TEA ROOM # 74

Good morning everyone...A new day and a new month... Its nearly Christmas. Who stole the first half of the year ?
We had a lovely day shopping yesterday and the weather stayed reasonably fine although cold. I found some great bargains in the orphans as I wrote in the last thread.
Today I will plant them out. I look forward to lots of lovely flowers from the Michelia. I don't know what color the flowers on the Oleander are but the leaves are beautifully variegated with pink, cream and green.
I have 2 of the irises getting buds so the Spring season here is up and running. I will be running about with the camera on a daily basis getting lots of pics for my flower files.
I am surprised at the amount of buds on the large aporocactus I relegated to the corner of the greenhouse when building the new back shadehouse. It sulked in the corner getting watered when I remembered. It has now rewarded me for my neglect with heaps of buds.
The other aporos are starting to think about buds. They are usually a bit earlier to flower than the epis.
Hello to everyone, I must get back over to the old thread and put up the signpost.
We came from here.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1128742/
Happy gardening. (photo is of part of my garden around this time last year )
Jean.

This message was edited Oct 1, 2010 8:33 AM

Good morning everyone. Jean that is a lovely pic of your garden. My Shirley Poppies this year are a little slower I think but they are coming. The boys are getting really excited now. I don't know whether it's because they'll see Uncle John tonight or they're going camping tomorrow. It's a perfect morning this morning. I hope the weather stays fine for us this time. I will spend most of the day watering as we'll be away until Monday and the temp. is supposed to get to 30C. I hope it doesn't, that's too hot for me. We'll go and see Brian this morning and take the flower off Clementine so that he can see it. He is coping okay at the moment but his medication is knocking him around. I always relay to him your best wishes. I have a lot to give him this time as he asked me to let everyone know what's going on and the Cactus and Succulent thread has been busy with comments. I hope all the well-wishes make him feel a bit better. Well had better go, the boys are up and waiting for their feed. be back later. Colleen

Jean, wish I had gardens that would grow lovely flowers like that. It looks so lovely. As for the broms, I believe we are fellow-dabblers.

Colleen, I don't think I read what happened to Brian, but my best wishes too. Hope he's OK.

What to do with our today! It is so bleak and grey, yet no rain in it. Cold, for this time of the year. I might jump on a bus and see where it takes me.

Karen


This message was edited Sep 30, 2010 3:14 PM

Pinch and a punch for the 1st of the month...At last I can say it's a beautiful morning and it truly is.......sorry Karen.
The whole garden is filled with colour and perfume.

Something that I didn't know..."James Stirling" Pittosporums have a night perfume...very heavy and sweet....there is a row of them on our fence line, they belong to our neighbours.

The tiny white Cyclamens have a lovely baby powder perfume.
Isn't it amazing how the Sun can make such a difference to your daily outlook.

Colleen, have a happy camping trip...watch out for the snakes...your Clementine is beautiful.

Have a lovely day all

Could you all please send the sun to Brisbane. It is so cccccccold this morning. Now 30C is a bit over the top, but something in the low to mid 20's would be great. Or maybe I just need a new thermometer?

My flowering pomegranite is in full bud, with just the odd flower now open. Always a treat for the eye.

Karen

They have such pretty blooms don't they? mine is budding up but it's cold! and everything is slow this year.

Colleen have a wonderful time, I hope the weather is better than the weather here gosh it's cold.

Dianne yes they smell beautiful don't they. Pittosporums are very fragrant but can be a nuisance as they self seed all over the place.

Off to see what I can find.

Karen, get behind me in the queue. I have my order in first for some warmth. At least 24C. My old bod can't stand much more of this cold. I wish we could win Lotto. I'd move so fast , the plants would have to run to keep up.
Hubby would like some warm too. For the first time he is feeling the cold a lot more.
I am still using my lovely electric throw at night when sitting watching TV. How did I ever go without it ?
We brought our paper shredder home yesterday. It had been on layby and now we can get rid of the bags of private mail etc which accumulate. I don't like putting anything in the rubbish bin that has private info on it so can now play with the shredder.
Hubby will be wanting to shred everything in sight so I will have to watch him.
The sun just came out to tease me but I know its freezing out there.
I want to plant my new plants but maybe after lunch will be warmer. I heard on the weather that we are going to have around 24C on Sunday, I'll believe it when I feel it.
Better go and finish the washing. It 's so haarrdddd moving the washing from the washer to the dryer.
Naughty aren't I ? Boasting about them , but I could have done with them many moons ago when the kids were small, so I'm taking full advantage now.
happy day all.
Jean.

