TEA ROOM # 88

My gosh, Teresa! It's going to take a long time for the place to return to anything like 'normal' again, isn't it?

Back again from another flying (not literally) trip to Brisbane, driving down one day and back the next. I'm getting too old, it's exhausting. Will have do it again next month. A friend and I had plans of visiting the Greening Australia nursery at The Gap but ran out of time this trip so will go next time. Does anyone here know the nursery? She thought from the website that they only really carry tubestock (which is fine by me anyway), Is anyone able to enlighten us on this please?

It's been very cool here for the past few mornings too, and we've even had the wood fire going 2 or 3 nights. We're definitely in for a cooler Winter than last year, although it was very mild compared to a normal year. I think we only lit the fire half a dozen or so times last year, whereas by the time winter officially hits we'll have exceeded that already if the past few days are anything to go by.

No babies here for this past week or next week, so it's a chance to get a bit of painting done in the kitchen now that the tiling is done on the splashback. I think all the smell should be gone by the time Josh comes home next weekend if I do it in the next couple of days. Dear little man's 6 months old on Monday.

Have a great day all

Pam

Good morning everyone. FRIDAY today!!!!!! I wonder where Shelley got to? Good to see you pop in again Sammut. Hope you're not over-doing things. Your garden is looking lovely. Thank you Jean for the info on the palm uses. Will get John to cut some lenghth-wise for me and I'll get some chain. Might have to buy some skyhooks too. lol not too much hanging space left. I knew that you wouldn't be able to go shopping and not at least visit the garden centre. I think they have huge magnets that draw you towards them. If you saw the amount of plants that I have here, you would think that I would never visit a nursery again, but I still do. They might have just what I've been looking for all these years. Have some washing going and had better do some tidying up so will leave you all with a bit of wisdom. " I'm so far behind, that I thought I was first" lol Colleen

Still Thursday here, Colleen, so I still have Friday to look forward to. :) Was that beautiful blue shot perennial salvia? Very pretty!

Jean - it seems that it should not yet be time for you all to have such cold weather yet, but the time surely does pass quickly, so I really shouldn't be surprised. It is not warm yet here, but the daytime temps are in the upper 60s and lovely. I love walking along the pond in the mornings now. It is so refreshing. BUT - this morning as we were ending up our walk, we saw a guy apparently breaking into our friend's cabin on the other side of the pond from where we were. We know he's out of state, so we didn't take any chances by confronting him and called the police. We haven't heard anything further yet. It's such a shame how much crime is happening everywhere! At some point in the night, someone also knocked down the cairn of stacked stones Hank built in our front yard. We could see the tire marks on the dirt road where the person stopped and got out and knocked down the 5 foot tall cairn. Sad.

Marlene - love that fern pot!

Teresa - It sounds like you really did come out of the damage better than it might have been. I'm so happy to hear that. We were all so concerned about you. Crazy, crazy weather everywhere these days.

Dianne - I'm still chuckling about Tilly's interruptions of your peaceful soak! I think that is just priceless pup behavior. I know I would like Tilly! She's such a cutie too! Here's a shot of my baby red bleeding heart. It has fern-like leaves and it is right behind the pink stone in this garden.

Chrissy - I love that white brug. I have never seen a white one!

Stay warm everyone and keep the pretty flowers coming!
Louise

Hi Colleen I do things slow & easy only stay out side 4 hours a morning . have a great week end.---elaine.

Elaine, your mosaics are lovely.

Pam

Chrissy, Water for Elephants was a very confronting, but a very interesting portrayal of circus life during the depression....
I thoroughly enjoyed it...most films these days don't have much of a plot...this was different...I will read the book as soon as I finish
The land of painted caves.......
Just started it, Jean....waited till my daughter finished....

How sad it is Louise, when people destroy other's possessions.......it happens here too....they really don't consider what they are doing..or do they?.... every now and again a lot of the local letterboxes get knocked over or pulled out......I can remember pinching fruit off neighbours trees and knocking on doors and annoying neighbours......but I don't think that it occurred to us to do malicious damage.

