It will not always be summer; build barns. The potting shed goes on...

[echt]

Please ignore my first, illiterate thread. I'll try again.

I hope this quotation from Hesiod captures the moment of movement from high summer to the splendours of harvest and the planing for the new year.

:o

We're having a very dry and warm spring here in Melbourne, so I've had to re-water some of my bagged up mulch. Everything's growing, but not as lushly (is that even a word?) as in past years.

I loved the gazenias, Geoff. They're a guilty pleasure, as a weed here, though I'm thinking of relenting and putting some on my nature strip which is such unforgiving sand, stripped of moisture by a big she-oak. They appear to be indestructible, hence the weed status, along with agapanthus, which is the only other thing that will grow there.

It may well have been a word during my fornative years in Bristol Echt, if it was it would have been preceded by 'gurt' as the two words were usually used together.

Agapanthus as a weed makes me rather

I noticed that my neighbour's sixth attempt at putting something green on no man's land at the top of our drive has paid off and we have some clumps of pink and white vinca flowering at the moment.

I've just had an impromptu garden session. Last two dahlias and few more bits of Acidanthera are up. Cut back som e herbaceous perennials. Transplanted two bits of Mexican fleabane and 3 penstemon. Planted yesterday's B&Q purchases of variegated hebe from sick bay plus a couple of holly ferns and a carex. Also put in 2 packs of rather late alliums plus dug up chrysanthemums and potted In greenhouse. Planted Sarah Raven sale asters and rosemary.

Think it is going to bucket later so pleased to have finally got that done. I have found a couple of self seeded shrubs I'm pondering where to put.

Cyclamen are still flowering beautifully in the garden

Oddly camellia, hellebores and primroses are in flower

The winter flowering clematis are still not showing buds

But the winter jasmine is very lovely: lemon pale flowers daintily dotted against green.

My winter clematis is the same FP and I was hoping that as it has got far more established this year that it would flower. Maybe with the seasons a bit up the creek there is hope for them yet ?

I'm enjoying my one hellebore in bloom, makes me smile when I come home as in the front. We have the benefit of next door's winter jasmine but it is quite tucked away. I'd like some more somewhere more prominent.

Some cyclamen doing well, others have yet to flower. One of the cosmos is still going, albeit with smaller flowers. Lady of the Lake has done really well considering she is in her first year, she's still got a solitary flower on now - truly a repeat rambler.

Bit disappointed with David Austin. Ordered a rose at the weekend for a present I warned to give today so paid for next day delivery and no sign of it.

I have quite a few hellebores in flower, yet my Christmas Rose which is meant to flower now is a bit shy. It is new though, and does have lots of buds.

My mum had a Christmas Rose that never flowered. She was so proud of having it and must have been so disappointed never to see a flower.

A pale pink rose has more flowers on it now than it ever did in the summer.

I think I have a Christmas rose doing not a lot next to a hellebore nearly in flower. Just been round splitting a few more primroses and asters plus collected quaking grass seed.

The seed in some of the nigella pods is sprouting on the plants so buried some of them.

Our front gate is broken. Gate man has been twice now in an effort to fix it. On both occasions he has stomped all over my hellebores despite my efforts to get him to mind his feet. I have one flower remaining

Managed to get an hour in the garden. Cut back the lavender and finished clearing the leaves in the front garden. Soooo much more needs doing.

Ho yes. Our fence (the neighbours side) is leaning precariously due to a rotting post. Their man came while I was not in and stomped all over the clematis, hellebores, peonies hibiscus etc and didnt even fix the fence or post.
I need to plant the rest of the tulips

Sympathy on the broken gates and fences plus plant casualties.

My bareroot alstroemerias came today. They don't look very promising but are potted up. Was googling them for tips and found one that said don't buy the cheap ones. So not very optimistic but time will tell.

The broken fence is getting fixed

It is mild out today, I have been gently pruning back the dead bits of clematis and other plants and raking up leaves in a slow sort of way. The fence man remarked on my lack of mulch

The robins are on good form: they sing so sweetly

The outline of the trees now that all the leaves have gone is very stark and beautiful against a dawn or sunset wintry sky. It is only in February when one becomes impatient for spring that the bareness of the trees becomes a burden and one searches the branches for buds.

I was saying to DH last weekend that I was glad at last to see the brown leaves and deadness of winter. He laughed at me, but like you funny, I enjoy the starkness. I also like the muted colours at this time of year. And then, of course, start to get impatient for Spring in February. I am always really busy at work in January, so notice nothing in that month.

I bought some hyacinths in a pot: 3 for £2.50 and the scent is lovely: fresh and sweet and oddly enough quite Christmassy

Friends have been posting pictures of their indoor amaryllis bulbs in flower. Though deep maroon is 'in', the pale green and white ones reflect the light and glow indoors.

Another friend lives in an area nearby where the mistletoe grows abundantly on trees, spread by bird poo. Last year I tried rubbing some seeds into the bark of the apple tree in my garden, but nothing happened: I think being processed by a bird is an essential part of the life cycle. The mistletoe is a wonderful sight though, dripping with pale translucent berries, very druid like.

Round here the streets liven up this time of year. All the university students are home, the little ones scurry to nativity plays and carol services, the doors display Christmas wreaths and newly polished brass. The stall by the station does a roaring trade in sprouts and clementines. Most people are home for a few days before the place empties again because everyone has gone ski-ing.

We are being mousy quiet this year, keeping warm and hoping nobody goes to hospital or dies.[santa]

Thinking of what SeaRabbit said, the bare trees are so beautiful, and I agree. I'm accustomed now to year-round green, though someone once pointed out that native trees are never the "true" green you get in a northern hemisphere spring, more grey-green. I also loved the perfect globes of mistletoe, usually in France.

