It's been ages since an update - I guess I've been doing so much I forget to post. So here's a few things going on! The curry plant is doing well, as is the imperial mandarin - that wall is north facing and the bricks heat up so I think they'll be fine there over winter.

Does anyone know much about citrus trees? The ones I put to grow up the trellis haven't done that great - they're still green, but there's no new growth. Yet in another spot, the Washington Navel is growing fine and has new growth (the one on the right). The soil's been fed and there's compost etc - perhaps it's just too sandy or acidic still?

Meanwhile, the birds are finding our place just fine - the bird bath attracts them all! We keep it in the front yard as I don't want to encourage them to hang out in the back yard lest they cause trouble. This one's a 'galah' - usually quite shy compared to the cockies and the king parrots.

I planted some salvia which I havne't planted before - there were bees on them in the garden centre and Jamie said he liked them, so I thought why not? To be honest, I have no real clue with the design of this garden so have to start somewhere. I planted two purples and a white.

I have got a little obsessed with flowers - and marigolds are awesome for distracting insects and helping the soil, so there's lots of these cheery darlings planted about. I also planted two small lavender - after having five acres where 'small' didn't compute, it's interesting choosing smaller varieties and even dwarf varieties to suit the garden.

The last of the jalapenos are ready to pick. I might try overwintering this one. It's nearly time to pull out the zucchini and the last of the tomatoes, a cherry (which makes me think of @coinjoe, who is hanging out to plant his!)

I shifted the corten beds down by the chook pen, which is mainly dappled light with a little bit of sun. I've put the cactus there to sprout roots - they're from Mums, and I am not sure if that's their final spot yet. I've also put a small bay laurel there - again, maybe not the final spot, but it looks nice for now. Against the chook mesh is a pandoreum, a native Australian plant which will attract bees and butterflies but also mute the chook cage a bit. Check out the flowers here - it's lovely.

Last but not least (there's so much to write about!) most of the Autumn vege are in - brassicas, swedes, spring onions, bush beans, leeks, snow peas (mangetout), beetroot, silverbeet. The bird mesh will stop possums hopefully, but also the white cabbage moth laying its eggs.

There's so much more to say but I don't want to go on. The worms have multiplied like you wouldn't believe - the climate seems more conducive here or perhaps they're just in a good spot. The compost gets quite hot so it's also breaking down fast. I want to create a mini greenhouse down the side of the house so I'm looking out for windows. I've planted broad beans and garlic in the second garden - I really need to map this out in a drawing to explain it to you. Next #gardenjournal post maybe, coming up in April!

With Love,

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