FLOWER TEA HOUSE #3

Here we are Chrissy and everyone else. No use wasting time walking down that long path to the Tea House when we could be chatting.
It is so cold here. Yesterday started out around 3C and never got over 8C all day. Lots of brief showers and I'm sure the showers were melting snow , it was sooooo cold . Fog this morning and still only around -iC.
I need another cuppa to warm my fingers. Nothing got done outside yesterday and probably nothing today. The garden is all growing well including the grass in the more open areas. I can see where I have to spray again. The first lot is dead . I love glyphosate. Kills off the weeds and does not affect the wildlife.
I have a little burgundy and green striped Calathea sitting on my table inside. It came from Kmart and would get a shock if I put her outside anywhere at the moment. I do like your arrangement Terri. Thank you , it will sit nicely on one of the tables, along with those other beautiful flowers from Sue. I am going to get that cuppa now to warm up my fingers. have a nice chat everyone and keep warm.
Here are some very tasty Bread Pudding muffins.
Jean

silly me, didn't write the name right . Oh well, Tea Room or Tea House, as long as we have somewhere nice to sit and chat.

This message was edited Jul 28, 2008 9:39 AM

Love bread and butter pudding ...those muffins sound great ...just the thing to warm up frosted fingers ...gosh it's cold!
Hey Jean I hauled this out of my make do greenhouse to send a pic to a mate ...so how about we put that in the window while it is in flower? I neglected it but I think it got the drift of seasol and fish fertilizer misting I gave the baby angels, because look ...lots of flowers even after frost. I did move it into more sun as suggested by Lesley ...thanks Lesley ^_^
I hope more people will stop in at the tea room it's so cosy ...I was looking at the list of Aussie members ...I wonder where everyone is ...come on don't be shy pop in and say hello.
Thanks Jean ...lovely muffins.

Just popped back to make sure there are plenty of cakes. Saw your gorgeous plant chrissy. I'm green with envy over the flowers but wait till my epis flower. Slowly warming up here now. It's got to 8C, a heat wave ???? Jean.

Hi Jean and Chrissy and lesley (shes bound to pop in soon) I too love to shop on ebay, and spend around $20 for a brom. Very easy with a credit card! I watch some of the rarer ones and recently saw one go for $640! I'm afraid no plant is worth that!
Mmmm, yummy bread puddings Jean!
Tafe is good Chrissy! We have a new tutor this term, subject weeds! (I'm an expert) she is university trained, confident, and so far, I'm impressed! Our class is extremely small (6-7) and our tutor for the last 3 years has recognised that most of us are above the cert 3 level, so has planned some trips away, with one maybe a stay overnight in Brisbane! How exciting.
Lesley, I heard there were terrible storms with 6 dead! How devastating. Which area were they in?
Jean, I got a package today. Thank you so very much. I have the little carrot tops and Honesty(?) in a glass of water to rehydrate, but the bulbs are looking great, and thanks for including the Lachenalia flowers. I recognised the name, but couldn't picture it till I saw the blooms. I shall look around for a suitable site tomorrow after Tafe.
I'm rehousing my last chook tomorrow. I'm going to get some sheets of mesh and wire them to from a square pen that I can move around the yard, so poor chooky can freerange without making a mess with my mulch! I want to clean up where the existing yard is to make room for my shade house (still haven't had the ground levelled due to wet weather)
Ok, I'm off to bed to rest my back after a day shoveling teatree mulch. Tafe tomorrow, so at least its an easy day!
See you and cheers!
Sue
A warm fire to keep you snug Jean!

