New plants and making progress...
Going to the hardware/garden centre is always going to be a bit of a dangerous thing... a bit like visit to IKEA, I will pretty much be definitely guaranteed to return with a hell of a lot more than I had originally gone for! So, the reason that I had come to Bunnings was to pick up two more climbing roses to match with the one that my wife had picked up. We have three places for the climbing roses, and we had just gotten one to start with... now, we want to fill out the whole batch of columns.
... and I walked away with three strawberry hanging pots, potting mix, solar lights, gypsum, soil improver, three small fan trellises, a tomato plant trainer, moving gloves, round loops for lifting heavy items, spare saw blades for a reticulated saw, and a square metre of grippy material.
We have four hanging points in the timber outdoor patio area... and we had some lettuce growing there last summer. This summer, I wanted to try out some hanging strawberries... so, the strawberries will just hang downwards instead of sitting on the ground. Later, I will need to get something to net them so that the birds don't eat them all!
Fan trainers were for the climbing roses, and these will eventually be moved to properly attached timber trellis... so, another trip to the hardware store!
I will have to figure out how to water these roses properly, as this area is under the eaves of the house and doesn't get proper water when it rains... but I figure that I probably need to water these more often than the native plants anyway!
The kiwi plants are making fast progress in these last weeks of alternating rain and heavy sun... perfect growing weather for plants of all types, including unwanted grass and weeds!
Chipping away slowly at the retaining wall section... looking to hopefully move enough earth by the end of the year to start laying the blocks! I need to nag my wife to measure it up and order the blocks, along with river pebbles for ground cover.
... this would be a perfect area for covering with rocks... I am so sick of clearing the grass and weeds from here... an endless repeating quest that rewards very little in terms of XP and gold!
I had been making good progress on clearing deadwood and pruning many of the smaller bushes and tress, but I haven't quite made it to this corner. So, I figured that I may as well make a start on it to at least get rid of the deadwood so that I could better see what needs to be done.
This curved serrated saw has been one of my favourite tools... it chews through wood so easily... even better than the battery powered reticulated saw... but after a certain thickness or for heights at an angle, I need to start using the mini-chainsaw on a stick.
Sigh, two old stumps that were too strong for me last year... but I come back to it with a boatload more experience in removing stumps... and they are much weaker... one is dead and dried out, and the other has had most of its growth chopped back. So, the odds are better in my favour this time!
So, let's see how long this will take!
... and I surprised even myself! Less than five minutes, and it was out! I had expected about half an hour at least... but the other one did prove to be much more difficult, and I was at that one for about an hour was pretty sore afterwards!
You can see the difference between the two in the underground root growth that was not as brittle and dry as the older nearly dead one.
I rediscovered this bird bath in the back as well... I figure that I might just put it out in the front corner... but I do wonder if it receives too much direct sunlight to be able to keep water. I guess when it rains, it will fill up and keep the birds entertained for a little bit?
I can also be found cross-posting at:
Hive
Steem
Publish0x
Handy Crypto Tools
Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
WooX: The centralised version of WooFi. Stake WOO for fee-free trades and free withdrawals! This link also gives you back 25% of the commission.
GMX.io: Decentralised perpetual futures trading on Arbitrum!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.
KuCoin: I still use this exchange to take part in the Spotlight and Burning Drop launches.
Account banner by jimramones
haha I know the struggle! I didn't even go to a nursery at the beginning of this season, or at any time all season, because I know I will bring back stuff that I have nowhere to put. Then I end up planting stuff where it won't get enough sun, or water, or attention. Slowly I am learning to go easy on the garden tasks. There's always next year. Looks like you are settling in to your new home (in Australia, correct?) very nicely. (I miss your music posts)
Oh, the music posts are sort of still around... but they are more to do with the running of our ensemble instead of the playing part... but I do have some thoughts that are bumbling around. Lots of trying to build up a scene and share the experience over the long term! I had been keeping the ensemble music separate, but maybe I'll start writing about some of it here... it helps clear my mind and order my thoughts as well!
Yeh Bunnings is deadly. So is Officeworks and probably IKEA (it's been literal years since I've been to one of those).
Fortunately I've developed the fine art of "when the hell am I going to have time to do that" so can usually just stick to what I want from Bunnings (not that I go there much either, and I have a feeling J usually comes back with more than intended when he goes XD).
Officeworks on the other hand remains a massive hazard XD
ps - can you shadecloth the patio area or get some of t hose roll down thingies to protect against birds rather than netting the individual plants? Or would that ruin the aesthetic too much?
Oh yeah... all of them are killers for me as well as immense timesinks as I start to wander down all the different aisles!
Shadecloth would work against the birds... but my wife really wanted the kiwi-vines to provide the shade so that it would change with the seasons.