My Garden Treasures Garden Blog - My Garden Treasures

Succulents and Bulbs at My Garden Treasures

10/8/2017

Small Plants for Sale

We have some lovely small plants for sale at the moment.
These are in 90mm pots and can be posted withing Australia. NOT for WA, Tas or NT.

There are some healthy zygocactus plants with hot pink flowers. This is the mother plant.

Crassula ovata is a strong succulent with lovely white flowers twice a year. They last for a few weeks, turning slightly pink as they age. Bees are attracted to them. This is the mother plant.

Jonquil Bulbs
There are quite a few individually planted late bulbs growing ready for a new home. These have cream flowers and are the double Early Cheer variety. They have a strong perfume.

Making a Wooden Worm Garden

20/3/2017

I have wanted a worm garden for decades but never got around to getting one. I was always afraid that if I forgot to keep the worms damp they would all die in the hot weather.

I had looked at the plastic worm gardens available in hardware stores but was never really taken with them. They were made out of plastic, and I was always worried that a dog could knock them over and it would be 'goodbye worms'.

Well I just found a great video on You Tube that showed me how to make a wooden worm farm. That sounds pretty good to me. It is natural material. It will insulate the worms in hot weather, and because it is heavier, would be more difficult to knock over by a snuffling dog.

It is so easy that I could make it myself, but I think it would be a good project for my Garden Gnome to do. It is simple, so he should get it done pretty soon, I hope.

Enjoy!

Growing Veggies in a Raised Garden

9/3/2017

My Garden Gnome, or Mr Elf, whichever you prefer, has been giving our back yard a makeover.

First. Clearing the area of matted couch grass gone wild.

Second. Lots of digging. My Garden Gnome is good at digging, even though he has a sore back.

My Garden Gnome digging in the garden

Third. Design the yard. Draft it all on AutoCAD, a computer program Mr Gnome was an expert on in the past.

There was three times this much soil to screen.

Fourth. Screening two cubic metres of soil from an earlier project to take out all the weeds and all the stones in the soil.

Building a garden bed

Fifth. Build some raised garden beds. Engineering skills were called into action, lots of sleepers bought, and many trips to that famous all purpose handyman store, Bunnings. Pretty jazzy design isn't it? This is the fourth bed. They are all different designs.

Covering the base the garden bed with lucerne hay

Sixth. Filling the bed. We started off with a layer of lucerne hay. This is bed No.2. It needed to be this shape to fit beside out chicken's shed. Garden Gnome is also pretty good at moving wheelbarrows full of soil. Heavy work there!

We added chicken manure from our chicken sheds, cow manure, soaked coir to retain the moisture, some compost, and lots of other goodies along the way.

Zucchinis taking over the garden bed

Growing veggies
I had some potatoes with eyes that had been hanging around for just too long, so they were first in the bed. Next came some carrot seed, and zucchini. Well the zucchini plants were tiny when we planted them, but, you know what? They grew and grew, and grew. They ended up with leaves twice the size of my head. The leaves covered the carrots so we didn't get any carrots. The potatoes grew and grew too. We have harvested zucchinis and potatoes.

I have decided that I don't like the leaves of the zucchini. They are very prickly and they spread everywhere. So maybe next year, they will not be invited back, although it was lovely to eat fresh, organic veggies without much work.

I also planted some spaghetti squash in there too, but they didn't stand a hope with the aggressive zucchini. Oh well, now I know.

That's the story of Bed No.1.

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Spring is the Time for Flowers

Butterflies and Perfume

19/12/2016

Early summer and my garden is awash with perfume and sprinkled with dozens of butterflies.

When walking to the washing line, a dozen or more butterflies cross before me on the well worn path. They flitter from flower to flower, attracted by the elongated mauve flowers of the variegated buddleia. This buddleia brings happiness each year when it flowers outside my large bedroom window. It tries its hardest to revert back to all green. During winter, even the variegated leaves lost their green. I never quite know which leaves will come, but the green is always strongest.

It is a pleasure to have so many butterflies in the garden as they have been in scarce supply in the past few years.

