Summer Garden in Orange

Happy New Year! It has been ages since the last garden update so thought you would enjoy a peak at the progress in the Life A L'Orange garden.

Front garden bed all grown from cuttings

It has been a really hot few months, so fed up with losing half my plants each summer, I've implemented a full on watering system to ensure nothing else is lost - so far, so good! All the trees, shrubs & flowers are thriving although the veggie patch seedlings got wiped out in a super hot spell.

Apricot jam and apricot chutney are fantastic.

The fruit tress have been laden to the brim with apricots, plums, nectarines and peaches. After several past jam disasters, we've realised our preserving skills are completely rubbish and best left to the experts.

Plenty of juicy plums for everyone!

The nectarines and peaches are still ripening up but are almost there, as usual it is a battle to beat the birds, however this is the most fruit we have ever had on the trees.

We have given away most of the fruit but luckily our friends are also exceptional cooks and in return drop in a jar of jam or chutney or something they have in excess in return.

Lemons growing on our little tree - should be ready in May

Over the last few months we have been very fortunate to receive lots of cuttings from friends and random gardeners that live near by. I'm really enjoying watching the little cuttings grow and spread as our garden beds slowly start to fill up and look attractive.

I planted a selection of herbs around the courtyard to fill in some small gaps with the hope that I will no longer have to repeatedly pull out weeds in the future. To compliment the 'Italian Courtyard' theme, I've planted oregano, lemon thyme and varigated thyme for some extra colour.

The herbs are growing nicely along the edge of the courtyard

New bench in the courtyard & lovely aggies!

The hibiscus is getting big - might be time to move one to a new spot

Wishing you all a wonderful week and promise to try and do more garden posts in future. 

Italian Inspired Courtyard

Ever since our cabin was first build we thought it would be a great idea to create private courtyard in the spot where our old garage once stood, giving cabin guests a bit of privacy and creating another 'room' in our garden.

Things haven't exactly flourished in the Italian inspired courtyard thus far as Dog A L'Orange seemed more intent on digging up my freshly planted olive trees than letting them grow, you can read about the full episode here.

There were also a few teething issues with the screening Mr L'Orange put up and the fact it kept blowing down in the wind.

Allowing the grass to grow right next to the gravel in the courtyard was a serious error on our part and made cutting the grass and trying to do the edging around lots of rocks and pots particularly tricky.

All in all, the courtyard that we had in mind has not really eventuated....until now that is.

Mr L'Orange and I enjoyed the Queen's birthday long weekend digging out all the grass alongside the courtyard and turning the space into a garden bed instead. 

Dog A L'Orange was thrilled to get his paws and nose dirty in a bid to help us get out all the weeds and grass.

We have continued with our theme and have planted Italian lavender in the bed which we are going to let grown into a hedge.

I've also planted some oregano and lemon thyme which will hopefully grown in some of the narrow gaps around the edge or the courtyard and driveway.

Removing the weeds ready for the oregano and thyme

This time around Mr L'Orange has put down lawn guard and I need to follow up with thick layers of newspaper and then lots of mulch to keep out the incredibly annoying grass and weeds that we appear to be in constant battle with.

The finished courtyard effect - pretty nice eh?

We have purchased a chiminea to warm up the courtyard on chilly afternoons, who doesn't love a good bonfire? The idea is for us to get this into position this weekend and perhaps have an inaugural lighting whilst our friends are visiting from Sydney.

Last thing on the list is to get some furniture into the courtyard and a mini bbq so our cabin guests are fully equipped with everything they could need once summer comes around again (I can tell you that this is a serious distant memory at present).

Dog A L'Orange proud of his handiwork

I'll keep you posted on courtyard progress and if you have any ideas to help me channel the Italian vibe of this garden 'room' please let me know!