TEA ROOM # 48

G'Day
I like merangue and Colleen only said not to let me at the cream, As in law always a loophole.
Jean, There were about 3 Prickly Pears out of 100s that are a menace in the north. They were never a real threat down here as we are too cold (and dry) for them to go mad. Even in Qld. and northern NSW they are not the menace they were in the late 1800s early 1900s because 2 insects that feed on them were introduced and 1000s of hectares were returned to agriculture by the control by these insects. They were Cactus blastis and Cochinele beetles.
That concept will also enable the control of the cane toad, get one of the diseases or parasites that keep them under control in their native habitat. Nature is always about balance.
Brian

Just came back after the radio warning re severe weather warning (large hail strong wind and flooding) heading Coff's Harbour way ...
be safe everyone!
Take care

Good morning all, Its monday yuk, but still a nice morning anyway, Mya that sucks not for you, for me we did not get a single drop of rain, so still counting the perfect days lol.
Aaahhhhh the cane toads the idiots way back then did not have a clue, they imported them to eat the cane beatles, the cane beatles unfortunately live at the top of the cane and cane toads can not climb or jump very high, so a failure waiting to happen, then to make matter worse no natural preditors, so a failure waiting to happen, now there are millions of them, they have been found as far south as sydney and over in the Kakadoo, (I feel I have spelt that wrong lol), I have a big gully out back of my place where all cane toads go as they are killed in my yard, by either baseball bat or golf club, my record is 57 in one night. The powers that be tell us that we have to kill them humanely by putting them in plastic bags and keeping them in your freezer, the mongrel things did not kill my cat humanely, it took her 6 days to die at the vets. So all they will get from me is a clubbing till there is not much left.
Oh my sorry about that all I did get a little carried away with myself there for a while, I will try not to carry on to much in future. But there is a little hope in sight, the crows and the magpies have learned to flip them upside down and eat out their guts, as the only poison is behind there eyes on there shoulder blades, and it is only secreted when they are threatened and there are a coulpe of snakes that are immuned to them. I do hope Brian is right and nature will do her bit. Ok I have vented and feel better now lol.
Wayne your yard is loveley, it looks almost magic :-)
Louise good luck with your weeding you will have it looking beaut in no time.
Chrissy, I think the top 2 will be Nathan and Stan, Toby will be gone soon, I am actually surprised he has lasted this long, but you are right he should be a teacher first. I was not a Kate fan, but I thought she was at least different from the 'norm' and I did enjoy her singing.
Jean I am a little cranky with you (giggling to ones self right now), now I am going to have to go out and get some Irises, they are lovely, as if I don't already have enough addictions lol. ( and by the way I have been very good in the kitchen lately, I have been leaving plenty for others to share)
Steve love to see pics, so don't be slack like me lol.
Have to go lots to do
have a wonderful day all, smile and stay safe
shell

Wow, Shell, 57 in ONE night??? I am having just horrid images of you out there tippee-toeing around a field of cane toads with your bat swinging in all directions! I'm so sorry you lost your cat to these horrid creatures. That is a good lesson for me to share with the neighbors here. We are all clueless and need to understand the threat. Thank you all so much for taking the time to share some info on these things for me.
Brian - I do hope you are correct and some natural predator steps in at some point here before they get too out of control. Losing a pet is a terrible thing. We're still sorely missing our sweet Molly.
Jean - love your meringue confections! Thank you for your toad input! So helpful! We have fire ants here, and we have had to retain a pest service to control them. They are quite dangerous as well. Our Molly was stung by some and she went through a hard time. She simply walked across our patio on her way out into the yard, and they love nothing more than to make nests under the patio bricks, so there you have it. I've been stung on my feet as well.
I've just about gotten all the weeds tamed, and am now pruning madly.
Chrissy - I watch our American version of Idol and really enjoy it after they finish with the early programs where Simon and Randy are mean to the bad contestants and laugh at them. I can't stand it when people are laughed at....never could, even as a child. It seems so cruel, even though they should know they have no talent and should not be getting up there pretending like they can sing. Once the show gets into the real talent, I think it is great fun to see how the contestants grow from the end. I do not watch much television (like to read much better), but I do like Idol and Dancing with the Stars and Hell's Kitchen - which is a contest among aspiring chefs.
Lovely day to you all! Watch out for those storms!!

Hi Louise sorry no field, just my little back yard which makes it all the more the sadder lol.
But even I am amused by the vision lol.

