We harvested our first apples from the orchard yesterday. A pair of tiny little King David apples – very nice, too, for what is meant to be mainly a cider apple.
Nothing else is fruiting right now, except the black nightshade (NOT deadly nightshade), but the adverts and signs are up all along the Swan Valley for fresh fruit, grapes and mangos. I like this season, with the last of the summer fruit, and the last of the swimming weather, but the first few cool nights of autumn.
The frangipanis are flowering, too, and the roses are all going crazy with flowers. The area just around the house smells amazing, and it makes me happy imagining it becoming more and more that way all year as I get more plants in. One of the pink siris trees we grew from seed is flowering for the first time too, which is neat. Reminds me of our old apartment in town (with a group of pink siris trees growing outside the window, which is where we got the seeds).
Today, I completed two quests: one was visiting the annual horticultural fair in South Perth, at which I bought four new hibiscus plants; the other was chicken related. Quest number one was planned. I love hibiscus, they’re one of my (many) favourite flowers. And in spite of a practical inclination towards planting productive plants wherever possible, I have a soft spot for flowers just for the sake of flowers. Thus the frangipanis, roses, and hibiscus, and the gazanias and gerberas I plan to plant in the rockeries. These hibiscus will join the slowly-growing hedge maze behind the house, just because hedge mazes are cool and make me happy. There are a few little nooks and sub-gardens planned for around the property, places to go and sit and read a book, or have a conversation with someone, or simply meditate. We’re going to have a little Japanese garden, with flowering cherries and Japanese maple trees, and bamboo, and perhaps a tiny little koi pond. There’re plans for a rose pavillion, covered with climbing roses and surrounded by scented, old-fashioned hybrid tea roses and hibiscus (so there are flowers in winter, too).
Quest number two was not exactly unplanned, but was also not exactly planned. I saw a gumtree ad, and I thought I’d call and check it out, and .. then I came home with four new chickens. Little white silkies, for the dinochook breeding program. Now I just need to get some malay game fowl, and find a way to interbreed the malay games (for shape and size and posture) with the silkies (for skin colour and feather type) without causing injuries to one or other bird.
There’s no real story here, just a few snippets of info. I feel achieved (two quests! And apples!) so I thought I’d share that.