Waiting on the rain

Despite only having one decent day of rain in the last few months, the garden is hanging in there.  I've been away again for a week for work and Shaun has been trying to keep the water up to everything, so I was happy to be back yesterday and check on how the plants are coping.  There are always a few surprises and one of those is the kiwi fruit.  We brought it up when we came from Sydney and it did OK for a bit, but died completely back (more than the usual winter hibernation) so I thought we'd lost it.  But when I was clearing the edges of the veggie patch of grass, there in amongst it was the brave little kiwi fruit.

Since the grass is gone, she's really come into her own.  And I say she because she is a female.  The male did die (I'm not drawing any conclusions here about how tough females are but....) so I'll have to get her a fella if we want any fruit.  You can see the parsley growing nearby is very happy too.  Actually, all the herbs I've planted along this edge are happier than anywhere else we've got them.

Another surprise is the lavender.  Its had absolutely no love and next to no water and yet its hung in and thrived really.  I've taken a few cuttings as well and the majority of those are powering along as well.  It would be nice to see some flowers though, especially as I planted them there to attract bees.

And earlier this year I took a few cuttings off a particularly fruitful mulberry tree from my friend Linda. Six of the eight cuttings took and we have now transplanted one to the chicks yard.  I fed them the mulberries that had fallen to the ground from the mature tree we have and they gobbled them up.  So they'll get shade and food from this in the not too distant future.

This was taken the day we planted it and its already grown quite a bit.  You can see how the chicks have stripped back every inch of green that was in the area.  Though we free range them around the dam in the afternoons, they spend the morning in their run and this yard, so nothing much has a chance to grow unless its well guarded, so the little mulberry has even more rocks surrounding its cage, just to make sure.

The other plants that are doing well are the cardamoms.  I brought a few small ones with me that we given to me by my friend Selena.  They've gone gangbusters and make a fantastic hedge for the patch.  (Bruiser is standing guard on his territory and his harem in case my photo taking crosses a line).  I'll be able to divide these next winter now that they are so prolific.

But despite all these admirable efforts, we're still waiting on the rain.....