This message was edited Jul 28, 2008 7:47 PM

Well, well we do get around don't we. Good evening to you all,it was a lovely day today and quite warm. I had a job to do in town so missed most of the sunshine. When I got back home I sorted through the orchids I got the other day. Gee they are a mess, about half have spikes but they look pretty much the same and others I will only be able to rescue one or two growths. I'll clean those up first as I would hate to knock off any flower buds.There's not that many of them,lol. Chrissy your orchid is lovely, mine are still in bud, never mind I can wait. I lost all my standard orchids years ago. I bought a bulk lot of bark and unknown to me it had botritis in the bark. I had a ball
repotting all my orchids before going away to Auckland to look after my sister. As soon as I got out of the car when I got home I could smell my rotting orchids, later I found out that one of the local nurseries were sueing them over potting mix with the same problem.
Needless to say I never bought off them again.
How do you find the ti tree mulch Sue, I used to get it years ago from the factory but I found it good initially then the soil seemed to go sour
and also get very dry so stopped using it. Yours has probably been stock piled longer which would be much better and more rotted.
Sue the people that died in the storm were up north Tauranga and Northland way. Very sad.
Jean bread pudding muffins sound rather nice, I make a bread pud quite often but only if I have cream on hand, yuuum. I can almost smell it cooking. That beautiful warm sweet yeasty smell. I'll put on a few kilos just thinking about it. I usually have to eat it all on my own, as muffins I could share them with the family. Yeah right... My DH loved bread pud and would make it himself if I was too busy. I would be happy to make him one every week if he was still here. My SIL makes huge burnt sugar boiled puddings, it is a standard desert when Maori families have big celebrations or tangis (funerals). It's a few years since I made some, my wrists are too sore to mix them. Same with home made bread. See what your baking does Jean, it gets me reminissing. On that note I had better go away.
Look after yourselves... Lesley.

Warm Orange Pineapple muffins..
Now that's a good way to start a freezing day. Hello everyone.
It is 1C here at the moment There is a very white frost everywhere. I am lucky because for some reason, the frost does not come down on the garden here on top of the hill. It will come right to the fence but very rarely will affect much.
It is unusual here to have so many frosts day after day at this time of year, but then who are we to say it's not a normal thing ? On the scale of time in the universe, we have not been around long enough to know much about anything yet.
Humans are a very arrogant species. We are here 5 minutes and think we know it all.
My fingers and toes are numb. I hear from a garden friend that the ice age has come to Queensland too.
It must be funny to see all the southerners going north to the "sun" for the winter and finding the weather is the same as they left down here.
Lesley, you are having a time of it too weahterwise, over there.
I am ignoring all the talk of those plants (orchids). between you and Chrissy. Bad potting mix, hmmmm. Maybe that was what happened to mine. They are all still down the back in disgrace.
Sue thank you for the lovely arrangement. You are a clever one.
I'm glad the little plants did arrive. I think the feathery ones are selfseeded cornflowers. I did have some near that area.
The bulbs leaves will all die but should come up next season. We always called the Lachenalias, 'soldier boys' when we were small. They were in every garden along the borders. They are so hardy and spread quickly .
Chrissy, how are things at your place ? Still men's feet stomping around ? You will have great fun designing new spaces in your garden now. It is the right time to do this with Spring approaching. Well I hope it's approaching. Yesterday was fine and sunny but freezing . Looks like today will be the same.
I have washing to do and am not looking forward to playing in water while it's cold. I keep having to stick my hands under the hot water tap to get the feeling back in them.
Better go and have a cuppa and get the tables done in the Tea Room, for the visitors.
Have a happy day and keep warm everyone. Jean.

Australia never ceases to amaze me. 1 deg and frosts at one end of the country and probably 30 deg + at the other. Good indicator of just how big it really is.

We are preparing for more nasty weather over here. Batton down the hatches Lesley!

Cleared the weeds from around theGardeniers and citrus trees the other day. All ready for Spring!

Mike

All this talk of Lachanalias has reminded me that I have three different ones. This one is the first one I got. Lachenalia aloides 'Aurea' - the photo is from last year as it is still only in bud at present.

The other two are new for me this season - Lachenalia aloides var. quadricolor which was the third bulb to flower for me this season. I planted the bulbs on the 25th of March and took the photo below on the 18th of June - it is a smaller plant that the aurea, but aren't the colours lovely. My other new species is Lachenalia mutabilis which is still yet to flower, but here is a link to a picture http://www.flickr.com/photos/sky_view/321958667/in/set-72157594413799367/ - I can't wait - love purple flowers AND green flowers and soon I will get both together!

Enjoy your tea & scones,

KK.

Hi everyone,
Are the pineapple muffins still warm Jean? they look good!
We have been having hot weather, temps in the 80's and very nice. Sorry you are all freezing!! Nice of Sue to keep you warm with the fire. Lovely!
Pretty flowers Chrissy, what is that plant called?
Beautiful flowers KK, I haven't seen them before, Thanks for bringing them in!
I have lots flowering at the moment. Here's some cornflowers and fragrant sweet peas for the tea room.

