Brisbane, QLD


Saturday, January 29, 2011

ANOTHER BOY ANOTHER JOB

I must confess there are parts of my garden that are messy, like the bit below. Where the garden meets the grass, needs a lot of attention. For years I have kept the garden trimmed back and the edge weeded. The lawn mowing man edged the lawn with a whipper snipper.

However, with a prolapsed disc I am finding it harder and harder to do this job. 

One day the young lad from two doors up the road came by and asked if we wanted our cars washed and the lawns mowed, as he was starting up his own little business on weekends and after school. We thought this pretty enterprising and Bill hired him to do the cars. I took him on to do the lawns and let the previous man go because I wasn't happy with his work or price. Young (handsome) Locky, offered to cut the hedges and edge the lawn with timber to make it easier for mowing and easier for mulching and weeding.

Locky has finished school now and has a job with a landscaping company. So he organised the timber and battens and got to work. I prefer this to concrete.

He has a long way to go all the way around the house, as we live on a corner with a cul de sac curling around past the back of our house. He hopes to be finished tomorrow. (By the way I pay him I'm not taking him to the movies...he he he.... people would talk.) There are some good young people around these days unfortunately we only hear about the bad ones in the news.

 
Above is a Monsterio deliciosa plant with lots of fruit, some are still in their sheath others are nearly ready to eat.  I don't like them much but my friend, Helen does so she is in for a feast. They taste like fruit salad.

This is another one just opening.

A Lorikeet on a Banksia flower.

The Banksia flower changes colour as it gets older and looks great in the afternoon sun.

27 comments:

  1. I'd like to find a spot back there with a good book and just commune with nature! So pretty. And yes. There are some mighty fine young people out there even though the news people can only find the bad ones. But that would go with all people. Remember what Anne Frank wrote...."I still believe that people are good" ... or something to that effect. And she was in the middle of the holocaust. I think about that a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Diane, you have a lovely garden. It would be nice if the news would start showing more good and happy things rather than just the bad. The Lorikeet is such a beautful bird.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well you are lucky to have lovely neighbours to come and help, even the young lad who now works. He certainly is doing and has done a wonderful job.

    Your garden does look nice and rather a native one at that from what I have seen.

    I don't garden, can't stand it myself but it's good therapy for many.

    I have Roses, Camellias, Agapanthus plus a few other things.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What lovely and unusual plantings and I always marvel at the birds of Australia.
    You're lucky to have found such an enterprising young man, I hope he does well.
    ☼ Sunny

    ReplyDelete
  5. Compared to our garden yours looks like a tidied up jungle with all these exotic looking plants !
    I have a gardener come twice a year to trim the bushes around the garden and the little handkerchief of lawn I mow myself. Nothing else to take care of besides some flower pots in spring.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a lovely young man you have there, Diane and you're promoting the good in youth here. Your garden is spectacular. I'd love to walk through those arbors as well and drink in the beautiful colours, nature and scents. Have a great day. Jo

    ReplyDelete
  7. That sure is a beautiful, colorful bird on the plants. Is it native to your area?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, fruit salad all in one fruit! Never heard of this fruit. And that lorikeet....he is certainly gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ooo yes. Thank you for this.

    That young man will go far. I guess he will learn, over time, to wear his old gear when on a job.

    The monstereo is a ripper. I like the flavour of the fruit, but find the 'hairs' a bit much for the mouth. It is a bit of pre-historic looking plant.

    I would find your garden just overwhelming. It is gorgeous, and I would love wandering it, but the amount of work .. yiyiyiyi ...

    Whereas my little courtyard is just right, Goldilocks.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kay : Yes the Lorikeet parrot is a native of this area and most parts of Australia.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It sounds as if you do indeed have some fine young men in your neighborhood. I think the landscaping will work out very well. The flowers (and birds) in your garden are gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  12. More gorgeous flowers! I am GREEN with envy!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yep - have to agree wholeheartedly with the commentators on the subject of your gardeners - quite young ( first bloke) and then this one. There are many good young people, but all we get on the news, and quite often see, on and in public places, are the "bad" - who I call "ferals with two legs!"
    Your "tropical" paradise looks fantastic. Quite a credit to your horticultural skills. Don't get too carried away please, Diane!
    Great to learn that your favourite soccer team - the Brisbane Roar won, pity about the Socceroos last minute loss overnight and I am over the moon that "Aussie" Kim Clijsters of Belgium won and then announced to the adoring crowd - that she now feels she is worthy of that "Aussie" tag!. So congratulations - Gattina and Belgium.
    Cheers
    Colin

    ReplyDelete
  14. Diane your gardens looks so lush and tropical..truly beautiful! I can only imagine how much work it takes to maintain them so I'm glad you have some good help. I loved seeing the lorikeet..so pretty!

    Hope you aren't in the cyclone area!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm so glad you took us 'in'!
    Even more lovely than first glance.
    I tend to forget the exotic birds. That lorikeet is stunning in his brillant colors.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello Diane. I came to see your lorikeet (since I also posted two in Bondi) and found a whole lot more. Your blog is full of all kinds of colors! You have nice young neighbors too.
    Shalom to you from Jerusalem.

    ReplyDelete
  17. What gorgeous flowers you have in your garden Diane, that last one is stunning. And the Lorikeet is so pretty.

    I think it is great that you have the hard working young man to help out with your lawn and garden.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Such lovely photos, Diane (as always!)- you have a gorgeous garden.

    I wish we had such colourful birds visiting our garden! They are so beautiful, but I know they screech quite deafeningly too, when they get going ;)

    I think it's wonderful the way you're helping your neighbour's son to establish himself in his chosen career, giving him the opportunity to 'practise' in your garden. Beneficial for both parties!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hey I nearly missed this ... thanks for the garden tour.

    ReplyDelete
  20. How verdant it all is - so lush. You seem lucky with your helpful young neighbours - but even here my next-door trims my hedge for me, for which I am truly grateful.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow Diane, Sounds like you have a WINNER --when it comes to a good yard worker.... Keep him --and pay him well.... I know you will. Good help is hard to find, but this young man looks like a very hard worker.

    Love seeing more of your garden---and of course, knowing how much I like birds, that Lorikeet is beautiful.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  22. Now THIS is why I need to book a trip to Australia! Amazing...colorful birds, luscious fruit, and young folks who want to WORK...yep, Amazing!! Just kidding about the young workers, as we have our fair share here, too. But they aren't as plentiful, it seems, as they once were!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Good on you employing Locky - he's doing a good job too.

    You've such a lush tropical garden Diane - so nice.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Looks like a lush tropical garden. I know you must love it.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I'd be ecstatic to see a lorikeet at all, let alone in my garden! It's beautiful -- and I'm glad you found the "perfect" helper (in so many ways lol)....

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh Lorikeets! I used to eat lunch at the San Diego zoo watching the lorikeets in their cages. Your garden is just wonderful.

    Praying for mercy with the cyclone headed to Australia. It seems impossible that your country is taking such a beating from nature.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh Lorikeets! I used to eat lunch at the San Diego zoo watching the lorikeets in their cages. Your garden is just wonderful.

    Praying for mercy with the cyclone headed to Australia. It seems impossible that your country is taking such a beating from nature.

    ReplyDelete