Visit 31st May/1st June

First golf at Hepburn. Beautiful crisp weather which became quite warm during the round. Reasonably happy with 46 and 47, 2 pars.
It was 3 weeks since the last visit so I was looking forward to checking on the state of the garden. Frosts had arrived in earnest so the marguerite daisies were showing signs of distress. Only the yellow daisies seem to be unaffected by heavy frosts. Everything continued to look pretty good as we go into winter. When I arrived I was pleased to note 3 yellow flowering kniphofias coming into bloom. I can't remember planting them! but they were standing up over 1 metre tall. Unfortunately by next morning, when the temp. was -3 (the coldest June morning in Ballarat for 9 years), the flower heads were drooping forwards quite prominently. The blue bog sages had stopped flowering but the penstemons (red and red and white) were still going well. The pink salvia, my favourite, is coming towards the end of its flowering for this season. I took more cuttings in the hope that they will strike. The red flowering gladioli had snapped off after giving a great show, so late. I will lift the bulb shortly and mark it. One last gladioli for this season was in flower, an orange one, pretty remarkable for June. Last year, some Japanese windflowers were still in bloom in late May. Not this year so I cut many of them back. The blue winter iris (unguilaris) is starting to flower on the south side. White nerines are having a good year, the pink ones not so good. I planted 2 different ones I bought at the Rare Plants Fair at Silvan a while ago. Should be good next year. A packet of Flanders poppy seeds were scattered about, to ensure plenty of colour in late Spring.
I also planted 6 small wallflowers, 4 Winter Joys and 2 reds, plus the 'Hawthorn' gazania, Joan's birthday gift. The hellebores are starting to flower. They should be in flower through the winter. Daffodils are starting to really push through. No doubt these would be the Magnifiques which start flowering in July.
One of the trees on the dam had dropped a couple of branches which will provide firewood next year.
A gentleman from Ballarat Blinds came to replace the curtains in the kitchen. I was a little disappointed in the colour which was more sombre than I thought I'd ordered. He told me that blow ins from Toorak buy a place in Daylesford, tart it up as a B & B and express great surprise, in a toffy voice, at the expense of things, as though they expected everything in the country to be cheap.