TEA ROOM # 85

Good morning everyone . I thought the path was starting to get a bit long for some of us so have moved us here, closer to the road again.
I started to paint the outside of the Tea Room , but got a bit carried away and changed the whole look .
I thought this traditional Japanese Tea Room look would be a nice way to remember those lost in the terrible disaster in Japan.
I hope you all like it and also get out into the contemplation garden when you can. Very restful, I find.
Its a cold morning here again but yesterday was the same and warmed up to a lovely jumperless day . I found no orphans but did arrive home with a large bag of Moo Poo for the brugs..
We are going off for a bit of a drive today so I have to get a few sandwiches made for our lunch.
Enjoy the day. Its back to a weekend tomorrow. It seems the weeks are shrinking between weekends as they come round so soon.
Nearly Easter, then downhill to Christmas.
I had better move as I need to put up the redirection sign and put out some nibbles for you all. Have a great day and enjoy your gardens.
We came from here..
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1161207/
Jean.

This message was edited Mar 18, 2011 8:02 AM

I hope this works
http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8225364
My nephew arriving home greeted by my sister ...she is the one in the white dress with the purple bag.
So relieved.
Vernon says the press were like vultures and he did not want to talk to them.
Cool morning here ...I am waiting for the nurse to arrive.
I hope everyone has a pleasant day.
Hopefully back later.

lovely morning today, as I walked Copper past the park there was a layer of mist that had risen off the stream.
That was at 7.15, by 9.30am when I left to walk to work it was full on foggy.
By 10.30am when I reached work it was just burning off & we had a glorious sunny day for the Memorial Service for the ChCh quake victims.
Today was a public holiday but I decided it was better to work - we had the service on the big screen & i can't face going in to the city.
Haven't been there since before the first quake.

The Japan situation seems to be going from bad to worse. I just heard the death count with a bigger number to come. *so sad*
I hope all your loved ones are now home safely.

What a day...I never knew having a Garage Sale was so much work. I have been at it all day. Have to be up early tomorrow to put out the signs.

Took this picture of a water Canna that is in full bloom. I like it!

We watched NZ today sad but beautiful.
I thought William's words were so poignant...particularly considering his mum was taken from him at such a young age.

"Grief is the price we pay for love."
He is truly his mother's son.

Well it's like a sauna here rain on and off ...cooler foggy morning though.
It's the kind of weather when the bread goes moldy overnight.

We had a wedding car customer in today so I thought I would pop a pic of it in for the car freaks and particulary Anthony ...if it fits ^_^

er

maybe ...oh well you can see it's a stretched one!
Quite rare even in the USA now.
Enjoy your evening everyone.

What a Car!!! that would be as bad as driving an 18-wheeler only lower to the ground....

Good morning everyone. Another lovely day by the looks of it. Still plenty to do in the SH. I was busy repotting so Bilbergia nutans, Queen's tears, late yesterday and dicovered a leak bubbling up from under the pavers. I dug it out and dicovered the elbow join had a split in it. I just took one side out and bent the pipe over and twisted some wire around it until I can get a new elbow today. Marleneann, is there a difference between ordinary cannas and water cannas or can you grow all of them in water? Lovely flower. Chrissy, your family must be so relieved to have your nephew back home. Still lots of trouble in Japan and I think the not knowing what is going to happen would have to be the worst. Well must get going and start the washing so that I can get that pipe fixed and get back out in the SH. Have a couple of helpers today with the boys off school so hopefully they'll give me a hand inbetween playing. I hope everyone has a wonderful day. be back later. Colleen

