Late yesterday, when the cool change finally came through, we all went outside to water and check on things. The sun had set and the night sky was turning that beautiful inky blue.

Lil watered her flower garden and planted some seedlings.

I stood for awhile at the Back Orchard gate with the sprinkler hose on, the older Indian Runner ducks puddling about in the water, they love to stand under the sprinkler.

Bluebell followed Michael about as he did the nightly chores.

The hot house needed a good soak and as I walked in and adjusted my eyes with the fading light, everything felt different. I could sense and see the plants energy. Some plants were vibrant and stood out, some I could see were fading, at the end of their life cycle. Of course this is obvious to some degree during the daytime but in that fading light, it was all so apparent.

Honeybee was happily tucked into her night quarters, she doesn’t like to move around the garden when it starts to get too dark. If she is out with us at this time of night we put the torch on and guide her around in the light. She loves her modern conveniences this duck!

We shut the hot house windows overnight and open all of them in the mornings.

Unless, if it is a windy day we keep the windows on this side of the hot house closed – stops the wind whipping through the hot house and drying out or damaging the plants. When it is windy we will open the windows on the other side of the hot house, the wind doesn’t come from that direction. Along with those open windows and the glass panelled doors open and flyscreens shut, there is plenty of air circulation and the plants don’t bake or get distressed.

It has been a really lovely learning experience with getting used to gardening in this hot house.  Michael my husband, Liliana our daughter and I designed it. Then Michael made it. The small 6 panel windows are reclaimed and needed a lot of work, the back window in the hot house is made from a shower screen that someone was removing during their renovation and the two front windows Michael made. The glass panelled doors are from our house, we replaced them with double glazed doors that Michael made and the flyscreens are also from our house and Michael replaced them with Tasmania timber oak flyscreens that he made.

Take precious care, until next time,

Jude x