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The Gardening Journal in the News

It has been such a fun year getting our project  – The Gardening Journal  – from an idea to a published book! The layout and the designing! The printing and its own great website! It has been just as fun using it while planning our gardens month-by-month – watching what grows!

Up until now, The Gardening Journal has been really only given to friends and family to use and recommend. Then we have had a few garden buddies as customers spreading the word. Christine and I were quite happy to just print The Gardening Journal for ourselves every year, but thought, after all,  that it would be nice to share this with our gardening blogger friends.

Well, we have now made it into the top gardening magazines in South Africa! In the December 2011 Issue! Yeay!

SA Garden Magazine

It says: “FAB FINDS” – Designed for green fingers, this month-by-month journal is not tied to any given year. There is space for what is growing and blooming, what to plant, gardening chores, notes, shopping lists, a page for drawings or photos and an overview at the end of each month. There is also a plant identification section. The journal is printed on eco-friendly paper. Available at nurseries and bookstores, or order online at www.thegardeningjournal.co.za

Follow them on Twitter – Sagarden

The Gardener Magazine

We are first in the list of “… a few of our favourites”……..It says: “The Gardening Journal – Erratic methods of journaling led Barbara and Christine of the www.thegardeningblog.co.za to design a journal that can be used for writing notes on what is happening in the garden. To order visit www.newvoices.co.za or www.thegardeningblog.co.za”

We are also very proud that we have now been able to stock the Stodels Nurseries with The Gardening Journal. So, get yourselves to your nearest Stodels Nursery (branches are in Bellville, Kenilworth, Milnerton) and buy your copy of The Gardening JournalNOW! Or if you already have a copy, it is a really great gift idea!

Gardening is such a rewarding pastime and can bring out the creative strengths in all of us! We wish to share ours with you!

Happy Gardening xxx

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Strawberries for Elma

This is a special post for a dear friend of mine, Elma Cheeseman, whom I met through my publishing business. She is 93 years old and published a fabulous recipe book called “Gran’s Cookery Chat”. Well, needless to say, I have tried many of her tried and tested recipes and always a delight for the whole family! I told her about the Gardening Blog and she has been following my every move ever since. She wrote to me one day and suggested I try strawberries!

Well, Elma – I hope you are reading this! LOOK! I have planted strawberries!

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I have a special area where I’ve planted my peach tree and blueberry bush and now my strawberries! This is my Sugar Patch! I have borage blooming here too and this is a bee magnet! So all my fruits are well pollenated! I have seen some flowers on my strawberries already, so I will keep you up to date on when the lovely fruit appears! Strawberry and Cream anyone?

Thanks, Elma, for your advice and your support and your friendship!

Happy Gardening xxx

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Art of Nature

No words can describe the beauty of nature. It is the way we look at plants – the up close and personal! I find this the most captivating part of gardening – the way we see our garden! The light – the colour – the texture! All so fascinating!

[one_half]The power of Parsley[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Waterdrops on Asparagus leaves[/one_half_last]

[one_half]A climbing runner bean[/one_half]

[one_half_last]First sweetcorn bud[/one_half_last]

[one_half]New leaves of the Leopard Tree[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Droplets on new Swiss Chard leaves[/one_half_last]

How gracious nature is with her beauty! Enjoy your garden this week!

Happy Gardening xxxxx

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30 Day Challenge Barbie's garden Gardening

The 30 Day Challenge – Day 7

Today, I am grateful for Rain!

Today it rained! It is a precious gift from the sky and something we need to harvest and use wisely, we do not know when the day will come when we will be without! I love the sound of rain on my tin roof and the colour of the garden when the rains have just been. It cleans the air and revives the plants. There is something about rain that is cleansing and renewing! Even the chickens like to dig and scratch in the rain. It brings the worms out and wets the dry earth. A heavenly treasure!

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Backgarden joy

I am so enjoying my back garden and the velocity of growth I see every day! It is amazing how everything is springing to action and the veggies are actually looking like something you can eat!! A huge growth from 5 days ago! The herbs are creeping over the patchwork patio and everyday I can pick mint for my lemon tea and thyme for my midday meal. The peaches are  causing havoc on the small peach tree and the quince tree is happy to show off her new fruit! My grass patch is amazingly green and soft like a velvet carpet and my hubby and I fall onto it after a hard days work!

