Happy New Year - time to get out into the garden

Yesterday we had almost an entire 24 hours without rain so I sprayed myself liberally with mosquito repellent and went out into the garden and chopped and hacked my way through the jungle.  This will allow more light into the ground and plants and hopefully there will be less damp areas for the mozzies to hang out and breed in.  I also would like it to dry out enough to mulch up the leaves.  The rex begonia love this weather.


I really chopped away a lot of hanging branches here to let the light in and scraped up some lovely mulch from the path to put between the bromeliads.  There are still lots of lovely strands of lady slipper orchids hanging down into the path.





I was photographing the hanging lady slipper orchids and look at this funny face I captured!


Underneath the fan palms the beehive gingers are going crazy - I will get into this area next and clean it out a bit.


I hope everyone else has had a wonderful relaxing time with family and friends and looking forwards to lots of new gardening projects in the new year.




Comments

  1. Nick MorganSat Jan 02, 06:39:00 PM

    Wow, so lovely. Tropical and lush. Everything is very brown just now here in Scotland and we are having so much rain, which is making things very muddy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieMon Jan 04, 08:21:00 AM

      Ah my photos only show the good parts. These flowers love heat. I have seen on the news now much rain you are having. Stay safe!

      Delete
  2. selinaSat Jan 02, 09:03:00 PM

    your garden is beautiful!
    it's all very dry here, given up on my vegies for now, too hot for any to grow well
    thanx for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieMon Jan 04, 08:24:00 AM

      Most veggies don't grow at this time of year but the tropical ones do. Coffee, peppercorns, ginger they are all going mad which is very exciting.

      Delete
  3. AlisonSun Jan 03, 04:12:00 AM

    Those beehive gingers are fabulous! We're going through a week of frosty weather right now. The sun is out but it's cold.

    ReplyDelete
  4. FlowerLady LorraineSun Jan 03, 05:48:00 AM

    It looks lovely there. We are supposed to get rain and chilly temps here in s.e. FL, both welcome.

    Have a great 2016 ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  5. JoyfulSun Jan 03, 02:04:00 PM

    Your garden looks very lovely. I'm stopping by to wish you a very Happy New Year! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  6. VirginiaCSun Jan 03, 10:37:00 PM

    Love the funny face in your lady slipper orchid...so cute....ain't nature grand?
    Oh my your beehive gingers are looking fantabulous...my reds should be popping up soon, but my yellows have died it seems...time to get some more.
    Happy New Year!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieMon Jan 04, 08:31:00 AM

      I only saw it once I got inside and put the photo on the screen. Funny what we miss. Glad you got to catch up with your friend. I need to clear away the dead leaves and then the behaves can shine. That is the project for today.

      Delete
  7. SusanTue Jan 05, 11:48:00 AM

    Sounds like you've had a lot of rain. Your Rex begonias are very pretty. I didn't realize they like a lot of water. It seems like it would be the opposite. Good luck getting your jungle tamed.

    ReplyDelete
  8. RoslynTue Jan 05, 02:27:00 PM

    Happy New Year Gillian. I think the rain you were having has moved south to us for a while (well some of it at least). Your garden is looking very lush with all the rain, but hope you get some fine days to get all the chores done.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Joan ElizabethThu Jan 07, 08:17:00 PM

    Your garden is looking great. Mine is looking a little tidier because I gave it a clean up before the deluge of visitors but still a long way to go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieFri Jan 15, 08:23:00 AM

      You have some great ideas on your latest post. Nothing like visitors coming to get me out in the garden cleaning up!

      Delete
  10. JanetteFri Jan 08, 05:15:00 PM

    Your gingers are gorgeous! I wish I could grow them here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. africanaussieFri Jan 15, 08:24:00 AM

      Those are nice, and I have moved them a couple of times, but I quite like them hiding away behind the fan palms.

      Delete

Post a Comment

I love interacting with all my readers, thank you for your comments. Have a great day!

Popular posts from this blog

Up-cycling fabrics

Image
   In our hot and humid climate, jeans are not big movers in our op shop.  We had a $1 a pair sale rack, and still have full racks..... so I decided to make up a few different bags to see if we can somehow save these items from landfill.  Re-fashioning those items into something useful.  I made a few variations just to try out the market and sold this one on the first day they were put out! Each one is individual, depending on what fabric I have available. I tend to lay things out, and then just play around a bit.   Here I am laying out all the options before I start sewing.  I have joined a facebook group which is so inspirational and supportive.      Up-Cycled Cloth Collective | Facebook So often, it is just a case of seeing what is there, and then using it in the best way possible.  I was excited to find this tote bag, which was perfect as the lining of a bag for a teenager. this was also snapped up quickly. The bags were hung up at the op shop and hopefully this will continue to be
Read more

Garden share collective June 2014

Image
Once again another month has rolled by and it is time to link up with  Lizzie at   strayedtable  for our monthly collective where we share what has happened in our gardens for the last month and what we hope to be working on for the next month.  Wrapping up May and heading into June. Last month I wanted to work on: Seed tape .... I did make seed tape, and did a tutorial on the processs - you can see it  here.   It was fun, and worked well, expecially with kids. Mostly though I see a space and throw a few seeds in.  I can see myself doing it at the beginning of a planting season. Worms . .... I have been adding a little of the worm castings every time I plant something, and as a side dressing when plants seem to need a bit of a boost.  It does seem to help. Sitting .... plenty of that - I like the new (original) location of the swing where we have a long view of the garden. - veggie garden is just around that corner.... Eat veggies out of the garden .... so far we have
Read more

I have something to tell you.....

Image
Come on in to my garden.... I have something to tell you  Sit down in the comfy chair  for a little while, and listen to the tinkling of the wind chimes - are you relaxed? Good!  Remember how I entered that garden competition, and the judges came, and they wandered down my paths, taking photos?  Yes! I won runner up! a Fifty dollar gift card ........ from a real nursery, not the big box store that I normally shop at.  Oh gosh, how exciting.... I wonder what I will buy? Thank you Cairns Regional Council!
Read more