I know! I know! I'm late again - the story of my life at the moment. However, Carol from May Dreams Gardens has assured me in the past that she would much rather me post late than never. So, in th true spirit of Gardening Tips 'N' Ideas tardiness - it's only 2 days late - here are the current blooms in the garden (remembering, of course, that we're in the throes of our winter here in Oz).

This is one of my beloved Jacobinias, one of my original propagating successes that I have kept for nearly 10 years now. Each year it flowers on cue warming the garden with its yellow and orange blooms and offers some nice soft foliage during the summer months. I did try to grow this in a sunnier spot last year and almost lost them so they're back in the shade garden in revival mode.

This phallic bloom bursts onto the scene from within a bromeliad my mother gave me a few years ago. I had planned to put it in our tropical garden - yet to be started - so it's ended up near the Jacobinia and provides a safe haven for colonies of brown snails. It always amuses me when I envisage the snails trying to escape the protruding flower with pictures of Indiana Jones fleeing from the rolling stone - in slow motion, of course.

Oh when will this flower open up???? It has been like this for months now and seeing as it has never flowered while in my garden - 2 years now - I'm anxious to see it produce some blooms. It's a Rhododendron that I picked up at a local nursery while most nurseries no longer offer them. Hopefully it will open soon.

While not a bloom, per se, the leaves surrounding the trunks of our birches paint the state of our garden at the moment. Very drab, colourless and seemingly lifeless. Yet, beneath these leaves spring flowering daffodils are starting to push their way through the surface already.

I've been busy pruning and chipping many of our dormant plants ready for the season that really counts. It's a great time of the year in my garden as I can stand back and plan what I want this garden to do next season. The more I garden here and endure enjoy the different seasons, the more I come respect what each time period has to offer and how I can make each one count without just hoping that spring would hurry up.

Creating interest within the garden year round is still my goal and I love tinkering to find how that works - or in most cases, doesn't work. It's the joy of gardening.