Mystery citrus...

Well, for once there are developments in the garden to report on :)

First, the mystery citrus. We have a citrus in the garden which I've assumed for years is an out of control root stock - I've never seen it so much as flower, and it's covered in nasty spikes. It's also got a very "meh" structure, but maybe that's just because it never gets pruned :D

The other day I happened to be passing this tree, and lo and behold! Fruits!

Today I brought one inside and cut it open. It smells citrusy, and tastes a little sour, but I think it isn't actually ripe yet - it's rock hard. Maybe a lime?? Can anyone tell me if it sounds like a kind of lime tree, what with the spikes and all? I did have a plan a while ago to graft some native citrus on to this tree, but I discovered it's actually much easier to get hold of a pre-grafted native citrus then it is to get your hands on some material for grafting. So this tree was slated to be pulled out and replaced eventually. I guess we'll just keep watching these fruits and see what happens.

We've also had a bit of a gardening busy-bee today - my dad came over with the trailer and we collected a trailer load of mulch. The mulching is aaaaaaaaalmost done now, just a few bits left - maybe next weekend if it's not too hot, we could finish it off. While he was here he also helped us put the shade sail back up (it had detatched itself somehow), and did some weeding. The best thing though, was out the front. We've had a pile of woodchip mulch on the front verge for SO LONG - I actually use it to identify the house when someone's visiting - "it's the one with the mulch lump" - and friends periodically ask us if it's still there. Well now it ISN'T! Dad had enormous fun using his big beefy car to push the pile over, and then he and Mr Bon got stuck in spreading it all out. It's still not going to win the best kept verge on the street prize, but at least it's a bit less embarrassing!

While they were busy working on the verge, I pulled out all the huge dead weeds growing along the front of the picket fence. Maybe when the weather's a bit cooler and wetter, I'll plant my potted kangaroo paws out there, although I'd need to do stacks of soil improvement first.

And in some final, almost-plant related news, I got myself some solar powered greenery for my desk at work :D