1st of Spring & National Tree Planting Week

Although the equinox is still a few a weeks away, 1st of September is officially Spring Day - and what a stunningly springy day it is! Judy and I took off up Elsie's Peak for a quick walk this morning, revelling in the spring flowers that have sprung up. Since it's also the start of National Arbour Week, I thought I might look for a tree to photograph for this week's pic, but grabbed my macro lens as well, and I'm so glad I did! Judy and I got transported into a few other worlds every now and then as we got really up close to some teeny tiny plants, and some pincusion protea inflorescences.

I didn't plan to coincide with the official national tree planting week, but this weekend, after two years of struggling to get anything to thrive, I finally got really stuck into my garden - as opposed to stuck with it - thanks to Saskia, The Garden Coach. She came and gave me some wonderful creative ideas and much sage gardening advice, including how to turn my horrendously sandy, well, I can't even call it soil, it's just sand, into something more fertile that will hopefully finally be fruitful (at least, vegi-ful!) So I've begun 'trench digging', filling the ground with seaweed, horse manure, green stuff, brown stuff and lots of compost - and having so much fun getting down and dirty! I'm looking forward to experimenting with companion planting and seeing what comes up! So, even if you don't get to plant a tree this week, hopefully you'll be able to plant something that will give you much enjoyment... and oxygen!