The sweet sounds of springtime

 A warm spell today as we approach springtime and the air is filled with joyful bird’s singing. The sky is bright blue and the feel of the warm sunshine is caressing all and sundry. It is afternoons like this that makes me feel blissful in the simplicity of gentle nature. Life’s worries seem so far away in a moment of  happiness just listening to the joyful songs of birds and the warm sunshine. Remembering innocence of childhood playing in the great outdoors in endless imagination. 

I so appreciate these simple moments that money just can’t buy. The happiness and love that I feel with simple pleasure of hearing a delightful little bird singing its heart out. I love every moment when I am in my garden. Everything stands still in an everlasting moment of joy and happiness. The flowers buzzing with bees and the sweet smells of spring in the air. This is the moment that I never want to end, but sadly I must move on and return to the present moment of responsibility and head indoors to face my chores. 

The sun begins its journey into dusk, the air is still; yet sweet. A gentle breeze stirs and the afternoon takes a graceful bow. I now long for the morning to begin again; in hopes of capturing that beautiful moment again. Life without the gentle touch of a sun kissed spring is a life not lived, well for me anyway.

Baby birds expeced on my veranda again

 Yesterday afternoon I was delighted to see a mother bird, a Silvereye to be precise, making a nest in one of the plants on my back veranda. This is the second time my veranda has been sought after by a mother bird. I absolutley adore little Silvereyes. They are so tiny and chirpy little dears. Yesterday afternoon this little bird was fluttering around preparing her nest with feathers and what looked like dried twigs or dried grass. I have had a sneeky peak in the plant to see what she has brought in to her temporary nest. But I know to keep right away while she is prearing for her babies arrival. 

The problem is trying to water the plants without frightening her away. Especially once the eggs hatch as she might abandon the nest. I also need to keep an eye on miss Ruby just in case she discovers the bird as her barking  may frighten the mother bird away. 

I really enjoyed the last birds on the veranda, however it was quite hot and I was worried about the chicks not surviving the heat due to the lazerlite holding in heat and it was a very hot summer. However they all survived and flew off shortly before Christmas 2018. 

https://psychictarotreadingwithalexfulford.blogspot.com/2021/03/baby-thrushes-at-alexs-house.html

The last photo was on 23 December 2018. For some reason I kept thinking it was Blackbirds, D'oh! they were Thrushes.

I will try to get some photos from afar and zoom in as the mother bird sits on her eggs and then see if I can get a phot of the chicks, being careful not to upset the mummy bird.

 Below is the blurb and photo from Wikipedia. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvereye

 

UPDATE: The little bird has relocated she must have felt the nest is not in a safe place because of people constantly passing by and checking the plant. Good luck little mother to be ❤️

 

‘Rather noisy’: Plants make clicking sounds when stressed, study finds

 https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/home/interiors/rather-noisy-plants-make-clicking-sounds-when-stressed-study-finds/news-story/0d83f1915e1cbba210aa3fdb32baa0ea

Plants like every living thing on the earth have a vibrational frequency, and living things are sentient to varying degrees. Plants are part of the elemental world, they have an aura and life force of their own. Trees, plants and flowers all give off energy; even rocks have an energy frequency, especially what we term crystals. I can hold my hand near crystals and feel the energy, especially something like an amethyst cave. Which is quite common for psychic people to be able to feel especially a healer, as our hands are always receptive. 

Scientists have experimented for years with plants including playing various types of music to plants to check the response; which included heavy metal, classical and rock. The plants responded better to classical music and grew toward the sound. There was also an experiment where scientists tested different human voice tones like anger, happiness etc. The detection of the aura or life force of plants was also measured successfully. So it’s down to energy frequency, soft or loud sound in their environment as well as light for growth. 

https://dengarden.com/gardening/the-effect-of-music-on-plant-growth

The new (Returned Servicemen's League) RSL Rose by Meilland

 I am not into red roses much preferring softer colours but this is a must have. My father and late father in law were serving members of the military in conflict. So this rose means a lot to me as does the RSL and supporting veterans and their families.

It is a beautiful rose and for a very worthy cause, please look out for this in garden centers and on line nurseries. Some nurseries have their own version to the Meilland standard RSL rose that I purchased recently. So why not pop online and have a look at what is on offer near you or to buy online. Help support a worthwhile cause. 

