Berz and the Bees. A Blog About Gardening.

The weather here in Tassie has been atrocious! Frequent high winds and heavy rainfall. It keeps me trapped indoors and away from my beloved garden. Fortunately, I have indoor babies, some of which are looking absolutely stunning. Begonias I don't know how I acquired so many begonias. I remember thinking them very 'granny' plants. But I have to admit, I have developed quite a fondness for them, and I am quite shocked that they are flowering! Beefsteak Begonia excuse the dust, I've never been much good at dusting such delicate flowers for much a 'meaty' plant (get it?) Eyelash Begonia eyelashes! Angel Wing Begonia Orchid I'm prematurely excited over a bud, a single bud. My mum and her sister are Orchid Connoisseurs! And are both so good at growing them. I've always loved their plants and their skills. I have killed every orchid I have laid eyes on. Until... I know it's early days, but not only have I not killed it (for like a year) but, well just LOOK!...

I built my pond from scratch and to this day it is still my favourite element in the garden. I certainly made some mistakes and next time I will do things differently, but I'm still so proud of it. - I would go way bigger - I love the fish, but have had way less frogs since we introduced Buster, Lucille, Lucille II and all of the babies. Keep reading to see my build back in 2022. But this post is about my Sunday. One of the first 20degC days of the season and in the pond I got for a good old clean out. Plants thrive in the pond, which is fab, but do require keeping in check which I do once a year or even 2 years. My pond takes care of itself and only uses a pump, ie no filtration or bog filter. The balance of plants, light and fish are all just at that good place. There's not much to it apart from getting in and grabbing handfuls of weed and hoiking it out. I ended up with about 8 of these buckets full. I purchased a Gunnera a year or two back. I absolutely adore their giant fo...

I didn't weed my gardens for the first four years of owning a garden. When we studied weed identification in my Horticulture course at College, I hated it, crammed before the exam, and passed but thought, "What an awful subject". Weeds were just dumb to me. I always abided by the notion of 'a weed is just a plant growing where one doesn't want it" and "it's a natural looking garden'. I worked this summer in a vineyard nearby, and part of our job was doing some garden maintenance near the cellar door and restaurant. I discovered how mindful weeding could be. I really enjoyed it.  Autumn arrived and the time when work can start to be done in the garden in preparation for spring. I got out a trowel and a fork and I weeded, It was so mindful. It was so satisfying. And most surprisingly, I discovered why weeds are in fact, a nuisance. In my Mediterranean Garden, the whole garden had a mat of weed roots under the surface, meaning water was got getting...