Just for you Leisa. This will help you get better quickly. Just get in before the others see it and scoff the lot. yummy Baklava.
Get well.
Jean.

Good afternoon everyone!

Karen...I'm with you. I loved the rain but.....

Anyway here is a pic of a Hoya I have out in flower

Wow Marlene that lovely. Colleen

Wow Marlene, that is beautiful. Well done. Has it flowered before or is this a first for you? I have a bud on one of my UNK Hoyas, and it is one that hasn't flowered before. Can't wait to see it.

my october lily report:-bewdiful!-i spent 30 mins out there this arvo,.its absolutely brilliant growth,.,.my american import seeds arrived today,1 was wrong,.,.but hopefully she fixes it,as i have 2'good sized' pots of the one she sent me,.,.hello everyone,'mya'-dont let the fencin' dude get to you,..,

Happy Birthday for tomorrow Chrissy. Hope you have a wonderful day. Colleen

happy Birthday Chrissy and many more .

Chrissy, Happy Birthday. Have a lovely day. Any plans to celebrate?

Rain here this morning. Hoping it will hold off later as we plan to go to Wendy's brom sale this afternoon. If it gets too bad though, we can try again tomorrow.

Karen

Good morning everyone.
The sun is shining here. It was cool but fine yesterday and I managed to get a bit done in the garden between a couple of unexpected visitors.
Hubby said he would help me with the weeds around the irises if he could get down on the ground . He isn't able to so there goes my help.
Lots going on in the garden now. Buds on all the roses , jasmine bursting out in flower, blue fountain bush starting to flower. So many perfumes wafting around now. I see that i have a shoot coming up in the pot of tuberose too. I love their scent , but haven't been able to get them to grow before. I'm trying them in a pot this time. I had them growing when I was living up in Bright and the scent was amazing . It drifted over the entire garden. I have planted my new michelia and the lovely oleander. I just hope they do well as they were very pot bound. Which is the reason they were so cheap I would think. Hello to everyone popping in. I hope all goes well for your camping Colleen. Leisa, hope you are felling okay now too. Chrissy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY>
This is for you , but get in quick before the others see it.
A pretty pink cake for an angel lady.
Happy weekend everyone.
Jean.

only one sleep to go!
We fly to Sydney at 7.30am tomorrow, early start so I was clever & took today off to pack.
So far I have done two loads of washing & taken Copper for his walk...
& checked my email, DG & next stop is FB.
it is a stunning spring morning, sun singing, birds shining...
bit fresh, I need to get into the sun or put on a polar fleece.
sitting at the keyboard shivering is a bit silly.
Good excuse to go take the last pics for 3 weeks in my garden.
I am going to miss it - so many things in bud, bluebells are coming up now.
roses are looking good, aphids are starting to appear grrrr.
I am taking my lap top so might still check in over the next few weeks - hope so!
right off out to the garden with me :)

A very good morning to all .
Chrissy Have a Very Happy Birthday . not many have a 3 day week end for their birthday.
Jean I have dug out most of the lawn in frount now I want to kill off a few weeds and little grass patchs -- if I use round up how long after every thing has died and it is all cleaned will I be able to plant . Planting big Cordylines and Flaxes they have grown to big for pots -- I will be leaving the gum tree droppings as mulch this will save a lot of work and time cleaning it away of the lawn
the tree is next door but I get all the bark and leaves .
Every one have a great week end. ----------elaine.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISSIE....enjoy your day....
Beautiful here....hope it's like that everywhere.
Lovely pics Marlene and Karen.
Delicious cakes Jean.....you will have a beautiful gardening day too.
Anthony, enjoy all your goodies.
Good gardening everyone.
Go Saints...
Dianne

Elaine, when using Roundup, make sure there is no breeze as spray drift will kill more plants than you think. I usually wait at least 2 weeks to allow the roots of the plants to die off. Once the weeds are dead , you can plant straight away.
Don't go doing too much there. Get the young people to do the hard work.
Teresa, have a great trip.
Charleen. a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY... Have some lovely Black Forest Cake.
I hope the weather stays fine for you all. I am off out to get those weeds.
Happy day.
Jean.