Hello you busy lot. Brian, you can't have the whole plate of meringues. Watch out or Shelly might go mad with her bat. My son freezes them as he doesn't like making mess to clean up. He told me about the large mouse spiders up there which he hates more than the toads. Thank goodness I never saw any when I was there .
Louise, our lovely continent is known for it's own poisonous creatures without idiots importing more. We have a lovely lot of snakes and spiders. All with venom designed to kill their prey but just happens to kill us too if we get in their way. I personally like the snakes around the garden. As long as one makes noise and gives them room there is no danger. I leave trays of water around for them and the lizards .
Shelly, I'd love to see you out at night wielding your golf club. Do you use a 9 iron or a putter ? ha ha.
Chrissy , glad you saw some rain. It will wash the dust off everything. I hope the hail does not do too much damage. This is on the other epi thread but I like to show pretty things so here is my first epi for the year.
Jean.

Jean it is lovely, thanks for putting it on this thread. I use a driver (bigger) or my daughters aluminium baseball bat, both work exceptionally well for my task lol. Brian, Jean is right you had better behave, I may not do carrot or pumpkin, (yuk) but I do love meringues.

Shelly you stick to looking after the toads, I'll manage the Meringues.
Brian

Now now Brian I am sure I can eat a meringue while I am happily killing a toad, I have quite a strong stomach lol.

Good lord Shelly I was trying to share the load with you, so you didn't have to do all the work.
Brian

This message was edited Oct 26, 2009 4:40 PM

Go the nine iron shelly! Give them some height!
Have I asked about this? Id please.
Cheers
Steve

Steve - that is a beauty! It looks familiar but I can't name it, and I want one!!!
Louise

steve ^_^
http://www.provarplants.co.uk/provar-plants/plant-detail.php?plantid=84

The one in the picture above is a hybrid ...but yours is the older type. Prune after blooming ...a very nice and reliable plant.
Good morning everyone ...I am so cold ...I need a hot drink please jean.

Good morning everyone. Steve, what a beautiful weigelia. I have a paler pink one . They used to be in everyones garden when I was growing up.
Chrissy did you get enough rain ? It is finally supposed to get hot down here so the angels should be happy.
Hello Louise. How is your weather there now ? Perfect I suspect. Your garden will soon be appreciating all your weeding and looking lovely.
Brian and Shelly will have to stop fighting over the meringues or I'll not give them any more. Shelly, I hid some for you under the sink cupboard, so be quick. I'll put a jug of cream out for Brian to keep him occupied. I hope Colleen is enjoying her trip.
How are you doing Sue ? Your brom house must be overflowing now. Mine are looking lovely. I can see a small pup forming on my new B. 'Hallelujah' So exciting to see it already.
Kat, where are you ? Have the turkeys taken revenge and sent you off somewhere ?
Elaine, I hope you are relaxing at your lovely garden setting with a cuppa.
Hello to everyone else.
Today I am going to lay out the retic hose for the iris. I find this is the best way to water anything and the irises don't need much during summer anyway. I also have to get all my little plants ready for selling at the local Show on Sunday. They usually get spread around during the year in whatever space is avauilable, so now I'll gather them all up and put in the trailer. The weather is forecast to be hot but showery which will be very nice.
I will leave something nice in the kitchen for you all and extra cream for Brian to keep him occupied. Shelly be quick. Meringue Cake with Strawberries & Cream.
Have a happy day.
Jean.

lovely wet stuff, falling from the sky! 130mm overnight, full tanks and full dam! STOP NOW! he he. geeze, we needed it! the water tanker has been running in and out of the estate for around a month now! We never got that bad, but i was beginning to worry just a little. Theres signs that it must have come down quite heavy during the night, but I slept through it all.
That is a pretty flower Steve.
Well, I'll have a quick coffee and then I'd better make the most of my day off (due to weather) Oncew I have my chores done, i can go sprinkle some chook poo around in the rain, and I might do some mulching if we get some clear patches.
Whats everyone else up to today?
Sue
Acanthus mollis

Hello Chrissy, come inside where its warm and have some lovely cake. You need to sit and relax.
Hello Sue, a cup for you too.
Jean.

thanks Jean. Mmmmmmm. Glad you are in for some nice gardening weather. I just received some pics from my Mum, with fields of Dutch Iris in Tas! Gorgeous. I can't wait to see yours!

Glad we can get a hot drink this early ...I am still cold!
sue we had so much rain ...a month's worth they said.
Yes we certainly need it. Everything all right up there then?
I will be planting seeds in the veggie patch ...staggering the various plants is the best way to have them all summer and autumn.When I was new at veggies I grew too much all at once, I have since learned that staggering is best. Lots of green leafy stuff and a few other interesting things to try.
I love acanthus don't you? So umm Greek!
http://www.columns.net/column_history.php

Oh look at that field of iris ...jean ...jean!!! look at that!
thanks for the hot drink!
Ok now I am warmed up I had better go do some work, see you later everyone ...enjoy your morning.