Lets all move into Terri's place for the winter.
Thank you for the beautiful flowers. They are appreciated by all the visitors to the Tea Room.
Take care all you kiwis over the ditch. We are cold but no storms thank goodness. Yes Lesley, batten down and keep warm and safe.
Thanks for info on the Lachenalias kk. They are a forgotten flower these days. I intend to get a few more in different colors. I have seen a picture of a red one. I am going back to the warm. It is still only 8C here and getting very cloudy.
Everyone stay warm. I've made a fresh pot of tea. Enjoy.
Jean.

Hi Mike, the rain is here so just be patient it will get to you soon, just joking. On yahoo I saw a warning to stock up before the weather gets here. Don't like the sound of that. Sounds like you have been busy, Hurry up Spring I'm sick of this weather.
I used to grow Lachenalias years ago when I was quite a young person. I had a neighbor that had heaps, any way they were lovely she
told me to take off leaves and plant them and I would get new plants, thats how she had multiplied them along both sides of her driveway.
I remembered that as soon as I saw your pics, I know I grew them and I know I left them behind when we moved. and I can remember going to her place and picking a pile of leaves but as to the end result...blank....KK you can always give it a go,lol. She was an old wife
but maybe it wasn't a tale. She had green toes as well as fingers.
Those sweetpeas are lovely, with all the fence around my place there must be somewhere to grow some, will have to give it some thought.
and find a bit of trellis, they are one flower I really do like in a vase. Well I had better go and make a cuppa and sort out something for tea.
Will pop back later.. Lesley.

Hi everyone ...my little "soldier boys" won't grow here ...too hot and humid I suspect. Love all the photos ...hope everyone is warm and safe ...I am busy driving trailer loads of stuff up and down a mountain ...only 7 days to go ...

My fingers are so itchy to get into the soil ...every time the sun comes out and even though it is so very cold ...I can hardly wait .
Can you?

hi all
Lesley, yes, the teatree does repel water! I use it in my pathways at home, and also in annual gardens at customers where we are constantly disturbing it when weeding (oxalis and onion weeds) so it never forms the "crust" I also use it in gardens for natives, where it needs to be relatively dry (it rains heaps here) and under palms in bromeliad gardens where rot can be a problem. Teatree breaks down rather quickly and composts into very rich soil.
For my own garden beds I use lots of different things over time, such as good ole sugar cane, woodchip and pinebark.
Hey mike, have you found any Agaves yet? and hows that one you were worried about?
Beautiful Lachenalias KK. Jean just sent me some, so hopefully I have more success with them than you chrissy! I plan to plant them under a deciduous tree to try and keep the worst of the spring/summer rains off them.
Hey Terri! thats a new one isn't it? Did they come from the Lottie, or are you picking Tony's when he's not looking! LOL Thanks for bringing them in. I can't wait for spring here to see what pops up. Lots of bulb foliage so far, a couple of small sweetpea flowers and some marigold seedlings are finally up! Chriisys flowersare Cymbidium orchids i think. Jean and I have had no luck with them, despite owning some for many years, no flowers! It's a bit of a standing joke!
How's all the moving going Chrissy! What is going on exactly? Your DH is relocating all his various car parephenalia to home, is that right? And you are getting a new shed(s) also? All I can say is "Trellis" "bouganvillea" "snail Creeper" and "Angels"!
Ok, I've got a barrow load of paperwork to do for Tafe, so if you don't hear from me, send in the bobcat!
Sue
morning view

Gosh that looks inviting Sue ...sighing.
I went away for a while and hubby decided he missed me and is "semi retiring" moving 2 acres of big machinery and Stock ...spare parts etc all down here!
Yes I agree once the dust settles ...lots of places to grow things over ...and in.Just a bit hard to imagine with all of this frantic activity. We had two huge sheds already and he is adding another at the side of the home and closing in the large carport. I feel surrounded right now ...but it will be ok ...the only thing is,I should be preparing the garden for my Angels and right now it is at the bottom of the list.
But not for too long.
Good luck with Tech ...I would find it hard to tear myself away from your peaceful looking home.
terri those sweet peas ...I can smell them from here ...mmmm one of my favourites, thanks ...love them.
Lesley and Mike and all of our NZ mates I hope the weather isn't too dreadful for you ...hang in there, warmer days are coming.KK what's it like your way? settling in ok?
So it is once again cold in QLD ...global warming? ...it's been two very cold winters in a row ...nature is toying with us. But then it always has.
What's the temp outside the tea room Jean? when do you get your last frost everyone?
Thanks for the cuppa
have a nice day everyone

