Although it’s only been two months since I posted the last update, I wanted to get into the swing of posting the garden updates on the solstices/equinoxes. So, here’s some pics of the garden as of the 21st July 2015.
The Macadamia itself has done very little in the last couple of months which is of some concern. I’m tempted to replace it with a more advanced tree before spring as this seedling is quite young. The natives in this patch have done very well. You can see both the Bidgee Widgee and Running Postman in the foreground of the picture. Less visible are the Inland Pigfaces which have also grown well in the last two months. The Chilean Guava and Goji Berry haven’t grown much.
The Bacon Avocado on the east fence is just starting to form new shoots at the moment. Both apples here are doing well. I’m a little surprised they haven’t shed their leaves yet. The saltbush in the left of the photo has grown vigorously. I’m preparing the soil in the foreground for the bare root apple trees which should arrive in a month or so and will from a row of espaliers.
Not a lot of action in this guild. The Bidgee Widgee is starting to spread its wings but there hasn’t been much growth from either the olive or the other natives.
At this time of year, this guild gets only a couple of hours of sun each day and so there also hasn’t been a lot of growth here, although the Rounded Moon Flower has grown a little.
This is the relatively newly planted natives section of the garden near the pond. I’ve got several types of grass, a Wooly Tea Tree, a Hedge Wattle, some Running Postman, Bidgee Widgee, a couple of different peas and a Golden Wattle all in this area. As I didn’t sheet mulch this area, keeping the weeds in check has been the main problem with this area so far. However, it’s a small area and so not too much effort to keep it under control.
The first of the Verdale Olives. Oilves are slow growing and so I don’t expect much from this for a while. Once it has reached a decent height it will get full sun, but at the moment it is mostly shaded at this time of year. The herbs here have done well, however, and the thyme in particular does not seem to mind the shade. The Lemon Thyme in particular is doing well.
Also no real action from the olive here. The chives have done well in this area and I’ve added oregano and a couple of extra rosemarys in here. Keeping the weeds down has also been challenge in this area of the garden where there is lots of loamy topsoil.
The Pineapple Guava itself has not done a lot in the last couple of months. The Pigfaces have grown well, however, as have the Chocalate Lilies. Some of the small shrubs are starting to move too.
Not a lot of growth from the Pinkalicious but the Bidgee Widgee and Yam Daisys have done well in this guild. The Lomandra Longifolio are growing slowly. In the back you can see a flood of Mouse Plants which pretty much exploded as soon as the weather cooled down after summer. I was originally quite worried that they would take over but they seem to be keeping to the fence area and don’t appear to be causing any trouble to the roses or the lemon tree. Will keep monitoring this.
So, that’s the end of the update. I’m hopeful that we’ll start to see some real action by the time the spring equinox comes around.