Good morning everyone. Quite cool here as has been all week. The day turns out fine though even if not overly warm. I can still have my jumper off after lunch. We didnt go anywhere yesterday as one of hubbys friends and wife turned up for the day. While the boys were playing with the toys in hubbys workshop, I gave the wife a tour of my garden. She is a nice lady and very interested in gardens. I have seen her garden and it is very pretty if only small, being in a town.
Its wonderful how you see your own garden in a different way when showing it off to others. She wondered how I managed it all on my own , but I explained that the plants do all the work now , after I nursed them in their early years.
I have red nerine buds popping up in places I dont remember having them, but one always forgets where they are.
My lachenalia are poking their leaves through in their pots too. A bit early for them.
My iris are still looking very green for this time of year with the ends of the leaves just starting to turn brown. They will mostly die down for the winter here.
I have one lonely zinnia flower out. I hope it sets seed and maybe I will have a few more next time.
I find that plants that set their seed here in the garden have a lot of babies. They must acclimatise better. I have wasted so many packets of seed over the years. I am sure the ants take them as we have ant nests everywhere. There would have to be a nest of the jumping black ants at least every 2-3 metres . I am forever disturbing them as I dig or plant. As long as one is aware of them and work slowly and carefully around them, they are not a problem.
I have had a few bites , but only through my gloves as I never garden without them. For such a small creature, they have a very nasty bite on unguarded flesh. Even through my glove, I felt the sting and it itched like mad for days. I am extra careful as I do get a nasty localised reaction to stings from bees and ant bites.
Hello to everyone else..
Teresa, I watched most of the broadcast from Christchurch. I found it beautifully done and very moving.
Chrissy, my brug pods are looking great. Still a lovely dark green and fat.
Love the car. One could set up house in that.
Hello Marlene, Sue, Dianne, Elaine, Colleen and Anthony.
Hello Louise and Charleen over there too.
Hubby says it going to be lovely day so we may get our drive in today.
Enjoy the weekend .
Try some of this lovely Almond Pound Cake. with your cuppa.
Jean.

Hello, Everyone! Jean, I will surely post some NH photos for you once we arrive in a bit more than a month. Yikes.....not a twig or a bud can push through just now. I'll give a report once we get there.

I'm so glad to hear that little Cameron finally got a visit from the tooth fairy! What a long road that little guy has been on!

Jean, it sounds like you've been pretty busy! What is a nerine? I'm not familiar with that term.

I'm curious how many of you will be tuning in to watch The Wedding on April 29th? I find William to be impressive in his maturity and sensitivity. He is surely his Mum's son! I was recently looking at some of his baby photos....such a cheery little cherub then!

It sounds like the weather is turning nice for you all. Elaine, that is a neat gazebo cover. How does the grass grow under it?

Here is some Florida color to cheer your day!
Louise

61 stretch caddy-chrissy.i hired a 57 and a 74 for my daughters wedding,..,i've staged some flower entries this morning at 'lindisfarne',.,.about to go back over soon,'''to mingle''',with the 'dahlia freaks',.,.,.,..,great /big/little show

Hi all

I found a frog(eastern Dwarf treefrog) in a bag of Woolworths salad last year. channel 9 filmed it, but the story didn't go to air. We called him "Herbs". Rescued from a bag of "washed and ready to eat" salad, Herbs survived the whole packaging and refridgeration process which took his right forearm. I wonder who's bag of salad it was in?
Herbs was discovered on a salad sandwich after a handful of salad leaves were taken from the bag and placed on the sandwich. When the topmost leaf was removed due to it being brown and soggy, Herbs was revealed, battered and bruised, but alive.
Herbs has a facebook page with more pics of his story.... Herbs TheFrog http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001608077331#!/profile.php?id=100001608077331&sk=photos
I now wash all my salad myself!

It seems every time Ido things out side the rains come makes a hour job take two hours the pots enjoy it moved most out of the gazebo area and they are happy out having a shower .

Louise thate is only the roof section on the grass it goes to replace the old roof on the gazebo down the back .
sounds like the rain has stoped again so out to do more.--------elaine.