WANT. WANT. I need to win Lotto. Sue , don't show me pics like that.

hi all - I am back form 4 days in Robina, it was so nice to have warmth & sunshine.
We even has a couple of brief showers of rain, sadly not enough to help the gardens any.
My Father-in-law was just putting in tomatoes, basil & capsicum.
They haven't been in their new house for long & he is still figuring out the best places to put plants & deciding what he want to keep & what he wants to pull out.
Definitely keeping the gardenias!
What a gorgeous flower & the scent just wafted across the yard on the breeze.
Anyway back in ChCh it is wet & cold...
I have the dreaded lurgy - that tried to spoil my break but I kept taking cold & flu meds & managed to enjoy myself anyway.
Did take Nana naps every afternoon - sad but I was just too doped up to stay awake the whole day.

Good morning all, I woke up this morning and got all excited, it was overcast, but alas it has gone now, so yet another beaut day sigh!!!!!!!!!!
Sue that field is wonderful, so pretty but you probably should not have shown Jean lol.
Steve great plant I am with Louise, I want one as well lol. Do not forget to post a picture of our table when you are finished it, Jean and I can't wait lol.
Brian I will be good and share, not that I really want to, but I will lol.
Jean found the secret stash, but I am not going to tooooooooo greedy lol.
Chrissy I can not even imagine being cold this time of the year, our nights have not got below 18 to 20 since august, and our days are still low 30's. But trust me you do get bored with perfect weather every single day, the whole city is so brown, actually it has gone past brown it is now into grey, we so badly need some rain. We live in the oddest world, we go from our wettest wet season ever to one of our driest winters ever, but in saying that I would not live in any other country on the planet, I watch the news and am forever grateful, that I live in australia. Ok sorry all I feel I am rambling yet again.
Sue, sounds like you have had enough rain we will take any left overs you have lol.
Louise how long do you stay in Florida?
Teresa I hope you are having a wonderful time over here.
have to do some work have a great day all
shell

thanks Shelley, I wish I was still on the Gold Coast - ChCh is dreary right now - I can see my peony has been just about flattened by the southerly.
I have an azalea starting to flower but it is too nasty to go take photos right now, my rhodie is a mass of pink too.
Hope it clears up soon, we have the pellet fire burning & sitting outside to catch a nice cool breeze seems like a dream now.
If it wasn't for the photos I might think it was all a cold & flu medication inspired hallucination.
Wouldn't it nice if we could send rain away to those who need it once we have enough?
This is the golf course just down the road from the in-laws.

Good morning to all ,
Just poped in as I pass not as cold or as wet to-day I have spent the last 2 days next to the heater doing some more preety pots now I can plant in them .
Shelly How is the other 2 puppies ? -- is the vet finding them homes or will you .

Hope all have a good day till later ----------Elaine.

I have just come back in, cold wet and shivery ...the green grubs are going to town in the rain and if you don't go and squish them they will eat everything in sight ...shell your night temp is our day temp but it feels worse due to the wet mud and drizzle ...if only we could share our water! Honestly in this day and age we have the water and (most just runs out to sea) ... and we don't do anything about it, if they can green the deserts in some places overseas then why can't we? (huff ...puff ...fume) makes me mad, but we can't say anything about pollies here at daves, probably just as well.
Gee my gardenias don't even have buds yet!
Everything is wayyyy slow here ...can't believe it.
I have to say shell that after 7 years of drought prior to these last 2 and a half years of rain, I certainly remember how the dreaded blue sky would hurl clouds straight over the top of us and head to the coast and out to sea. The land out here looked like Africa before the rains.Then there was the daily smoke spotting scare of erupting bush fires not too far away in the Blue Mountains.
Rain is better. This is the way of things, always has been, always will be
"Of droughts and flooding rains" Like you, I am grateful every day of my life, that I was born here ...come drought , come flooding rain ...
by the way, if I had to flee from my beloved country ... NZ is where I would go.

hi elaine ...I am cold but i am soaked from the drizzle outside ...
nice to hear you are ok and playing with those pretty pots.
I am needing a hot shower and dry clothes ...enjoy the day everyone.

Hi Chrissy all my gardenias are in bud I had one flower before the rain I must be playing the right music to them .----------Elaine.

Hi Elaine I have already found 2 wonderful homes for them when they are both fit and well enough to leave the vets.
Chrissy that is where I would flee to as well lol.
Teresa I am very sorry that you were sick during your visit, I hope you had a great time anyway, oh and by the way great pic of the golf course. Next time I hope you can manage a longer and healthier visit.
Steve I was given a set of golf clubs years ago I have no idea as to why as I don't play golf, but they have found their purpose in life, I will try the 9 iron thanks for the tip, I have no idea what they are all meant for, I only use the wood because it is the biggest lol.

