If I could describe the perfect weather, the weather we are having now would be it.
Every day, for weeks on end, we have seen blue sunny skies, pleasantly warm temperatures during the day, and cooling down overnight for a cosy night’s sleep, snuggled up under the blankets.
It hasn’t rained at all, which is an advantage in one way as there is no humidity, but a disadvantage as the garden is crying out for a nice long refreshing drink of water.
Every afternoon I give some of the garden a watering, keeping it to just the plants that I know will suffer from the lack of water, such as my potted poppies and orchids, and the vegetable garden.
This week I have devoted each day to giving my garden a “spring clean”. It’s more than just pulling out the weeds and pruning a few plants, and my mission is to have all the tidying up completed before the heat arrives.
Yesterday’s chore of pressure cleaning the pavers at the back of my house had to be aborted, due to our four-month old pressure cleaner blowing a gasket! It has gone to the pressure cleaner hospital for a few days, and will be home again next week, so I can finish the job then.
Meanwhile, plenty of plants and trees have been pruned, old tatty plants have been removed, today I have added some new topsoil in the gardens where necessary, and before breakfast this morning I had a huge truck load of mulch delivered!
We all know how I will be spending the day tomorrow!!
I haven’t been alone in the garden either. Little Miss Tibbs has been right by my side, “helping”. No day in the garden is complete, without having your hands grabbed as you pull out weeds, legs jumped on as you move along the garden bed, and of course, everyone knows that a freshly weeded patch of dirt simply has to be rolled in!
She really is such wonderful company. If I don’t pay her enough attention I hear her little meow, and next thing she is rubbing up against my legs (or arms, or whatever body part is handy at the time!)
My sore muscles and aching “gardener’s back” are really of no consequence, when I think of the pure and absolute pleasure I feel when I’m out in the garden. If there is a place in the world that I could call my “Sacred Place”, that would have to be my garden.
New buds are forming, showing signs of the promise of beauty yet to come and my mango tree is positively covered in little blossoms! If we don’t have too many windy days (the wind can blow the tiny mango seeds away, leaving us with a bare tree) then we are in for a bumper crop of mangoes this year!
This afternoon, when I went right down the back garden to take photos of the mango tree, I spotted a Bush Turkey, just outside the back gate. He seemed tame enough, so I went closer to take his photo. Unfortunately he didn’t smile for the camera though, as he was more interested in finding his lunch.
Some regular visitors to the garden, the magpies, who have dropped in for a chat and a meal for a few years now, were here for their usual afternoon scrounge around, and when they left the garden they headed for the very top of one of the tallest trees around, a Norfolk Pine.
I zoomed in on them to get a photo of the pair, looking quite ruffled, as the two of them tried to keep their balance and the tree swayed in the breeze!
Everyone should have a “Sacred Place”, somewhere that you can go to, where all the cares of the world are guaranteed to be washed away in an instant.
Do you have a “Sacred Place”, or even a person who pacifies your mind and soothes your soul?
In My World 
I thoroughly enjoyed my little guided tour around your garden, Joanne! Your words made me feel as if I was walking right along side you and your pictures were the icing on the cake! Especially loved your description of Miss Tibbs and the delight you find in her company! Thanks!! 🙂
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Hello Peggy! Thank you for dropping by and taking a walk through my garden with me. 🙂
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How fab, I am shy artist (from blip) and I love your wonderful ideas 🙂
A secret garden of my own is a dream….but not likely to happen where I currently live, though there are places I can visit!
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Thank you for dropping by Jaki. 🙂
You live in such a beautiful country and I’m pleased you can find happiness by visiting places that will bring you joy. You are most welcome to take a walk around my garden any time you like. 🙂
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Beautiful post! It is such a beautiful that your garden can bring you solace. I once had an umbrella that created the same effect. Check out my post about that: http://teeceecounsel.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/my-umbrella/. I would love to make my home to be my own sacred place. Keep up the good work, I love it!
