SOME WELCOME SPRING WARMTH - FOR A WHILE!

5th October
At last a little warmth in the air! I can hardly believe it! There I was on the first day of October, sitting out on the veranda enjoying the sunny day in front of me – then I looked at the thermometer. It was a mere 16 degrees! We’ve been so starved of heat that even 16 degrees seemed warm in comparison to what we’ve been having. It was so warm and dry that for the first time we were able to actually hang some washing outside. AND it all dried!
My silver-beet seedlings have begun to look just a little taller and some are really looking enthusiastic about growing. A few, though, I fear, are permanently stunted. That will teach me to plant them too early. I have some more seeds ready to sow but will try to be patient for a little longer, until I’m sure the last of the freezing weather is over.
Tomorrow we’re heading to northern Victoria for a few days to have a look at the Murray River with real water in it. We’ll visit the Barmah Forest and see the magnificent Red Gums taking their first proper drink for years and maybe even take a boat trip. Full report when we return.

7th to 10th at the Murray River
Sadly, we didn’t get into the Barmah Forest to see the Red Gums with their feet in the water. And why not? You’ll never guess the answer: it was TOO WET!
Ironic, isn’t it? After making enquiries at the Information Centre in Echuca, we drove as far as Barmah and then consulted with the local shopkeeper.
He was a mine of VERY USEFUL information.
“You can drive up to the Dharnya Centre but the roads into the forest from there are all closed because they’re flooded. You can get out and walk along a few of the tracks but I wouldn’t advise it – the place is FULL of mosquitoes, almost big enough to carry you away!”
Now, since we were well aware that the mosquitoes up that way can carry Ross River Fever, that put us off completely. (I’ve looked it up since and discovered that there's also a Barmah River Virus as well! So, here's all the information about those very nasty diseases).
We did drive up to the Dharnya Centre and I bravely got out of the car for a few minutes to read a couple of information signs but in that short time, I was bitten twice and slapped about three or four mossies to death. Back to the car quick-smart and let’s get out of here!
The latest news about roads being opened is available here.
So, instead of walking through the forest, we opted for a Paddle Steamer ride on the Murray. We had a glorious sunny day for it and it was certainly a much safer – and more restful – way of spending a few hours.

We could see from the debris along the banks that the river had been very much higher. The Captain told us it was now down to the ‘normal’ winter level.

A walk through the Echuca Wharves Museum told us a bit more about how the river has been managed by the locks system to allow navigation all year.

Thurs 21.10.10
Once we got back home, the glorious weather which we had for a week or so, encouraged me to get out and do all the re-potting and planting-out I’d been planning for springtime. Various seedlings which I’d managed to grow from seed have been carefully transplanted to either garden or larger pot and I’m hoping they’ll start to strengthen up a little after their hard life through the long, cold winter.
There are quite a few Bent Goodenias (G. gesticulata), lots of Viminaria, and a few Kangaroo Apple (Solanum aviculare) and the Everlastings (Chrysocephelum apiculatum) seem to be doing well from bits I’ve managed to strike. The Spikey Acacias (A.aphylla) and Sticky Everlastings (Xerochrysum viscosa) from our trip to the Werribee Zoo are looking a trifle delicate so they’ve been put into larger pots for a little more TLC.
The snails are out in full force – and ravenous – so the new plants can’t be left for a second without a bit of protective baiting.
Those blackbirds, which are the bane of my life – scratching out my mulch and stealing my worms – are serenading us morning and evening with the most beautiful singing. It’s so lovely and so varied, I’ve almost forgiven them for being here.
However, I’m afraid the other native birds aren’t quite so forgiving. The magpies and, particularly the wattle birds, do their very best to rid the world of these ‘foreigners’ and swoop and chase them at every opportunity. It’s particularly entertaining in the early morning to hear the blackbird start up with his delicate carolling only to hear our resident wattlebird interrupt over and over again with his raucous screech, and it sounds exactly like: “Get out! Get out!”
At the end of the day, with the sun still shining and the birds singing, we sit on the verandah and all the perfumes are released and fill the warm air. The Boronia is still flowering, the Eutaxia is sweet with honey and from next door comes the heady scent of their Jasmine.
We are advised by the locals – who are all well-versed in weather forecasting – to enjoy it while we can. More than one of them has assured us that next year will be wetter than this one! I can hardly wait!

26th October – Cranbourne Gardens
I visited the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne on 26th October with a busload of like-minded people. It’s "set in 363 hectares of heathlands, wetlands and woodlands" (to quote their website) and there is also a separate “Australian Garden” section which is where we spent our time. I’m rather ambivalent about this garden. It’s all been designed by various architects and is very well set out for identification of plants and everything is beautifully labelled but it does seem to be just a bit more ‘ordered’ than I would prefer. There seems to be a need to pretend that we can still grow our English-style Cottage Gardens but replace exotics with Australian plants and that’s not what I’m endeavouring to do. I much prefer to grow a natural looking Australian garden, where the plants are all mixed up together, where they lean on each other, shade each other, and fight for their own place. A lot of the plants I saw were cut into hedges, pruned neatly back and made to look as though they were imitation European plants.


The gardens are set around a "red centre" depicting the centre of Australia
which is very effective and quite beautiful.
It's just the neat garden beds of the outside that don't appeal to me.

I would really like to have seen more of the ‘natural’ area but with a limited amount of time, this was more of a ‘discovery trip’ for me. I’ll be back there again some time to see the rest.

30th and 31st MORE RAIN
We have had complaints from a couple of our children that “it’s always raining in the South West”. Well, not this time. This time the rest of Victoria has been getting more than we have! Melbourne had 135 mm over the weekend when we had only about 30mm. Even so, in the old measurements, that's almost an inch and the ground is definitely soggy once more.

Just when we thought it was drying out!

We can hear again the trickling of the underground water as it heads for lower ground and – we have had another disaster! A casualty of the wet ground and the wind overnight, my Acacia Scarlet Blaze (A. leprosa-x) has finally given up trying to remain upright. 

It was tied tightly to a star picket because it never seemed to establish a proper root system but in the wind, the tie broke and now – it’s gone. I’ve heard similar stories about the same tree and I suspect it’s just not a very strong cultivar.

It will be interesting to see how much more rain we get before spring is officially over – the garden could do with just a LITTLE break from being soaked. I’m quite worried about some small Eucalypts I put in earlier this year which I keep finding standing in pools of water – I’m sure they don’t like it. Some long periods of sunshine would be most welcome, too! And then, I suppose, we’ll be complaining about the heat! 



Grevillea "Winpara Gem" - the more I prune it (usually about mid-September) the
more it produces glorious flowers!

I'm certainly not complaining, though, when I gaze into the middle of my beautiful "Winpara Gem". It's absolutely covered in flowers. You can see the whole bush - and a record of all the garden's development over the month of October by clicking right here.