Good morning all. I am a bit slow with the teapot this morning. I have to warm up my toes and fingers. Chrissy , the temp around the Tea House is around 25C. I like that temp so that's where it stays. No having to wear jumpers , perpetual Spring / Autumn weather. Inside , it can be whatever you want to feel comfortable.
The joy of our magic Tea Room , imagination can make it what you like..
I like looking out the Tea Room windows and seeing all the Spring growth then through Summer into Autumn. Of course there are lots of Autumn trees for gorgeous color. I know we have to have a Winter for the plants to rest , but here in Imagination Land, we humans don't feel the cold.
It's so nice to see so many visitors coming in. for a cuppa. Feel free to move the Tea Room when the path gets a little long from the gate.
It is overcast here this morning but I don't think there is much rain around. More wind today though, so no frost. It is still only 8C.
The garden is growing as if it's already Spring. Bulbs growing everywhere. I often walk around and think , now what did I plant there and after it flowers, I promptly forget it again. This is the magical thing with bulbs. They lay there patiently waiting, then pop up say hello Spring ,show their pretty dresses and go back into hiding .
While we are busy admiring them we totally forget to write down who is where.
One my surprises this year was how fast one of my ferns grew. I have a Hares foot fern in a large basket . It is around 6 yrs old and every year sheds all its fronds for winter. Usually they are just starting to grow back now but this year it was growing the new fronds before half the old ones fell off. It is now out in full 'frondage' again. Now there's a good word. frondage, I may have invented a new word Ha ha
Lesley, I think your old wife was telling you a tale. I have never seen any bulb grow from leaves. The Lachenalias will move themselves about a bit if you inadvertently disturb them. As the bulbs are small , you don't notice a few moving when you weed.
Chrissy, try 'Soldier Boys' in pots. They do very well.
I hope all you kiwis are warm and safe over the ditch there.
Sue , your little spot there looks so nice . We'll have to have something like that out on the patio of the Tea House in Summer.
Better go and put my hands in water, lots of washing to do. My tiny fingers will be frozen but I will warm them up in the kitchen when I make something nice for you all .
Todays treat A real favorite of mine. Boiled Fruit cake.(with butter of course)
Happy gardening all, Jean.

Anyone want some rain? we are having another weather bomb. Rain and wind and plenty of it my lawn is a pond and all the plants on my deck have either blown over or fallen out of their hangers.. What a mess. Also water coming down the outside of the gas fire chimney so goodness knows how much has gone into the ceiling. Thank goodness for towels. Reminds me of your place Sue when you had all your rain. Oh well this too will stop (soon I hope). I think I will park myself on the couch with a good book for the rest of the day. Lesley.

Lesley, that sounds like a good idea. A good book and a warm room.
No frost here yet Chrissy, but then we don't usually get them, although last year we got one!
Yumm Jean! that fruit cake is one of my favourite sweets! Thats the main reason I love xmas, for all the fruit cake!
Here is the view from the guest room

Okay people , let's all move into Sue's guest room. The view looks great and I'm sure we could all squeeze in.
Very overcast here today. We did have a couple of showers yesterday and a cold wind.
We have been having frosts here over the last month. I have never seen so many consecutive days of frost especially at this time. They are usually in Autumn and early Spring.
I am digging up some of my little Hellebores today. I want some in pots for the fern house. I managed to do a couple yesterday between showers.
The birds are building nests everywhere so Spring can't be far down the track.
I will be glad for a bit of warmer weather as I can get back to my painting. I don't do much during the winter as it is far too cold in the front room where I have my 'studio'.
Poor you over there, Lesley. You are getting all the rain that bypasses us. I hope your plants all survive.
Chrissy, you would not believe it but I still have one small Angel surviving from those first seeds you kindly sent. I planted this survivor in a poly cup and keep him in the lounge . There have been many times when I thought he'd gone but a little leaf would come out and I think now, he will do okay. He is now about 10cm high and has 4 leaves. It is warm in the lounge with the heater on all day and then he gets cold nights, which I read that they like.
I hope he does well once the warm weather arrives.
Something yummy for today. Warm Cinnamon rolls.
Have a happy day, Jean

