Spring is here!

I may have mentioned previously that I have never been much of a gardener. But I am trying to change all that. As well as the Australian native garden we plan to have a large number of edibles throughout the yard, and a vege patch of course. This will take us a lot of time [so don't hold your breath] as we have to wait for our house renovations to be over. Just so the builders don't wreck any new plants with their vehicles etc.

I'm itching to get started, however, and have decided that I want to grow rosellas. My Nanna used to grow rosellas and I remember visiting her one weekend while I was at uni and helping her to pick them, shell them, and make jam. Let me tell you something about rosella jam: it's amazing! Nanna's rosella bushes are long gone now, so I started researching the plant in the hope of obtaining a couple.

I found out that the rosella is actually a type of hibiscus [which is another plant I'm very keen to grow, probably behind our pool] called Hibiscus Sabdariffa. I purchased some seeds online and planted them a couple of weeks ago... and they're growing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A couple even have their second set of leaves starting.

They are in pots sitting in an old wheelbarrow covered in chicken wire, as the chooks would devour the sweet new leaves given half a chance. That's been handy, as I've needed to move them every couple of days out of our builder's way... we are renovating at the moment and the house and yard is in chaos!!!

Well, most of it is in chaos. Here is a picture of the native garden I mentioned in a previous post taken this afternoon:
What you may or may not realise is that we have a garden wall now, and TURF!! In the previous post about this native garden the green in the foreground of the photo is all weeds, which the chickens have since made short work of. It looks so lovely, and the kids were really excited to run on grass again. I hadn't realised till now just how depressing and dusty the yard had become. Poor little Miss 1 had forgotten what grass was, I think, and couldn't walk on it properly!

It's so nice to have one part of our home 'finished' so we can escape there at the moment.