Summer with light rain
Our summers in Australia, tend to be dry, and it is a relief when we have rain. Just before sunset, and while the weather was only a light drizzle, I rolled into my backyard with Spartacus, our cat. The plants look and smell better after rain, and I started taking photos and created this blog of photos and a few words.
I continue to be impressed by the size of the black beauty
Zucchinis, which are great in soups or grilled on the BBQ.
This year I grew Roma tomatoes that are juicy, and
great in soups, or added to meals or sandwiches.
Corn is starting to grow, and I am using spare flyscreens
to prevent Spartacus from digging up the seeds and seedlings.
The seeds recently planted includes beetroot, carrots, and eggplant.
Sunflowers plants grow very quickly.
The raised garden bed allows me access to tend to the plants
from my wheelchair. The mesh along the middle allows climbing
plants a place to grow. The designer used curves to break up the
rectangular block of land.
Spartacus posing next to the fire pit. The dome on the top turns upside down and
is light enough for me to lift. He is sitting on Billabong exposed aggregate concrete.
Four citrus plants attached to a mesh allows easy access to the fruit. There
are one lemon and three mandarin trees. The ground cover is Rosemary.
Wedged between the raised garden bed, alfresco and pool entry is Spartacus,
jasmine ground cover, oriental pearl, evergreen giant and Miss Muffett. I get much
Kikuyu weed growing out of here and pull them out when they get long enough.
Between the raised garden bed and the future site of an aviary are spiny headed
mat rush, dusky bells, crepe myrtle white flowering trees and Mundi.
The alfresco has an outdoor kitchen, a table with five chairs and
two pots of cast-iron plants. I sit in between the plants.
The rear lawn is near the citrus trees and the rear bedrooms of the home. Unfortunately,
the lawn is too spongey for wheelchairs, and it prevents me from attending to the
plants behind the lawn. I will need to replace the lawn with something artificial. The
plants include Miss Muffett, oriental pearl, crepe myrtle white flowering trees, evergreen
giant, Jasmine ground-cover, and bush germander sphere.
Along one side of the home, we have Miss Muffett and Teddy Bear. Magnolias that have
wonderful white flowers. Near the top of the fence is a product called Oscillot which prevents
cats from jumping over the fence. Spartacus only tried three times and couldn’t get his paws
to grab the top of the fence, as Oscillot spins around, and he felt a little embarrassed. All cat
owners should prevent their cats from roaming the neighbourhood.
On the other side of the home, is a mesh that holds Jasmine. Most of the
Jasmine finds its way up and along with the mesh, and the rest attempt to grab
Spartacus as he walks past.
A short video of the Jasmine creepers as I zoom slowly past in my powered wheelchair.
A few of the Ozito battery powered gardening tools that I use to maintain the garden from
my wheelchair. They include a pole hedge trimmer with a pruner attachment, a blower
vacuum mulcher, a blower, and a hedge trimmer
Hope you have enjoyed the tour of my rear garden. Read about the HIA awards received for my home, or click here for information about the blog WheelchairJohn. More information about me is found at johnduthie.com
