Happy 27th Birthday Dear Daughter and Father's Day in Australia

My daughter celebrating her 27th Birthday one day early.

No doubt she will be spoilt by her DH when she arrives home today.

He might even make her a cake as well.

My one and only DD has been staying with us for the last week.

She wanted to visit us and then travel to our home town for a few days and catch up with relatives and friends but the dreaded morning sickness really took hold and she spent the entire time with us, feeling sick.

Not a good way to enjoy a holiday but she did get a lot of rest which is great as she never lets any grass grow under her feet and a good self imposed rest is probably just what she needed.

Here in Australia, yesterday was Father's Day.

 My parents travelled one and half hours to my place on The Darling Downs, mainly to see my daughter as she was not able to get to see them so we spent a lovely day together.

They had not seen her pregnancy bump before either.

We have always lived no more than 30 mins apart and in the last two years my DD and SIL

moved to Gympie

and

DH and I moved to The Darling Downs so it is rare for all of us to get together anymore.

Anyhow DD set off for her home this morning bright and early because her morning sickness is really more like afternoon sickness.

Therefore feeling fresher and chirpier in the morning was the wisest time to set off for an approximately 3 hr trip to Gympie.

DF & I, Father's Day 2011

DH, DD and me.

Sadly our son lives 6 hrs away and was not with us for DD's birthday, I think for the 1st time ever.

Dear Daughter (& her 17 week old baby bump) with her Dad  

&

me with my Dad. 

My DM, DD & me

We spent quite a lot of time walking around the garden.

Mum and Dad love gardening and always enjoy looking around at our new plants,

 especially here on The Darling Downs

as the seasons are so pronounced 

that we have had to learn to adapt to the very different gardening conditions,

especially what plants will survive the successive harsh frosts we endure in winter.

Gazanias, salvias, petunias, sweet peas, diosma, coastal rosemary

and

 primulas are just starting to either bud up or flower.

Spring has sprung!!

The 1st of September is the first day of Spring in Australia.

Rusted garden ornaments are from my parents and some even from my grandparents.

My parents lived on a beef farm until 6 years ago

and

there was always plenty of garden art to be had.

DF calls it junk....how hilarious!

It's win win for me and him.

Bought this at the plant sale on Saturday....a faux tap plant stand.

The petunia and dianthus were free as we bought a lot of plants,

for every $50 spent we received 2 plants.

Ornaental garden wheelbarrow made by DH years ago

and rusted wheel courtesy of my cousin

who used to work at the local dump....how exciting for me!!!!

I got lots of treasures from him over the years.

Bought this beautiful little lavender on Saturday at a garden sale at Kingsthorpe.

It's so sweet I put the bird cage over it as I did not want to risk it being dug up by my dog or a stray cat that has been hanging around.....

SO

   anyhow....

Dear Daughter

Happy 27th Birthday

for

today

5th September 2011. 

Love you lots

xoxoxoxoxox

God Bless You Always!

Recycling old timber and starting new gardens.

Winter Gardening

on

the

Darling Downs

My DH really outdid himself today.
We recently acquired some beautiful old timber from a neighbour who pulled down his old termite ridden cattle loading ramp.
He had it sitting in his paddock for quite a few weeks and I plucked up enough courage to ask him if he didn't want it for firewood etc could we please have some???

'Sure', he said, 'only happy for you to take as much as you want'.

I was thrilled, DH was a bit 'ho-hum', but anyhow it was his idea to make a lavender walk garden a few weeks back, so I knew we could use this old timber.

I have ideas for a garden seat, a mock post and rail fence, sleeper type slabs in the gravel path and who knows what else with the left overs.

One beautiful piece of iron bark hard wood alone is eight feet long and 8 1/2" x 4 1/2 ".

Way too good to become firewood or go to the dump.

As soon as I saw it I knew what I wanted to do with it. It will make a great low bench type garden seat.

This project will come to fruition in a few weeks I would think.
DH is thinking of how to make legs to suppport it atm, it's extremely heavy so he has to get it right.

DH and Gordon, our 2 yr old Manx cross filling the posthole

Completed post and rail fence with rustic garden ornaments

DH, Edie on rail and Gordon on colourbond fence

Edie, our two year old Manx

We used this concrete lizard garden ornament as part of the garden rock edge.

It's a bit faded so it's getting a paint face lift.

Start of where the gravel path will go.

This timber is one of the old iron bark pieces from the neighbour.

This is the newly laid garden for our new lavender walk

Gravel to be added to path & planting still to be done.

DH hand collected all these rocks from a farmer's paddock.

The farmer has SO many he can't plough properly.

He said we can gather as many as we like!!

All for FREE!

DH is the one doing all the hard work and his back is still holding up well.

He's a good bloke.

Winter primulas just starting to come into flower....

Things are slow up here on the Darling Downs, it's just too cold.

The alyssum does not mind the cold, even successive frosts!

This yukky white border is being painted or replaced with rocks.

More rusted garden objects, collected over the years.

Stay tuned for more photos as the paths are gravelled & plantings occur.

Late winter is the best time to garden so you should see the next stage soon.