Mother Earth

On Mother's Day we often forget that the great Mother of us all, the Earth herself, needs a little care and respect, too.

I hope you are all going well and staying safe. In the slow down that is the result of this pandemic, many of us are finding ways to reconnect with the natural world, even if it is only our houseplants or the street trees we see from our windows.

We had some really marvellous rain last week. It was such a boost to the garden, and as it has been followed by sunshine and warmer temperatures, a lot of my seeds and seedlings are looking happy. This is our planting time, and now I have the garlic coming up I am moving on to broccoli and dill and anemones. I have been feeding the avocado which is still, after all these years, refusing to fruit. I have given it a companion tree to provide extra shade, and it has all sorts of compost and stuff in a deep collar around its trunk -but set back so that it does not get too wet. Oh, I love avocados, but this tree surely is going to have to reward my efforts at some stage or it will lose its place in the garden to something else. 

We were able, for the first time EVER, to enjoy our son, daughter in law and three grandchildren having lunch with us on Mother's  Day. It was mild and sunny and we ate outside. DH made a huge batch of sausage rolls, coleslaw and potato salad. I was given a SHREDDER for my garden, to assist in the big 2020 goal of making better compost. 

We have a local group on FaceBook which endeavours to build community and subvert the capitalist system at the same time by helping us give things to each other free of charge. That was how I got a sturdy bird bath support for the bird bath I had, whose base was crumbling. The magpies and wattle birds love this dish. 

I am scattering flowers around the garden, to keep the bees happy. These marigolds seed readily and when they grow it is often a surprise to see just what colours come up. 

DH tidied the garden shed and found a paper bag with some seeds which were labelled 'hollyhock'. He thinks we collected them about a decade ago, at a holiday house we were renting in Albany. Having seen a helpful online tutorial about checking seed viability, I soaked some paper and distributed about a dozen seeds. After a few days I was surprised to see at least a 50% germination rate -these seeds were not kept in ideal conditions at all -that metal shed gets very hot in summer. Anyway, feeling encouraged, I recycled an egg carton into a seed raising container and look what has happened so far:

Life wants to grow and continue to develop. If we stop getting in it's way it will reward us! 

Finally I leave you with a couple of things to read.

Thanks for reading this blog this far and thanks to all those who leave a comment. I enjoy our connections in this way. 

Reading time!

Deep thoughts about a quiet boycott of an unsustainable system from David Holmgren here 

Enjoy the pictures and the story about an Australian wilderness here 

"One day, the seeds may be reintroduced back into the landscape to flourish again which, for Wood, is a comforting thought. It will be nice if we can leave those who come after us with more than just a glimpse of what the world was in the beginning," he says.