Another flower that attracts the butterflies is Kiss-me-quick, the common name for Centranthus ruber. It is an old-fashioned flower grown in my grandmother's garden on the farm a hundred years ago. That shows how tough and hardy it is because the old farmers in the early 1900s didn't have any spare water to soak flowers in the garden. It was all needed for the house or livestock.

I try to ensure there is always plenty of shallow water in the garden for the bees and butterflies to have a drink. The birds love to bathe in the water too and are a great source of amusement for us as they splash about, fluttering their wings, or wait in line for their turn in the bath.

The perfume in the garden has been a delight for the senses for a few months, starting with Jonquils, Star Jasmine, then Echium, Centranthus, Roses, Buddleias and Lavenders. We are waiting for the Dais cotinifolia - Pom-Pom tree to burst into blossom and then the Snail Creeper or Corkscrew vine.

Ahh, the beautiful world of Perfume and butterflies.

Spring is the Time for Flowers

3/11/2016

Echiums @ My Garden Treasures

Blue Echiums make a stunning show in the garden

The blue-grey leaves of the hardy echium plant are no longer the main attraction once the magnificent spires of its flowers start to develop. Within weeks they have grown to the stately length of 50 or 60cms and opened to a burst of brilliant blue.

Birds
They attract the honey eaters . We have a constant supply of birdlife visiting our garden. The Red Wattle Honey Eaters and New Holland Honey Eaters spend their day feasting on the nectar of the flowers, dipping their long beaks for the bounty. The tall blue flowers sway to and fro as the birds come and go.

Insects
Bees also love this plant, and are seen buzzing around gathering pollen and nectar. Bees love blue flowers. Moths are attracted to the flowers at night. My granddaughter came with me outside one evening. We had torches and she watched, fascinated, as the moths flitted around the flowers.

Echium Plants For Sale
Last year, one of my plants was so happy that it spread its seeds far and wide and hundreds of small echium plants sprouted.

Many plants have gone to new homes and I have plenty more for sale.

To see regular flowers in my garden, follow me on Instagram @tossyv

Using Photos from your Garden

12/4/2015

I really enjoy my garden, and am often found out with my camera, especially in the evening, taking photos of lovely flowers. I have LOTS of photos.

Why the evening, you ask? Well, if you take the photos in the sunshine, it can often drain the colour out of the flowers, overwhelming them with bright sunshine. Also when you have bright light, you also have deep shadow. When taking photos, always look at the effect the shadows are having on your photo. They can make it or break it.

This is why I go out with my camera after the bright sun has gone yet there is still plenty of light around.

What can you do with your photos?

I love making photographic collages. I use these on my Facebook page and in my websites.
You can print them and use then to make a record of your garden in a diary.
You can get them printed, frame them and have your own artwork on the walls.
You can use them in a header for a website or for your Facebook.
You can have them printed on a bag and use it when going shopping.
You can make your own cards with the best of your flower photos.

I also use the photos from my garden to use for motivational projects. A good free program to use is www.picmonkey.com . Insert your photos and see what you can do with them.

Smile and smell the perfume. Double zonal geranium.

You can see some more of my floral photography popping up on my other websites -

www.myheartsongessences.com
www.allergiesandcfs.com

Photography by Therese Vahland

Yellow Cotton Lavender

23/3/2015

Hardy cotton lavender

I am always looking for yellow flowers to incorporate into the garden. They are usually very hardy. At first I would say I did not have any in the garden, then I think of the large, tall canna lilies that grow about 2.5metres tall. They are clumping up so much that I will really need to divide them this year.

Then there is that beautiful little daisy flower with it's bright, golden cheery flowers, Osteospermum, the African daisy. It is often laden with blooms.

I also have an elusive little plant that should be a big plant by now and has somehow forgotten to grow. I think it must be a bantam plant like my bantam chickens. It is a yellow bush daisy (Euryops pectinatus). It is a hardy perennial with grayish-green leaves and bright yellow daisies. I say it is a hardy perennial, it has rarely had any water in one of the driest parts of the garden and yet it is still alive. When it flowers, the flowers will be yellow.