I realize that your delinquents were older, considering the tyre tracks......you have to ask why?
I hope that Hank rebuilds it....don't let them beat you....what a shame you couldn't connect an explosive to it and Boom...but that would be illegal wouldn't it..lol

Put your tips on the cats tonight Anthony.....

Well, we're $60 out of pocket after having to call the snake catcher. I got up from the computer after posting my last message and discovered that what I thought was a fly buzzing persistantly at the window just beside me was in fact what turned out to be a 2metre snake. I'd figured it was probably just a tree snake but with out 2 little bite-sized dogs, wasn't taking any chances. The study now stinks! They are aparently like skunks and have a vent toward their tail from which they eject stinky fluid if "excited" ...... I've got to say it didn't look too excited to me. lol

The little dogs were exceptionally well behaved and I'm sure I've aged another 10 years today but otherwise, all well.

Pam

Yukky Pam, sounds terrifying and revolting...thank goodness your dogs were inside....

Pam , how did it get inside? Did you have the window open? Oh hll I would have freaked. Dianne, Can't wait to see Fernando. Mine is still only small here. Maybe after I pot it on it will grow a bit and maybe flower in the Spring. Colleen

The only way I can think of that it could have come in is through the doggy door, Colleen, and then found its way accross the laundry accross the hallway to the study. I'm guessing it headed toward the light at the window. I don't want to think how long it may have been wriggling around inside otherwise.

To top off an eventful day, the power went out a bit before 5 and the power company has no idea when it will be back up. Thank goodness for generators and gas powered cooking equipment .....and laptop computers lol

even colder tonight,.snow down to 500,and it feels like it,.,.i brought in a couple of extra huge logs,..,even sooty threw an absolute 'wobbly' when the icy rain got on his fur,.Dianne, a tip on geelong isnt silly!!-or 'the suns',.,.

OMG Pam whate a afternoon you have had .Not the kind of vistor any one would want.
Thanks the pots are from the first ones I done .
Take care and have a great week end --------elaine.

Good morning everyone.
Looks like winter has arrived to stay for a while. Rain again and quite dark clouds hanging over the place. Nothing much will get done while everything is wet. If you dont see me around, please send out a search party as I may be lost in the weeds. They are growing while you watch. Laughing too, the darn things. Looks like another spring of hacking and getting rid of them at 3'high.

Hello Pam. Glad the snake wasnt any bigger and more aggressive. Lucky the dogs were not in its way.

Elaine, your mosiacs must give you much pleasure when you wander in your garden. So pretty. I just never seem to get to trying any. Maybe next summer
.
Hello Louise. What a sad thing to see something in your own garden ruined by outsiders. I do hope Hank does rebuild it . Maybe with a bit of cement hidden under the stones so it still looks natural. You did the right thing in not confronting that burglar. You never know what they are armed with.
The white brugs are very pretty and it is funny you saying you hadnt seen one . We here in Aust. were saying that all we had were whites for quite a while besides the odd apricot. Now there is a rainbow of colors for us.

Hello Karen. It will be interesting to hear views on the book when we have all had our read.

Dianne, your roses are still flowering and I'm looking forward to seeing them twice the size next season . Maurice is a very prolific bloomer.

Hello Anthony. Do you get snow at your place or more on the higher places ? I think the way it feels here, you may need a large lot of logs down there. It is freezing here and has not climbed over about 10C for days. I dread winter when the temps really drop. Maybe I'll be making a snowman in the yard.

Hello Charlene. pats for the longears and a special cookie for Charley.

Hello Colleen. What is that pretty grass in your pic ? I have some other growing nicely but I love the tops on yours.
You will have to get John to build you a further shadehouse with a strong roof to hang your palm bits from. When we built the fern house , I said to hubby , it had to be strong enough to hang lots of baskets from. . Thats the only drawback to the plastic greenhouses. One cant hang anything . I often look at all that empty space and wish I could hang things but the frame is only meant for temporary use.
I will be hanging a bit of Spanish Moss in the brom house though when I get some. I thought it would be very common and cheap,but it canr be found anywhere here .