Yumm, thanks Jean. I don't think I'll need to cook any dinner now! I'm mkeeping it short tonight as I'm about to make a start on an asssignment, so I will eat and run! I hope you are all keeping warm and well, And stay out of that cold wind jean!
Sue

Hi Mike, hope you and your family are okay.When that storm hit the mainland it did so with a vengence. What a mess down there. That car that just missed getting hit by the tree in Nelson was so lucky. How freaky was that and to have someone record it at that moment.
The mess the storm has left reminds me of Bola, I'm still glad it didn't hit here as bad, no flooding and no roofs blown off.I hope your new
plants didn't get blown out of the ground. Anyway just dropping you a note and hoping all is well with you.... Lesley.

Good morning Lesley and everyone else. So glad you did not get storm damage. we don't see much of your news here so I did not see pics. We had a very wet and windy night but nothing like the forecast said. There was no lightning or large storms in our area, anyway. A lot of welcome rain though. It looks very bleak out the window at the moment. Winter may have found us for a final fling before Spring. August here can be wet and windy most years. Makes you appreciate Spring when it arrives.
Hello Sue. I hope you are going along well with your schoolwork. Don't want to be sent to the headmaster's office ha ha.
Chrissy must be busy helping hubby and getting things right for her brother. I hope her weather is nice. Once things are all in place she will have a ball planning what to plant where. I see a jungle coming up.
I was out yesterday in the garden doing some Chrissy work. Pollinating my little Hellebores. Hopefully before the bees although there are not many bees around at the moment. The nurseryman said Hellebores are very promiscuous. I'll have to wait ans see what happens .
We are now on Broadband here. it was put in yesterday. We had no choice and so far, I see no difference to the service we had. Typical. If it works well, change it . It has taken over 4 months of innumerable visits by various techs and a multitude of very long phone calls to and from Telstra to get things done.
To make things even more complicated, we then found we could not keep our email addresses. Imagine how many places you use your email address and try changing it. Eventually after quite a few tries at talking to machine voices on the phone we found a human that fixed it. Of course we have to pay extra to keep them.
I do wonder at how these huge companies ever manage to run at all when noone knows what everyone else is doing.
Oh well, my moan for the day. We have it now so hope it goes well.
Back to garden talk. I am going to put up another shelf in the epi house as they are growing fast. I have not seen any sign of buds yet but look every day in hope.
Have a cuppa and something nice to nibble ..Date Squares
It's a good day to be inside with friends. Jean.

Hi Lesley. Yes we did take a bit of a hammering, especially as far as the wind was concerned. I don't think I've ever seen it so bad. That tree just missing the car was almost comical. I can't believe how perfect the timing was! For anyone in Aus who wants to see it you can look at it on You Tube. It took place on one of the main streets here in Nelson. Another tree crashed onto the roof of a house here aswell. Luckly no one was hurt.

All of my plants seemed to have made it through unscathed which is a bonus.


Mike

Evening Mike and Jean, Mike it's good to know you survived in one piece, now you can get ready for the next one,lol. Red sky tonight so should be nice tomorrow, after that who knows.
Jean what sort of results are you hoping for and who are you pollinating with who? I,m really interested as hellebores are a big favourite.
Ihave always left the bees to do the hard yards before and then just keep the seedlings under my favourite plants. The plants you buy at the nurseries are all the same type just different colors. Anyway Jean tell me all...
Sue hows the studying going? keep up the good work I'm sure we will all benefit in the long term. lol. Anyway have a good weekend
everyone I hope the sun shines on you all... Lesley.

Hello Lesley and anyone else having a cuppa.
Finally saw on our news about your storms over there. Not nice at all . We were thinking that sort of weather would be here last week but it went elsewhere and now I know where. Today here is fine so far but more rain is forecast. Not much though , just cold winds mainly.
I am just starting to play with pollinating my Hellebores,Lesley. The ones I already had in the garden are a very nice white with spots, a greenish pink and a couple of smaller that have not flowered. There are also some offspring popping up . The ones I bought were a lemon yellow , a pink and an experimental that has not yet flowered. I also bought a white picotee and a black a week ago. They seem to be more upright and a bit taller. It will be interesting to see what happens if seeds form. Once I have some in the shadehouse away from bees etc, I may be able to be more specific in the pollination of what with who. I was looking at a site yesterday and was amazed at the varieties. I have always liked Hellebores but never really noticed how different they are.
I would like to just experiment for my own pleasure and try for something unusual. I do like the picotee and the doubles.
Potting day today. I have some dragon fruit pieces to get in and a few cuttings from one of my lovely purple salvias. It needs a haircut and I am not going to waste the pieces. I hope Sue and Chrissy are well and warm.
Have a great weekend . Jean.

