kefir until last month when I saw it on http://eatatdixiebelles.blogspot.com/2012/10/kefir-updated.html.
ReplyDeleteI love Coleus plants and until my garden became indigenous only, I tried growing them, but my snails found them irresistible.
I am not sure I am totally in love with it yet, but have been mixing it into an almost daily smoothie. Nothing seems to bother the coleus in my garden so I tend to let it go sometimes...
Deleteyou're welcome, enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI am getting the timing right now and doing a second ferment which mellows the flavor a bit.
DeleteI'm not exactly sure what kefir is but I know I've seen some sort of drink of it in the grocery store. Your bouganvilleas are looking spectacular!
ReplyDeleteHi susan,
DeleteIt is supposed to supply about fifty times more probiotics than yoghurt. Yes I am loving this bouganvillea - especially the changing colours.
Hi Africanaussie, I am pleased to nominate you for a Beautiful Blogger Award because I love your blog! To accept all you have to do is tell us 7 things about yourself and nominate 15 other bloggers. You can find the BBA thumbnail on my blog for posting it on yours. Regards, STilleTTo
ReplyDeleteStiletto,
Deletethank You! I loved reading a bit more about you, so will be working on my post.
So many new things I am introduced to in the world of blogging. Kefir is one of them; someday I may become brave and branch out and try. Lovely photos, so nice to see warmth and flowers again.
ReplyDeleteKaren,
DeleteI agree! - I don't know how I found out about new things before I joined blogworld. Thank you!
I like the way you describe your last photo as a "plain" plant. Well, I guess it's all relative but there's nothing plain about it. Truly lovely colours.
ReplyDeleteLaura,
DeleteI guess those plain ones serve a purpose by popping out at you, but I see your point!
That seems to be a well-behaved bouganvillea, and very pretty too.
ReplyDeleteI also collect seaweed from the beach to use in my garden to nourish my plants...it works very well.
I will definitely have to do some more research on Kefir, it sounds interesting...thanks for making me aware of it.
Virginia,
DeleteI planted a wild native one a couple of years ago and it nearly took down the fence in six months! I am loving this one! I don't rinse the salt off and plants like asparagus really thrive with a bit of salt added. There is almost too much information on kefir online - it can become mind boggling.
Picking up seaweed for the garden seems like a great excuse to go to the beach.
ReplyDelete