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24.01.2022 A full moon is a beautiful sight. Gardening by the moon suggests planting leafy vegetables from new moon to first quarter. Species which grow on vines or bear their seeds in fruit, eg peas, cucumbers, egg plant and capsicum are planted from first quarter to full moon. A wanning moon is the best time to plant biennials and perennials, root and bulb crops. A waxing moon- new moon to full is best for garlic and grain crops, laying turf, sowing lawn seeds and grafting, planting roses and ornamental flowers. Research shows the gravitational pull of the moon effects plant growth. Seeds and transplants take up more water during a waxing moon.

24.01.2022 It has been quite a while since I have posted. Supporting my family with their dilemmas has been my priority and on a lighter note an overseas trip. I have been staying with my daughter on their 500 cow dairy in Forbes NSW. The wide spread drought and escalating grain prices and other costs are crippling to farmers. We can all support our farmers buy buying Dairy company milk such as Dairy Farmers and Norco. We visited FLORIADE in Canberra for some down time away from the daily grind on the farm- 4.30am starts and 6pm finishes.

22.01.2022 GALEN was a Greek physician and phylosopher He became doctor to the Roman army and emperor when his new ideas were accepted. One of his concepts was "Let food be your medicine" . Today evidence suggests mental, emotional health and reduction in inflammatory disease can be assisted by the foods we eat. I found these books well worth investigating. Healthy eating is about maintaining long term wellbeing.

20.01.2022 Over the last 6 months I haven't spent much time at home. My indoor plants have survived well on neglect. Pothos, Zanzibar Gem and Sansevieria (Snake tongue) are winners in my book and keep the air fresh as well. Philodendron 'Xanadu' is another good one.

18.01.2022 For millenniums women have gathered together to create, baskets being one thing. When people gather together for a purpose and are safe to express their individuality wonderful sharing and healing...just happens. I went to a random weave workshop, had lots of fun, creating my arty basket from palm flower stems.

17.01.2022 "Cracked crocks last the longest" (I love those old sayings). Even shattered crocks can be mended with TLC, glue and fiberglass webbing. Why bother?...One of my life goals is to leave the least consumer footprint in my wake. I recycle, mend, fix and repurpose as much as possible. Every little bit helps to save our precious planet and resources

15.01.2022 My sister has grown these delish Papayas from seed, clever girl! The female seedlings with the white flowers are the ones to grow on and produce fruit. Growing five seedlings is the way to go as at least one will be female. Subtropical QLD provides the best growing conditions.I have tried to grow papays but without success, so I tried to skip a step and bought a seedling. As the name implies I only need one plant to produce fruit. Alas I failed again, the poor little thing was never happy.The blurb on the tag said if the plant was stressed it would turn into a male. I'm not giving up just yet! I'm going to find the perfect micro climate, sow the seeds and leave them to grow insitu and choose the strongest seedlings ...here's hoping!

14.01.2022 Terrariums are great indoor gardens. I happened to have this large glass jar with cork lid. Place a layer of clean pebbles or scoria in the base, cover with matting to stop potting mix falling into the pebble layer. I put a layer of moss and placed a few chunks of charcoal in the center which keeps the mix fresh, pressing it firmly in place. Carefully add a thin layer of potting mix. My plant of choice is a syngonium which is ideal. I washed the soil from the roots reducing t...he risk of soil borne disease. The plant is gently placed in the center and roots spread over the potting mix. Spray the roots and leaves with water and spread more potting mix to cover roots and secure the plant, spray again so potting mix is very moist. Decorate with pebbles and/or blingy glass. Best placed indoors in well light, warm area and given a spray with water now and again. See more

14.01.2022 The ponytail palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) adds some vibrant colour in the dry conditions when not much else can manage a flower. The ponytail palm is actually a succulent native to Mexico, taking 10 years to produce flowers. It is often grown as a pot plant. The blooms are usually white but possibly due to stress (yes...even plants get stressed ) they are bright pink.

