Critters in the garden

Every nook and cranny at Greenlion is inhabited by critters.  And being an unrushed, contemplative and bending down sort of activity, gardening is an ideal way to find out who lives where.  Take the dam for instance (above); it's teeming with aquatic life - tadpoles, boatmen, wrigglers and the like.

Some of the aquatic critters make tasty morsels for humans and water birds, especially the yabbies.







Careful observation is rewarded with the discovery of the more elusive little creatures, as well as providing solitude.

Echidnas try to be elusive by digging themselves into the ground to protect their vulnerable underbellies.   We have a metre high rabbit proof fence around the house block to deter visitors such as hares, rabbits, wallabies and deer.  One would think that the echidnas would be inadvertently barred from the garden too, but they can climb the fence by holding on with their fierce claws.

Quite recently we discovered a new resident- the little jackie lizard.  They are amazingly bold.  This one was skipping round my feet as I worked in a very dry part of the garden.

The skinks sun themselves on rocks but with any sign of movement they head for cover.











The blue wrens are the boldest of all the birds in the garden.  They literally catch insects and worms beside our feet as we work in the garden.

At Vizsla Lak, Margret has sign posted the driveway to warn visitors that there are ducks crossing.  Come Spring and there is a constant to-ing and fro-ing from the dam to the grasslands
jumping with insects.

Of course, although insects provide great tucker for birds, they may not appeal to humans.  This spider was in a rock pool on the river.  The children initially tend to respond to spiders with fear, but we teach them about the important role of spiders in the world and they learn to treat them with respect.

However, 'To live and let live' can try the patience of Jove.

We first noticed some holes in a secluded part of the garden.  They weren't rabbit holes and we were puzzled.  Then there were more holes, then more and more and we had a problem on our hands.  The place was starting to look like a scene from 'The Great Escape'.

We asked a friend who suggested that we had bush rats.  They had spread across the garden, digging underground tunnels all over the place.  Our patience was wearing thin.  They had dug their way dangerously close to the veggie patch.

Finally, after a visit to 'Its A Trap', we caught one of the culprits with a trap baited with fresh carrots.



And this is what we caught.  Isn't he or she beautiful?  After capturing and relocating 15 bush rats to a lovely place beside the river, and well downstream, we repaired the garden.

Hopefully our furry little friends are happy in their new bush setting.

Count down to Autumn GOG

Only 3 days to Christmas and 110 days to the Autumn Gardens of Glenlyon!


The garden has had a dream run to date, with the most beautiful weather through Winter and Spring.

Winter sky

The rain bucketed down up to a month ago, but things are getting serious.  Now the summer heat has arrived, with temperatures of up to 40C.

A full dam after winter rains

Our selection of plants has to take into consideration these wide variations in the weather.  We must select frost tolerant plants as well as those that will survive a scorching summer.

Winter frost

Summer heat

The rule of thumb around here is to wait until after Cup Day to plant frost-tender plants such as tomatoes.  But this year we were out-smarted by the weather.  A very late frost frizzled things.

Our frizzled grapevine.

Our grapevines are mainly for shade, but the local vineyards lost their first fruit.

Budding bee keepers

Bees need hot weather for honey.  Plants produce the most nectar when the weather is hot and humid.
The last 12 months has been difficult for bees, because of the inclement weather.  However, with the first little burst of summery weather, they are out in their thousands (well, probably millions!).  The hives have been re-queened and are humming with activity.

The next generation of bee keepers are learning the ropes.

Grandpa John selects a hive and each grand child, on reaching the age of 11, is donned in bee keeping gear and given their own hive.

Michaela is now 15.  She has a lemon coloured hive with a Collingwood sticker.

Eli has a white hive with a bulldog sticker.

Osker didn't stay in his bee suit long enough to be photographed (he's the one in the green tee shirt).  He has a white hive with a Collingwood sticker.

Three more boys to go!

Planning for 2014

Today, the gardeners of Glenlyon gathered to plan for next year's open gardens.  The focus in 2014 is autumn and sustainability and how we manage our gardens, all in very different locations and soil conditions.

Next year, there will be gardens to visit, talks to attend, gardening products to buy and fabulous dining in two local venues - Ellender Winery and the Glenlyon General Store.

AND IT'S STILL RAINING!

GREENLION

September 2013, and it's still raining!

The garden is ecstatic, except for the veggie patch, which is sodden.  The broccoli hasn't turned a hair, but the root vegetables are not so thrilled.

The garden is a mass of Spring blooms, especially the bulbs.  I have managed to reduce the yellows by culling many of the yellow daffodils and replacing with some gorgeous white ones.  Dotted around are pink and purple anenomes, snow drops and jonquils (especially Paper White and Erlicheer).  What is left of the  ranunculi after a pesky rabbit savaged them, are in bud.

The 'piece de resistance' is the white Magnolia Soulangiana, a mass of blooms this year because there were few frosts- another advantage of the rain.

RAIN, RAIN, STAY AND STAY!

JULY 2013: WINTER AT 'GREENLION 

One's attitude to rain is certainly modified following a prolonged drought!  After eight years of minimal rainfall and the very dry winter and spring of 2012, this rain is so beautiful!




The dam is nearly full and the garden is brimming with blossoms and flowering bulbs that have beaten the gun on Spring.

The river is flowing at near-capacity and our water hole is full.

The mist on the river in the early morning is magical.

Beside the river we wend our way along the 'Kangaroo Highway', our feet crunching on the icy grass in the early morning light.

                   

Pockets of sadness: Growing more dogs

There is another little of pocket of sadness in our garden, where Joplin, "Joppie", resides.

Jop was walking with us one day, down to the dam beside the bee hives.  We had visitors and we were showing them around.  Joppie rushed down in front of us with a visiting dog.  They disappeared into the bushes.

On our way back, Joppie was very slow, but as she was thirteen, we weren't particularly concerned.

However, when we returned to the house, Jop went to the shed and started screaming, then collapsed.

We rushed her to the vet, where she was given antivenene for snake bite, as this was the most likely cause of her symptoms.  She died soon after.  My heart was broken and the boys dug a large hole in the rock-hard clay to bury her.  There was practically no garden then.  My sister planted a small garden around her, an extension of a tiny patch that had been planted by the previous owner.

A tatty old wallflower resided in this garden and over the months it grew into a wonderful thriving bush.  My daughter Leah, who has a delicious black sense of humour, commented "Mum!  You've got to plant more dogs!"

Well, sadly, now we have.

Joplin's wallflower - thriving above a planted dog.