Hello all, lovely day, being the weekend! Its drizzling a bit, which will put a dmaper on lighting the bonfire tonight. Hmmmm, maybe next weekend?
Hello jean, thanks for the sweets. Did your gold Nerine flower yet? I spotted one flowering in the clump I dug yours from and wondered how it had done for you.
Elaine, you are very industrious. good on you. I hope you aren't doing too much though! I also hope the weather turns nice for you. An overcast day of 22 or 23 would be lovely to work outside in?
Nice big tank Chrissy! Imagine how much it costs to run! With petrol in NZ over $2 a litre, it would cost a fortune! We used to have a 55 Mainline Ute with a cleveland 351, and it used to guzzle! Have a reliable diesle ute now, much more economical.
Tanzen, I loved your frog story. We have lots of those eastern Dwarf Tree frogs, but I've never found one in my salad greens. I admit to always washing veges, as you never know what process they have been through.
Good luck at the flower show Anthony. Any 4x entries this year?
Louise, the weather here is cooling down overnight and in the early mornings, at least in my neck of the woods. The days can still be hot if you're working in the sun, mainly due to humidity. I cannot believe how much rain we've had over the last couple of years. Coffs harbour is fast becoming a jungle! The yellow flowers are very pretty.
Colleen, good luck with your irrigation system. Frustrating aren't they? I've gone back to handwatering, and only use the system if I am away for more than 4 days, not often. I've seen a lot of disused ones in many gardens, where they have obviously failed for some reason. Do you use yours just for the SH.
Marlene, your canna pic is lovely, as was the pic of Tillandsia Creation. I recently purchased a till. 'Creation' too and hope it continues to grow to look like yours.
Theresa, it sounds like the earthquake is going to leave some quite long lived problems. Lucky you don't mind the walk though. Maybe you could make Copper a chariot, and he could take you to work? Or a sled on those cold days. he he. I hope the ground settles for everyone soon.
Anyway, I like to catch up with you now and then, but don't always have time to drop in for long, but I'll always tap on the window as I go past.
Sue

Well wouldn't you know it!

Raining catd and dogs and I have a Garage Sale on today.
Sold a few things but my beautiful plants at rock bottom prices are not selling. ONLY SOLD ONE ALL MORNING!

I have some really rare plants for $4 & $5 dollars and nobody wants them. The big bat plants are looking a bit disgusted by being passed by.

However...the garden did need watering so I have had that job done for me.
Have any of you had a plant sale and how did you go?

Colleen...I am not sure how you tell the difference between a water Canna and a garden Canna.
When I purchase the Canna I just do what the seller recommends.

Where is Jean with my "cuppa and cake"?...Yahoo!!!!...Jean.

Hello all. I'm back inside for a cuppa after being out in the sun all day. We never got to go for a drive again as hubby found he had to do a few things first. Maybe next week.
Marlene you have to be fast in the Tea Room to get any cake. Lots of hungry ladies and Anthony.
Good luck with your entries Anthony.
Hello Sue, nice to see you pop in instead of knocking on the window.
I've just been inspecting my broms. They are looking great, but I must get the plastic on the roof before too much longer. the temps have been getting down around 5C of a morning . I havent had any flowers on the gold nerine. The red ones are just starting.
Louise, a photo of my nerines from last year. I have these red/orange ones plus white and 2 types of pink.
Love the frog story too. I always wash my food as I was taught when young.
Don't think of what may have happened if that top leaf had not been a bit iffy and never lifted.. Ugh.
Better have my cuppa as I have some nice fruit cake to go with it. Sorry ladies , not enough for any of you.
Jean.

Goodness, where was I? So many posts. Stretched cars, frogs in salads, Louise that looks like a tecoma with those yellow flowers? Marlene, sorry to hear the plants didn't sell well. Jean, hope you enjoyed your cuppa. Now I am going to have one.

A new plant. I think it is a bromeliad? I got it from the markets, but the lady selling it didn't know anything about it. Said she'd got it from a friend.

