Skip to main content

Palm Springs Inspired Cacti/Cactus Garden (Front)

 
We have finally finished this part of the front garden. We painted the breeze block wall white and Scott painted a sun mural on the fence.




We started clearing the front area on 4th February 2023.


I wanted a feature wall which had to act as a retaining wall as well. We looked for retaining bricks/blocks in Bunnings but they were expensive and it would have cost more than we were willing to pay out on them.


Scott spotted these used breeze blocks on Facebook market place at $5 each, which is a great price for breeze blocks as they often retail at between $15 and $25 each and would you believe the person selling them was basically just round the corner from us.


We went round to have a look at the on 5th February 2023 and bought them, we got 84 blocks for $350.


They will need to be cleaned up and the cement removed but once they are cleaned and painted white they will look fab, not to mention that breeze blocks are very popular in palm Springs.


Before we started the actual garden we put up a fence over the top of the original fence as it is on a lean from the neighbours side onto our side, so Scott had to brace it as it is a significant lean.



He then put the fence panels up which will give us a straight fence.





Friday 17th March 2023, we planted the cacti.








Scott started building the new breeze block wall on 1st April 2023.














These guys have grown significantly from when they were first planted.








We still have some more to do to finish the front garden, but we are getting there!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Wha's Like Us?....Damn Few And They're A' Deid!

While sorting through things I came across this Scottish poem that my mum gave me years ago, my gran loved this one...so here it is.... Wha's Like Us ? The average Englishman in the home he calls his castle, slips into his national costume ---- a shabby raincoat...patented by.... ...Chemist Charles Macintosh from Glasgow, Scotland. En route to his office he strides along the English lane, surfaced by.... ...John Macadam from Ayr, Scotland. He drives an English car fitted with tyres invented by.... ...John Boyd Dunlop, Veterinary Surgeon of Dreghorn, Scotland. At the office he receives the mail bearing adhesive stamps invented by.... ...John Chalmers, Bookseller and Printer of Dundee, Scotland. During the day he uses the telephone invented by.... ...Alexander Graham Bell, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. At home in the evening his daughter pedals her bicycle invented by.... ...Kirkpatrick Macmillan, Blacksmith of Thornhill, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. He watches ...

Hickory-Honey Ham...Christmas With The Kranks

  I got this Christmas movie cookbook during our 2022 holiday to LA see  here  and I still haven't made anything from it, so for our Christmas in July, I thought I would try the Hickory-Honey ham from the movie Christmas with The Kranks. Scenes from the movie where Nora is running towards the last ham in the store, only to be outsmarted by an elderly lady. I managed to get a couple of reduced shoulder hams from woolies back in May so this gave me an excuse to try a recipe from the book. We also got some Hickory smoking chips for the BBQ. It is a ham that has been smoked over Hickory wood chips for several hours, served with a honey gravy, not out of a tin which it is in the movie. Ingredients 8 cups hickory or other hardwood chips 2 large aluminum foil pans 1 (4kg) fully cooked  bone in ham 1/4 cup salted butter 1 shallot, minced 1/3 cup honey 1/4 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard 1 tsp ground ginger 1/...

Corned Beef Stovies

  We love stovies, the perfect comfort food for cold evenings and an ideal way to use up leftover meats. I had some corned beef leftover from Scott's sandwiches so that became the base for these stovies. Ingredients 1-2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 kg potatoes (suitable for mashing) 300ml beef stock 1 beef oxo cube 1 tin corned beef Method 1.  Peel and thinly slice potatoes. 2.  Heat oil in a large deep pan over a medium heat until hot. Add onions and fry until golden. 3.  Add sliced potatoes, beef stock and crumbled oxo cube. Stir to combine ingredients well. Cover with lid, turn heat up to medium-high, bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer, stirring every few minutes. Cook for 40-50 minutes or until potato is soft and tender. 4.  Using a potato masher, roughly break the potatoes into smallish pieces. Cut corned beef into small chunks. Add to potatoes, season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined and corned beef has brea...