The second day of November is All Souls Day or Day of the Dead on some Christian calendars. I’m not a religious person but some of the traditions of my raising, continue to make sense to me; you remember and honour the memory of those that came before you. You learn their stories and remember their lives; imperfect, yes but not without substance or lessons to teach, if you take the time to listen.
Really the day provides a formalised focus or cultural expression for the things many of us do daily, often not consciously. For example, every time I use olive oil or eat olives, I remember my uncle saying to me as I turned my nose up at some kalamata olives, “Listen to me young lady, you don’t know what’s good for you! You’ll love them one day.” He was right. I dream of olive groves!
I like to remember and honour my ancestors in the doing and the living; when I knit or make bread - my paternal grandmother; when I do my laundry or household budgeting or sewing - my maternal grandmother; when I don’t accept the status quo - my father (actually all of them, they are a contrary bunch) and every time I pick up a spade, garden fork or mattock and put it into the earth and attempt to grow food, I remember them. I only hope that I do them all justice.
The experiences, stories, recollections and memories become part of your own life - the grain, the shape and form. That’s not earth shattering but what would my life be without it?
Memorial Park Blackheath or Ode to Jeff Koons’ “Puppy “
So sang Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music (early Roxy with Eno, but I am also partial to late Roxy Music) but much as I try, I can’t quite accept the premise. On second thought, it is a nice flower but, but…..
This is an issue, as Saturday is the start of my town’s annual Rhododendron Festival . In fact, Blackheath is known for its rhodos and there is even a Rhododendron Garden that scores of gardeners visit. I’m often giving street directions to these rhodo lovers/gardeners, however, what I want to say/ask, “Why? Why, do you love them so much, that you’d drive hundreds of miles to see them? Explain the attraction, please!”
I know that they work in gardens up here. My neighbours love them. People plant them with abandon. They work with the whole woodsy, mountainy, cool climate garden thing but they just don’t do it for me.
Maybe it’s rhodo overload. Maybe it’s the colours; a coral orange double rhodo. A double? The single flowers aren’t showy enough! Maybe it’s the whole blousy look. I don’t know. At this time of year, when they are blooming their little hearts out, all they elicit from me is contrariness.
* I started this post, same time last year and my opinion has not changed.
Several weeks ago, I heard the solitary call of a newly emerged cicada. He was a little early but he did what he had to do; calling, waiting, calling. It seemed that there was no response. It pained me, knowing how little time he had. I wondered, would he be able to fulfill his life’s purpose? The all TOO funky seasons, weather, climate - damn, damn, damn. It brought tears to my eyes.
Not long after, he had company and the party really started. Within a week or so, the cicada chorus really hit its straps; their sound was constant - a metallic and shimmery pulse, rising and falling from daybreak to sunset. Oh, it was also very, very loud. My feelings were not so benevolent after days and days of the cicada overture.
Mercifully, over the last few days, there has been some rain and brief intermission in the cicada chorus. The second act will resume tomorrow as the showers clear, However, the thing that gets me, is that cicadas are the sound of summer not spring. Now, if I focus on that TOO much, it’s enough to make me weep.
I’ve been watching this bird (and friend) work this shrub for a couple of weeks now. I’m fascinated by their agility, speed and grace. The birds do get annoyed if I get too close and call out to alert one another. I haven’t mastered the David Attenborough technique of the quiet, low creep so as to catch them unawares.
Grevillea acanthafolia ssp acanthafolia (This specimen is in my neighbour’s yard, close to the boundary. We have planted several but they are yet to flower.)
We usually do not water anything in the front garden. It normally does quite well with rainfall alone. However, rainfall has been scant lately, so I am re-using bathroom and laundry water to soak the ground in the front garden. Our grey water system is me and buckets and as my nephew would say, “I got muscles”. Something a little less labour intensive is being devised.The ground is thickly mulched and by applying it through mulch /stones / directly onto the ground it is naturally filtered. It waters the plants and hopefully percolates down to replenish the water table.
Needless to say, we use nothing in the bathroom or laundry that would be detrimental to plants…no petrochemicals, phosphates etc. The forecast, for the next couple of days, is for rain. I’m looking forward to it.
Rough Bush Pea ( Pultenea scabra)
Sunshine wattle with seed pods (Acacia terminalis)
My own version of the Pompidou Centre; the plumbers were pretty happy when I told them how much I loved their fine conduit/pipe work and that it reminded me of that (in)famous building in Paris. The galvanized water tank is an Australian icon and here we have tanks that can hold 4000 litres of rainwater under our front stairs.
It rained for the first time in ages last week and Charles called me outside, to listen to the last drops of water echo as they dripped into the tanks. A plinky splash, letting us know that some water had been ‘harvested’ but that the tanks still had room for filling.
I’ve been thinking alot about water lately, especially as I’ve started to water the vegetables again. How to use and re-use it wisely…..lots of low cost, low tech ideas for dealing with grey water and water efficiency are spinning around in my head. Must implement. The drought has certainly been a motivator, as has the 90% reduction project but also starting to read Maude Barlow’s book Blue Gold; which deals with global water inequality, the stupidity (my value judgment) of how the developed world uses water resources and the global privatisation of water resources. Think of the desalination plant in Sydney - it may not ever be used but for 20 years the consortium building it, will be paid an annual fee of at least several million dollars regardless!!
Check out this site for more info about Maude Barlow and global water issues - http://www.blueplanetproject.net
My sweet nephew (resident of the fine state of Michigan) made the statement/exclamation two years ago, when he saw the blossoms on his first visit here. What else can I add….the street trees are in Park Ave and they are flowering cherries - I think. The wonder, joy and excitement of his words reminds of all that is lovely in this world. Simple and genuine, how is it that we lose this? The blossoms will blow away, the trees will leaf out and so the cycle continues but there is always something to look forward to and enjoy. Why is it that we always want more?
The idea of using toilet roll cores as seed raising pots, I got from Scarecrow’s Garden. Inspired by this re-use idea, I collected the pumpkin seeds from good tasting pumpkins that I’d bought from the co-op. I washed and dried them out and put them into labelled envelopes. The seeds on the left are from a locally grown pumpkin called Blue Grey and the ones on the right are Butternut - not local in origin but now localised by me.
The rolls were filled with a seed raising mix, set out into a polystrene box (thank you local fruit +veg shop) that had flywire (kicking around from some other project) laid in the bottom to contain any soil and the seeds were then pushed into the roll. Re-use and recycling….and cost effective.
They will be planted out, once the temperatures are more consistent. Being able to plant out the whole little unit, should minimise root disturbance and get the pumpkins off to a cracking start.
Blueberry flowers….hopefully meaning fruit.
Hellebore with seed pods.
Grevillea hybrid (bought at a commercial nursery 9 years ago and only now starting to flower)
*Thanks to Kathy for telling me that it is Grevillea lanigera . See http://farrer.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/g-lan.html)
Native mint flowers
Wattle (Acacia ?……no garden records to confirm variety even though I planted it)
*Thanks to Helen - A. elongata. Swamp Wattle
Tea tree ….I think - it grew without any intervention from me ( apart from keeping weeds at bay)
Purple Twining pea - Hardenbergia violacea