Awe gosh everyone, how kind of you all *BLUSH* I stopped counting a decade or two ago.
Charlene did I miss yours?
I hope it was wonderful.

Yes Elaine a long weekend Labor day birthday ...my mum always says her Labour with me was so bad they made a Labor day weekend, it almost always falls on the long weekend.

I am preparing my home for my brother to arrive ...stair lift, hospital bed etc, it is my greatest gift that he is still with us, I intend to make his life as comfortable and happy as possible.
I may not have a great deal of time after next week to play on the puter.

I want to thank you all, everyone of you, for the great friendship, encouragement and sharing of adventures we have enjoyed together.
You are all very special people and it is a great gift in my life to have found daves garden, it's wonderful inhabitants and best of all my friends.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Hugs chrissy.

I bring you a living boquet for your Birthday. Much love to all.
Chrissy, it is not a rose but so beautiful. Yes, you wished me a wonderful birthday which I have really enjoyed. Here is Hoping your whole day and more beautiful...
Charleen

Thanks Jean for advice its raining here and more expected for the next week so the garden is now on hold the boys will be doing the big dig and planting while I wait I'm making totems P.V.C.pipe + tiles to place around they will have pots inside the top with spider plants .------elaine.

That is beautiful, Elaine.
I did a butterfly Granny today.

now this is a beautiful sight!!!!!!!!!,.,.!!!!

Charleen love granny she has very wise look about her looking at her I feel there are fairies lurking around waiting for you to leave to share secrets with her.
Ithink the totems will fit in just hope they dont go walk about at night here is the first one I made.
I see you had a birthday a very late Happy Birthday hope you had a great day .
---elaine.

Looking good, Anthony.

Happy Birthday Charleen, anyway birthdays have to last a week so it's still your birthday unofficially.
You and Elaine are clever ladies.
Anthony, your garden must look like a forest with all your plants.....your Vortex must be bursting.

Called in to the Anglesea heathland this morning to see the wildflowers, pinks and whites and yellows everywhere.
Even though the flowers are mostly tiny, the sheer volume of them on their bushes, makes a great show.

Lots of tourists around for the bike riding championships.Great to see a young Aussie win the Peloton yesterday
Cadell Evans rides tomorrow....when I will be watching Mary Poppins with my grandaughter we have had the tickets for a year and hasn't the year flown.
Dianne

Good morning all. A beautiful morning it is too. Going to be around 23C, which is just perfect for me. Yesterday was the same.
I got into the weeds in the iris beds at last and really worked for quite a few hours.
I am careful not to do too much in the sun for a long time without stopping for a break and a cuppa.
I found that the largest type of weed (maybe a celandine) was very easy to remove despite its size. The worst is the clover. There are several different types growing out there and one is a wide spreading one very difficult to remove. Most of the others just pull out easily. the ground is just right for removing the weeds without taking clods of dirt.
Now that I have that done, I can concentrate on other jobs that need doing, like finally transplanting all the chrysanthemums. I also have lots of zygo babies from last year that need to be potted on.
It will be a busy time for the next few weeks. Then at the end of the month there is the Hamilton Trash & Treasure which always has lovely cheap plants that I just have to bring home.

Anthony, it looks like you are going to have a great lilium season. Mine are growing while I watch. I found a couple of bulbs coming up that look like liliums. They must have been in one if the mystery bags of bulbs I bought somewhere. Have to watch and see what they are.
Elaine, I do like your totems. I must try one myself. Still haven't got around to doing any mosaics yet.
Charleen. Love your granny. As Elaine said, there must be fairies around her.
Chrissy, We will miss your lovely posts on here . Your brother is very lucky to have such a caring person in his life. Looking after someone you love is done willingly but can be exhausting so please remember you need a break sometimes too. Pop in and say hello when ever you need that break.
Hello Leisa, Marlene, Karen, Teresa and Sue. Brian, I hope you are sitting out in the sun enjoying your garden.
Colleen, I hope your camping trip is going well. Looks like the weather is lovely for you.
Louise, how are things over there ? Have you started to pack yet ? I bet those gorgeous girls are being well behaved . They are not puppies any more but real southern ladies.
I am going out to enjoy the sun. Have a great day everyone and enjoy those gardens..
Enjoy this Hummingbird Cake.
Jean.

