A success

We cut back the wisteria last year. It was pulling down the archway, it was so strong. But this year it is going gangbusters, and standing underneath almost feels as if there is a light on. It positively gleams.

This is next to the pond, which also looks brilliant with all the ferns cut back and tizzied up. Hot weather will dull it all down, but we are taking full advantage at the moment.

 

 

 

A bit of a butcher!

Just recently I went to see the doctor, and he sent me next door for a blood test. One of the women working there has always been a bit brash and gung ho. She never seems able to get the vein quickly.

This time was the worst. She poked and prodded and gouged at my arm, and no, I didn't scream or complain. In the end she said she had gone right through the vein. Finally it was done, and a short time after it really began to ache. When I took off the dressing, this is what I found...the worst I have ever had, compared to some, who hardly make a mark. This picture is several days old, and it will take a good while to fade I think.

What a little hero I was.

Just a footnote, and nothing to do with this, but I would like to congratulate Fraser and Summie for achieving 10 years together. No mean feat in this day and age, and we wish them lots of love, and hopefully another 10 ... or more.

My favourite time of year

Don't you just love Spring? We are so lucky in Melbourne that we get a fairly clear defined season. One minute everything is grey, dull and bare, and almost overnight the garden is blooming.
Recently we had a tree come down, and it thudded into our largest camellia bush, which is now higher than the house, and that's at the highest part. So for a while, there was a great gap in the side, but already it is starting to look less bare and lopsided. I suppose we were lucky it happened at this time of year, just as the growing season was getting underway, so we don't have to look at the bareness for months on end.

Our purple Wisteria is out, and already the birds are pecking it to bits, and now we have a purple carpet over the nearest flower bed. The white is slower, but more vigorous, and is almost blooming.

A lot of things were cut back hard this Winter, especially the Hydrangeas, so we don't expect as many flowers this Summer.

This azalea never lets us down. year after year it flowers in this inhospitable spot.

An early splash of colour outside the back door.

I just had to pick this hydrangea flower. last year we had hardly any flowers, but this year there are lots.