Our Garden and Surrounds in January 2024 as we prepare for our visit to Singapore and Oceania Cruise

 This has been a very busy period as we prepare to fly to Singapore with Singapore airlines before we board Oceania riviera for our Cruise out of Singapore on 28th January 2024.

Ken has been cleaning and karchering the beautiful Sandstone tiles surrounding the pool and also cleansing the pool with the “pool robot” prior to our departure for Singapore on Thursday 25th January.

The following photos reflect the work and show the Garden and lawn in beautiful condition which has occurred through a quite wet and unusual December and January. As of 20th January 2024, we have had almost twice our January monthly rainfall average with some 50mill.

This has also been matched by an unusually cool period with only 2 days in high 33Degrees Celsius and we have only used the pool about 7 times.

We have Seb and Oliver staying with us on Friday -Saturday (19th and 20th January

There are a variety of blooms which mask the traditional hotter and drier weather.

The fountains add another dimension to the garden and the always welcome sound of the water .

We live in a small court with a variety of different styles of homes. A key feature of our area , including our court is the range of beautiful gum trees and the significant bird life.

Our home is located about 1,000 metres from a wonderful large lake in nearby Jells Park which is a major recreational and environmental space with many varieties of bird life. We occasionally also get some ducks which are keen to have a swim in our pool prior to flying back to the Park area.

So the aim in this work is to clean the sandstone tiles and prune and trim the garden. By doing this we make the best preparations for Peter , our gardener. To come ,cut the lawns and trim the bushes and other plants getting ready for our usually beautiful Autumn weather in March.

The following photos reflect our back garden and pool area. We are fortunate to have a pleasant outlook and a very private pool and bbq area.

It is a salt chlorinated pool with an automatic pool robot cleaning system.

We get some wonderful family days beside the pool on hot Melbourne summer times, but this year to date they have been few and far between.

The following photos reflect the garden area at the rear of the house in front of our large shed and then the beautiful ferns down the side before you get to the second pool area outside Ken’s office.

The home is very much us, with a determined approach to minimise the maintenance workload whilst providing a picturesque garden and relaxing environment. It is a comfortable, almost resort style lifestyle.

Our work programme overview, through this period has all of the preparatory processes completed to allow us to depart amend enjoy the transit and flight to Singapore, knowing that our preparations have the garden well placed to be watered and then managed through the hot summer period of end of January and February, 2024. Ken has checked the Hydrawise watering system and will review through the App once a week and compare to the weather forecasts/ updates in the App and then amend the watering schedule as needed.

A Family Get together before our trip.

Jeanette cooked a beautiful meal and we enjoyed a red wine from South Australia.

The boys had stayed over for 2 nights.

Just a great way to get together.

The following photos reflect more of the beautiful ferns along the side of the house and up to the pond and water features outside Ken’s office area. It is a calm, cool and relaxing area. The serenity of these areas reflects the architects desire to set up a totally separate and calming area away from the entertaining areas and the energy and drive associated with the pool.

The ferns are particularly beautiful this year given that December and January have to date been cooler than other recent years, with steady rainfall and shade areas.