TEA ROOM # 89

out weeding the sentimental garden today,.this garden is full of good stuff,.strange asiatics,regales,huge orientals,nerines,..,[so many spring bulbs] and WEEDS,.,.they love it,..,a raised brick garden attached to the house,great for growing in,but the weeds go ballistic,.i pull weed strings out of the ground,about a metre long,..,i made a massive dent in it today,and will have another crack tomorrow,.,.

Mum gave me seed from her Xmas lily... now I have to figure out where to put them!
the chap who gave me the asiatics last year said he is looking for the old Xmas lily, has a different scent to what they are selling now.
I wonder if Mum's is the old one - it was gifted to her so might be a hand me down.
I shall have to grow mine & see what I get.
I do know when they flowered she brought some in to work & i had them in a vase with my bosses ones - they were similar but subtly different in colour.
I couldn't tell about the scent though.
found a pic, if you look you can see one stem has white with pink ribs & the other has green ribs.

Good morning everyone. I am late I know. Hubby has gone off to Mt Gambier for a radio ham convention, so the morning was spent making sure he didnt forget anything.
The sun is shining after rain during the night , so hopefully a nice day will appear.
Teresa, those lilies are so beautiful. Every garden used to have them years ago. Anthony will be able to tell you more about them.
Colleen, my winter hippie is looking very healthy but no flower yet. Maybe it needs another year. I have it in a pot which gets the sun when it shines in winter but will be shaded during summer by the echium.
Talking of echiums, mine are flowering. Silly things. The magpies are building nests too so looks like an early spring.
Anthony, I cans end you some lovely clover to add to your weeds. I havent seen this type before here, but it sure did well around the irises last year. It gets to around a metre long.
You cant help feeding the weeds when you fertilise the garden and they love it dont they ?
Hello Chrissy, Elaine, Pam and Karen. Dianne, how is your garden going ?
Louise must be busy in her spring /summer garden. I hope the girls are doing well.
Hello Charleen, hugs for Charley and friends.
Try this Chocolate Pound Cake with a nice cuppa.
I'm very into chocolate at the moment.
Happy gardening.
Jean.


This message was edited Jun 12, 2011 10:05 AM

Hey wake up everyone. I had a sleep in too. A beautiful sunny morn the birds are singing and all's well in the Morris house. A few more brugs got potted up and some Datura seedlings. Might get some more work done out there today. Hope everyone is well and I'll pop back later. Colleen

i slept in til' 6, a massive frost met me at the front door,.,.Dalfyre,the lily the old man is looking for is 'Candidum'- the madonna lily[check out the first pic in my lily thread from november],.,.it is a very tempremental lily,,it feeds and grows differently,but is the most beautiful and welcome smell,..,i grow a pot under the snowball tree,pull up a seat,crack a 4xxxx and reap in the perfumed air on a summers night!!!,..,the one you have pictured there is' Regale'-very perfumed,,and often called christmas lily,..,.,the 3rd christmas lily is 'longiflorum' -another different perfume,but still nice,.,.,.

Beautiful photo Anthony.
I like the 'rare' plant on the right , behind the lily. lol
I have a few of those too.
Dont they grow so easily? Always trying to sneak in and look like real plants
Jean.

cocky food![the thistles]

This message was edited Jun 12, 2011 4:20 PM

Nice to see Cocky, Anthony, he is looking very cheeky.

Look at that pretty lily ...Anthony it's lovely!
I hope you don't get the dreadful thing that eats the Clivia and lilies over there ...my Clivias are chewed to the ground ...perhaps never to return from what I have read about this new menace ...some sort of grub. :( luckily you are in Tassie I think ...Wayne has lost some of his beautiful bulbs too. It's spreading because we are all planting the kind of tukka it likes evidently. My Clivias and a few other choice bulbs have been their for at least 15 years now just bare patches.Just hope something was left from underneath the ground. These things started on nearby Palm fronds too, but moved on after a taste.

Too cold here to go outside ...oh how I miss my garden.

Better get on with things ...I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend.

Glad that you made chocolate pound cake, Jean....I will have a piece this afternoon....

Don't like the sound of that critter, Chrissy...could you post a pic if you can......
Sun is out, but very cloudy here...not so cold though.
Took my grandaughter to see Fiddler on the Roof at Costa Hall in Geelong yesterday....the actor who played the lead role was marvellous......we have "Chorus Line" next.

Not much to show in the garden at the moment Jean, everything is "on it's way." though the Camellias have been lovely...
All the buds on the Magnolias are promising a pretty Spring...How is your M.stellata, your's is about the same size as mine.

Nice to see that Cocky hasn't lost his attitude, Anthony....he obviously still thinks he's boss.
Won't you have a marvellous Spring/Summer...

Teresa, can you see the ash cloud over CC?....it's supposed to be over Vic/Tas tomorrow...a couple of flights have been cancelled....
It's very windy here, maybe it will blow past...