Better go and see whats in the kitchen for nibbles.
Here we are , tasty Hedgehog Slices.
Have a great weekend.
Keep warm.
Jean.

I'm glad you asked about the grass Jean - you reminded me that I have to deadhead mine. lol

Does anyone remember the planter poles from back in the 70's and early 80? Well if you come by any of the hooks or rings in op shops or where ever, they fit on 1/2 inch (I think, will have to check) galvanised pipe, which I simply bury far enough into the ground to hold upright, then hang the hooks at the appropriate heights up its length.

Another cold start here again, but the weather here was glorious during the day yesterday, even though I did have to spend a considerable part of it guarding a doorway to make sure a snake didn't come through it while I waited for the catcher to come. He got lost twice, and what should have taken him 20 minutes to get here ended up being well over an hour.

Here's hoping the day warms up for you all, and that you all have an enjoyable weekend.

Pam

Good morning everyone. Jean that grass is a smaller version of Pampas grass. I started with one little plant and now have 3 big clumps. Do you want some? Also, have you got that real dark purple Salvia. That grows very easily from slip. The neighbour gave me some pieces last year when she cut her's back and that's the result in one year. The bees and wanderer butterflies love it. The wanderers were also getting on the Lantana. It was wonderful to see them floating around the garden. Cameren and I are going to try, mind you I said TRY, to dig the duck a pond today. Branden has made a new friend at school and I think, at this stage, that he is going to play with him. Should be a lovely day here. The sun is shining at the moment but it is a bit nippy. Butter Bomb is absolutely covered with flowers and buds. Gee, It's a beautiful plant. After RFP I must say that he is my next favourite. Well I hope everyone is well and the aching shoulders etc are behaving themselves. Must go be back later. Colleen

Pam, if I am remembering the same planter poles as you mentioned, I have 2 in my shadehouse.. They are the ones with the pole around 6' . with 4 curly arms that just grip the pole with the weight of the baskets. I found one at a garage sale for $1 and the other at the tip before it closed down.
I buried the base in the ground a bit for stability and have some of my zygos hanging on them. One even came with 4 brass baskets which I use down in the fern house.
I will keep an eye out for any more .
Thanks Colleen, but no type of pampas grass for me, I just liked the look of the tops. . I am going to look for some of that red fountain grass that seems to be in lots of gardens. I havent seen any in the nursery but may find some on eBay.
Yes, I do have that salvia in several places around the garden. It is lovely and I had lots of butterflies here too .
Still raining here so nothing has been done. I really must move from the heater before I cook myself.
Enjoy the day and keep warm.
Jean

I can't find anything worth a picture today everything is being tossed about in the wind.
Woke up with a very sore throat so I am staying inside.

Loving the pics everyone ...Elaine glad to see you busy again :)

Everyone is busy ...that's great!

I will be back when I have wandered around in here a bit ...take care and enjoy your day :)

http://m.facebook.com/ABCGardeningAustraliamagazine?refid=13

go see the lovely new roses raising money for the flying doctor service ... For those who don't do FB google Gardening Australia Magazine and pull it up.

Good morning everyone!

Another nice day here at Buderim.

g_whizz ....you can keep your cold weather I can barely cope with the 10 degrees here in the morning .

I have an Ipomoea alba in flower at the moment...waiting to see if I can get seeds from it.

Very same planter poles, Jean, Sometimes they came with a spring loaded pole that went between the ceiling and floor, but yes, same thing as what you have. The benefit of using gal pipe is that you can make it any length you like, and if buried, it won't rust out in no time like the thin tubing that would come with them.


Pam



This message was edited May 14, 2011 1:17 PM

its too cold to be outside,..,all ive done is grocery shopping, cleaned out the galah cages and hosed out the garage 'and brought in a heap of firewood'!!!! now i will spend the afternoon on the computer,looking at things i cant afford!![until tonights lotto draw],.

