A stump does not have to symbolize the end of a tree’s usefulness. Tiny, insect eating birds such as wrens and robins often choose one as a low level look-out post. Meanwhile I have fun with stumps as ‘garden art’. That variegated rhodo hat would not look
Read more →In the spirit of increasing biodiversity, my partner and I bought a little insect hotel for our Blue Mountains garden. Perfectionist owner-builder Rob decided to seal the back panel with Bondcrete and add a waterproof membrane to the pitched roof. Well, we do get a lot of
Read more →In 1984 my darling mother Myra was suffering from the ovarian cancer that took her life. While I was visiting her in Tasmania I noticed a cheeky little frog on her bedside table. ‘He cheers me up’, she said. I could see why; he was adorable. Froggy
Read more →Carpets of autumn leaves are truly the Axminsters of the earth. I know there are wonderful carpets of blossom in spring, but autumn is definitely the main period for appreciating Mother Nature’s work. It’s one of the main reasons I moved from Sydney to the Blue Mountains
Read more →By April, autumn is well under way in the upper Blue Mountains. Today I checked some likely spots in Blackheath for ‘fairy’ toadstools. This was taken at the intersection of Wentworth Street and Gardiner’s Crescent. There are lots more popping up. The bowerbird in Memorial Park is
Read more →When you have a large garden filled with birds there are lots of opportunities to create photographic images for occasions such as Christmas and New Year. So why not Valentine’s Day? Admittedly I’ve been married over 40 years, but Rob is still my knight in shining armour.
Read more →Sometimes a much loved tree just has to go. Our old double trunk gum was much too close to the house. It was a definite fire-hazard, and also there were signs of white-ant activity. The tragedy was that many of our birds were fond of it too.
Read more →As with most Australians, the ubiquitous Weber bar-b-que was part of my life for many years. And yes, it even produced our Christmas turkey on a couple of occasions. In all its glory But somehow we lost our passion for bar-b-ques and the old Weber was retired
Read more →WARNING…..INCLUDES CONFRONTING SPIDER PICTURE! It wasn’t until my friend Dianne told me about her battle to get rid of ivy in her new garden that I realized my own ivy problem had become super-serious. Stupidly, I had deliberately spread the variegated variety around. I’d considered it more
Read more →One day Editor Des and I were walking the famous Thames Path near London (as one does) when we stumbled upon the tiniest gnome in the universe. He was standing on a pile of golden sovereigns at Putney. I’m afraid Editor Des quickly scoffed the coins,
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