Anticipation and globules of red

I have watched these beautiful globules of red with great anticipation waiting for them to burst .......and yesterday it finally happened.

Seems like the leaves have been under attack though......must google it and see what's going on.

There's something about those old gum nuts that makes me smile.

Garden room plantings
Couldn't resist getting some small seaside daisy and alyssum plants to pop in around the garden room. I can already hear you saying..... the seeds do just as well, but I wanted to SEE something...... NOW.

And now that I've gone and done that, here come the tiny seedlings bursting forth........

.I also sprinkled holly hock seeds on the garage garden. I wonder if that's what these are..........

....or just weeds. Nope, let's have the glass half full. They're bound to be hollyhock seedlings. Mind you, you wouldn't think anything would grow in that stuff would you?

Stone fruit
The stone fruit is a feast for the senses right now.
Bill puts his peaches in the fridge to eat them cool. Ewww.....

Garden wanderings
My favourite time for garden wanderings is around 7 pm until dark.

Family of ducks
Our duck family seem to wander back in around that time too. They've picked up a few stragglers in their travels. We might need to pump some of our tank water into the pond.
 It is VERY low now.

Beach boys
Keep cool and watered everyone.
Just like these little beach boys who have been having the time of their lives this week.

 A few warm days to come.

Are you an eyeballer or a measurer?

There has been a lot of both going on here over the last few days.
 Me eyeballing and Bill measuring.
Although I suppose that's not entirely true.
I do measure sometimes. Even quite accurately when I'm quilting. But to be honest, sometimes you'd never think so!

Bill has done lots of eyeballing getting this topsoil down and level..ish. The backyard has always been a bit undulating so it will never be perfectly level but that's okay.

It's taken him a few days but it's looking good.

Now, we Bill plans to relocate the banksia rose to make a new hedge that embraces the garden room inside the rose garden.
All our previous plantings and bed making have been eyeballed, so this new line wasn't going to be any different.  Empty beer bottles made the perfect markers and stepping it out is always a good option. 

In fact I'm even putting the lavender walk idea on the back burner for the time being and we'll just grass it.
 May be some other ideas will present themselves when the blank canvas is there.


The sign
Driving around the farm roads one day, we chanced upon a gorgeous sign outside a nearby property announcing the name of the farm.
Me......"I'd love a sign like that one day."
We took a sneaky photo.
We showed our friends.
Ruth......"You could do that Bill!" 
Ruth and Ross gathered together all the pieces and gave us instructions as they departed on their three month holiday.

In the mean time, our painter Wade, happened to mention that he was a signwriter in his past life.
I wanted him to show me how to transfer my design onto the board and what paint to use. 
He started telling us what he would do and how it would take him a matter of minutes to design on his computer and transfer to a peel away stencil.
Really????
I kept making morning tea for him and giving him plants and cuttings.......!!!
Thank you Wade.....you are the best!

We then bought what we thought was a massive cypress post for the sign to be attached to.
 But it was way too short. It reminded me of how the size of a tree looks huge when it falls to the ground compared to when it is standing.
Problem solving time with help from Leesa who came to visit.

We chose the top one as the best option.

Much discussion and eyeballing took place about where to locate said sign.
The hole was dug crow-barred out. 65cm down.

And concrete poured.
And then........

Thank you Ruth, Ross and Wade. We love it.

Amy brought these little guys here for a visit tonight. 
They LOVED Bill's dirt!!!

 Not surprising that Bill had this on the table a few nights ago. 

Let me tell you that will all be measured not eyeballed!

Lemons and liliums

I read somewhere that lemon and orange seedlings look great as greenery in pots.

And you can make them yourself!

It couldn't be any simpler.

 Remove the seeds from the lemon, put them in your mouth to remove any bits that are clinging to the seed and poke them into potting mix. Water gently and you're done!

It needs to be warm weather so I guess now is a good time to give it another try.

And while I was in the propagating zone, I decided to try propagating these gorgeous things (this one   will have to wait).

Apparently it's easy!
Either peeling off the scales from the outside of the bulb when the foliage dies down
                                  or
using cuttings from the stem or the leaves.
I can do that!

"After about a month, a little bulb and roots will form."

Really??
Right then, we shall see!

Just as I was feeling very accomplished Bill walked past and said they will never grow!
The funny thing is, I'm not that convinced they will either! But it hasn't cost a thing to try and lilium bulbs are hugely expensive for some reason.
And I love them!

 On the other, these agapanthus almost grow on fresh air........very pretty though.

Bill has been out early these last few cool mornings trying to make a dent in the pile of topsoil that was delivered before Christmas.
We are hoping to eventually cover the bare ground at the back and scatter lawn seed in the autumn.

This big monster showed up in the middle of shovelling! It's a pobblebonk. That's the biggest one we've seen here.

I know I have talked about hollyhocks a lot but I do adore them and they grow so easily out here. They have massive leaves, provide great height and are clothed in beautiful colour.
And there is something so perfect about that seed formation.

Every now and again I take out a bag to collect particular colours while I can still see the colour on the flower. 
Not sure why now I come to think of it......
they all end up all over the place anyway!

Hello beautiful chocolate face!