When you say red fountain grass, Jean, do you mean the grass grass, or the cordyline that is sold under that name? If it's the grass -. purple fountain grass, I am happy to send you some, no need for Ebay. Please PM me your address if you'd like some.

It's in need of a prune anyway.

Pam

no,no sarcasm,i think its great,.,.youll hear a few[collingwood] closet doors slam shut now!!

Good morning everyone. Its still dark here this morning. Doesnt bode well for that fine and warmer day that was forecast. I am determined to get out there anyway and get lots of cuttings so I can work in the greenhouse.

Hello Pam . Yes I do mean the ' grass 'grass . I am liking the look of my grass area now that the mini knifophias are growing big enough to be seen. I have a few bits from my large grass that has lovely wavy fronds . I thought the color of the red grass would set it all off nicely.
I see my dutch iris at one edge of the area have started to pop up. In spring, with the liliums , I am hoping for agreat show. It may take another year for larger growth. The poor roses never did that well there as it gets really dry and hard. Theya re all looking beautiful out with the irises now.
I will send you my address via Dmail and thank you very much.

Hello Chrissy, my angels are still looking good. BB and GHA have buds still.
Hope you are managing to enjoy your garden and that your brother is coming along .

Hello Marlene, I can send you some lower temps if you like. Try around 8C all day. Bbrrrrrr.

Hello Elaine, keep warm and rested there.

Anthony, you are in the right place near the fire. Have you potted all your liliums yet ? Its enjoyable to look at all those flower sites even if one cant afford the plants. I love browsing around the irises , epis and liliums etc.

Colleen, your palm thingys look great. If you want to save a bit of room, try putting in a steel post and with a hole in the centre of the palm bits you can pile a few up for height. Make a sort of shortened tree for you broms etc. If you cant get a hole down the middle, cut them in half and use that banding to hold them back together around the post..
I agree with Dianne about the ducks. I used to breed them in WA and they have what I call "wet bums" where chooks are dry. You will be cleaning the pond for ever. If you do get any ducks , try anything but muscovies. Some dont really need a pond , just a water comtainer large enough to be able to get their heads in and splash as they need to have the water to preen them selves. I have raised many other breeds and also geese without a pond. Try something like a babys bath with a few bricks around . Much easier to clean. They do like fresh water , and it wont stay fresh for long if they can swim in it. In a small area they can get smelly too so watch for that.

Hello Dianne. I have finished the book and when everyone else has had their read, we can see what everyone thought of it.
My salvias are still looking good and I have decided to move a few other plants later in the year so I can enlarge the salvia garden.

Hello Charleen, are you okay over there ? I do hope you were not caught in any of the violent weather. I see more floods in some states too. It seems Mother Nature still has some nasty surprises in her cupboard.

Hello Louise. How is your weather. I also hope you are not getting any of the bad weather where you are. Pats for the girls . Hope you and Hank are enjoying being back in you lovely home.

I am seeing a bit more daylight out the window now. I may get things done today as I see no rain so far.
Very cold but a warm jumper or two will fix that. I always wear my garden gloves so my fingers wont get too cold I hope. Better see what I can put out for you all to nibble on.
Try these Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcakes.
Happy gardening and keep warm.
Jean.

Good morning Every one Iam a bit worried about my Frannie its grown beautiful but now I am getting winter frosts I dont want her to go to plant heaven I think I sould make a plastic tent to cover her does the plastic have to be clear the reason I ask I have shower curtains I want to use but they are not clear .
Hope your day is as nice as it is here the sun is out expect to get to about 18 today. ----elaine.

Morning all.

Elaine, your frangipani is likely to go into dormancy soon anyway, so I don't see that the colour of your shower curtain should make a lot of difference.

Pam

Good morning everyone. Just popped in to read the chatter and say hello.

