Hi everyone.

Just popping in to let you know that I'm still here. It's been a strange 4 years since Brian [Stake] passed and many changes have occurred here in South Australia. All my large cacti have found a new home as they were just too big to accommodate in my small backyard. I still have a substantial collection albeit in pots. They are flowering at the moment and it is a wonderful time but also a sad time for me. I have forgotten a lot of the names with tags being lost or faded. Hopefully I will be able to retag most of the ones that I still have. Here's a pic of just how big my large ones got. Cheers everyone. Colleen

Hello Colleen,
Those big ones are beautiful. What did you do with them? Was there a friend who wanted them? Most were Brian's weren't they? It is nice to hear from you.

Hi Nancy. I sold most of them to a fellow not far away. I tried to get the local council to nominate a space where they could be on show but after about 2 years I gave up. It was supposed to be a memory garden for Brian. The Mayor was all for it but we couldn't get the councillors to agree so it fell through. A few of the larger ones had nice sized pups so I took the pups and potted them up. No these weren't Brian's. His large ones stayed at his place and are now gone through neglect. Brian and I collected these from here and there, he got some and I got some. I've only just started taking an interest again since the larger ones have gone . I have looked after them somewhat so they wouldn't die but some were badly covered with pine nettles and weeds. They are all starting to look great again. Colleen

Hello Colleen and welcome back. Like you, I have been pretty quiet here for a while but seeing your collection again might wake me up
Gary

Colleen, that is a wonderful picture, what a lovely group.

I am sorry to hear about the memory garden. We have been going through the process of claiming some green space in the neighborhood for a park (the official name specifies botanical garden). The governmental roadblocks are monumental. I let others handle the permits and provisos while I concentrate on growing some tough plants. 3 years into the process, we're still sort of in limbo.

Welcome back! I still remember Stake's charming posts from years ago. He was always so knowledgeable, helpful, and very modest. I am so sorry that his memory garden never came to pass. However, your cactus collection looks gorgeous!!

Hi Colleen,
I am glad to hear things are improving. And that the cactus are starting to be fun again. I am sorry Brian's garden couldn't be preserved but you will keep him with your memories.
Helen

Thanks everyone. I don't think anyone will forget Brian, certainly not me anyway. He has left a big space with me here. I've just been up and given the cacti a bit of water. More buds are about to open. I've even had one Oreocereus that I kept a pup of flower beautifully . It's very rewarding when that happens and I don't feel so bad about selling the larger ones now as I still have them only smaller. It's a muggy 30C here this morning and totally overcast. I'm watering everything because we never know whether we will get rain or not, or how much. The other day we had an almighty thunderstorm go through and it dumped [ and that is literally what happened] about half and inch of rain in about quarter of an hour and was gone. Things are very dry here so to keep all the plants looking well I have to water. I have 3 water tanks to catch the rain but most of the water comes from the mains. I have a large shade house full of Bromeliads and two gardens full of all different plants so it takes a while to keep it tidy. I have all the succulents on an old concrete tank stand. They get full sun until about 2 o'clock then get some reprieve later from a giant Norfolk Island Pine. Have a great day. Colleen

I am new to this forum; I'm not sure of any of the backstory, but that is a cactus garden I've only seen in my dreams until now. It is truly spectacular. Thank you for sharing.

Hi Colleen, Good to hear from you! I, too, have been quiet here. I've been working 60 to 70 hours a week and the grandkids hog the computer during the weekend. No time to post. I had to chop this Euphorbia down to get it in the house this year. I now have three more plants that are fighting for light.

The kids don't hog my computer, I got them laptops of their own and hooked them up to my WIFI. I have to keep an eye on them with it or they will use up my time pretty quickly. If I'm on the computer I know when they get on the net because my modem goes mad with lights flashing. They think that i have eyes in the back of my head. lol It's a shame that all you people over the pond have to put your cacti under cover for winter. I've seen pic of them all along the window sills even in bedrooms. A lot of extra work isn't it? I don't have to move mine usually unless one happens to be in the hot sun for too long, then I move it a bit to get a bit of reprieve. Morning sun is okay but the afternoon sun can cause so much damage especially when it goes on for days on end. We're getting a light sprinkling of rain at the moment. very nice every little bit helps. Colleen

I'm happy to hear from 48Flash and all the others who have been quiet lately! Good to know you are still around DG!
Colleen: Some of us "across the pond" don't have to move the plants inside! I live in the Phoenix, AZ area and the climate sounds quite similar to yours. I don't think we get as much rain as you and our summer nights are very hot though.
I have about 400 plants in little pots--no way could I move all them!