This message was edited Jun 12, 2011 2:10 PM

here it is Dianne, but they hide under the leaves so you don't see them ...they are related to army worms, and act like it too. I stripped hundreds but couldn't keep it up because of weather and now it's bare ground with shreds.
http://www.ozanimals.com/Insect/Lily-caterpillar/Spodoptera/picta.html
They didn't touch the ones in a sunnier place ...thank goodness but these ones lost were my own special grown seedlings.
I just have to hope some survived under the earth. Mr Ross on the garden show said they had lost valuable bulbs and Clivia too and that many calls were coming in regarding the same thing going on in many gardens widespread.





This message was edited Jun 12, 2011 2:39 PM

Hello everyone, and Cocky too. Cold and wet here, but the sun came out this afternoon. Surprise! We went to Bunnings garden shop and their outer doors were closed. Had to go in through the main door to get to the garden centre. Thought maybe they didn't open the gates due to the rain, but was amazed at how many people were in there buying plants. They didn't have the specific plant I wanted, but I ended up getting a pile of tillandsias instead. Very happy with the expedition.

Hope everyone has their favourite warm spot at the ready. It really has been so cold, and so many sick people around now. Both my neighbours have the flu. I can only hope it stays on their side of the fence.

Keep warm and well.

Karen

we've had some lovely sunrise & sunsets thanks to the ash.
Flights are being cancelled but Air NZ is running domestic routes flying lower than the ash cloud.
thanks for the lily id Anthony, I will have to look up further details :)
my garden is looking ok considering the cold & wet lately, my cyclamen are looking pretty & the sweet pea seedling have grown.
need to buy some plastic trellis to give them something to climb on.

i had another busy day in the garden,more weeds [heaps] ripped out././and the poor bulbs given a chance to grow,.potted up some huge oriental bulbs from last year,,.prepared more pots[at the ready for incoming orders]---emptied the ute of the potting soil, and will have to get another load[in readiness],..,i wish i could hibernate like a bear for the next 3 months,..,[i hate winter].,.,,,

well I looked at the lilies online but am still wondering about this one with the greenish stripe...
the regale is the most common 'xmas' lily here.
the longiflorum looks pure white in all the pics as does the Candidum.

Good morning everyone. My fingers are frozen this morning. I went outside, but soon came back in. It is very chilly out there after a lovely mild day yesterday. Still cold but sunny and no cold wind.
There isnt much I can do out in the garden at the moment. Aside from pulling weeds, that is. Not much use doing that either as I am waiting for the Roundup to take full effect. When all the weeds go yellow. one can see all the bright green of the new ones coming up.
Not a good time to try and weed in clay soil when its wet as you end up with great lumps of wet dirt.
My orchid flowers are starting to slowly open. I have 3 stems on the one that flowered last year and one stem on one that hubby bought for me a few years ago. There are two more stems on other plants but until they grow a bit, I am not sure if they are flower stems or just new shoots. .
Anthony, you will be in lilium paradise soon , when they all start to get tall and flower. Dont overdo the weeding , we dont want you getting a sore back.
Teresa, I see on the news that some people are upset about the plane cancellations but what do they expect airlines to do ? You cant fight Mother Nature.
Personally, I would not like to be flying when there is any danger of ash affecting the planes.
Pam, you are in danger of becoming a Tillandsia addict , I can see. I love mine and really want to get a few more when finances permit.
Colleen, you will need a new yard and shadehouse by the sound of things. It must be nice to have all Brians plants around as well as your own.
Charleen. I hope you have had a bit of rain and cooler weather. Give Charley a cookie and a hug.
Hello Karen, Elaine, Chrissy and everyone else looking in.
Louise, I'm so glad to see you back again. I hope your touring went well. How are the darling girls ? They will be great travellers by now.
You will be anxious to get back to your garden and see whats been going on while you were away.
Better get out in the kitchen and see whats there for nibbles.
Hmmmm, seeing I'm in chocolate mood, try these Chocolate Truffles.
Have a lovely day .
Jean.

teresa,they appear to be longiflorum,.,.there are many variations to the breed ie;white fox -white pleat- judges look for the amount of green tinge in the petal when looking for champion blooms,..,the green will often fade,.,.also,there may have been another trumpet bred into them,.,. take a look at Sulphuraeum and Formosanum,to see if they resemble those you have!! anthony,..,[its cold here]

Teresa, I have some of Anthonys L. longiflorum which dont have the green like yours.
I also grew some of the L. formosanum ( Formosa Lily) from seed. It also doesnt have the amount of green on it either , but as Anthony says, plants can have other breeds in them.
I just read a bit on the L. formasanum. It is considered a weed, apparently because it can seed over a wide area at a young age.
No wonder all my seeds grew so well and flowered quickly.
whatever your lily is, it is lovely.
This is a flower from my Formosa Lily last season.
Jean.

Wet wet wet here with more to come.
Lots of accidents on the road and I too reckon you should stay on the ground when the weather and volcanoes start to play up.
All the lilies are lovely ...I might try again one day but I think they would need to live in pots here.

Don't forget the Blood Mood coming up because of the eclipse, but you will need to get up pretty early in the morning to see it.
That's on the 16th EST.