Chrissy, all the very best to you and your brother. I hope you will still be dropping to say hello though?

Jean, Hummingbird cake is my favourite alltime of all cakes. Yum!

Rain and more rain coming today. Glad we went to Wendy's yesterday. It rained, but stopped long enough for us to see the gardens and enjoy our visit.

Charleen, sorry I missed your birthday. I hope it was a lovely one for you.

Hello to everyone, and I hope you all are having the best weekend, whatever you are doing.

Karen


This message was edited Oct 2, 2010 3:12 PM

Good morning to all its still raining here nice light rain good to sit with a cuppa and plan how I am going to make bird baths the new garden is about two and half feet below the street level I have a garden at street level so the lower new garden is a little hidden but any thing expenive will go walk about .
I did see dish with two birds on the side of the top to day we going to see if there are any left I could glue it on to a low cement stand .
Better move myself every one have a great day .--------elaine.

Happy Birthday, Chrissy and Charlene.

It is indeed raining here today! The dams will be totally full! Last day of "holidays" and so much that didn't get done! So much preparation to do..but I will still manage to do something in the garden, even if I have to get drenched! The back bit has been neglected for so long but today I will have to work on Cluckingham Palace and Dunlayin Castle..the turkeys dig in under the sides, even though I have wire and concrete blocks, they tunnel under. The problem with that is that the holes are too small for them to get in but it allows snakes to get in and I have seen a few lately. One went into the laundry the other night. Another large one was seen sunning itself on the road and was evidently a very large one..stretching from one side of the street to the other (we do live in a two car width street so don't panic too much!!) I just wish the snakes would eat the turkeys and then they would both leave us alone!!

Got back from Caloundra yesterday, earlier than we usually arrive as youngest son had to start his job at Coles. Before we had left here, I had brought in some of the nicer potted plants so the turkeys wouldn't get them..potted geraniums in bloom which looked pretty spectacular. When we came in yesterday, the front verandah looked like a whippersnipper had gone beserk! Very close! The pots were empty, the contents scattered and shredded across the floor..newspaper and magazines shredded and pooped on! YUK!..Things upturned..a mess! Middle son had been going to work and found that a brush turkey had got in through the back door and trapped itself on the front verandah..it evidently jumped straight out through a glass panel so there was glass everywhere and will be over the driveway below! How did they know I had hidden the best potted plants from them? Are they really that evil? Is there really a reason that brush turkeys exist and are we allowed to unlike them? It had also been in on another morning while we were away as daughter and son-in-law were woken up by one flapping over their heads. What with the turkeys and snakes (and I haven't told them of the most recent snake encounter) I don't think they will come and stay anymore! :(

Ah! The rain has stopped. I will go and check the epies and see what else needs to be replanted! Happy gardening all!

Oh Kat, you had me laughing with your description, but I know how upsetting it must be for you. I would be most frustrated. I hope there is no further damage to be undone and that your epis are safe. We'll have to organize a visit one day, preferably before the turkeys run away with the lot.

Karen

thanks all for the Birthdays wishes. Hope Chrissys was a great one too.
Beautiful plants everyone.

Ha ha ha, oh Kat I have always said you ought to make a Movie, I know it sounds funny but it must have been awful! just as well you have such a good sense of humour.
I have popped in for a cuppa ...Oh boy I have to say don't we accumulate far too many bits and pieces over 20 years, and I am not a hoarder ...*wink* well depends on what it is, I have just thrown out so many candles and stuff while clearing room for my brother that I was truly shocked, I filled an otto bin almost to the top. It's been a bit emotional because it's like throwing away memories ...but I have got a grip and told myself, Barring dementia we always have our memories don't we.
I won't have time to dust those sort of things any longer, Jean I will always call in to the Tea shop ...I just won't natter on and on.
Well it's wet as anything here raining most of the time since Friday night but I crept out through huge puddles outside to have a look at the plants.
The Hippies are finally blooming and the slugs are having a great time.
There is a bit of hail damage but not too bad, certainly not as bad as turkeys!
The Doctor on the radio today said to make a paste of bi carb and water to put onto any tick and mossie bites ...I thought that is a very helpful hint, if you put it onto the tick while it's biting you it will cause them to shrivel and you can flick them off later.

