Onslow and the grasshopper

It was a confrontation of David and Goliath proportions.

The grasshoppers have been very busily chewing their way though much of my garden. As the combatants eyed each other off, it seemed Onslow might finally have a chance to earn his keep and make amends for all the plants he has dug up.

The quarry was examined from every angle.

Even taste tested on more than one occasion.

So, when the little green guy made his final break, I decided he had earned his freedom.

After all, there was one unchewed cosmos left, and, with the addition of some miniature dahlias, pentas, and salvia, that was all I needed for a posy.

Nosegay

I love flowers in the house, especially home-grown ones, but it looked like it might prove to be a challenge on the weekend. It's still fairly early spring and there isn't much out yet, but with a few sprigs from a sedum, the ever reliable pentas, and a spray of salvia, I had the makings of a tiny posy - a nosegay perhaps.

A chipped but dearly loved jug that once belonged to my grandma was the perfect finishing touch.

Pretty in pink

There is a real pink theme happening in the garden today, courtesy of a couple of new additions and some old favourites.

This is the first of the newbies, Salvia microphylla 'Heatwave Sizzle'. It's similar to my two-toned 'Hot Lips'. I haven't had any luck yet tracking down other two-toned colour combinations I wrote about a few months back, but this is a gorgeous shade of pink.

Ixora 'Pink Malay' - I have planted a row of these along my fenceline. They are just brilliant and flower virtually 12 months of the year.

A lilac pink Pentas lanceolata which I love because it attracts butterflies. 

Last year I had double purple Calibrachoa, but this year I couldn't go past this beautiful cherry rose.

Finally, my other new addition, Rondeletia splendens. I had never seen one of these until a couple of weeks ago when I snapped this up at the nursery. Its taller relation Rondeletia amoena is popular in older Queensland gardens, but can be hard to get nowdays, although I managed to pick up one last year that is now in bud. The amoena can grow quite tall, whereas this seems to be a lower (1.5m) spreading shrub.