It took me ages to recognise Australian mistletoe, because it looks like new growth on eucalypts, reddish and drooping, and only obvious by its eventual difference from the rest of the tree. Here's a pic.

It's 41 today, so moving my crucifix orchids into the shade. As soon as the magic 40 is reached, they scorch, as do agave attenuata, oddly. It is also the temperature that results in possums dropping dead out of the trees. They are voracious, annoying little gits, but I don't like to see them die this way.

I love Echt's Australian Chrismas posts. My mind struggles with the idea of 40 degrees and the poor possums.

I like the starkness of winter. As I've got older I've realised the importance of the seasons in my general well being. The rhythm of the seasons is soothing . Guess it is since I had the dog and am out walking everyday plus got into gardening far more. Before that they used to pass me by a bit and felt a little distance. Now I feel more grounded as I notice them more and each season heralds new routines that are becoming comfortingly familiar if that makes any sense at all.

That conjures up a lovely image FP and makes me a little nostalgic for life in a city. DD is disgusted we live where we do and desperate to move somewhere more lively. I'm not sure the stripped out bungalow in 3/4 acre that caught my eye this morning is quite what she had in mind !! It failed to sell at auction so DH and I are planning a quick drive out to look later. Hope we don't like it as it will firmly put the cat amongst the pigeons if we do - not sure it would be mortgageable from description but it's right by the school I'd like DS to go to and I could have polyunnels.

We're doimg exactly the same as you for Christmas FP. My Mother has just got out of hospital so fingers crossed.

I love that Australian mistletoe is red. Thank you for keeping us posted echt. We only have a door wreath in the way of Christmas decorations- DS is a very bah humbug Teenager, and I've been too busy to want to press it.

I do like making a wreath though - I've developed a technique of taking two different size circles of gardening wire, and wrapping loads and loads of ivy between and around them until it's a padded and green doughnut. Then I wire in some holly, and add ribbon and sometimes baubles. Quick and simple and gets rid of a lot of ivy!

I've only just caught up with Monty's series on English garden history. I am really enjoying it, and now have a long list of gardens I want to visit or revisit.

Yes I too love it that Australian mistletoe is red, makes me think of Ayers Rock. I like reading your posts a lot echt

I tend to leave my wreath till a bit later because I haven't got the technique for keeping it green and fresh for more than about 5 days: My base is always a hanger bent into shape! My garden wire isn't strong enough. Anyway I need to polish the door brass first.

All the Christmas trees round here must be going up quite late in people's homes: the man at the station has loads left over and is bringing his prices down.

It was so mild today: I raked up some leaves to give the poor old lawn a chance. A flowering quince, half price orchids and more bulbs for £1 a pack fell into the basket at the garden centre.

Dug up my Dahlias and Gladioli last week and seen my first flowering daffodils today. Saw a Ceanothus bush flowering three weeks ago and my roses had flowers on until last week. Had to cut the lawn last Friday.

My spring bulbs about to burst through. Was thinking of getting some manure in to bed down my roses in January and give them a light prune when they go dormant but looks like they might go right through.

Never seen anything like it. If we get a bad cold spell I'm March it will all be ruined.

The El Nino effect is present here, it's the first time I've seen jacaranda, saw banksia and agapanthus in bloom for Christmas. Usually they're over by now. I'll see if I can take a pic to show the effect.

The late 30s/40 temperatures have scalded a few plants, though not irreparably.

I'm way behind with the wreath and all, having done a massive summer spring clean in the house, further delayed by Christmas shopping in the CBD with DD, though queuing at the Myer window is no longer de rigeur.:o

How lovely to read all your festive posts, whether from Australia or closer to home. I'm ashamed to say that my Christmas wreath is an everlasting one - a concoction of bark and orange peel and so on - bought from the florist last year.

My festive wreath was non existent until I found a tiny one in amongst my Mother's decorations last night. It is pretty rubbish though and I might be better off with nothing.

We had our annual can't find half the decorations yesterday - well DH did really as he puts the, away. I popped into a nursery this morning who had loads of reduced bits so picked up a few bits in an attempt to make it a bit more festive. Bought a couple of Christmas roses whilst I was about it but am not sure where to put them, was thinking about in a pot maybe.

My weekly gardening magazine courtesy of Tesco Clubcard points is here. I'm quite enjoying having it arrive, an excuse to sit quietly for a bit and have a read.

Inspired by this thread I hacked at the cornus and have as much ivy as I could see in the semi darkness on the table. Whether it will turn into anything suitable for the door remains to be seen...

This year I do not have a single berry on any of my hollies, pyracantha or cotoneaster in my garden. DH chopped down all the ivy, so I am having to use variegated euonymus instead.
It surely is a strange year

I can never find enough holly berries for the wreath so I use rose hips to liven up the green. And ivy flowers. I made my wreath base from just twisting hazel into a circle and securing with wire. I've been using it for five years now and it's still going strong.

We have fence panels coming down now to add to the broken gate. Really looking forward to having the fence men join in the garden trampling session...

In case I forget to come back on here before Christmas Day, I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and wishing you all love, health & happiness for 2016. We are also hoping to stay out of hospital although we seem to have brought the hospital home with us now anyhow. We have that much medical kit in the house we could open a nursing home!

Well there is something up, need to see what it looks like in daylight really. Couldn't find any wire so time will tell if it will stay in one piece.

Bertha I hope your Christmas is a peaceful one for you all. This year has been a difficult one for a lot of us on here so I hope that 2016 brings peace to us all.

I never have holly berries but do have some pyracantha berries this year. Where I walk the dog is a fabulous tree covered in berries, think it is a cotoneaster.