I think I must make this years "New Years resolution" to be sure to follow up my weeding efforts with a good feed and mulch routine. So often I weed a patch then don't get back to it in time to mulch before the next crop of weeds grows. My iris "divide and conquer" annual routine is under way already, with opne large bed already dug and the oocupants either placed in the garden or potted up. The bed is then weeded, rotary hoed, the soil enhanced and then formed into raised rows. Once that is done, I can dig the next bed, trim the rhizomes back and rotate them into the newly prepared bed, and so on - only 6 beds to dig - all around 3m X 6 m in size. I try to do some weeding and some iris digging each day, to try and keep on top of it. Christmas has set me back a bit, and I have committed myself to 2 days a week in Melb, minding my grandson while my daughter completes her master's degree. That will eat into my gardening and work time. As the business grows I have to spend more time doing actual, real work, but the upside of that is I can afford to get help in, and pay for all the peastraw. The down side of getting help in is that anyone who does weeding, mowing or brushcutting for money does not have a clue about what is valuable in the garden and what is a weed .....don't get me started. Oh ....and the government, in their infinite wisdom, have decided I should sit round waiting to be called up for Jury duty. So much for our Autumn trip to NZ that hasn't been booked yet - would be our first real holiday in 15 years :-(

I have to get manure in (read put the trailer on the car, drive down to the saleyards and shovel it on, then drive home and shovel it off) and put it out the front to create some garden beds along the top of the bank. The front garden has never been finished - too many other things to do, but in the new year I am determined to get it done. There is a small garden bed (small for me) out the back which needs fixing and planted out, and we have to get a brickie in to make the front steps. Then the paths need a top-up of white gravel, so we need a load of gravel, and... I reckon that's about it on the 'gotta-do' list. We aren't planning a holiday, the last real holiday we had was in 1983. Have forgotten what they are... :-( I got jury duty too, Spiraxis. Had to wait for ages, then on the appointed day called the court and was told it was cancelled. Lucky for me, because at the time things were fairly hectic.

Thinking, thinking, thinking, here and enjoying being inside doing just that with the new airconditioner going. It is 39 deg. outside. Rose garden and things for some climbers to grow on and where to put them will be in my thoughts. Weeds, and more weeds, why do they think we love them ?? Marion

I really, really have to continue on my mission to rid my garden of all the potential 'weeds' that I seem to have aquired over the years. Unfortunately, the things that are most easy to propagate or are very cheap to buy, seem to all fall into that category (or does it just feel like that?) I also want to reduce the lawn space, especially out the front...that is if you can call bindii and assorted grasses and weeds a lawn! Mind you it doesn't look too bad when it's neatly mowed, there's just too much of it......perhaps I'll start tomorrow if it's not too hot. Good luck with your school gardening GH.....Cheers, Dee.

Weeding and more weeding - The lawn has been taken over and the beds are encroached on. I set myself to fill a bucket a time. I don't want to poison the grass, so this year I will hack it out, and put down gravel paths and very strong roses. This year I will ignore vague promises from my son-in-law, and get my own garden fence to break down the force of drying winds. The front garden faces west, and only the brave survive summer. I need the two arches to be erected for Renae, and Zepherin Druin,(?) in the back garden, much more sheltered and civilised. I will measure up and price the materials for a small pergola across the back of the house, for climbing roses that can escape the clutches of the Appleblossom groundcover rose. I will pot up geraniums along the drive, more pots of succulents for the arid spots, and more pots of spider plant for the shady side of the drive. I must persude the Rambling Rector to cover the garage, not head off for the vegetable garden. I will welcome my teen age grandson who is an avid gardener in the making, and let him put up arches and the pergola and other expert jobs outside my ken. I will let him help repot the gigantic orchid reproachfully climbing out of its pot. All this is marvelous experience for him and will help him in his gardening future. Also funds will be provided for DVDs and Tee shirts. And so, I hope, the year will roll on.

G, I am sure the school is lucky to have you and your enthusiasm will rub off on the kids. Here, I am finding it hard to break out of drought mindset tho' most of the locals speak optomistically of rain. Autumn is usually regarded as the time to plant, too sodding hot now. And this human finds it a bit warm for hard landscaping tho' the list includes steps to the clothesline, maybe a shade structure for half of the vege area, a path through the tiny r/forest a la Wintles sounds good. A lillypilly hedge out front needs redoing: turned out there were 3 *pups* out of 4 plants several years ago (don't remember the specific IDs). Thinking of a mixed arrangement, keeping the good 'un on the end next to the neighbour, finding a suitable small- medium tree for the end closer to our driveway and filling in with something like a Graptophyllum exselsum/ ilicifolium. Getting more use out of the existing tiny shadehouse: fixed, level (!) shelving, ground also levelled. Pot storage rationalised (doesn't anyone else ever panic that they might run out of pots?). Better get cracking! Good gardening, Rose

I have crates of pots on hand for when i need them of any size. They came about from the 20+ trailer loads of plants brought from my previous garden. Most were collected from the landfill/recycle centre for next to nothing, or donated by friends. I actually had a young man knock on the door recently and ask if I would like to part with them. To his pleasure, I referred him to the local recycle centre. I am sure he will now be well stocked up.

At the risk of sounding like a garden saint, (at least I'm not a food or exercise saint), I'm going to continue with my notebook entries. This means walking around the garden, at least once a month, making a note and sometimes sketching, all the things that need doing but can't be done straight away. I find this invaluable in winter when it's time to move plants, especially perennials. I also like to write down the things I should have done, so that I can refer to this next year and hopefully get in before it's too late. Well that's the theory at least. I'm very good at theories at this time of year when it's too hot to garden.

Great idea WB. I keep note pads beside me at my desk, and as i think of garden jobs, i write them down. A list lasts me for a month or so. I mark off jobs as they are done, and put asterisks against the most urgently pressing jobs. I think I actually spend more time making lists than I do gardening - LOL

I have a 'garden journal' WB - it is a large hardbound exercise book full of sketches, magazine cuttings, ideas etc. It is battered and well thumbed through. It is interesting to look at our early garden plans and see how they have changed. Some remain true to the original idea and others are unrecognisable.

I have no journal, no notes, nothing labelled. I am disorganised and unplanned.....but guess what! I still love it. I wish I could be more ordered about it all but I guess it's just not me and I just have to accept that............Cheers, Dee.

I jot down notes to remind me of jobs that need doing but they're usually on little bits of scrap paper that get lost :( I also have 3 whiteboards and chalkboards which I put down jobs to be done - then the kids rub them off to draw pictures :( One of my new years resolutions is to try and be more organised this year - but then I say that every year so I'll just have to try harder. Happy New Year to all.

Hi GH, I just noticed on the Flora for Fauna site (at the top in the blue line) there is a section 'For Schools' to click on. I haven't actually looked at it, but wondered if it may be of some use to you.....Cheers, Dee.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flora for Fauna

Had a quick look and looks good, might give me some ideas. Will have a good look soon. Thanks Dee