Australian and New Zealand Gardening: AUSSIE BROMS LOOKING TO SUMMER.... Nov 2015, 3 by splinter1804

splinter1804 wrote:
Hi everyone – It seems that my second youngest grandson is the culprit for downsizing the computer screen on me. I let him use the computer as he likes to write a diary of what he does at Nanny and Poppy’s but apparently he must have accidently clicked and dragged on just the correct spot to alter the screen size, and didn’t know what he’d done, or how to fix it.

Anyway it’s all fixed now, and I felt a real “dill” when my son in law showed me how simple it was to fix. For anyone who doesn’t know, go right to the top of the screen just below the border and left click and hold. While you are holding you can drag the screen where ever you want to. When you get it where you want it, simply take you finger off the mouse and the screen will stay that size. To make the screen normal size again, just reverse the procedure by clicking and holding on the top of the page and moving it back to where it should be. Very simple, but very serious for me when I didn’t know how to fix it as I couldn’t use my emails. I’m told everyone does this to check something on the desktop when they are viewing another programme, everyone except me that is.

Brian – “I just put up an awning on the shade house after ' Skotak’s Tiger' got burnt in the recent warm weather”. That my friend is how it all starts, the next step is to just drop a wall down from the edge of the awning and “hey presto!” a larger shade house; we’ve all been there and done that. Don’t like to say “we told you so”.

Your ‘Royal Burgundy’ looks nice; it’s always a great plant when well grown and makes a great accent plant in amongst other colours. There is also a pink marginated form of Royal Burgundy called ‘Royal Burgundy Supreme’ and it’s a real eyeful, but not easy to find. I previously had one but unfortunately every pup it threw was a plain coloured one so I only got to enjoy it for a few years. The upside is that although I no longer have a ‘Royal Burgundy Supreme’, I now have plenty of plants of ‘Royal Burgundy’
See: http://registry.bsi.org/?genus=NEOREGELIA&id=6866#6866

Jean – I totally agree with you when you say, “but as one ages, you have to be realistic about what you can look after” and I’ve come to the same decision. It’s better to have just a few that are well grown than a yard full that are all overgrown and collectively screaming out for attention, that’s why I’ve decided to have a “downsizing sale” now while everything still looks good.

I’ll initially just invite the club members so they can have first pick and besides if I ever lose one of my better plants sometime in the future, I’ll know where I can always buy a replacement pup. Once the members have had their chance to “grab a bargain” I’ll then advertise it to the general public as a “one off sale”. I don’t like doing it but my health tells me it has to be done.

That’s a beautiful epiphyllum flower; even the Sulphur Crested Cocky is eyeing it off however he’s probably thinking of ways to destroy it as they like to do this with everything they come into contact with.

I don’t think you could have got a better colour match with your new setting and the Brugmansia even if you had taken a Brugmansia flower to the shop to match the colour tones; they were made to go together.

Teresa – That’s great news about your job; see I told you they wouldn’t let you go as you’re too valuable to the boss while ever you can do his work and free him up to do other things. The next thing will be a pay rise, but not just yet as it’s still a bit too soon.

I can imagine how frustrating it must be to have the members to be able to form a team and not being able to contact them by the deadline due to lack of contact numbers. I think I’d be tearing my hair out also (if I had any that is).

I’ll finish with a quick hello to Trish and Joe, don’t forget we’re all thinking about you and the girls and hope to hear from you soon.

Just a mix of pic’s to finish with; firstly as I’m always going on about the important role light plays with plant colour, the first two plants are the species Neo. kautskyi; Pic.1 is grown in my shade house here on the N.S.W. south coast, and Pic. 2 is grown by a lady in Queensland. Pic.3 is a NOID; I don't know what it is; I bought it at a market for $2, unnamed and not flowering and I just bought it because it "looked interesting". I suspect it's an Aechmea of some sort but that's where my knowledge of Aechmeas stops; maybe a species?? Pic.4 shows two different forms of Ae bromeliifolia; the one on the left is the dark leaf form (previously incorrectly called Rubra) and the plant on the right is Ae bromeliifolia var. albobracteata (Meaning white bracts). Finally Pic.5 which I thought Teresa could perhaps frame and give it to Baz for a “Chrissy present”.

All the best, Nev.