Karen

i went o/k-2nd in the mens floral art,.,.even if the judge dislikes my style,.,.1st with a rose''paradise'' from 'fays ' garden,.,.,.1st with 3 belladonnas,'pink',.,.2nd[finally] with 'tom thumb'fucshia. 3rd with 'batwing' passionfruit flower,.5 places,6 entries,.,.not bad odds.,great laid back day,.great atmosphere, very welcoming people,.i took home all the champion dahlia blooms to my daughter 'alison' and shes got them in vases everywhere in the house,.,.,.,..,..,lucky frogster!!!!!!!

Congratulations, Anthony. It must be nice to have your hard work and devotion acknowledged. Well done.

Does anyone know how to find the Invasive plants photo contest? Has the voting finished yet? I've tried, but I can't find it.

Karen


This message was edited Mar 19, 2011 1:21 AM

Wow Anthony good on you.
Nice to hear good news.

It's been bucketing down here again, really heavy cold rain.
Feels like Autumn.
Karen I will look and put a link if I can.

A frog in the salad sounds familiar are you sure it wasn't on tv ?

Plant sales in this weather ? gosh glad it wasn't me.

Missed out on your trip Jean never mind ...next week.

Sorry you can't play outside Elaine me too :(

Your Spring has sprung Loise very pretty flowers.

Colleen you are a plumber too?

Gosh what talented people we have in our tea room.

I managed to get a link to Helen's garden for you in case you missed it

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/tv/-/watch/24407496/go-troppo/
Enjoy ....Tropic Breeze a beautiful garden.

Chrissy I've always had to do things for myself so nothing new. But with my crook knee I find it hard to get down as I can't kneel on it and then I can't use my full strength to undo anything. Anyway younger son came to put new elbow in this afternoon. All went well then he filled the hole and put the pavers back and said you can turn the water on now. I said you should have checked that it wasn't leaking before covering it in and he said oh it'll be okay. Guess what it's leaking more than before, so now I did my nana and disconnected the whole line. It's called cutting off your nose to spite your face. lol Was going to take the boys yabbying in the morning so cant do anything about it for now. I'll get around to it. Good work Anthony. I would love to have a few of those Dalhia flowers in my rooms. Everyone have a lovely night. See you all in the morning. Colleen

its funny,i know/knew a person who would search through a salad b4 they would eat!!!it made his mother totally paranoid,and she would search the salad b4 she dished it up,and of course he would check it again,.,.i think to myself, if i had have had 30 secs with the salad,what could i have concealed??-a snail,mouse,catterpillar,sea -lion,.,.it would have been worth it!!!!!!!!!!-cruel yes,-guilt factor-0

Chrissy thanks for the link to Helens garden.

colleen, shouldn't it be, cutting off your "hose" to spite your face? he he
Well done anthony, looking forward to some pics?
Jean, maybe the gold ones are still to come, or maybe next year. I hope you get them soon, as they really are beautiful.
Karen, i think you may have Aechmea gamosepala 'Lucky Stripes' if so, they should flower soon.
Chrissy, thanks for the link. I'm waitng for it to down load between posts. I have many of the same plants, but on a much larger scale. It looks like a beautiful garden Helen!
Sue

This message was edited Mar 19, 2011 9:13 PM

Sue, thank you. I had found Lucky Stripes on the web, but didn't know if mine was that. If it is, I am very pleased.

I went and saw Helen's garden, and wow, it is absolutely beautiful. A piece of paradise.

Karen

Its still dark out side but rain still falling looks like another inside day NO will start a new guitar at least I will feel its not a wasted day.---------elaine.

Same here Elaine :( I know you will find other things to do).
When our daylight savings ends our days will disappear almost (feels like it any way.)

Oh well the good news is I can break out the crock pot and start doing the soups again.
Must go tend to my brother back later.

