Succulents Arrangement in Chalkboard Painted Terracotta Pots.

Awesome gift ideas for any occasions. These two pots contain a few established succulents, the pots are terracotta but painted with chalkboard paint.

Zucchini Harvest Summer 2020

There were some hidden treasures underneath the massive zucchini leaves in the front garden. The hunt is super fun and better then looking for Easter eggs. 

Look at the size of the thing!!

Actually gave this one away to our family friend, as we happened to visit them. Great size to make into a meal for family of 5.

Sunflower Seed Harvest Continuation

Continuation from the last post. We completed the sunflower seeds harvest the next day. I have my little helper doing the majority of the work.

We collected quite a few seeds from just 1 large flower and 4-5 tiny ones:

Sunflower Seeds Harvest and Cuttings

Some of the early planted sunflowers are ready for harvest and I had some spare time this evening to check and collect them. These flowers had brought joy to myself and also passer-bys as I noticed quite a few people stopped to observe and admire the flowers when they walked pass. It's really awesome to see others enjoying these flowers as much as I do. 

I took a few cuttings of the Bay tree, Lavender and Chrysanthemum as well:

These sunflowers are the ones planted at the backyard, so, not visible to passer-bys. They are still at the peak of their flowering period:

Managed to catch the dramatic ray of evening sun there. 

One solitary bee is still very busy working collecting nectar from dahlia bloom:

Bay tree cuttings:

They have since been trimmed down and the leaves are drying to be used in cooking.

The Lavender and Chrysanthemum cuttings:

Lots of Epiphyllum Flowers

My Epiphyllum plants this year had quite a few flowers. I packed these lot with me when I moved from Sydney to Melbourne and they survived the trip.

Unfoetunately there was no fruit this year. There were a few little dragonfruits last year but I'm not sure why there isn't any this time around.

Superfood Sprouts

A fdw months ago, I came across a book in the local library about different superfood and that's how I started experimenting in growing mybiw sprouts. The first few attempts weren't effective because I used soil and I had to throw away most part of the sprouts. So, I tried a different method which used jars to grow the tiny size sprouts. 

I started with sterilising the glass jars, as I have used them for other purposes, such as oil infusion and storing dried herbs.

Then I soak the seeds (photographed here are Fenugreek, alfalfa and Japanese Radish) for a day, before draining them and placing the jar upside down to allow the water to drain.

The process of rinsing and draining continues for 5 more days before the final rinse and storing.

Day 0-2:

Day 3-5:

Fenugreek:

Alfalfa:

Japanese Radish:

The only sprouts that I continue planting in soil is the sweet peas. I started the process by soaking the seeds as well, before planting them firmly at the top of a very shallow soil:

All of them are awesome in salad, sandwich and even curries. 

Desktop Buddies - Cute Little Indoor Plants and Planters for Work Desks

I always have a desktop buddy in the office. A plant (or two, or three) can improve my mood in the office and brighten up a work desk. Especially when I use pretty planters.

10cm Diameter Pink Ceramic Planter with Calathea Cultivars. 

Another one with Ctenanthe Burle-marxii:

An even tinier one, only 8cm in size, with Ctenanthe Burle-marxii and Pink Syngonium:

More Indoor Plants

More pretty indoor plants and planters for sale in my Facebook Marketplace page. Lots of different varieties and different sizes and types of planters as well.

Earthy colour pot gives great contrast to the bright green leaves of Ctenanthe Burle-marxii.

Three Devil's Ivy cuttings in one pot, 15cm in diameter of eco friendly recycled plastic pot. I have one in blue and another in rose gold.

Tiny Devil's Ivy already popped out from this cutting.

Succulents Arrangements

I tidied up my succulents and reassembled the succulents that I had growing in these 2 trays. I tried a different combination of succulents this time and used a few rossetes types. I'm hoping they will continue growing beautifully together.

GentleSoulGnome Summer Garden Update 2020

I finally had a chance to take a few photos of the garden after I tidied the up. This doesn't happen very often as usually I would be rushing to move on to other tasks around the house. But this time around, there is a lot of exciting things in the garden, from flowers, big leaves and potential harvest, so I just had to document it.

At the front side of the garden, the herbs border had truly established themselves.
Rosemary, thyme and chives:

Also in this section, I planted oregano, parsley and tarragon. I harvested them a lot for cooking.

To soften the pathway to the house entrance, I planted a few lavender bushes along the border of the pathway. This section is literally buzzing, because of the daily visits from solitary bees.

Lavender, Pink Geranium (not flowering at that time, Chrysanthemum and Calendula:

There are some cauliflower and red cabbage as well growing underneath the tree (olive).

 New occupants of the front garden this year are pumpkin and zucchini. They are loving the morning sun and had grown lots of giant leaves:

There are also self seeding borage popping out everywhere and I moved a few of the strawberries here as well. I'm thinking they might like the morning sun too. They are too tiny and are hidden under the giant zucchini leaves.

 A few of the flowers decorating the front garden:

Cosmos

Rose - Double Delight

Dwarf Sunflower

The back garden is where the 4 beds crop rotation are located. Garden Bed 1 this year is occupied by potatoes with some random tomatoes plants popping around. I didn't have the heart to pull them out, so I left them there:

 Nasturtium is thriving in this section. I'm hoping they will stay strong so I can train them to arch along the fence. It will be cool, Rainbow of Nasturtium.

Garden Bed 2 is occupied by various climbing beans including snake beans:

Garden Bed 3 is looking a bit bare at the moment. Only Broccoli and Perpetual Spinach growing on it. I have a few kale and brussel sprouts seedlings which will be planted soon:

Tomatoes are happening in Garden Bed 4. I harvested a few already and there are more tomatoes ripening. Capsicum has lots of flowers, so hopefully they will bear fruits soon. I also harvested a few cucumber. I need to install a better trellis next time to encourage them to climb up:

There is an empty spot between Garden Bed 4 and 0, so I planted a few sunflower. I can't wait until they bloom, the bees are going to love it:

Bay tree had a growth spurt. It is now taller than me and producing lots of fresh, healthy, great looking leaves for cooking.

And here it is, the back garden:

I tidied up the side garden as the 3 tier metal planter kept toppling over due to strong wind. It is now wedged between the metal garden bench and the half wine barrel with strawberries, Zinnia flowers and apple tree:

Tidied up the succulents as well to make room for new growth:

Pomegranate is exciting as there are lots of fruits this year:

I'm waiting...

Lots of fruits hiding between the leaves:

Mandarin tree had lots of flowers, but no fruit: 

And so does the lemon lime tree:

I bought citrus fertiliser from Bunnings a few days ago and will apply them soon.

And, here it is, the side garden, looking a bit more tidy and in order.