Autumn garden

Aubergines, Eggplant, Brinjals.... call them what you like. We love them. The plants are lovely. The purple flowers sweet and pretty. I planted two varieties. The regular eggy oval shaped ones and also the finger variety. We've enjoyed a few delicious meals of Melanzane. Here's the recipe I followed loosely. http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/melanzane-alla-parmigiana-aubergine Gotta love Jamie Oliver! Stephen (Sara's Italian boyfriend) said mine was as good as his Mum's! Thanks Stephen. He knows the right thing to say!

Instead of frying the eggplant in oil, I sprayed the slices with spray and cook and baked them in the oven.

Lavender eggplant flower.

Yesterday's garden bounty. Green chillies, green capsicum, yellow chillies and a single eggplant finger. There are a bunch more eggplant fruits that will be ready in a week or so.

Capsicum (or peppers) are going crazy. They've taken over where the tomato glut left off.

Birds birds birds..... They're driving me nuts! They scratch around in the straw mulch and make a mess on the pathways. Not to mention they cover up newly planted seedlings that never get to see the light of day unless they're uncovered every day. AAAGGGHHH!!The bush with the red delicate flowers (top right of the pic) is a Pineapple sage bush. The leaves smell heavenly when you crush them. You can also see a couple of eggplant plants at the front of the garden bed. I love mixing vegies in with the flowers.

I have a semi solution to the bird mulch scattering problem! Toy snakes. They seem to be working. Problem is I need them everywhere! I have to move them every few days so the birds don't wise up to the fact that they're fake. But so far so good. In the areas where I've placed these rubber reptiles, there is no mulch destruction.

Next task in the garden is to get some bulbs in for Spring. I need to wait a few more weeks as it's still a little warm. I've bought the bulbs and popped them in the fridge while I wait. I'm going for a pink and purple look. In the mean time I've planted lots of Viola seedlings. Their pretty little purple and yellow faces will brighten up the pathways come Winter.