Enjoy your Holiday Monday ...don't know who has today off but here in NSW we do :)

Teresa ...thinking of you and Ch Ch ...look what has just come through after yet another bad aftershock in NZ
Quote:My father was talking to an elderly Maori woman who said that legend has that one day Christchurch will be swallowed by the sea. It's actually built on the flood plain of the Waimakarere River and is essentially a swamp.

I didn't know that, have you heard this folk law? hopefully that is all it is.

we had a fine & frosty start to the day, the men came & put the scaffolding up for the chimney deconstruction.
I took Copper for a lovely walk as they had to turn the power off while they worked.
Was sitting down just after lunch at 1pm when the house started rocking, at first just a little but then more intensely.
Poor Copper jumped up in fright & when the shaking stopped I let him out side, he was barking furiously at nothing, I think just venting after getting such a fright.
An hour and 20 minutes later I was updating facebook to let everyone know we were all ok & a magnitude 6 hit.
The house shook violently, stuff rattled & fell over, a window was shaken open a few cms.
Copper crawled behind me on the couch & wedged himself in.
No running around this time.
The red zone cordon has been extended, various shopping malls etc evacuated, workers in town close to the red zone reported the sound of falling masonry & there are clouds of dust rising again.
at least one building has collapsed & I have heard contradictory reports on whether anyone was inside & whether injuries have been sustained.
Not as bad as Feb 22 thank goodness but scary.
There have been several smaller after shocks all day but the first one I noticed was the 5.5, I felt all the small ones after that & am totally over it!
Hubby has gone to pick up his brother as the buses have stopped running & that left him trapped at work.
Apparently there have been instructions issued to avoid the central city in case of further after shocks...
no kidding, ya think!
My brother in Sydney has offered us all beds if we want to escape but we will stick around here, it may have been scary but the house is intact, we have water & power, and heating - the chimney is intact for now.

something more appealing to look at...

We are all thinking of you Teresa. Keep safe . Poor Copper must be so confused with all the rocking & rolling.
Jean.

Teresa, you are bravier by far than me. I would have been gone long ago. Please stay safe. Colleen

Teresa, I'm afraid I am too much of a coward, and would want to leave. But I heard the planes were not flying due to the ash from the volcano from Chili. Is that still on? Poor NZ is really getting knocked around this year.

Karen

Teresa just heard the news. Thinking of you and wanted to see you were OK.

Hang in there girl...things have to improve soon.

*BIG HUG*

i missed the queens honour roll again,.,...,.Whole lotta shakin goin on'Teresa,.,.stoke up the fire,now the chimney is secure and keep warm,.,.its freezing here,.,.more weed pulling today,but i did a bit of maintainance on the cars,washed all the bird poop off of the ute and will have to go out and fill up with more potting soil,.,.[i brought more bulbs],.,.,.Dalhansonii lilium,..,a fine bulb at a fine price!!!! phew!!--i thought,stuff it!-i sold $150 worth of bulbs this weekend,so,i can afford 1 dalhansonii bulb,.,.my 'rolls royce' of the lily fleet,.,.,..,Chrissy,all of my liliums are in pots,its the best way to grow them,..,i have a couple of little gardens,[for special stuff] -but you cant beat 12'' and 18'' pots--brilliant drainage!!!,.,.i cooked up pork and apple sausages for lunch and my work lunch rolls for the rest of the week and my god, they are repeating something ferocious,.,.i feel like i've achieved a lot in the garden,'this long weekend',but it worries me as to what bulb orders will arrive tomorrow,.,.,.feast or famine?,.,.i'll work something out ,.,.,.anthony

the scaffolding isn't to support the chimney...
it is for the builders (unbuilders?) to stand on while they pull the chimney down to the level of the crack that runs right the way around it.
Once they do that we lose our pellet fire.
mind you not sure how the events of today will affect the time table for the deconstruction here.
there was a lot more damage on the Eastern side again, the footage of liquifaction bubbling up was amazing.
news report tonight was saying that 50 new springs have been discovered & even some capped wells turned into geysers!
All this since last September!

Good morning everyone. I have moved us as the path was getting way too long for my old legs.
Teresa, please stay safe over there. It must be awful to have that continuous movement. Give Copper a hug from us.
Anthony, you definitely have a "plant disease". Liliumitis, I think. It must be catching because some of us are thinking "more bulbs".
I have lots of pots in the shed. I should fill them with liliums. I should also slap myself on the wrist for even thinking of more plants.
Hubby looks at me strangely when I mention another plant arriving.
Wait until the Trash & Treasure sale later in the year when I hopefully sell lots of plants. I just may buy another bulb or two or three............
Hello Pam, Karen, Elaine, Chrissy and Marlene.
Colleen and Dianne too.
I am going to do a bit of washing so that will upset my fingers when I go to hang it out . Its freezing out there.
I had better get out something for nibbles before I wander off. Some tasty Carrot Cake.
Please take your cuppa and chair over to the new place .
We have moved to here .. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1189511/
Stay warm
Jean

This message was edited Jun 14, 2011 9:31 AM

Love Carrot cake with Cream cheese frosting..