However my cotton lavender bush grows beautifully. It is also very drought tolerant and lives in another very dry part of the garden. it has survived for years and flowers each year. Why it is called a lavender I really don't know as it has yellow flowers, round little button flowers, nothing like a purple lavender. It also has grey/green leaves.

Butterflies in the Garden

21/11/2014

It was a beautiful, warm day. I looked out the window, and there, to my surprise were twenty or thirty white butterflies fluttering about the flowers in the front yard. I raced to get my mobile phone. Why was this the only day that it wasn't there tight beside me?

The butterflies were so busy that they were still there when I came back.

There butterflies are what we call Cabbage White butterflies because they lay their eggs on cabbages and other members of the cruciferous family. Today they were experiencing the delights of my Kiss-me-quick flowers. What a lovely old-fashioned name. These flowers had grown in my grandmothers garden 100 years ago. They are strong and hardy and are very drought tolerant.

The butterflies were also visiting a yellow rose. These butterflies are also called Summer Snow in some parts.
The Latin name of Kiss-me-quick is Centranthrus ruber. It is called other names including valerian, red valerian, Jupiter's beard, Keys to Heaven, Fox's bush and spur valerian.

For more information about this plant see this article

Centranthus ruber in Southern Australia

Flowers for a Large Garden

27/10/2014

Large plants are the backbone of any garden. Smaller plants fill in the spaces and low growing plants make a showy edging.

Alogyne huegelii is an Australian native Hibiscus. It grows into a large bush with showy large purple flowers. It can grow at least 2 metres high and 2-3 metres in diametre. it can be cut back severely and will sprout again and again.

Climbing roses make a good backdrop to any garden. They need good support to train the canes on. They need cutting back each year.

Deep blue Echium is a stunning bush. It has grey green leaves with deep blue spikes of flowers up to 60 or 80 cm long. These tight little flowers on the big spike feed the bees in the daytime and the moths at night.

Turk's cap or Malvaviscus drummondii can grow into a big bush. I was unable to keep it in check in the last couple of years. It grew to 2 metres tall and 4 metres in width. You can keep it smaller by trimming. It is a perennial and has soft wood so it is easy to cut. It is adorned with bright red upright flowers all over. Only rarely will these go to seed.

Once you have your large plants in place, smaller plant can fit into the spaces.

Remember to plant your trees first as they are the largest of all.

Perfume in Spring Time

30/8/2014

Jonquil

Jonquil

Here in Australia it is the end of the winter and my garden has been smelling exquisitely for weeks now.
The first plant to give us its beautiful scent is the Jonquil. It starts to flower early in July.

Deep Blue Hyacinth

Hyacinth

The next to flower this year were some Hyacinth bulbs I planted in a hanging pot. Their deep blue and their beautiful perfume vied with each other as to which was the most attractive.

Jasmine

One evening as I went outside to lock my hens up for the evening, I wondered what the new perfume was that I could smell in my garden. As I got closer to the chicken shed, the perfume got stronger. Behind the shed, my Jasmine climber had started to blossom. The perfume has been beautiful for a couple of weeks now.

Perfumed Climbing Jasmine

Australian native Boronia

Boronia

Another day as I went into our courtyard I wondered what the new perfume was that was so strong in that area. In inspection of my numerous pots, I discovered that the Boronia was starting to bud.

Boronia is an Australian native plant. It has a small brown flower that you could easily overlook until you smell its perfume. It is heavenly.

Self-watering Pots
Boronia is very hard to grow. It is very sensitive to disturbance, lack or water or too much water. This plant was planted lovingly in a self-watering pot. I really like these as the plant cannot get wet feet. It takes as much water as it needs. The excess water can drain away. I am a bit prone to over-watering my pots.

Daphne with its sweet perfume

Daphne
Lastly, is my little Daphne plant, another plant that is difficult to grow. It is sensitive to all sorts of things. It is a terracotta pot but I think that after flowering I might transfer it to a self-watering pot as well. It has a lovely delicate perfume but at the moment it is being overpowered by the perfume of the Boronia.

Author

I love growing flowers in my garden and sometimes make Flower Essences from them. They have great healing properties. Chickens adorn my backyard and give me much pleasure too.

My garden is free range like my chickens, there is no order here. All plants get along happily together.

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