ABCNEWS: Backyard 'frog hotels' hoped to help species recover from East Gippsland bushfires

 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-30/frog-hotels-help-east-gippsland-bushfire-environment-recovery/101353874

What a great idea, many people are trying to do their bit to help nature these days. Planting flowers to attract butterflies, bees and ladybirds/ladybugs etc. Insect hotels are popular as well as planting things to attract birds. We also leave birdbaths and dishes of drinking water for birds, insects and animals to use in our gardens. So this is a great idea especially if you can create a mini wetlands. It’s a win win for nature and people too, the sounds and sights of nature all around is a perfect harmony. 

Blending suburban environments with nature is happening in Canberra, wetlands have been built or enhanced around town and is great to see. People gain from bringing nature into our local environments by observing and spending time in peaceful outdoor parks and nature reserves. 

Toxic plant warning time again

 

I am lucky my dog doesn’t bother with these plants. But I do keep a vigilant eye on her. Hellebores are toxic too. 

https://gardenerspath.com/plants/flowers/hellebore-toxicity/

A dreamy garden

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaryllis_belladonna

Simplifying my garden again, but it is laboriously slow because I don’t like gardening in the hot weather. I am looking at planting  more Amaryllis as I only have a few. My neighbour has a massive display of mixed Amaryllis with Agapanthus in the front yard under shady trees. It looks fantastic, and as a I am trying not to be a slave to gardening I am looking at options for a simple easy care garden that doesn’t require much water and labour. 

Due to getting older and health issues, I need to be ruthless with the garden yet again. Gardening is always a work in progress anyway. I have ordered a heap of Amaryllis to plonk in a patch in my back yard, in an area that gets a lot of sun, but has shady tree branches in the middle of summer. It’s a huge pain in the bum at present. I just wish winter was here already so that I can get set about my tasks. It’s not hard work, just time consuming. I just want to be able to sit in the garden and enjoy it. But a couple of more tasks and hopefully it will be a big weight off my shoulders. 

My ideal garden is a dreamy, whimsical and lush old world looking garden, where I don’t have to do anything, lol. A pipe dream, except I have to prune carpet roses. Carpet roses can really take over if you ignore them. I have been avoiding mine all through summer because I don’t like the heat. I had trimmed my front yard carpet roses last spring, but they have shot up thanks to all the rain this summer. We are in an La Ninia weather cycle, so that means plenty rain after the drought broke this year. 

The garden has gone wild with the rain and humidity, growth is everywhere I look, and so are the chores to do, lol. But I need to be practical and ruthless in keeping the work down in the garden. If I could only get a week of cold weather I would be happy. I would be out there, getting the work done. 

My mass planting of scabiosa, turned into a disaster as it became long and straggly, so I ripped that out a couple of days ago. This is usually a drought hardy flower, but I think the overhanging tree branches made the flowers stretch up for sunlight. So scratch that flower from the list of easy care flowers and plants. I have tones of seed scattered in the garden from the dried heads of the scabiosa flowers. That will be a pain to clear out for sure.

I think it is going to be, agapanthus, roses, seaside daisies and amaryllis, with seasonal daffodils and scented violets in the cooler weather. I still have some bald patches in the backyard to infill too  but it must be tough, no care required and not invasive. 

I still have to get roses out of big stone pots, that I thought would have been done last winter, but time was not on my side, due to numerous other things happening. I might decide to get rid of some completely as I don’t think I have enough garden spots that will be suitable. Still I have had the roses for years, it is not a bad thing if some are gotten rid of. Gone are the days of propagating plants for fun. Downsizing is the thing now. Having said that, I saw some lovely Abutalon plants at a street market a few days ago. I just adore Abutalons. I have two in my back yard and love to see the nectar eating birds hovering around them.

Ain’t nature grand. Just in an average suburban garden, there can be a world of pleasure, observing nature at its finest. Just by planting bird and insect attracting flowers and shrubs; a world of vibrant colour and joy awaits you. Sure it is trial and effort but it is so worth it. To be able to sit with a cup of tea and just watch nature unfold before you. I get so much joy and pleasure in my garden or just looking at it from a chair by the window. 

Knowing contentment comes from my garden and feeling nature around me gives me a sense of joy. I don’t need big fancy holidays overseas. I need nature, I feel grounded and very content with nature.

Vibrant green leaves and flowers make the soul sing, seeing birds and insects like butterflies, bees, ladybugs and dragonflies make it even better. There is harmony and joy in the simple nature of a well planted garden. A garden that makes you feel joyful and wanting to linger that bit longer and lose track of time. That is a good garden, to be savoured as it nourishes the soul. 

