New Rose Garden

The new rose garden has been a work in progress for a while now.  It all started when we decided to trim the existing climbing rose that was entangled on the existing trellis (which was being held up from the rose itself).  When we started the fence just fell to pieces.  Hmmmm ... time to rethink the garden.

I've always loved roses and I needed a place to plant existing roses from the Ponderosa to one central place.  This was the perfect spot.  The fence came down .. and stayed down for quite some time until we acquired some used tin for free and used it to replace the old trellis.  A quick spray paint with "karaka" which made the fence blend into the backdrop and not stand out.  Transport the roses from other existing gardens .. luckily only two didn't survive :-( ... fill in the spaces with a combination of other beautiful roses.  Plant some swan plants, gladioli bulbs and erect a nice bird house .. painted curiosity of my lovely god daughter Hope.  Add some weed cloth to keep the weeds away, cover with bark to keep in the moisture ... then sit back and watch the garden grow.

Before ...

Nearly Finished

Hope adding the final touches to the garden .. painting the bird house

I envisage the roses at the back being quite tall adding a backdrop for the front flowers in the garden and the colourful birdhouse peaking out from the lush roses that will grow up and around it.  

So it's not quite finished yet, but I'm still very happy with the current result!!

Happy living people.

More & More Cakes

The last couple of months have been quite busy for me and my cakes so I thought I would share a few more photo's.

Happy living people

Summer Fruit Surprise

We have been in our home for two years now and it never ceases to amaze me how we are still finding new and exciting things around the house that we've never experienced before.

The lastest is three fruiting cherries and fruiting japanese plum tree.  Don't get me wrong.  I've known the trees were there, but last season I didn't notice any fruit on them and thought they were both of the "ornamental" kind.

Last year we had two plums fruit on our tree which was such a disappointment.  We waited for three weeks before the fruit look ready for picking, only to go out and find .... GONE!!  Not sure where they went as we couldn't see any pips or evidence the birds had got to them.  I got to thinking someone had picked them and didnt' tell us :-(  This year though, it was a awesome. The tree was loaded and we awaited the first plum to be ready for picking.  Hmmmm, it was worth the wait.  A whole year of waiting, with two weeks of fresh plums .. but now the tree is empty.  Stripped from us picking and eating them constantly.  I thoroughly enjoyed this seasons plums on this one tree, although I can't help wonder that we are about one month ahead of ourselves with the weather.

We've planted two black doris plums and two other plum trees on the property to help with our season demand.  Hopefully next season, we will have more than two weeks of enjoying fresh plums.

As for the cherries?  Well that's a completely different story. 

Imagine my surprise when I was sitting at home on my side porch overlooking our land with our beloved dog "bruno", when a flashing red colour caught my eye as the breeze was blowing in the trees.  I ran down to have a closer inspection only to find cherries starting to colour.  I was so excited I yelled 'WE'VE GOT CHERRIES', only to realise I was the only person at home, and my dog was looking up at me with a very strange look on his face :-) I had to text my husband straight away to tell him the news and when arriving home, he found two other trees fruiting as well.  YAY!!!

Unfortunately we weren't as lucky with the cherries as we were with our plums. The birds got to them first, but rest assured, I'll be determined to keep them away next season!!  We've also planted another two more cherry trees and hope that they will also flower and fruit to help provide for us over the future summer months.

Happy living people