My frangipanni is already curling up its leaves and fropping them. Too cold too soon for it, I guess. It had hardly started flowering, really. I am also waiting for the rest of the zygocactus to flower. I have a nice collection now, and yesterday at Bunnings I found some tube pots with some new ones at under $4 per pot. They are small plants but all are in bud, so will get to see the flowers when they bloom. The ones I got are...

Christmas Cheer
Lavender Lady
Sleigh Bells
Sanibel
Sterling
Gold Delight

Now I can't wait until they flower.

Hope everyone has a lovely day.

Karen

Thanks Pam and Karen Last winter I moved the pot twice a day next to the house afternoon warm bricks - morning next to tin fence-just not up to all the lifting this winter just hope its old enought to flower next summer .-----elaine.

Good morning everyone. I had a post ready to send and couldn't get a pic to attach then I hit the wrong button and lost the lot. Here we go again. I only have one old duck Jean and he's a brown one with a dark green head, a Kkaki campbell, I think. He already has a couple of plastic ponds but I thought that it would be nice to give him a larger one and then we can landscape it with rushes etc. Just a thought at the moment. I hurt my back yesterday working on that large palm trunk. I think that I will have to work with the smaller ones from now on and put them up on the bench so that I don't have to bend. The larger ones I can tote with the sack trolley and manuevre into place and stand the broms on top. Jean I was going to get the tree-loppers to leave one trunk entire, but I thought that I probably wouldn't be able to move it where I wanted. I'm glad I didn't now as the smaller ones are so heavy, I think I would have needed a crane to move a whole trunk. Well, boys are up and rearing to go so had better do some work. Be back later. Colleen

Karen , thats a good buy with the zygos. I have all those except Gold Delight. Mine are budding and flowers starting to open slowly. Uusually I have a lovely show but last year and this year there have been a lot less buds. I did read that it is caused by low light levels during the day. We have had so many days where it has been very overcast and no sun at all right through the last few months.
Being under shadecloth would also drop the light level on dull days. There will be great years for flowers again. Thats the fun of gardening. One never knows what will happen.
Elaine , I hope your frangi sleeps well for the winter and flowers for you later.
The sun is trying to com eout here, so I may get out and try for some photos.
Heres Sleigh Bells.
Jean.

Good morning everyone!

Just drinking a lemon drink as I have had a cough for weeks now and just can't get rid of it.

Jean...I think it was you that sent me a cutting of Z. Madam Butterfly ...well it is flowering now.

Karen...you do have a nice collection too.

Hello Marlene, I had a sore throat yesterday but I am feeling better today, sorry to hear you are still suffering.
Lemsip is very good. I wanted to say thanks for the dat seeds :) I will do my best to get them going ...much easier when they are fresh :)

Elaine the important thing with your plumeria is to keep it dry in Winter, see if you can get someone to move it under cover, frost protection and very little water in Winter is the key. Mine are just forming blooms now right in time to frost off, this Summer has been awful. I don't take mine inside but they are in built up beds growing in coarse sand.

Sorry still a bit head spinny but hope to be back on deck tomorrow ...hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend, loving all the pics, movie reviews, new plants, and jobs in progress.
Have a great evening ...love Sunday nights don't you?

I was just thinking, we haven't been on a carpet ride for a while. We could go and get Anthony away from the cold and,[ maybe some of his lilliums] call in and see how Judy is. Maybe even go and meet Chrissy's brother and wish him well in his recovery. We could even call in to see if Anna has sold yet.Now that Louise is back in fairyland it would be lovely to go there again. Who's driving? Not me, I did it last time, I'm going to sit back and relax. Who's ready for some excitment? Colleen

fly the carpet over here & park it in ChCh for a roller coaster ride...
although I have to say haven't felt any aftershocks for a few days.
we had a wet start to the day today, took Copper to training & kept his coat on while we worked on a few things - he is still not sure about the send away to the jump.
He did get it right a couple of times before I put him to bed in his cage.
He promptly went to sleep while i helped set up for our rally-obedience trial.
Copper was entered in advanced which means no lead or muzzle on him...
when it got to my turn they cleared the ring next to us & made everyone stay back from the ropes...
slightly over kill as he only attacks dogs that get in his face, he is such a mummy's boy that he won't leave my side to seek out a fight.
anyway he did pretty well but I almost made a huge mistake, I have been saying 'ready' when going up to the jump, but I said it as we approached the ropes about to make a turn...
he immediately went to jump the ropes & I was lucky to call him back to heel in time to get the turn in & continue.
I was laughing so much that we just romped through the rest of the course & wound up on 93/100 which amazingly is a qualifying score!

