A gardening weekend

We had beautiful weather this Easter weekend. I made the most of it with a big tidy up in the potager - pulling out the manky tomatoes and beans, weeding, and digging over the ground. I also planted out some more broccoli and silver beet, which maddeningly I had to buy as punnets. What with one thing and another I got out of the rhythm of sowing seed regularly, which means the broccoli I had previously planted was forming heads, and any seed I sow now won't be harvestable till spring. I did sow some anyway, but also had to go broccoli-hunting at the garden centres... and that stuff was scarce!

Here is the First Quarter looking luminous with the cosmos and calendula still flowering like mad. There is a valiant pumpkin struggling on, it has one fruit so we'll see how ripe that manages to get. Broad beans are at the back under the canes.

The Second Quarter is also full, mostly with broccoli which is forming heads (not very big ones unfortunately, they probably need more water than they got from me in late summer).

The Third Quarter still has capsicums and chillis along the right hand path. They are steadily ripening, I'll leave them there as long as possible until frosts take them out. The far edge of the garden is planted with a row of soldier-like spring onions. The curve of the path has been planted with calendula seedlings. They were sown in late Feb, about a month after the ones which are flowering so well now, but that month made all the difference as these tiny seedlings are refusing to do very much at all. I've made cloches out of plastic soft drink bottles to try and nurse them along a bit.

The Fourth Quarter is the one I cleared out and dug over. Since this photo was taken I've planted it with spring onions, broccoli and beet and there is room for some red lettuce too.

I had this post left over from the bean fence, and I thought it would be cute with some pots hanging off it. I made the hangers by wrapping some thin wire around terracotta pots, and twisting it to form handles. I'm thinking about putting a bird feeder on top of the post, probably just an old wicker basket.

I love pansies and violas. I love the way they self seed so freely - whenever I find a little seedling I transplant it to wherever needs brightening up. You never know what colour you're going to get - I've had some beautiful and unique (to my garden) colourings pop up!

Twilight and the lights come on. I can go inside and know I've done a good day's work.