Coconut Macaroons for your cuppa.

Something pretty with a taste of Spring. Pink Hebe.

Time to stop fror a cuppa, Good afternoon to all, wont you join me and share a maccaroon. I went outside at 10-30 to manure some orchids it's now 2-10pm and I have just finished. They whoever THEY are don't make spray containers like THEY used to do they. I don't think I have done any spraying in the last few years when I haven't had to repair or readjust or do something to make them work properly.
I don't just have one, I have one for each job eg weed spray, bug spray,and orchid feed, this saves me making a mistake and having a disaster.none of them is problem free. My Aussie dendrobiums are looking good they are covered in buds so will be a real show when they come out. Overcast cool and breezy today and more rain expected so I thought a feed would give the orchids something to work with. I hope the ones I got the other day don't go into shock I don't think they have had a feed in years.
As far as I know Jean there is only one nursery here that has named hellebores and they are in the South Island and their prices are a bit prohibitive. I have bought off them but couldn't afford the ones that I really wanted, nothing has changed so I let them slip by. I actually
thought there would be more Kiwis on DG that would form a plant swap group but Mike is the only one that makes his presence known.
I wonder if they don't realise they can come on the Aussie forum for free. Or perhaps they have all moved to Aus lol.
THanks for the cuppa, I suppose I had better go and do a bit more outside so will catch up later... Lesley.

Hi Lesley,
Here's a link to the list of New Zealand Subscribers and Members. http://davesgarden.com/community/memberlist/viewby.php?showonlysubbers=&area=country&arg1=NZ&sort=a.exp_date&o=desc You can dMail the ones you don't see on the forum and let them know they can find other NZers here - they may think it is only for Aussies! I did this a while ago for the Australian members and it really got the forum moving.

Ciao, KK.

Busy day today as the weather is fine but cold. I must get things done before Spring arrives.
Just popped in to check that there is plenty for visitors to eat.
Happy gardening , Jean

Help yourself to some fresh Date & Walnut Bread.

Thanks KK, I have just spent 2hrs spot checking the NZers and none seem to get involved out of 807+ gee whiz that would be one big heap of D-mails I will have to put some thought into this How many registered members did you have to have before you could get an Aussie forum. Oh well just having a think now had better go and do myself some crumpets for lunch/afternoon tea. Lesley..

HI Lesley,
Do you know about the group blast dMail feature? You go to any other member's page and, under Actions it says "Add --------------- to your Friends group." You can make new specialist groups on your own friends page - I have two of those "Trading friends" and "Science Fiction Fans", so if I have something I want to say just to all of the people I trade with, but to no-one else, I can send a group blast just to those members. You could have a Group called "NZ Members" for example. Then it would be a matter of going to the members list, clicking on the name of the member to go to their page, clicking on "Add --------------- to your Friends group." using the back arrow to get back to the member list and repeating until you have all the ones you want to contact in the group. Then you just write the one dMail and send it to every one. (To send the blast: Click on Mail in the top menu, Compose in the Actions menu and it will offer you the option to send to a group instead of just to one member at that point)

I wouldn't do the whole 807 at once (LOL), maybe pick on just the subscribers for one dMail, and then the members who have been here the longest for the next one etc, as you might want to take a slightly different approach each time depending on whether the members seen to be using the DG facilities or not. A members page will tell you a lot about how someone feels about DG and how active they are on the site - remember we all get different things out of it and some people just aren't the chatty forum type..

