pommepal

Changing Seasons : July 2021…

July is mid winter in Australia, but South East area of Queensland is a sub tropical zone and the weather is as perfect as it can get, blue skies, temperatures low to mid 20deg, bonus this month being weekly rain showers. The plants are already thinking of spring and new buds are popping out everywhere. 20210731_105152_3096x4128

The annual paper daisies are going to be out in full flower soon. 20210730_102154 cropped_1454x1056

Look at the profusion of buds on this dainty wattle. I’ve been watching them develop every day and telling it how beautiful it is going to be. Watch this space next month.20210730_101202_3096x4128

The poppies are managing to keep their heads up, with a bit of help from a stake,

But orange is the dominant colour at the moment.

Look what has sneaked back in to the green house…I did tell myself I would not bother with tomatoes again as I do not have much success with them. But I’m a sucker for “having another go”

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I have tried to get 3 quotes for cutting down 5 palms and topping the mango tree. But it is hard to get tradesmen at the moment as the building and renovating business is going gang busters. The real estate market is so hot. Every time a house is sold it is knocked down and a new, huge “macmansion” Is put up that fills the whole section leaving no room for gardens.

Finally “Big Jim” agreed to come in next week to do the job. Those palms are getting very top heavy, so before they come down in a storm it is time for them to go. About 3-4 years ago Jack did the topping of the Mango. But, finally we have decided it is time to get some help in to do these heavy jobs.20210730_111505_3096x4128

It may be mid winter but when the back garden is bathed in the morning sun I can forget what winter used to be like in my childhood, many years ago, in England.

Finally I thought it might be interesting to show you how the garden has changed in 20 years. From a tropical, palm dominated paradise. The palms were taken down about 5 years ago as I had finished travelling and wanted a more light filled cottage style garden with a predominance of native plants.

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It is now filled with sunlight.20210730_111807_3391x2609

I looked back at 2020 July “changing seasons”, back then after a battle with covid the area was slowly coming out of lockdown and life was gradually getting back to normal. But 2 days ago “Delta” raised it’s ugly head, from 1 case to 6 in that time, so as of today we have been catapulted into a 3 day lockdown. I hope we have stopped it in it’s tracks.

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Brian at “bushboys” and Ju-lyn of “touring my backyard” are taking turns hosting the “changing seasons” monthly challenge. This month it is Brian’s turn. Thank you to both of you for keeping this challenge going.

36 comments

  1. The blog is a great diary, isn’t it? Chief purpose of mine these days. Hard to understand why people would get rid of so much natural beauty to build a house, Pauline. The bigger they are, the more upkeep is my motto. Having said that we’ve just enclosed part of our roof space to make a tiny 3rd bedroom- or garden room- and the 8 year old is happy up there on his airbed. You and Jude are thinking alike in your comparisons, and you’ve both done wonders with what you have. Sit back and enjoy it! Wishing you a happy August.

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    • Lovely to hear from you Jo yes I like to look back at previous years as I do my current post. I have usually forgotten what happened a year or 2 ago.. We are at present living downstairs in the “studio/granny flat” a 1 room area but it has everything we need and I love it down here. It is so much warmer that upstairs as it faces north and gets all the sun. I hate to see all these huge houses going up. Hope you are staying safe in your area and enjoying summer.

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  5. It is a great garden. I hope it doesn’t get to hot in Summer as the palms would have helped keep things cool. I am on the North Coast NSW so share wonderful Winters. Thanks for joining in Changing Seasons 🙂 🙂

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  6. Your garden is so bright and sunny, Pauline. A real treat. I cannot see the attraction of those big ugly houses.
    Good luck with your tomatoes and the outbreak. I hope the testing infrastructure is set up quickly. There is nothing worse than having to wait for hours for a test.

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    • I’m hoping the 2 houses across the road have an open house before the auction so I can look out and see how much of our place they look over. The testing queues are huge at the moment. We’re definitely staying home. Got plenty of loo rolls 😷

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  8. Many Australian plants bloom before spring here also. Although the climate here is very different than it is there, it is similar to other parts of Australia. That is why so many Australian plants are popular here. Native plants bloom before spring also, but are not as colorful. Some come and go without notice. The most colorful sorts bloom a bit later, which is nice. I suspect that there is more competition for pollination in Australia, since flowers must be more colorful to attract attention.

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  10. I love the changes you’ve made since you moved in. The garden is so open and pretty. My paper daisies are going full steam ahead and covered in buds and flowers. They make a pretty display. We’ve had a few very cold periods up here on the range but mostly the days are glorious. #winterinqueensland

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    • The garden has been a constantly changing setting. The palms and tropical look was so low maintenance, perfect for when we weren’t here. But then I wanted more variety and that meant letting the sun in. But also much more work. We’ve had a few cold windy days, but spring is definitely in the air today

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  11. Love the visit to your patch of Paradise PP. I like the openness you have created now, but yes, a lot more work looking after all those plants. I think there comes a time when we all have to admit we need help with some of the more labour intensive jobs in the garden, I know when I come to replace my raised beds I shall get a garden team in to do the work. The blog is a great way to record changes and recall plants forgotten about! Glad you and Jack are keeping well. Hope you are both double vaccinated, seems Australia is lagging behind there, though both my son and d-i-l are done. We could do with some of your winter temperatures! Gone a bit cooler here and lots of rain last week which was annoying as some of my family were visiting. Oh, well, such is summer in the UK!
    Take care and love to Jack ❤

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    • Never really plan for getting old and needing help, but have to accept it. We are on the cusp of thinking about finding a regular person to come in once a month. Because my father died of thrombosis in his 50’s I have decided to wait for the Pfizer to be available in case it could be hereditary. This current scare is making people more likely to have the jab, whereas before many were very complacent. I don’t think life will ever be as free and easy as it was in our youth. We were so lucky.

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    • Hi Pauline,
      Always nice to read you blog and see the pictures. Makes me feel good. Yes the orange is lovely colour in the garden and the sunlight looks great.

      If you save the big garden jobs I can do them when I come up from Sydney. Sorry the Sydney people not obeying lock down rules and traveling interstate.

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