OK here are some more pics of my spring garden - it is getting there.....  The vege patch is prepared - one has veges growing, the others are waiting on seedlings to be ready.  The roses are starting to bloom, and the garden arch is covered in flowers.  My natives are all still alive - always a good thing!  The fruit trees are lovely and green and the citrus is starting to blossom.  All in all I feel kind of satisfied - for now....

My new veg patch, with archway leading down the side of the house behind it - has banksia rose and jasmine growing on it, my wheelbarrow which was full of daffodils (now dying back and I am controlling myself to leave them, even though the perennials I also planted are starting to flower amidst the dying stems).  You might just be able to see my rasberry and the peas and beans starting to grow (especially over the teepee).  The bushes I put to hide next doors shed are starting to blossom and have grown up which is great!

This is my next project - half underway - a native section with kangaroo paw, banksia, grevillea, native rosemary, honey bush and more - I want it to be bushy and more extensive, with grasses etc... and plenty of hiding places for wildlife.  The pond is still causing confusion - it doesn't hold water, so do we turn it into a sandpit, or a dry river bed, or try and fix it?  I would love to put in a pond and a dry creek bed, but not sure where....

Along the front of the house are the roses and lavender (purple, burgundy, white and different varieties too), with a kind of cottage garden to attract the insects - bees aplenty and sadly aphids too.  I have seen 2 lady beetles, but I found them dead a while later so not sure why...  I do not spray with anything - I try and keep our house and garden chemical free as far as possible and I have tried many different natural cures - from coffee grounds, to banana peels, to yellow containers etc....  Oh well, one day I'll crack it.

Here is my first rose (a bush we moved when we bought the house, but it is doing very well) and you can see behind it the herbs around the verandah and the citrus in pots.  Down to the left is celery and broccoli - almost ready to harvest I think?  I could be wrong....  and also on the verandah a few succulents and a bay tree (plus my vege seedlings).

At the back is one of the other vege patches - with sliverbeet, carrots, parsnip and corn coming up - and my strawberry and asparagus patch (with 3 spears of asparagus):

Then the little back verandah surrounded by box and with a few herbs and hanging plants too:

And that is just the garden around the house - the rest is still largely lawn with trees dotted about the place, so it needs a bit of work (even if it just to lessen the lawn so I don't need to mow it all the time).  And what is the kids favourite spot?:

The junkyard, I call it - the back of the house - full of recycled building materials and a huge stump pit (which we keep digging out and burning out) - spot the child if you can!  Despite the fact that they have a trampoline, a cubby house, a set of swings and a climbing gym, this is where you will often find them - especially when they are all dressed ready to go somewhere.... And just because I love them so, and because a lot of my garden is for them - here are some shots of my kids:

and - yes - that is my mascara!  Thanks guys....