Hello, Editor Des here. Well it’s springtime where I live in the Blue Mountains. All the flowers are out and the birds start singing so early they wake me up while I’m still dreamin’. I thought it might be a nice time to go on a little
Read more →Like most people, I have a garden full of plants given to me by friends and neighbours. They are all very special. Some years ago I went on an outing to the home of the late Laurel Phillips, a life-member of our local garden club at Blackheath,
Read more →How very beautiful are old-fashioned aquilegias, or colombines. They are also known as granny’s bonnets. Bees love them. Here is an interesting piece on the plant’s name, published in 1927; A new explanation of the derivation of the word “aquilegia” has been advanced by Rev. G.H.
Read more →The village of Leura in the upper Blue Mountains is famous for its main street avenue of flowering cherry trees. However, even higher up there is Blackheath, with its own, very special ‘cherry walk.’ From the Lithgow Mercury on October 12 1953; In 1953, the women residents
Read more →A few days of rain and mist followed by two warm, sunny days and voila……it’s SPRING! Impossible to stay inside. Let’s pop up to Blackheath village. Mr and Mrs Wood Duck were taking a stroll as well. Soon they will be looking for a tree hollow to
Read more →THE VICTORY….HEART OF ‘OLD’ BLACKHEATH The Victory Theatre opened in 1921 as The Arcadia picture house. Locals even enjoyed an early form of 3D. It is now a vast antiques centre. The bear (Editor Des) is not for sale, though sometimes I am sorely tempted to put
Read more →Daphne is everywhere in my chilly, upper Blue Mountains garden. It loves acid soil, which is why I grow it, along with azaleas, rhododendrons, and hydrangeas. At last count I had nine…..sorry, ten. daphne bushes. What could be better than a shrub that flowers in mid winter
Read more →I rather like misty days, they remind me of cool flannels being placed on fevered brows. Our property adjoins the Blue Mountains’ National Park and sometimes bushwalkers become disoriented, blundering into my garden. I point them in the direction of Govett’s Leap, with a gentle warning to
Read more →FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER, CLICK HERE. August 26 2018 – A second chapter in the life of Mr S. Bowerbird of Memorial Park, Blackheath. It had been raining all day, converting many bottle caps in the bower to miniature swimming pools. Poor Mr B. was kept busy
Read more →I once made a somewhat provocative statement on social media declaring Australia’s Foster Clarks custard powder to be superior to the UK Bird’s brand. It was absolutely true, but see that flag on the British product? I should have known I was stirring up a cauldron
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