Nev on the bromeliad thread was musing about what would happen in a black out for a month with no cell phone or internet, calculators etc...
how would the young folk cope.
well pop over to ChCh & some of our suburbs can answer that question!
not only no power but no water or sewerage for a month or more...
it led to some very creative thinking & I am sure that Aussies would cope just as well as Kiwis - similar 'can do' mind set & many younger ones recall seeing their 'grandies' making do, reusing & fixing things rather than replacing them.
Funny thing is that now a lot of the younger generation are concerned about the environment & sustainability.
just look at the huge upsurge in container vege gardens.
ChCh is looking at the possibility that some suburbs are on such unstable ground that they will never be economical to rebuild, instead they are thinking that new suburbs will need to be developed - on better land!
what a perfect opportunity to build a model suburb with grey water reclamation, composting toilets, solar power, properly insulated, double glazed homes sited for passive solar gains - and even community gardens for growing fresh veg.
I am not holding my breath, it isn't even building code in this cold climate to build using double glazing!
Ig it had been made mandatory even 10 years ago the power savings would have been significant.
ok - off my hobby horse now, but I suspect most gardeners are concerned about the environment and sustainable living :)

Good morning everyone. Hubby says it is a bit warmer this morning but I think he may be still half asleep. It feels just as cold to me.
Had my eggs for brekkie.. I just love that little egg cooker hubby bought for me. I can decide on either poached or boiled . It cooks them while I make the bed.
Congrats on the great score with Copper, Teresa, .
You are right about some people not knowing how to survive a disaster. Wonderful what some can do though. Human ingenuity is boundless when forced to the forefront .
I know most of our generation would manage but it is nice to know many of the younger ones take notice of what the "oldies "talk about.
Colleen, I was thinking a while ago that the carpet needs a run. We can all get away from the cold for a while.
I would love to see Louise at her beautiful house again and spend a bit more time visiting Charleen and the long ears.
When picking up Anthony, he could show us the chocolate factory.
I Think Teresa would like to get out of the bumpety bumps for a while too.
Dianne, are you going to join us ?
Pam and Karen will have to jump on as we swoop down.
We will definitely see Chrissy and her brother.
I must get the carpet out and check its working okay.
Work out who and what you all want to see and we'll leave when you are all ready.
I , of course, will be taking along my empty suitcases, just in case I see a plant or two ( or 3 or 4.....)
I will drive on the way over but someone else can drive on the way back.
Tell me when you are all ready so I can get the carpet warmed up.
Have a great day everyone and keep warm.
Try a slice of this Devils Food Cake.
Jean.

Good morning everyone. Well, we've had our first frost here this morning. Funny, but it doesn't seem as cold this morning as it has some other days. I haven't been out to see if there's been any damage. Have to go shopping first and then I get to pay some bills online and then I can relax til 3 o'clock. When I say relax, I mean , just do the normal jobs like housework etc. Can't wait to go for another carpet ride. Shelley will have to be found so that she can bring the wine. I'm sure that Brian and Leisa will be there for the ride as well, but we'll just not know will we? I've got writer's block now so will go and I'll be back later. Colleen

Sorry about the pic not blowing up. I was trying to find something for Brian and didn't realise that it had been changed. It's a pic of our Mum's Bouginvilla? and everytime I see this coloured one it reminds me of "home" Brian took the pic. Colleen

I've sent the carpet out for an exercise flight to shake off the dust and any creepies that may have decided to curl up inside.
I think it may be back in a day or two. Time for us all to get ready.
Jean.