Busy, busy, busy

It's such a busy time! We have now put the stones all around our new vege beds, and here is the result...gorgeous, isn't it!

Raspberry Pruning and what to do with Artichokes

I am never sure at this time of the year, exactly what to do when things in the garden are done flowering or fruiting or whatever.

So, I asked my sister, Karen. She told me to prune out all the canes on the Raspberry that had fruited this year, like I had done with the Boysenberry. Well, I have spent ages with the clippers and now our Raspberry bed actually looks tamed.

The Artichokes Mark and I had to look up on the net to see what to do, as all their lovely large grey leaves were going horrible brown and it was looking straggly. We couldnt decide what advice the net was giving us, but have followed our instincts and removed all the old leaves. Just the new shoots, which are really about 2feet high are left. There was some great advice on what to do during cold weather, which I reckon will come in handy! Pile up straw around them, leaving only a few inches of plant above. If the weather turns really foul, then put the straw right over them, but remove it once the bad snow etc has gone. There was no description of what "bad" weather is tho...does that mean frost, or snow, or ice, or what? I might have straw on them for weeks on end during the winter if it is bad!

Tying Up Grapes

What's hot and bothered? me! Mark put in wires on the grapes' posts and I tied them all to it. Next year its going to look absolutely fabulous, this year, just scrappy...but we will get there.

Harvested today, cabbage, broccoli, capsicum and tomatoes :P

Door Stopper, Fruit & Veg

Fruit and vege are not just in the garden, they feature in my home decoration too. Here is a Fig & Lettuce doorstop that I ran up this afternoon.

Today's haul

Heatwave!

Monday 32C, Tuesday 36C, Wednesday 32C, Thursday a predicted 33C....Whew!! the garden is gasping every night and water restrictions are now in place. Apparently we are only to water every second day. Mark is pretty good, he waters in the evening once he is home from work, and we seem to be keeping on top of it.

Despite this, yesterday I saw my Clematis with all its flowers drooping. Poor thing! We have several clematis in the garden, which my sister Karen and her husband helped us put in when the garden was first started at this house. I have had great success with them in the past, in England, and thought they would love this weather. They don't mind a cold winter, and they love their flowers in the sun. But, unfortunately, they don't like the heat. Each one has a layer of large stones around the base to keep their roots cool, but it really isn't enough. They haven't flourished at all. In fact, only two of them have ever done alright, and the dog chewed through the stem of one at ground level (see my previous postings). It did come away from the base again, and has produced more flowers, but it certainly has some catching up to do.

In the vege garden our pumpkins are loving the heat, and seem to enlarge by centimetres overnight!