The New Pond

PUTTING IN THE POND

We have started a pond in our garden. Yes! A water feature seems to be a must for most gardens, and attracts local wildlife. Unfortunately, one of the first visitors to the new pond have been the dreaded cane toad. My boyfriend discovered a pair of them living amongst our empty plant containers... :(

For those who don't know, the cane toad (Bufo marinus) is an introduced species which has since become an invasive pest in many parts of Australia. It produces a highly toxic venom, which if ingested by other animals, may cause death. Definitely one to keep away from pets and small children!

FILLING IT UP

Another problem we are encountering with the new pond is that the lizards and skinks which are attracted to the insects - and water source - are also drowning in it. Hopefully they'll grow to remember that there is now a large body of water in their area. I haven't been able to think of any ways to "lizard-proof" the pond.

FIVE DAYS LATER

It's been a slow start to the second season in the garden. Three Lebanese cucumber seedlings are in the middle bed. There are also a couple of pumpking and watermelon seedlings scattered around the garden. All grown from seed!

Fortunately the passionfruit vines which I thought had been poisoned by the council's annual weed-killing in the adjoining laneway haven't been much affected. They are both in full fruit and give off about one fruit per week.

"Second" Bed

Today, my boyfriend and I planned the second (or northern) bed and got to work putting the plants in. We had a dozen or so leftover Grosse Lisse tomato seedlings and a couple of Lebanese cucumbers ready to go into the ground. As well as hand-raised chilli babies sprung from seeds. The chillies looked so tiny when planted in the bed. Fragile and unprotected. They weren't growing any bigger in their egg cartons, so here's hoping they will, in their new bigger home.

We decided to place the tomatoes in the bed in a slanted " N " formation. This breaks up the rectangular bed into four sectors in which we planted chillies, cucumbers and garlic chives. We will fill in the rest with capsicums once they are large enough. I estimate that not all the chilli plants will survive - so where there is a vaccuum, I will replant with a capsicum. Most gardening books I have read, treat chillies the same as capsicum. Interesting. They also grow from very similar looking seeds into very similar looking seedlings. I suppose it's because they are part of the same family.

Another source of joy for me in the garden is watching the baby butternut pumpkin grow bigger. I think my hand pollination of the female flower the other day actually worked! The butternut seems to be growing incrementally every day. I love looking at it and admiring its shape. At this stage, I don't care so much for harvesting the vegetables as much as just watching them grow, and marvelling at the process nature takes. It's such a simple thing really, and the plants are just doing what they naturally do with minimal fuss... but to me it's a thing of beauty and simplicity.