The sweet peas are the star of the show.

Insect hotels of the day. Finished these three with reused metal for the roof, reused screws. 5 different hole sizes and two different log sizes. And they’re all
gone to a good home already! 🙌🏾💛🐝

Insect hotels of the day.

World needs more insect hotels. 🫶🏾🐝🌿

Made my first basil pesto ever, with fresh basil from our lovely neighbour who brought some over. 🌿🫶🏾

Found these tiny little yellow butterfly eggs of the Dainty Swallowtail on the lime tree 💛🍋.

Tomato harvest. Three different colours cherries plus some bigger and medium sized ones (Roma). 💜🧡💛

These seedlings all emerged together from an everlasting daisy flower head that'd been laying on the ground in the garden bed. I think it's fascinating. When I first saw it I couldn't get my head around it but upon closer inspection it became clear what it was. Pretty amazing.

The insect hotel in the open workshop area is a hit with grass-carrying wasps and mud wasps. So much so that I just placed a couple more pieces of timber with a vacancy sign next to the log. Veg garden at the height of summer, I love the tall fennel over towering the garden.

Saw the first blue-banded bees of the summer season in my veggie patch today! There were two, zipping about - they're soo fast! The sound they make when buzz pollinating is extraordinary too!T hey mostly visited the zinnias but I noticed them also at the sunflower and bean flowers. #nativebees

Sorted my seed collection and made my own DIY packets for collected seeds. Saved lettuce, fennel, calendula, sweet pea seeds (sweet peas already in December). Harvest of the day: Three colours of tomatoes, celery stalk, silverbeet, purslane, herbs (and calendula seeds).

We're currently harvesting zucchini, eggplant, chili, rocket, spring onion and sorrel. Did some soil tests for my permaculture site analysis. The jar test helps to figure out the percentage of clay, silt and sand in the soil.

Homemade homegrown beetroot powder 💕. I grated the beet with a grinder and placed it on parchment paper in the sun - in our car! After a couple of days of sweltering temperatures it was crisp and dry and ready to be ground one last time and filled in a glass jar; the volume loss (water) astonishing.

One of the newly made insect hotels had been sitting in the work area as I still wanted to put a roof on it. That didn't stop a little native wasp from starting building nests. (Probably a Pison wasp.)

Hot summer day; 40 degrees today (Celsius).
But not every outdoor space is equal.
❌ Open area with no vegetation: 69 degrees.
On the contrary:
🌳 Shaded spot with lots of tree canopy and under storey: 28 degrees.
Tree shade is crucial when it comes to managing heat effects on people and wildlife.

Today, I re-planted two garden beds with flowering plants for pollinators and for colour and beauty; part natives, part exotics like salvia, lavender. Happy growing! 💚🩷💜

Hi! I’m Doris. I love anything that has to do with regeneration, the restoration of ecosystems, human wellbeing through nature & each other, biodiversity, habitat creation, learning about species, stalking insects & birds, gardening, permaculture, personal & community resilience. I also love dogs!