Copyright © Alex Fulford 21 February 2021

Birds visiting my garden

 The white throater gerygone

   

I love being surrounded in nature, and living in Canberra is the best of both worlds. We are a country town and a capital city, with a difference. We have a wonderful abundance of nature all around us. Even in the average suburban garden if one has sufficient plants and trees to attract birds and wildlife there is a joy in seeing our nature up close. Canberrans are very proud of their bush capital, and rightly so. 

I love waking up each morning with the sound of birds singing. I am not able to name very many bird types, but that doesn’t matter to me. I just love them coming into my garden every day. Today was a warm and humid day, so I had the front door open all day. I heard an amazing bird song near the front door and went to investigate. The bird was hard to see at first, but as I  scanned the garden from my front fly-screen door I noticed a tiny yellow bird up in the ornamental plumb tree. I stood listening to him for a while enchanted by the sound. 

I scurried off to find my pocket book of Canberra birds to see what it was. This little book is like gold (Field guide to the birds of the ACT  by McComas Taylor and Nicholas Day) to bird lovers and very popular. I found out this lovely little bird was a White Throated Gerygone. I shall be on the lookout for him again. All day long there are so many different birds visiting either the back garden or my front garden. I have a lot of small trees in my front yard, and a huge box elder tree, a Crab apple tree and an ornamental flowering apricot tree in my back yard, so the birds just flock to my garden.

My favourite bird is the crimson rosella and I never tire of them, I only saw them on the rare occasion where I lived in Sydney even though it is a very common bird. We have an abundance of parrots  in Canberra  all year round, including Lorikeets, Cockatoos, Galahs and Gangangs. Cockatoos are very destructive though as well as very intelligent. God knows how often I have to pick up tree branches they the Cockatoos rip off from my Box Elder. The Cockatoos make a terrible mess.  Magpies, Peewees, Wattle birds are quite common in Canberra gardens, we have a wonderful variety just in our area alone. The best public places to see a variety would be visiting both the national parks, Namadgi and Tidbinbilla or the Australian Botanical Gardens, all of which are not far from my house.

 

The Magpie has a nice song,  but many people don’t like them because they can attack humans in spring time, as they try to protect their babies. Thankfully I have never had a problem with them. I have one that visits every day and I talk to him when watering the garden. One of my cats had a Magpie friend in the weeks before my cat dies. The Magpie was very old too and each morning he came up to the back door and tapped on it, asking if Tolstoy was coming out. So I opened the door and Tolstoy would sit on the step with his friend each day until Tolstoy was too sick and had to be put to sleep. 

I guess having only three legs and being old , he was no threat to the Magpie. For a week or more after Tolstoy died this Magpie came to the door to see his friend. Then sadly one day younger birds attacked him as he flew over the fence into the neighbours yard. It was very distressing and sadly I never saw the Magpie ever again. But I feel there was a special bond between him and our Tolly. 

One night last summer I thought I was imagining things, lying in bed reading late at night, and suddenly hearing a Cuckoo call. I had no idea Canberra actually has Cuckoos. I got on to google and  discovered that there are actually five different types of Cuckoos in Canberra. 

The area where I live in Canberra is built is old farming land so we are lucky to have birds that have remained in the region as housing has expanded over the decades. I am living in the Tuggeranong valley which is not far from two big national parks. So there is a lot of wildlife all around us such as Kangaroos, Wallabies, Wombats, Echidna, Possums and foxes.  I have Possums living in my garden and the surrounding area. We often have foxes in the neighbourhood too. So there is a lot right on our doorstep so to speak. 

But getting back  to birds, I often sit in a reading chair at the window in my Family Room and watch birds as they weave in and out the bushes outside the window. If I am lucky I get to see Willie Wagtails or a Superb Fairy Wren, they are a real treat to see as are the Double Barred Finch and I think I have only been lucky enough once to see that finch then  honey eaters on some occasion oh, and the Falcon that attacked my Canary on the back veranda, that I will never forget.  Tiny little Silvereyes or nectar eaters are always lurking in the bushes, as I have Chinese Lantern or Abutilon and Choisya bush at my back window. I could sit all day and watch them if I could, lol. But as usual I have things to do every day. I just feel so content with nature and could quite easily live the rest of my life away from humans as long as I have animals and birds around me. A garden or a nature reserve is a must for me to touch base with nature. 