When I first joined DG in August 2006 the Australian Forum didn't even exist, I came here because I kept finding Plant Files entires on Google; and I was a pretty inactive member for a while until I got my bearings. I think this happens to a lot of people - there is so much here on DG that it can take a while for people to find their way around and feel at home. I know I found the overwhelmingly US centric/ Northern hemisphere slant a bit much at first, but overall, I haven't found a better group of people ANYWHERE else on the internet. sometimes, all it takes to convert a lurker to an active member, is for them to get a dMail or a reply to their first forum post - anything which says to them "Hey, I've seen you and I value your input"

After I discovered the Aussie forum in May 2007 (here's a link to my first ever post - before this I was just a lurker - http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/683708/ ) for a while I made a point of dMailing any other Australian Member I came across and pointing them at this and any other forums I felt might be of interest and the Aussie forum gradually became a lot busier as a consequence.

I also used to keep an eye of the new members signup list at the bottom of the home page and dMail a "Hello" letter to any newbie Aussies I spotted. Unfortunately I don't have the time for that any more as I have too much to do with the articles I am now writing for the site. Feel free to take this idea on board for the NZ members if you wish.

TTFN, KK.

Happy Monday to everyone. I hope all had a great weekend. i hope Sue and Chrissy are not working to hard in their gardens. Are you still being blown around over there Lesley ?
Hello kk and Mike if you're still around
Today looks like being a bit windy and cold but fine. I may get to a bit of trimming of my Lavateras. Just as well I did the roses earlier as the y are full of new growth already and there is a large bud on one. I am hoping for a better show than last year when their growth was poor due to the dry weather.
I have just planted 2 more Salvias. I now have around 12 scattered around the garden. They seem to like it here and flower beautifully. I have also bought a lot of mixed Asiatic Lilies to put among the new Hellebores in their new patch. .
As my Hellebores all seem to die down after flowering, the Lilies should fill the space with color for Summer.
Better get a few things done inside so I can go out without feeling guilty.
Enjoy your cuppa and some Hummingbird cake. Jean

Here I am, finally getting a turn on the puter, as DH is gone to work and OFF EBAY! LOL
I didn't do a heck of a lot over the weekend, as had a very sore back. Too much heavy work again. Which reminds me, how is your sciatica Jean? I've been meaning to ask for days! Mmmm that hummingbird cake looks scrum-diddly-umptious Jean.
Hi Lesley, is that a kalanchoe flower you posted previously? I too had hoped for more NZers to chat with, having moved over here in 95, it would be good to see pics of plants I remember.
Hi Kk, that was a good lesson for the group Dmails! I must remember that one if I need it. I have those Jatropha seeds if you are still interested. They are dried out and ready to go. Send me your new address, cause I didn't write it down last time. Doh!
Ok, so I know dogs aren't allowed in the Tea room, but check out leo!

Glad to see you Sue. I missed chatting with you and Chrissy but Lesley has been in and out .I think she likes cakes.
Leo can have a small nibble. i like well behaved dogs.
Just like kids , they all benefit from a bit of obedience training and i wish more parents thought about how bad behaviour both annoys others and reflects back on the parents themselves.
Today is very cold and frosty with fog. Yesterday was a beautiful day. I ended up taking my jumper off while I was working.
I managed to prune the Lavateras, replant some Hellebores and even got the weeds sprayed. When it clears a bit , I will get into building benches in the 2nd greenhouse.
I know how you feel Sue. My sciatic nerve pain has cleared up but I'm still careful how I do things, but after yesterdays jobe, the old back is a bit stiff. I think it's called getting older.
I saw a pic of a lady playing tennis at something like 80 odd. Good on her but I think you have to have been very active in sports etc during your life to be able to keep it up into old age.
I have lots of daffies coming out in places I must have put them years ago.
It's funny , you plant small bulbs and forget about them when they don't flower that year, then suddenly up they come having finally got to flowering size. I even have snowdrops that I thought were long gone .I am going to go and have a sit and read a catalogue. I have one for iris .
Something yummy for the visitors today, an old childhood favorite , Gingerbread Men.
Have a great day and don't do too much Sue.
Jean.

For Chrissy, this is my baby Angel ,a winter survivor from your early gift seeds.
Still going along inside . I hope she grows well once it warms up. Jean.