I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend ...it's too cold for this time of the year, I can't remember a long Oct weekend with these sort of temps.
Never mind the blooms are blooming so it's better late than never.

Chrissy, I am a pack rat par excellence! I saw Corrinne Grant on the telly while we were in Caloundra so I had to buy her book "Confessions of a Hoarder" and I laughed so much..except, mostly she was describing me! It took her a year of hard work to get to normal..I have quite a few years headstart on her so I think about ten might do it for me!..and she said she used to hide things in empty saucepans!! Oops! ;0 But while I was buying her book, I had to buy a few copies of other things....oops!!!
I've done a bit of clearing near the alpaca fence..think my sugarcane was zeroed..along with any heliconias that didn't have the sense to drop way over this way. At least I can start again....ho hum..some of the bamboo survived. It was in really big pots as, even though it was the clumping sort, I didn't want him to attack it.
Take care all..and I love reading your posts, Chrissy, (I love reading everyone's posts even if I don't add much here) so I hope you do get time to drop a few lines..and I hope all goes well with your brother settling in.

well I am in Sydney - where it is raining & not as warm as ChCh was yesterday!
Of course i didn't pack warm clothes, one long sleeved t'shirt is about it apart form what I wore to come over...
luckily I put a jumper on - only light weight tho.
I was thinking that as we were leaving home at 4.30am it would be chilly & that planes usually have aircon set to arctic blast.
this time it was warm & I started to think I made a mistake but as soon as we got outside I was so glad!
Anyway first thing I noticed was the lack of spring blossom...

but when I looked closer I saw that there were a few different wattles in bloom so that brightens things up a bit.
I will have to keep my eyes peeled for the kind of plants I see mentioned here in the Aussie forum.
If I spot any brugs in flower I will be over the moon ^_^
might try & talk DH into a visit to the botanic gardens.
cheers all
the flying kiwi ;)

Good morning everyone. Teresa, did you bring this darn wind with you ? Its been blowing all night and looks like we may get a storm later.
You will find that you need to carry a jumper with you even when its warm , Teresa. The weather changes from hour to hour it seems. Here anyway. May be different up in NSW and Qld.
Kat, you art going to have some fun replanting along the fence. What a shame the turkeys got into the veranda. They certainly are persistant.
Chrissy, hope all goes well for your brother moving in. There are signs of life in some of my brugs. I do envy you the warmer climate for them but I will persevere and see how they bounce back.
Leisa, hope all is well with you and your lovely broms. Between you and Sue , there must be a very large lot of them living in your yards.
I always read all the brom thread and love to see all the pretty colors. Mine may present me with some lovely color once I move them to the new shadehouse.
Hello Charleen. I hope Charlie and friends are behaving there. It will be getting colder at your place now I expect.
Hello Karen, Elaine, Colleen and everyone else lurking around.
I am not going outside in the wind this morning. I may get a bit done later if the rain keeps away. Have to take hubby out for an appointment later anyway.
Have a nibble on these Melting Moments.
Enjoy the day. Jean.

Good morning Jean, and everyone. Though more rain is predicted all week, I woke up to glorious sunshine this morning. I would love to have one full day of sunshine today so I can do some work outdoors.

Hope everyone has a lovely, sun shiny day.

Karen

Yes, dear folks, it is getting cooler. Time to drag the plant babies in the house. DH on vacation thisweek and told me he would help. so got to de-clutter things. I am terribleI don't know f I hoard but I sure got "collections of junk.
The longears are o.k. Just hungry all the time. there is not a boney part n them, except maybe their legs. they like the cooler weather too. they will be kicking up their heels and running before too long.
Have a great week you all.
Here is a Pink Smitty Brug starting to bloom. Enjoy!!