[one_half]Look at my lovely peaches – still small![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Quinces growing too[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Blueberries are budding![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bees still abound in the borage flowers[/one_half_last]

 

The raised beds are growing nicely – potatoes, beetroot, cabbage, parsley and spinach are looking good. The tomatoes are sadly taking their time and the broccolli will be a while still.

[one_half]The potatoes are monstrous and looking healthy[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The beet root is growing nicely and the greens are delicious[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Assorted lettuces for summer salads[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lush and bountiful – soon a plate full of home growns[/one_half_last]

 

Loving my garden right now and will post some more photos tomorrow.

 

Happy gardening xxxx

 

 


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Annuals Barbie's garden Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels Trees

Mid-spring in one garden for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day October

Springtime brings with it hope and big dreams and promises – with the garden full of colour and each plant growing 3cm each night while I am asleep, I have great plans of picking bunches of flowers for the home and gathering fabulous salad greens and baby potatoes from my veggie patch for summer lunches. I am missing my best friend and blogger buddy, Christine, this Blogger Bloom Day, but I hope to make her proud with all I have to show this GBBD post! There are so many plants and bulbs and flowers that she has given me that she is also part of this post. Hurry home…..

Thank you for joining us for our October “Spring colour” …

Here’s what’s blooming in Barbie’s garden in October 2011

I have seen the transformation of my garden and the love that both Christine and I have put into it – yes, I have a number of plants and Irises that come from Christine – so I can quite happily say that here is what is growing in my garden with Christine’s help this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!! Enjoy the burst of colour ….. xxxxx

[one_half]The last of the Sparaxis[/one_half]

[one_half_last]I love the colours against my celery[/one_half_last]

[one_half]A pale California Poppy[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bright yellow too![/one_half_last]

[one_third]Splash of colour![/one_third]

[one_third]My vision of blue and yellow comes to life[/one_third]

[one_third_last]Bright blue corn flower[/one_third_last]

[one_half]My gaura coming to life – yeay![/one_half]

[one_half_last]They are going to be gorgeous with the roses[/one_half_last]

[one_half]My first real camomile flowers ever![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Look Christine – I have Ixias blooming[/one_half_last]

[one_half]The Ixias have such beautiful flowers and so unexpected![/one_half]

[one_half_last]The Lychnis has taken nicely to her new home[/one_half_last]

[one_third]My “Auntie Henna” rose is full bloom[/one_third]

[one_third]My borage is a bee hotel! Just loving it and delicious too![/one_third]

[one_third_last]A bright pink corn flower! I thought they were only blue[/one_third_last]

[one_half]First quince blossom[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Blossoms on my new apple tree (still a twig at the moment)[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Armeria Maritima – White Thrift blooming[/one_half]

[one_half_last]White thrift close up[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Fuchsia is  amazing this year[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Sisyrinchium Graminoides[/one_half_last]

[one_half]My first rose display – how gorgeous![/one_half]

[one_half_last]My sage in bloom[/one_half_last]

There is so much more still in bloom, but I guess you have already seen my lavender and rosemary and my potato bush and lemon tree far too often. But I will leave that for another day!

 

About Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Join Carol and friends over at May Dreams Gardens for October Garden Bloggers Bloom Day to see what other gardeners around the world have blooming in on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and check out the German version at Seepferds Garten for Blogger Blüten in October! And if you haven’t joined yet and have some blooms you’d like to show off, please join in the fun of showcasing your blooms! We’d love to see what YOU have blooming in your garden right now!

Thank you for joining us!

PS: Please join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter – we’ll be so happy if you do!

Happy Gardening!
xxx

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Before and after continued ..

Thank you all for the interest shown in the Before and After! of my front garden. As promised, I have taken the latest photos of the back garden today, so now I can show you the big changes!

The Back Garden

BEFORE:

It was a ruined area, the chickens had taken over the back garden and as any chicken owner knows – I’ve learnt – they scratch and peck until it is pretty much all gone! So now, they have their own area behind the shade cloth and I have taken back my garden! Hooray! Let’s see the process.

[one_half]The place is bleak and bare….shame![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Just a pool of mud in May[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Only an idea at this stage[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Still a long way to go![/one_half_last]

[one_half]The great gardening project starts![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Cleaning and digging and composting![/one_half_last]

Now that I look back at what I have accomplished, I am amazed where all that energy came from! But man oh man – It was so worth it! I enjoy my garden so much now and I love sharing it with you, my garden friends! It will be wonderful to enjoy it this summer! My hubby takes care of the pool, so we are all ready for the summer sunshine!

