I'm a pro nipper as well.....gloves,secateurs,plastic bag,marker pen,labels.....my boys are so embarrassed when I stop the car, knock on door and ask for cuttings (never been refused) if no ones home I snip anyway,after all I've never been refused.
August...the start of Spring....
Mya, you would be the queen of the nippers.......the complete nipper....I takes me hat off to you....
I pity the boys though....mine used to get embarrassed when walking with my mother, she wasn't very subtle when she nipped....like half a branch she would drag home..lol
cestrum, there is nothing to nip on my dog walks around here...all the houses have either Pittosporums and Box hedges,
Native grasses, dry gardens with cacti and succulents or a Rose garden.....
Small blocks, all house.....mine's about 50.50.
Jean, I forgot to say how pretty that Daffie is...I love the doubles.
Nice, bright little Osteospermum..
This message was edited Aug 4, 2011 3:50 PM
Here's a curiosity, flowering for the first time: Dombeya ianthotricha.
I bought it last August and swear that it has the same number of leaves (3!) that it had then--hasn't grown in size at all in a year. Yet it's put out these two delicate blooms. Don't know what the gold speckling is, but I was afraid the fragile buds would break off before opening. It's generally grown for its coloured foliage, apparently.
I hope at least one of my other two dombeya species will flower this year.
How beautiful are those buds....what are the other species,you have, cestrum?
So lovely Cestrum. I would say the gold speckles are the pollen by the look of it. You should check and save some for when your others open.
Jean.
Looks like pollen grains ...that is a pretty colour :)
Yes save the pollen.
I have a tiny bud on the second prickly Hibiscus cutting ...I can see the colour starting to show in the first bud. It's a pretty shade can't wait to see it bloom. I suppose we should be taking the buds of these poor little things so they can grow but how irresistible is it to wait for the first bloom to open.
This has just come out in a pot full of assorted bulbs that John brought up. Anyone know the name? Colleen
looks like my arum palestinium What are the leaves like. Should be like the callas. Jean.
Sorry, forgot to add pic of mine.
Yes, the gold dust is pollen. Not sure I can collect it without damaging the delicate flowers so think I will just enjoy the novelty of the blooms.
Chrissy, the parent plant of your hibiscus is forming flowerbuds too, so it must be just about time to bloom ...
Yes I look every day and the colour of the first bud is darkening.
Well the clouds are closing in again but I grabbed a couple of pics ...not really flowers but just as pretty,
this is my favourite the cluster is almost the size of a bread and butter plate. It goes a bright jade colour in warmer weather but the cooler times it is the darker colour purple red.
Lovely succulents and Arums....
Have a look at this Camellia, it is Desire.
At the very top you can see a little white one, have to wait until next year to see if it's a sport or just a one off.
Cassia didymobotrya, which has not stopped flowering since it set its first flowers as a seedling!
Just as well I planted some, because the parent plants by the local shops have been cut down.
Here are those pansies in the hanging basket, planted in autumn. It's taken this long but they're finally starting to grow and put on a decent flush of flowers.
The Cassia is pretty, cestrum....good thing that you saved the seeds....
I like the Pansies, I always grow Jolly Joker, which is an old one, but I like the combo of orange and purple....I only have a couple of flowers out at the minute..
I don't grow many Tulips, mostly they don't do well the 2nd year for me.
These are first season....lovely and bright.
This message was edited Aug 9, 2011 1:53 PM
Those cold-climate bulbs often do well only in the first year in temperate gardens, and the tulips do like the cold.
That ruffled one is particularly pretty.
As you can see from the photo, I now have my own store of cassia seeds! It's always a bit sad when plants get cut down, though. I wonder if the candlenut trees, which grow in the same area, will be next. They've already tried to poison the thunbergia but it's proving hard to kill!
Are they clearing the area for some reason?...development perhaps?
It's on the edge of a large parcel of empty land, paddocks I call them, which will eventually be developed. Don't know if this was the first step in clearing the land of vegetation or whether, perhaps, they were regarded as a nuisance by the owner of the shop nearest the stand of cassias. At least the candlenut trees provide shelter for the parked cars (one of them belonging to the shop owner) so perhaps they will be spared for now.
Here's that dombeya again, showing how small a plant it is.
When I dug out the cestrum hedge in early autumn, I threw the branches onto a heap on the ground. Since then I've noticed a few green branches among the dead ones: some of those lying on the ground have taken root!
It's always the things you don't want that strike most easily ...