As I write this post the birds are still singing, it is just so nice and much better than the sound of the TV. We have a couple of resident Blackbirds that visit every day and tonight Mr Blackbird was perched on the rooftop next door singing his little heart out. It was Mrs Blackbird that had her babies on our back veranda two years ago. The family are still visiting our garden, but I have no idea who is who with them. I just enjoy seeing them in the garden. Nature is just an absolute joy to behold.

  The Crimson Rosella

Springtime flowers one way or another

So much is different this springtime, the ACT government in Canberra has had to change the plans for Floriade. this year for the first time. The event normally runs from the third week of September to the third week of October.

Sadly all our spring shows have been postponed and we have alternative arrangements  happening. The Floriade team have decided to share the flowers throughout town and place colourful displays in major areas sharing the floral delights. 

Personally I think all the town parks would have been a better choice, but perhaps because they are not locked at night it poses a risk of vandalism. However that could still happen in the streets too.

I just think people enjoy a walk in the park with loved ones and our town parks are big enough for social distancing anyway. Not to mention the beautiful man made lakes in each park. People don’t get the time to look at the flowers in the small beds in a suburban shopping centre or on a roadside but in a park setting they do.

People are in a hurry going about their daily business to have the time to stop and look at the flowers unlike in a park. Parks are more peaceful and make us slow down to appreciate what is there. Therefore a much better setting to do annually. The event has become way too commercial over the years and overwhelming when just held in Commonwealth park in the city.

The flower beds are amazing to look at and so beautiful. My favourite place for spring flowers displays is Tulip Tops garden, which is just outside Canberra heading towards Sydney. Sadly it is not open this year either due to the current pandemic.

So this year for me it is taking comfort in my garden, enjoying my own bulbs and planting some drought tolerant flowers to add a splash of colour. I bought some  Gazania to plant in full sun yesterday. These plants can take over if one is not vigilant. They will just about grow in concrete.

I know that I am taking a risk with them. However with the cost of watering the garden skyrocketing these days, it is a viable solution for colour. They can work in with my Osteospermum daisies and Agapanthus as they will tolerate hot dry conditions. The house across from me has a nice swarm of Gazania and Osteospermum, so it will look nice to have a colourful display opposite. 

There is nothing like the joy of gardening, it is so relaxing and rewarding. I didn’t get into gardening until 1995. It has been a mainstay in my life, to touch base with nature ever since. I would love an English county garden but in the extremely hot summers in Canberra that is a lot of water and time. So one must be creative in making a desirable equivalent that won’t shrivel up in the hot sun. So that’s where flowers such as Cosmos, Seaside daisies, Scabiosa, Agapanthus, Gazania, Osteospermum, roses and native flowers come in handy. 

Lol, there are times when a scorched earth policy has come to mind when the garden has become unruly. But it is just a case of pulling out the ones you don’t want and  careful choice of replacements. I have a massive problem with Ivy at present. I love the stuff, but it is now a banned plant in Canberra because it is so invasive and destructive. I am trying everything to kill mine off and it’s not as easy as one thinks.

Take it from me, don’t even think of putting it in the ground as a ground cover. It is also a hiding place for spiders too. The other no no is planting things like mint, that is another one that is invasive. Much easier to eradicate though. I might need a napalm strike on the Ivy to get rid of it.

I have a never ending battle with runners from Crepe Myrtle that the previous owner planted, grrr, it keeps resurfacing every few months and the roots must be everywhere in the front yard. The original was near the mailbox several meters away from my door, so heaven knows how long the runners really are. I am not a fan of that plant I can tell you 🤣🤣  

The things we learn along the way with gardening. I should write a book on how not to screw up 🤣 god only knows how much money I have spent on making a nice garden over the past twenty odd years. Now much as I love going into the garden section at the hardware store I have to restrain myself. I am trying to keep it real and not be a slave to the garden. Just enough time to enjoy my garden  and as little maintenance as possible is my dream. 

We nearly bought some more chickens but thankfully thought better of that. It would mean extra work and less garden. Much as I love chooks, they eat everything and I don’t want to go back to mucking out their house again and losing garden space. 

It would be lovely to have a garden set up like in the movie the secret garden. I just love that movie, watching the garden blossom in the hands of the children. How divine to have a garden that is so perfect and dreamy all year round. In an Australian climate that is possible, but it comes at a price, be it in time, money or water. But it is still worth the effort for the pleasure and joy that a garden brings, and not just to us humans. The birds, and insects need our gardens for survival in suburbia. Not to mention our deal beloved fur babies enjoy the delights of the garden too.

Two Rosella in the grass in the bottom photo