AFTER:

[one_half]The back garden as it is now![/one_half]

[one_half_last]This patch is looking so lush and full![/one_half_last]

[one_half]The patchwork patio works so well in the garden[/one_half]

[one_half_last]All my herbs I planted in the patchwork  patio[/one_half_last]

[one_half]The raised beds with vegetables[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Potatoes and beetroot growing well[/one_half_last]

 

The Chickens had the whole run of the garden to play, and now they have to be contained. Not happy campers, but still a large area for them to play! They have plenty of space and a new house – the three little pigs could not have built a better one ….with a huff and a puff …and …well at least it’s brick! It’s only temporary until we can build them a real nice place and fix the area up for them to play! Ok….I know ….. another BIG project. But something to blog about.

 

[one_half]The girls play area[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The rest area in some shade[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Lots of room for 3 chickens[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Love their new lapa[/one_half_last]

Thanks for sharing and Happy Gardening xxx

 

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Barbie's garden Design Do it yourself Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous Perenniels

Before and After

I have been watching the growth of my garden and, with the gentle prodding from our friends, I had to do this post to showcase the tremendous change that happened in my small part of the world in the short 6 months since I started my whirlwind, one-woman landscaping exploit. I will do each part separate: I have divided the garden into front, veggie patch (along the side), the fruit tree area (back east section) and the back garden (the entertainment area).

The Front Garden

BEFORE:

Remember the front area with the huge lavender bushes that took over the whole bed? They also hid the dry river bed that I so lovingly created…for no one to see! The grass was dry and patchy. I loved my garden like this….. funny how we grow as gardeners! These pictures were taken right in the beginning of our blog in January.

[one_half]Remember my huge lavender bushes?[/one_half]

[one_half_last]My pride and joy, but outgrew their place[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Already starting to look tatty and woody[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The protea bush and the patchy lawn[/one_half_last]

THE ACTION:

The action starts in earnest round about April – it all began with the Leopard Trees then the redesigning begins……

[one_half]The hard work starts ….[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The lavenders are a memory now[/one_half_last]

[one_half]My rose patch at the end of June[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The new grass patch in June this year[/one_half_last]

 

AFTER:

These photos were taken this week, so this is how my garden is looking like NOW!

[one_half]Its all looking so green and healthy[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Tall corn flowers are temporary as gap filler[/one_half_last]

[one_half]My rose patch is thick and bursting with health![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Can’t wait for the roses to bloom[/one_half_last]

[one_half]I love how lush and full it all is![/one_half]

[one_half_last]The fuchsia is also happy and well mulched![/one_half_last]

I am really pleased that all the love and care you give to your garden, it gives it right back! The mulching and feeding and watering. It is all so rewarding.

Wait until you see the before and after photos of the back garden – you will not believe it is the same garden! Well, I’ll leave that for tomorrow’s post!

Unfortunately, my roses are still shy, so I will have to wait some more before I do a rose post!

Happy gardening to you all xxx

Let’s all send our love to Christine who misses her home and animals and her garden and her gardening buddies!! Send her home safe on angels wings xxx

 

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How are my roses?

Thank you to Diana from Elephants Eye for reminding me to take lots of photos of my roses!!! I am waiting for them to give me a splendid display! I should be able to post it tomorrow too! I have been nipping some the new shoots to encourage growth and using my home-made bug spray on the aphids who think they can stay …..!

Just read a really nice article on Roses in one of my favourite gardening mags:

Rose grooming and growing

  • Roses are queen of the October garden
  • They need at least 6 hours of sunshine a day
  • Roses can flower up to 10 months in a year
  • They need 10 litres of water a week
  • Fertilize monthly during summer
  • August to April use organic pesticides for thrips, red spider mite, aphids and beetles
  • Dead head regularly to encourage new floweing
  • Winter prune at the end of July (this is only for our Southern Hemisphere gardening friends)
  • Groom in January!
Happy Gardening xxxx
PS: I miss Christine too xx

 

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Miss you

I miss your posts and the laughter in your garden… I miss the way you hug your plants… I miss the birds, the blommies and even your moles… I miss the fun in your voice when you blog about Dex and Hercules… but most of all I miss you!

Here are the first batch of irises I have dedicated.

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xxxxxx