This message was edited Aug 9, 2011 2:01 PM
I bought this sprouter from the local nursery. There are actually four trays that stack on top of each other, but I'm using only one of them. I sowed (?) the alfalfa seeds 6 days ago, and they've grow quite well. (Although I believe that, contrary to popular opinion, alfafa sprouts are not the healthiest of sprouts.)
Now I'm already thinking about the other types of seeds I could germinate in it ...
Yummy, I love fresh sprouts. Used to do them in jars years ago.
I remember hanging up the stockings and waiting till they grew....the Alfalfa sprouts that is..
Then I tried Mung beans......never again..lol
What's wrong with mung beans? I thought I might try ordinary beans myself. But it's the non-edible variety that has piqued my interest.
Mung beans make lovely bean shoots, cestrum......if you have seen Blazing Saddles, you can guess what else they make....at least they did for me..maybe because I ate them raw..they don't affect me in stir fry.
I like alfalfa in a sandwich.
What about sunflower seeds?
What are you going to do with non-edible bean shoots?
Ah yes, the explosive effects of beans LOL
Non-edible seeds is what I meant. I'm thinking it might be a quick way to germinate last year's surplus brug (mainly apricot) seeds to see if any are variegated or interesting in some other way. Sown in the bottom layers of the sprouter of course, so they don't drip on the edible sprouts at top.
That's an interesting thought....logically there is no reason why it wouldn't work...clever you.
When you grew the variegated one, did it show up in the cotyledon stage?
Or with the true leaves?
This message was edited Aug 13, 2011 6:55 PM
I can't remember, alas. But I take your point: how long will they have to grow after sprouting? Hmmm, I guess I'll just have to do it and see.
I need an easy way of germinating a large quantity of seeds and I definitely do *not* want to have to peel them. Because peeling a large quantity of seeds is not easy. Summer should be the best time to try this experiment, as the 24-hour warmth will speed up the process.
Shame they're not edible, because then I could kill two birds with one stone ...
Now I am waiting for fresh peaches from my mini trees. So pretty in flower....
Karen
Spring is everywhere in my garden and here is one of my orchids in flower. At last !!!
Hubby bought this one in flower for me about 6 years ago. It has finally decided to flower for me.
I have another with 3 spikes that flowered last year and another with one spike. I have not seen this one flower as it was given to me early last year.
I live in hope of seeing all the others flower one day.
Jean.
yay Jean you have orchids blooming ! congrats :)
Dianne I love apple blossoms ! mine are still just bumpy sticks here, even Jean's place is warmer than mine so far. I think.
The weird thing though is the black bamboo is sprouting a month earlier than usual ?
I must try and get a picture this morning, as I have a couple of free hours and I see some sun out there ...
cestrum fresh seeds don't need peeling just a spot check for the seed. I am sure yours are just fine.
Found another double daff in the garden. I must remember to pot them up so I can keep them along with the liliums. This one has more of the trumpet showing..
From what I read about Van Scion and its odd habit of having different types of the double flowers. all mine may well be the one type.
I dont see any green on mine though, which Van Scion is supposed to have in various shades
Very pretty though. I am now looking to get a white double for next year.
Jean.
Karen, that is a lovely colour...
Love double Daffs, Jean....there are so many pretty ones.
I hope that the rest of your Orchids behave themselves as well...that one is lovely.
I had been trying to send this pic all morning....
It's a Cercis" Avondale"....I bought it when it was about 15cm high at a market about 3 yrs ago.
So it's grown a bit since then.
It's a pretty thing and when the flowers fall, the leaves that come on are heart shaped....
Apple blossom is lovely too, Chrissie...my Nashi has pretty white blossoms too..I don't have an apple...the Nashi is a bit easier on the jaws..can't wait for my Sensation pear to flower, maybe this year, maybe not.
This message was edited Aug 16, 2011 5:57 PM
This is a very pretty Ranunculus....it's pale mauve with an deeper edge....
I always lose the corm and when I find a pretty one, I only have it for one year..
I must be more diligent in my after care...If I can see the corm..lol
♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪ Spring is here. You wouldnt think so if you were out in that awful wind , but we do tend to get it each August. ♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪
The blood plum blossom is lovely at the moment.. ♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪ The nectarines and peach are close behind , as is the quince.
♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪ Jean. ♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪
♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪ Viburnums always do well here . ♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪
♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪ My first always early epi. Harald Knebel. ♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪
♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪ Dianne, & Anthony, here is a very pretty small daff. ♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪
♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪ My hellebores . ♫ ♬ ♪ ♩ ♭ ♪
