Gardening & Home Handyman

Gardening & Home Handyman Small job specialist. Jobs around the home and garden. Ride-on mower service.

Discovering the world of macro (larger than life) photography… self-seeded poppy.
26/11/2022

Discovering the world of macro (larger than life) photography… self-seeded poppy.

Possums are hungry this time of year. Protect your citrus trees from possums which resort to stripping & eating bark. At...
13/09/2022

Possums are hungry this time of year. Protect your citrus trees from possums which resort to stripping & eating bark. At the first sign throw a net over before it’s too late.

Despite a ‘soggy’ day we managed to salvage a walk and discovered an amazing collection of Common Heath flowers. Common ...
26/06/2022

Despite a ‘soggy’ day we managed to salvage a walk and discovered an amazing collection of Common Heath flowers. Common Heath (or Epacris impressa) is the (Australian) Victorian state floral emblem. Also a fair variety of fungi, and a solitary butterfly in the middle of winter …

Season's Greetings from a sunny Melbourne.Wishing all my customers and followers, family and friends, a merry Christmas,...
20/12/2021

Season's Greetings from a sunny Melbourne.

Wishing all my customers and followers, family and friends, a merry Christmas, and a safe and happy new year.

Here are a few flowers in our garden today; I hope your garden is looking great.

A beautiful spring day for gardening today. Unfortunately aphids are out and about, and are devouring the fresh growth o...
23/09/2021

A beautiful spring day for gardening today. Unfortunately aphids are out and about, and are devouring the fresh growth on your roses as we speak. I squashed the aphids on this Iceberg rose with my thumb and forefinger. I resisted the temptation to use white oil because they would have killed my allies working for me. Can you see three of them? Ladybird beetles.

A glorious day for the last weekend of winter. Blossom on the peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots; bees are buzzing;...
28/08/2021

A glorious day for the last weekend of winter. Blossom on the peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots; bees are buzzing; oranges and lemons are ripening. I’ve already done some fertilising in time for the spring growing season; I’ll be topping up the mulch just as soon as the ground is dry enough to drive on with the trailer; and some light pruning to remove any dead and congested branches.

The rain has finally stopped and I managed to do some work in a customer’s garden. The customer’s ‘garden’ is a ‘five ti...
11/06/2021

The rain has finally stopped and I managed to do some work in a customer’s garden.

The customer’s ‘garden’ is a ‘five title’ bush block in the heart of Eltham. I came across some native orchids endemic to south-eastern Australia. Their name is easy to remember; Maroonhoods or Upright Maroonhood, or to give them their botanical name; Pterostylis pedunculata. They flower from June/July through to November.

Melbourne Covid Lockdown 4.0Back to work for me 😃From 11:59pm Thursday 3rd June, “Landscapers and gardeners who are sole...
02/06/2021

Melbourne Covid Lockdown 4.0

Back to work for me 😃

From 11:59pm Thursday 3rd June, “Landscapers and gardeners who are sole operators and who have an ABN” are permitted to work…

Been using a “Super Axe”; a 21 ton wood splitter. Cuts through old hardened logs like a knife through soft butter .
24/05/2021

Been using a “Super Axe”; a 21 ton wood splitter. Cuts through old hardened logs like a knife through soft butter .

Late Autumn/Winter Colour There are not so many plants which will flower in a shady position, and fewer which will flowe...
21/05/2021

Late Autumn/Winter Colour

There are not so many plants which will flower in a shady position, and fewer which will flower this time of year.

We are lucky to have two at the moment; a Cymbidium orchid and a Bromeliad.

Maybe we are cheating a bit with sunlight coming through the house from the north side?

Anyhow, they make a nice show. All we need now is for the shade loving Clivias to flower for a trifecta 🌺🌼🌸

17/02/2021

Home ‘lockdown’ jobs; those jobs that you never get around to doing unless you’re in lockdown.

Number 3; summer pruning fruit trees.

Not really a lockdown job; they get done every year after harvest, and while the sap is still flowing. The main objective is to reduce the size (easier to cover with a net next year), reduce congestion and remove the 3D’s (dead, diseased, damaged), whilst preserving fruiting buds and spurs for future years.

I am pruning an Elberta peach. Unlike other fruit, nectarines and peaches only fruit on the previous season’s growth. So, I am being careful to preserve as much of the current growth as possible, but perhaps shortening the ‘whips’ to reduce the quantity of fruit but increase the size and quality.

16/02/2021

Home ‘lockdown’ jobs; those jobs that you never get around to doing unless you’re in lockdown.

Number 2; cleaning the concrete patio.

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Eltham, VIC

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