Rain

hello again all. Well we got the rain! With only a few days left of this month and a slight chance of a bit more, we've already recorded about 70mm. It took about 2 weeks and all the couch, kikuyu and buffalo was green again and thousands of seeds had germinated, most likely clover.

Of course, the lawn mowers have been recommissioned and the Gater has been laid to rest. Our tank received a healthy boost of fresh water as well. Its been healthy all round. I'm just about to go and trim back all the tree ferns as they have re shot since the rain, but still their old foliage hangs burnt and sad beneath them.

I finally finished the courtyard only minutes before our huge dump of rain. I couldn't have timed it better. Once established, the clivias should pretty much thrive on their own in the shade with little need for attention apart from the odd summer watering, perhaps. The next change I want to make is to remove a couple of hydrangeas from near McKellar house and replace them with hardier shrubs to cut down on watering. Its a recurring theme but with a lack of water and tough restrictions, the choices are limited.

Other jobs at the moment include a lot of trimming back after the Spring/Summer growth. The pittosporum hedges are looking like they need the clippers again, some lavenders at the Birches have finished flowering and need a trim and I've just cut back along some walls around the Ed Centre so the ants can't get into the building as easily. We've also got another perilously sick birch tree at the rear of the Birches building that I'll have to trim right down low as all the outer branches have died right back. It was a healthy tree over ten years ago but the trauma of the demolition of the nurses home, the building of the Birches and the subsequent drought have taken a toll. I'm not sure how well or even if it will recover. A hard prune should help sort it out. Its a pity the Birches wasn't called the Beechs as they are a lot hardier tree and seem to be slowly taking over around the place!