Hi Jean, glad your back is improving. Mine is quite bad today, not aching, but catching if I move too quick. I am being very careful, and am considering cancelling my day of work tomorrow. I will see how it is when I get up in the morning, 'cause sometimes after a massage, it needs to settle down for a few days. Today was Tafe, so no real action, but sitting all day makes me stiff, as I'm usually very active. Yes, thats the secret to mobility in older age, I think!
Leo is prone to jumping, but I think (hope) will grow out of it. I usually lock them in the pool area when we have workers or visitors to the property, and Lily is a fiend for the ball, and will drop it at a visitors feet, and run in circles, whining, until it is thrown, and she NEVER stops! I find it annoying, never mind the visitors, so she also gets locked in the pool area, rather than me yelling at her to "get out" or "no" e.t.c, while trying to enjoy my visitors. I don't like ill behaved dogs, and have a few customers with dogs that drive me insane! I don't know how they put up with it?
We have had some fresh mornings, and I swear the grass was a bit silvered this morning, but the days are lovely and warm, without a hint of humidity, so all the dry mediterranean plants (curry bush, echinacea e.t.c) are doing really well.
I've almost finished clearing out the shade house, with just a couple of Frangipanis to give away, then the task of re-gravelling it (gonna get a man to do it!) and setting up mesh-on-besser-block tables to display my Broms. I still have a bunch of garden plants that will live there untill I've made a new garden bed, but it will be a little while yet, probly xmas before I even think too seriously about it. I've built the bonfire there, and plan to light it in 3 weeks when my visitors arrive, and that will take care of any grass in the area I want to garden.
I hope all are good, Chrissy, KK, Mike and lesley
I'm off to eat my gingerbread man. Thanks Jean!
ps, the joeys are out!

Hello Sue. Sounds like you have a bit of sciatic nerve there too. I find the usual backache from doing a bit much is a general ache but the sciatic nerve does grab you suddenly if you move the wrong way. Easy exercise and time are the only thing to fix it all. Sitting down sounds good but it does make you uncomfortable when you have a sore back.
I love the joey. They are so cute peeping out. We have baby magpies already. Mrs Bird is a month earlier than last year with her brood. Must be a sign of an early Spring. I suppose she will bring them down for us to feed as she does each year. We have a 2nd nest out the front and I think it may be her daughter.
I have met a few dogs who absolutely cannot live without having a ball thrown . My cousin had one who would drive everyone mad until he got tired of being ignored.
Your Broms are going to look great when you get them all organised. don't forget pictures when finished.
Sensible getting a man to do the hard work, makes them feel good ,helping the 'weaker' female. Ha Ha
I am building a frame for my Dragon fruit plants today. I spent yesterday getting some branches of the right size from the giant heap of tree loppings not burnt yet.
I hope they do well here . I have 3 colors and even if they don't fruit , it will be something different.
I planted out my Asiatic Lilies. I bought a mixed lot of 10 from eBay , but ended up with more than that so they should look very pretty in flower.
Better go and hang washing out. The weather is supposed to get colder and maybe wet.
Have a great day and take it easy
Have a Pumpkin Muffin.
Jean

Hi All,
We have wetness here! Instead of sending workers into the tea room with their muddy boots on, I thought you might like flowers with Kael instead. I hope he won't disturb the decorum of the tea room, but.. someone has already lowered the class of the joint by letting in dogs and kangaroos! LOL!

(This is actually an old photo from April 2006, but it was so pretty I wanted to share it. The statice and greenery came from my Mom's garden - I was working too hard on the shop at the time to take any photos of my own plants!).

If you follow this link: http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/Kaelkitty/10036/ you can see the whole sequence of the photos I took that day (with funny captions). Actually Kael is a funny cat - I have never laughed at a single animal so much in my entire life, sometimes he is just plain hysterical. Mostly it is because he is a great big 6.5kg monster, but a lot of the time he still acts like a three month old kitten, in spite of the fact that he will be 6 in December. His latest trick is fleeing in terror from the local turtledoves - he comes skidding into the house from the backyard with wet feet and slides right across the lino in the kitchen, usually falling over in the process!

TTFN, KK.

Kael can definitely come in. There's something homey about a cat sitting in the window of a shop. He can have the leftover cream.
I don't want any arguments between the animals though. This is a place for everyone to relax and be nice including the pets.
Here is Garbage (Gubby) who is an endless source of amusement for us along with all his friends and rellies.
No . Kael can't have him.
I love the captions for Kael's photos. Animals can be a great source of amusement probably because they are at times, so much like us or someone we know.
Anyway, who ever said we gardeners have any decorum ? Don't we tramp in with mucky shoes and dirty hands ?
Of course we are allowed but the rest of the family should clean up first, ha ha.
Have a nice cuppa, Jean