Good morning everyone. A cool morning but fine and clear. The beautiful large moon has just settled down behind the trees out the back.
We are forecast to have rain during the week which will be welcome as it doesn't take long for the ground to dry out in the top few inches.
Sorry all you people having too much rain, but I need it.
That garden is so lovely Chrissy. thanks for that link. I want all those plants but of course they won't grow here. Hubby said it would be impossible living with me if i lived where I could grow even more sorts of plants. I guess he's right. It s nice to see them in other gardens though.
Anthony, you clever thing. Congratulations on all those prizes. Makes the effort all worth while. Did you get any pics of your entries ? Love to see them.
Sue, you are right about the brom of Karens. I have 3 of them and its one of the names I do remember. I find it a particularly hardy one here that throws pups easily without flowering.
Colleen, I am like you in having had to do those handyman things myself. Its surprising what one can do if needed.
I had to laugh at the filling in of the hole without checking first. Isnt that a typical man thing ( sorry Anthony) but they just assume its all okay because they did it. Hubby always checks any repairs here after a few years ago when the men had to redig their hole to fix their "all fixed" leak again.
Hello to everyone out there. Pam, Marlene, Teresa and our other lurkers.
Louise, we look forward to seeing the NH garden when you get back there. I love your sunny flowers. Very pretty.
Charleen, pats for Charley too.
I am going to throw a bit of fertiliser around today in case the rain does arrive.
I'll leave something tasty out for you all. Lovely Coconut Cake.
Enjoy your gardens even if it is raining.
Monday tomorrow. Boy where does the weekend go ?
Had to pop back in as I forgot to ask.....ssshhhhh (whispering so hubby can't hear).....I have a plastic wading pool that I want to fill with pots of cannas. Does anyone have small bits or seeds of them, please , ? The lovely ones I used to have in the ground all died due to the willow tree sucking up the moisture.
Jean.



This message was edited Mar 20, 2011 8:11 AM

I will send you some Jean. We're off yabbying before the rain comes. Be back later. Colleen

Ours are just coming into season here. How do you prepare yours? Here boiling with spices and garlic is the traditional way.

I got a bit confused then themoonhowl!

I thought you were refering to the Canna seeds Jean wants.*G*

Thanks Colleen. I had some really pretty ones and I should have moved them when the willow started getting so big. I use the wading pool ( one of those kiddies shell shape ones ) to keep my pots of Pacific Coast iris cool in summer . I thought it should be ideal sitting around near the back door filled with cannas..
Marlene, I, too, had a giggle when reading jean/moons, post.
Colleen, I may have to visit for a feed of yabbies. Haven't had any since before I married hubby. None around here.
Jean.

Sorry for the confusion...in Cajun Land all ya have to do is mention yabbies (crawfish here) and you have our full attention. My husband is a born and raised South Louisiana guy, so on our first trip over, our SIL and DD got him a couple Morton Bay bugs...he was absolutely gobsmacked....and then went looking for crawfish/crab boiling mix. Came home deflated because no one knew what he was talking about. Then DD pulled a bottle I had sent her from the pantry....he was in "bug heaven".

Moon, I always like mine just cooked in very salted river water. Not our treated water. The best way is to cook them down at the creek or river and eat while still warm. yummo. We only caught about 6 to bring home , so the kids have put them in the pond in the SH. They were out there looking for them and they spotted a frog so that's a bonus. I thought that the frogs had gone but they must be hiding out there somewhere. Jean I will send pieces of cannas but it may not be til next week. I have to finish the SH so will be too busy to get them out for tomorrow's post. Colleen

Thanks Colleen, no hurry as I have to dive in under the nectarine tree to haul out the pool. It wasn't hot enough here in "summer "? to use it . We lost summer somewhere. The PC iris are all looking happy without their annual swim.
Just potted out a few clivias that had run out of their pots into the surrounding soil.
Looks like it may turn into some rain later today. Still quite warm though.
Jean.

Hi Colleen. That would be much too bland for DH....he likes them spicy. But then this is a man that brings his own bottle of Tabasco when we go out to eat....Grin.

heres my floral art entry ''driftwood and dahlias'

and my[fays] champ rose

Beautiful, Anthony, you deserve the prizes.