A gardener can be sometimes pleased………but never satisfied

Are you ever satisfied with your garden?

I’d say, occasionally I feel satisfied, but most of the time I end the day with a new list of jobs.

Our front garden is a challenge because it faces west….so it receives hot weather most of the day in summer, hot winds, and then frost in winter. We looked for drought resistant plants and decided to grow Agapanthus praecox orientalis. They grew tall with beautiful blue flowers in summer, and they persisted regardless of weather conditions.

Some time later I saw some Agapanthus with white flowers in a neighbouring garden and thought it would be lovely to have white and blue. So now we have both. Am I happy about this? Sometimes, but I’m now concerned that the blue ones will multiple and take over the white ones.

Fortunately I recently read a comment made by the wisest of all gardeners, Monty Don. (his book is called My Garden World – the Natural World ) and he said

The whole point about gardening is not to learn how to garden, but is to find solace, to be happy, to make beauty, to have a spiritual connection, to have fun, to muck about..

I decided to take Monty’s advice, so I’m just relaxing in the garden and paying attention to what I can see; there is so much colour and beauty in the garden, even during our hot summer days.

this lovely Dahlia is growing well, and loving the rain we have had this year. The Dahlia is tied to a stake, and heavily guarded against Cockatoos, who love to nip the stems of flowers.
Agapanthus Silver Baby

This is my new favourite, miniature Agapanthus, Silver Baby. A long flowering pretty white shrub with blue fringes.

Agapanthus Snowball

We put this Agapanthus Snowball in a pot outside our bedroom, so we can see it in the morning and evening light.. it is a delight!

A Grevillea called Crackles flowering earlier in summer.
By the way, there is a blue soaker hose running through this part of the garden, it is not an exotic snake!

Here is a Crimson Rosella checking for the very last of the Crackles Grevillea flowers. Grevilleas are very popular with native birds, and vital food source especially as they flower from autumn through to the beginning of summer.

The flowering cherry tree is only three years old, and is taking over a corner of the garden. It has small cherries, very tart to eat, but delicious! I must look up some recipes for next year.

The flowering cherry tree , providing shade and fruit…mostly for the birds.

One afternoon, while sitting quietly in the garden with Charlie (who is seldom sitting quietly) I noticed a Blackbird in the cherry tree. He scurried along the branch and picked off cherry. He struggled to eat it, but finally got it down! The Blackbird has not visited our garden for a while…too many noisy cockatoos and then a dog… lucky me to be sitting still for a while to catch the elusive Blackbird feeding. A first for me.

Speaking of Cockatoos, here is one in our neighbour’s apple tree…

When I took his photo, he flew over to the wires (between the gardens). I have read that male cockatoos have black eyes, so I think he is young male, with just a hint of apple left on his beak.

Recently a small group of cockatoos have moved into an enormous eucalyptus tree in the neighbouring garden ( a mixed blessing). This enormous tree provides food and shelter for many different species of birds, and hopefully the smaller birds will not retreat!

The best part of summer for me, is having breakfast on the deck, watching birds in the garden, and in the surrounding neighbourhood trees.

Another part of summer I always look forward to, is eating the fruits of my childhood.. (I was brought up in Zambia, Central Africa). I love, mangoes, pawpaw, and corn. The taste of each of these, takes me right back to my childhood…

The deck now has a child proof gate, a very tricky one to open, even for those who are not children.

This recipe ( Bruleed mango pavlova) can be found on the Delicious website. There is some disagreement as to whether Pavlova originated from New Zealand, or Australia…or elsewhere.

Pavlova is an almost fool proof and delicious summer dessert. But for me, just the taste of a ripe mango, will do.

Bruleed mango pavlova

Paul and I have always enjoyed gardening, however, during this last turbulent year, the garden has been an incredibly important part of our lives. (especially when we were quarantining)

Now during our hot summer, we are relaxing in the garden, and I think, for once I am satisfied!

Many thanks for visiting, and happy gardening, and/or ordering seeds for planting time if you are in the northern hemisphere.

Copyright Geraldine Mackey: All Rights Reserved.