No rain!

Hello Bloggers

Well its been 2 months now since we saw rain last which would have to be some sort of record. Punishment for having nearly 100ml in December perhaps? Looking at Queensland and parts of New South Wales, we can take heart that it hasn't forgotten how to rain, its just forgotten how to here! I'm an optimist; it will come again.

Needless to say, lawn mowing activities around here have all but ceased. There's practically no life left in most of the lawns about the place and the patches of kikuyu and couch that are hanging on beg the question how? I have couch, kikuyu and buffalo at home and its surprising how well they're doing with no water, especially where they're offered some shade. They're the only practical lawns to bother with in my book. There's still the odd dandelian or plantain flowering which also presents a reason to cut.

As a result of this, Mick has been busy trimming all of our roses back and the spent agapanthus flowers as well. Its a worry even the agapanthus plants have never looked so weather beaten and impoverished as this year. I have no doubt however, that they'll survive.

Water wise, we just keep the stuff up to them as they need it. The azaleas out the front of the hospital and the ferns at the front of the Birches are the two main priorities and concerns. Most of the rest of the place is doing quite well considering. I'm most impressed with the new camellias at the doctors clinic (which replaced the hydrangeas). I water them once a week when we're allowed with town water and they're rocketing ahead. The day will come when I don't have to bother with them. The few that we have here that are older have required nothing to date, even in this dry spell, which is quite pleasing to know.

As far as the courtyard project, well its progressing slowly. I only have to dig in the new fern sand with the soil already there, relay the old spray system, then I can plant the rest of the Clivias and mulch the lot. It should look great and be a lot more hardy than the azaleas ever were.