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I headed over to read your post about your umbrella, and loved it! It just goes to show that the simplest things in life, which are not always the most obvious, can mean so much to us and become a friend.
Thank you for stopping by today, I’m pleased to meet you. 🙂
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You are always welcome Joanne. I’m pleased to meet you too. I’m actually excited! You are very good with both words and pictures. Keep up the good work! 🙂
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Thank you so much. 🙂
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Love your photos, I’ll be back for a deeper investigation later! Kiwianna
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Hello Annette! I’m so pleased you dropped by today and look forward to your future visits. 🙂
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It is a lovely garden – well kept, under control. Unlike mine, which have all developed lives of their own and I must admit, I have given them my blessing. My energy level and interests have changed over the years, and I am much more relaxed about the gardens now. My sacred place – my front deck, where I feel freedom, privacy and the breezes caressing my cheeks while the birdsongs caress my ears.
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I’m picturing your front deck now, with the views over your beautiful garden and the birds enjoying their bird-feeder you have there. How lovely it is. 🙂
It’s funny you should say my garden looks so well kept, you only see the neat and tidy areas! We have an acre of land and there is always somthing to do here. I concentrate on the gardens closest to the house, but we have an orchard down the back which is so overun, I can’t get to the trees! During my “spring clean” I intend making my way down the back, and cleaning up the orchard area too, but I’ll need the help of some men with muscles for parts of that chore!
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So loving that laughing Buddha! I feel the sacredness in your life, in your photos, in your pressure cleaning, in Miss Tibbs. Always lovely to stop by your garden. Shall we have a cup of tea?
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Oh yes, herbal tea would be lovely Kathy! I’ll let you surprise me with the flavour, and we can sit and sip tea, while we look out over the view of Mount Warning and the valley. 🙂
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Thank you for the wonderful tour of your Sacred Garden. It’s beautiful. It’s strange, even after all this time, to see you going into spring as we’re winding down into fall. 🙂
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It’s very strange Robin, I agree. I do enjoy seeing the opposite of what I have here though, when I see photos of the Northern Hemisphere. 🙂
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What a lovely and inviting garden you have, Joanne! Miss Tibbs is so sweet – I miss having a cat keep me company in the garden. And you have the majestic Mount Warning to bless your garden and all the fascinating creatures who call it home.
I was surprised to see you have a Norfolk Pine growing in your yard! A few years ago I bought a tiny one, about 6 inches high, on impulse, in a grocery store. It’s about 24 inches high now, but we keep it in the house because I don’t think it would survive the cold winter outside. We call it Lord Norfolk and wonder if it will grow to the ceiling someday.
My nearest sacred place is our local beach, especially in the off-season. Tim & I go there a lot to soothe our souls.
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If your Norfolk Pine is in a large enough pot, it may well grow up to the ceiling one day Barbara, they are huge trees! The pine in the photo is actually in our neighbours garden, but we do have a Norfolk Pine in our front garden, which is “Adam’s Tree”. The whole family planted the tree together, just after he was born (he’s 15 now), and we took photos and made quite a ceremony out of the event.
The roar of the ocean and the sound of waves crashing against the shore is one of the most soothing sounds I can imagine, and I can well see you and Tim spending time at the beach to soothe your souls, knowing how much you both love the sea. 🙂
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What a beautiful journey through your austral Sacred Garden ! Such different vegetation, exotic plants and fruits. Tomorrow morning I will go down to my own garden and imagine my apple tree is a mango tree 🙂 apricots and mangoes are my favourite fruits. Gardening is a lot of work but also a wonderful moment spent in Nature, bringing Peace after the hard job. Beautiful pictures too.
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Oh I love your idea, imagining you have a mango tree! I wonder if you can imagine the mango flavour too, as you eat an apple from your tree? It’s incredible what we can turn into our own reality, by using the power of our mind.
I find gardening to be immensely satisfying, even when my muscles ache and I can hardly move! It is a pain of pleasure, as I know it is only temporary, and the rewards from my garden are well worth the efforts. I feel just as you have described it, peaceful, after the hard job. 🙂
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