I think your area may be warmer than mine due to the winds coming in off the Blue mountains ...they carry a chill factor.
I have to tell you that mine are 7/8ft tall so when they do bloom ...they knock your socks off!
I just found small buds on my whirly bird frangipani (white double) ...a big surprise after no coloured ones bloomed for me last year ...it must have been that three weeks of warmer winter weather or something.
I found small new leaves on the hibiscus cuttings from cestrum and tiny roots growing on the pink oleander from judy ...I planted half and left half in a glass of water ... I had always read that you could grow roots in the water with them , but now I have seen it for myself!
I am going to try more water rooting things now ...it was just plain pre boiled water and cooled to tepid.
Mya if you are looking, that's the way to go with your oleander cuttings in future ...start them in water.

Sorry I forgot to say that I hope you feel better soon teresa
Look at this gardenias ...gardenias growing roots in the water!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=7202947

I never succeeded with transplanting cuttings that rooted in water.
Yet my Mum has done roses that way.
I have more success just poking cuttings into the garden.
But I am a bit strange at times...
^_^

Shelly seeing you are so nice about sharing the eats. I have a meeting this afternoon followed by a BBQ & tasting of our new trial red wines. Would you like to accompany me to the function? Don't bring any toads.
Brian

I would love to accompany you to the function, especially that function lol, I have asked my boss and he won't give me the afternoon off lol. So thank you so much for the very kind invitation, but the next wine tasting I will be there lol.

Mya and everyone ...this is a gardenia rooting in water, in this thread.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=7202947
how cool is that! i always looked at the chat re cuttings grown in water but now I have seen it in the oleander I am going to try a few difficult things ...nothing much to lose.I remember seeing one gardener saying that it is easy to root boges that way ...now that would be fantastic!

Hello all..still here!just lurking..bufo marinus..cane toads came from the United States and Mexico etc..would you like them back..with their rellies???hahaha..I use Dettol (disinfectant) as it knocks them but that can be expensive. if you have animals or birds, change all outside water and drinking bowls every day as they hop in there at night and can poison it!

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/cane-toad.html

We had heavy storms all last night and a few more today. Will be good for the garden but so much at once tends to wash the topsoil into the river.

Love the pikkies. Back to work. Ciao!

We only got 12 mls in yesterdays storm.
I am going to Darwin next week. I do hope we get showers whlie I am away to keep the plants alive.

Shelly.... my Hoyas are doing very well. Even some loose leaves I popped in a pot have rooted.

Chrissy ...I planted my Angels out in the garden. I think every seed must have germinated so I keept a few plants to give to my daughter-in -law.

Jean...I left some tea bags in the Tea Room. I have been hitting the drink lately.

I am going to Darwin next week for a holiday with hubby.

Good morning everyone. Hello Kat. nice to see you popping in but I think you may have missed any cakes. Leisa has been in for the meringues also Brian grabs all the cream cakes. You would be right back to normal now, after the wedding has been over for a while. How are you pets going ? (turkeys, I mean not neighbors) I am closely watching my epis, one is out with many more teasing me with their slowness.
Hello Marleneann, have a great time up there. The gardens in Darwin are gorgeous. Thanks for the teabags.
You are lucky to get hoyas to grow from leaves. I tried once but maybe it was too cold at the time.
I saw a site the other day on hoyas and was surprised at how many beautiful ones there are. Mine are only the common (but pretty) carnosa, I think. Mainly rescued orphans from sales but they do well here despite the cold. I must look into some of the different colors . They do look well climbing up the trellis. I have one hanging around in the epi house. Must be over 15' long now.
Leisa have you been into the wine again ? It seems to be disappearing quite fast. I will have to stock up again.
Chrissy, did you get any of that heavy rain I saw on TV ? So much rain running out to sea, when so many still need some. Your babies will be wondering what season it is , poor things. At least mine are now used to weird weather .Love that pic of the gardenias rooting in water. I have tried it with a few plants . I love gardenias but they don't like the cold here. Mine struggle to survive. I have had, at times, plants root in water because I left them too long in a bucket of water. Typical me, put things in the bucket , put it aside, then promptly forget it.
Hello Elaine, I hope you are still keeping warm. At least you will be able to get some small projects done while inside. I hope Sue and anyone else in rain affected areas are okay.
Shelly, I see you going home with more broms if you are going to that show . Say hello to Sue if you find her.
Hello Louise. I hope you are warm there as it is quite cold here this morning. It does get a lot warmer by lunchtime but my fingers are frozen at the moment. Love to see more of your garden there as you get it tidied.
Hello to everyone else. I am going out to find a sunny place to sit. I have more iris to photograph too. Enjoy your day and this Chocolate Tea Cake.
Jean.

Yes jean I am thinking of trying it on some tropical things ...to give them a bit of a head start ...I really want to see if it works on boges!
I will be back after a few chores (hitting 30C today after 18C yesterday )sheesh!
Enjoy your cuppas everyone! (big wave)