Winter is Still Here

The temperatures are still around 7 C at night, with daytime temperature of 14 to 15 C. This being so, there is a lot of incentive to get out and about and work hard at digging and mulching. As you well know, a summer temperature in the 30 C's does not give any incentive at all to spend one's time digging.

I spent the best part of last waek spreading a layer of mulch over a piece of the back garden measuring about 16 metres by 17 metres. I laid down two thicknesses of newspaper on top of which I spread about five centimetres of mulch. The result was an area where I can plant some favourite bushes and shrubs. The area is well shaded and gets, in the summer, a lot of filtered sunlight.

At present there is a lemon tree, a grapefruit tree, and a guava. I am afraid I have had no luck with the guava, but the citrus are very prolific. On the north-west fence there are four eucalyptus grandis, four she-oaks, and two cyprus trees. On the north fence line are two small wattles, and a couple of other small bushes. On the east there is a wall, about a metre in height, which surrounds a bed full of azaleas and camellias. The soil we have suits this particular family of plants. So, because of the dappled shade we have, I bought two very nice looking rhododendrons to plant in the newly prepared area. As I said before, the winter is still with us and it is a good time to plant these types of bush.

The leaves are all gone from the few deciduous trees we have in other parts of the garden - two poplars, and three liquidambers. As a matter of fact, the last brown leaf is hanging loosely from the lower branch of the liquidamber outside the kitchen window. The leaves have been swept up, and are under the mulch I spread on the back garden last week.

In this part of Australia we have a very strange custom at this time of the year. It's called "Christmas in July." I take it some of the mad Northern Europeans started the custom some years ago - they can't stand, apparently, Christmas at a temperature in the high 30 C's. Anyway, the other night my wife and I went to a dinner dance at the local golf club to celebrate this weird event. Guess what? We won a prize in the raffle, an azalea for all that. This is going to have a pride of place in my little shady corner in the back garden.

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