Pond finally completed!

Finally, the pond is finished!

You can't really see from the pic above but there is another rock type pond to the left which flows into the raised timber one below. 

The pic below is the area before we started.

The water plants are multiplying like mad already.

The decked seating areas we have put at either end have proved to be a lovely spot to sit and have that first cuppa of the day!

All in all job well done by my clever hubby! xx

How does you garden grow?

Just a quick update on my veggie garden with a few pics. 

Ruby grapefruit in flower, grown in a large pot. 

Cucumber I am training to grow up a trellis 

Cauliflower which has now gone to seed as it is too hot here, bo hoo!

Lettuce is doing really well. Pulled 3 out today to make a salad. 

Toms flowering but no fruit as yet

Good old beetroot is going great guns, although this bed is a tad over planted!

More updates coming soon!

Buderim Garden show

What a lovely day I had at the Buderim Garden Show. The prize winners must have put so much hard work into their entries.  Well done everyone!

The kids entries were amazing, such a fantastic way in getting kids into gardening!

These cane begonias were beautiful. I really want some of these but not having much luck in finding them. 

Also, as part of the show you were allowed to go and nosey around 6 gardens in Buderim. And I did! I went to all of them! Amazing to see what people started with and what they created out of nothing. 

What a lovely way to spend a lazy Sunday!

Pond in progress

Neil finally persuaded me to put a pond in our rather tropical jungle looking garden at the side of our house. Here are a couple of pics of the area before we started. 

Neil got a bit carried away while I was out and built the biggest monstrosity you have ever seen. It was that big I could have done laps in it!

After a little gentle persuasion Neil made it ever so slightly smaller, but still huge! The liner had to be done with 2 pieces sealed together with joiner tape as we couldn't find any liner big enough to do it in one piece. 

We intend to put bench type seating a each end too. Neil started to build up the rocks to make a waterfall into the pond. I just gave direction as I hurt my back this week and was not going to go through that pain again. 

The moral to this post is never build a pond that is sooooo big that you have to join 2 pieces of liner cos it.......you guessed it .... LEAKS!

Now we have to empty the pond and get some more liner tape, which takes 4 weeks to get in as nobody has it in stock. Now who's bright idea was this pond!

Mish Mash Quiche

Far too many take away's, I say! 

We were doing so well with our healthy eating until our prodigal son, Luke, returned. Neil had lost around 10kgs and I had lost 2kgs. But it all seemed to go out the window....the fat came back! Fatty food that is and the kgs! 

Now Luke has gone back to Hamilton Island to work we can't blame him anymore. So we need to nuckle down and get back on track. We needed some fresh produce and my veggie garden only had bok choy ready for harvest. We decided to head to the Suncoast Growers Market in Woombye on Saturday morning. Had a lovely morning wandering around the market and picked up some lovely veggies and plants.   

Suncoast Growers Market - Woombye

Silverbeet

Roasting fresh beetroot

Come Friday I was at a loss of what to cook. Not wanting to throw good food away I decided to make a rather unusual quiche with the left overs we had in the fridge. Chicken, silverbeet, onions, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and beetroot, yes beetroot!

Mish Mash Quiche

Yes I know you're thinking it looks a bit weird, that's why I called it a Mish Mash Quiche! It was yummy, very yummy in fact. I can't wait until the beetroot in our garden is ready and I can make some more weird and wonderful creations. 

Our first harvest

Our veggie garden project is progressing well. After spending time looking at the layout and design we were going to use the first of our veggies are ready for harvest.

Bok Choy

I have picked the ones ready for harvest

We are not great lovers of bok choy but have blanched and frozen some for future stir fries. We have given the neighbours some and the rest I will take to work tomorrow to give to the staff. Bok Choy to go!

 The lettuce in the wall pots is doing well

Beetroot is come along nicely 

Cauliflower is growing well but still no curds showing 

Zucchini is looking good  

Tomatoes are slowly but surely heading skywards  

Cucumbers are, well, not doing much really

Waiting for strawberries to do something ....anything???

Random tooth I found when digging, and no, it's not mine!

All in all very happy with the progress so far. Wish I had started it years ago!