13.01.2022 I was given a bulb with green, red splotched leaves several years ago. Recently to my surprise a 1.5 meter stem emerged with buds opening into small brown lily flowers. I have no idea what it is called. Anyone out there know the name of this interesting lily?

11.01.2022 My Dad was a farmer in my early life. In those days people were as self sufficient as possible. We had an extensive vegie garden and orchard. Dad planted seedlings and did certain garden tasks by the phases of the moon. A waxing moon is from new moon to full. A waning moon is full moon to dark moon. I'm doing some research on planting by the moon, there is evidence to suggest that it is a valid concept.

06.01.2022 Macadamia tetraphylla, an Aussie native in the Proteaceae family, growing to 9m tall. The tassel flowers grow into green fruit which ripen into (very)hard shelled nuts. The tree takes 4 to 7 years to fruit. Its advisable to buy seedling trees from a nursery.I harvested these recently and my tool of choice is a hammer....I best get cracking.

04.01.2022 Brachychitons, stunning colors. Commonly known as the flame tree-small red flowers and lace bark - pink flowers. They are a hardy handsome tree for larger gardens.

04.01.2022 Red bauhinia -Bauhinia galpinii is indigenous to South Africa. After recent rain it is flowering radiantly in my garden in Highfields (QLD). Brisbane council classes this species of bauhinia as a weed as it thrives too well in subtropical climates. I will be checking if the same classification applies to the Toowoomba area. Most councils have a page identifying weeds species It's well worth a look to protect our local environment from invasive plants.

04.01.2022 Grevillea robusta, commonly known as Silky Oak. An Aussie native in the proteaceae family(waratahs are too). There are many of these beautiful flowering tall growing trees in the Forbes area. They are well suited to large rural gardens, parks and paddocks for shade. The timber is beautifully grained and used in furniture making( pre IKEA) when furniture was made to last.

03.01.2022 Weeds are are the bane of my gardening experience. Fleabane has developed a resistance to Roundup, so is also the bane of many farming pursuits. The fluffy seeds are carried by wind and water. Asparagus Fern as pretty as it is has no place in the garden as the seeds are carried by birds to forest areas. Cobblers Pegs stick to everything and are carried far and wide by animals and us too :( It makes good garden sense to remove weeds before they seed.

03.01.2022 I am staying near Forbes in the central west of NSW with my daughter lending a hand on the farm. There has been some rain, thankfully which has greened up the farm land. The flowers ...especially standard and bush Roses look beautiful around town. They really thrive in the low humidity. The bottle brush, kangaroo paw, nandina and oleanders are drought tolerant and looked colorful as street plantings.

02.01.2022 Pekin bantams are so cute and a little bit decorative. They are great garden pets, lay alot of small eggs... when they are not clucky. They will hatch chickens(if you can get some fertile eggs), are good foragers and don't scratch up the garden too much.

01.01.2022 Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Morocco for a low budget trekking holiday. As the name suggests the terrain is very"rocky". Morocco is a developing country. "Green Morocco" is one of the nations slogans. I was really impressed by the colourful gardens in such a harsh climate. I learnt much about resilient plants. Oleanders, bougainvilleas, plumbago, hibiscus and agave featured prominantly. Aussie saltbush and kurrajongs are grown in street plantings and a course thousands of palms lining every street. Beautiful fabric is woven from agave fibre(agave silk) Argan oil is hand processed from the nuts of the argan trees which only grow in Morocco. It is so inspiring travelling to new places and I learn so much from other cultures.

01.01.2022 One good reason to be up and about early. The orchid cactus flowers open at night and fade by 10am. This one, Epiphyllum ' Hooker strictum' is as tough as and growing in full sun. Orchid cactuses have many beautiful, long flowering hybrids. They are easy to propagate from a piece of the flat stem. The one in my garden came from a piece from somewhere or other...like most of my plants :)