Felt sorry for you running all that way Lesley. I hope everyone finds us after I put that potent brew up.
TEA ROOM # 22
Did you all find the way ? I hope noone trod on the poor snake .
Going out to throw water around . Jean.
Just a pic of my thornless blackberry. Looks like we might get a feed this year. Jean, does the mandavilla grow from cuttings. If so then I could send some for you. I don't know a lot about them, but they're absolutely covered with flowers.Yes Jean the Brian has got me looking for more and more cacti. They really do have such beautiful flowers and well worth the wait and they dont take much looking after. I'm really on the lookout for a Puya berteroniana. If anyone can point me in the right dirrection I would be most grateful. It is a relative of the broms. Well cheerio for now. Colleen.
Hi a new place already ...geez you have to move fast around here ...wow look at all the new plants! same old ones here because I have been busy with the angels and must get them all a bit of space each ...not easy when I have so many ...Jean the little ones are the surprise stragglers that are still popping up, my older ones are all huddled in a big mass waiting to move.
Looks like everyone is getting into the cactus thing ...I think they are very nice, but for me it is jungle all the way ...I do love roses but they just don't do all that well in this high heat humidity sort of Summer I had over 50 ...a mix of old english and antique ones but after the fires when I lost about 30 and then the drought ...I just let it go. I like the tropical shade thing now but really enjoy looking at what everyone has and loves, it would be awfully boring if our gardens were all the same wouldn't it.
Look at what is left of my poor little dwarf aggies ...boo hoo how could anyone think it was onion grass ...
This message was edited Dec 29, 2008 5:32 PM
Mmmm thornless blackberries ...I love to cook blackberries we have a large patch on the edge of our property down the back but twixt the thorns and snakes ...I don't pick them all that much ...I will be interested to hear if they remain thornless as I read someone gripeing about the thornless one sprouting thorns when it got bigger ...I hope yours remain thornless for you, write down the name so we can go buy one if it does. It is very pretty anyway.
I can't remember what everyone said back at the other tea shop so I will go back and check it out later.
Yes re mandevilla ...a great plant for many reasons, loves heat and providing it is in well drained medium it will be the star of the garden on those hot days.
bye for now
Hi all,
Am I right in moving onto this Tearoom?
Thank you Leslie for your good wishes, nice to meet you too!
The pic is of some of my "bits" ready to go to the local market. Back right hand corner are "Parrots" in tubes.
Enjoy your evening all,
It's wine'o'clock here!!!LOL!!!
Regards Helen
Thanks Chrissy, I have actually done heaps more since that pic was taken. Fingers crossed!!
Regards Helen
Hi Jean , I have white mandevilla seeds I did not use all I had I put them in a jar early this year . and I have little seedlings about 4ins. if you would like them this is them in the ground I know I only need one every time I go to move them I get side tracked .------------Sammut.
Hullo Colleen, I have a good friend that grows thornless blackberry and she picks good crops off it every year.. She has it growing along a netting and just trims it to keep it under control.. It never seems to get any bigger to me and so far I haven't seen any thorns on it. To me the flavour is not as strong as the wild one but who cares if it doesn't attack you when harvesting them.. It still makes lovely jam and jelly..
G'Day
I don't know if things have changed in the plant known as the Thornless Blackberry but way back in the past there was a Thornless Blackberry that had longer fruit than the thorny one and was no where near as tasty. It puzzled me as a young lad that this plant was propagated from cuttings and grew new Thornless plants but if a cane touched the ground and took root the vine from there on was thorny and any cuttings taken from there also grew thorny plants but the fruit was the longer less tasty type. I never found anyone who could explain this to me and I still don't know why. A case for "Why is it so"? Or perhaps one of our group knows why?
Photo of one of our local "Mallees" Eucalyptus foecunda.
Regards
good morning all,
cool morning here. its such funny weather. doesn't know if it wants to be stinking hot, raining, overcast or cool. have to wear lots of layers and then keep peeling them off one by one.
i looked at my poppies and sweet peas yesterday and they are ready for me to gather the seeds. my question is what does everyone use to store their seeds? i have been using little plastic sandwich bags but have heard that seeds can rot when put in plastic.
shelly
No Shelley paper bags or envelopes, keep in a cool dark place.
http://theseedsite.co.uk/harvesting.html
Hope that helps ...My italian rellies store them in jars in a root celler.
I must go but will come back ...much moving before the heat.
Good morning everyone. It's a beautiful morning, have been up since 5 lovely and quiet. Just wandered around the garden with my cuppa and took a few pics, This is my pink buddliah just come into flower. I have a light mauve one as well, but that flowered ages ago. They smell wonderful. Can anyone point me in the right dirrection to buy a puya online please?. Have tried googling but don't come up with much, maybe I'm googling the wrong way.I have had my thornless blackberry for about 5-6 years now and no thorns yet. My son dug it up for me as it was getting too big for where it was and where he dug it up from grew another plant so now I have 2. Neither have thorns. Hope everyone has a lovely day doing what they want to do. Cheerio for now Colleen
Well I finally got here. I have been so busy this morning and nearly forgot to open. I see a long line of hungry people so had better get moving. Hello CT. I love blackberries. I have not had a feed for ages as the plants are all now poisoned. They are a menace as I have seen up in the mountains, along rivers etc. The thornless one sound s good. No, I will not buy one . I can hear Chrissy type giggles out there. I am not going to start a berry area.
Chrissy would know about the mandevilla growing from cuttings . I'm not sure.
Chrissy , your poor aggies. they will grow bigger next time though.
Yes roses are very lovely but not in the tropics so much.
Hello Helen. I love your little 'bits' . The pots look very nice. I find that people will buy if something looks pretty or has a flower. I hope you sell them all. I must get out and pot up some more plants for next years markets too.
Thank you Sammut, those dear little things look very healthy. If you can spare one. please do. I am going to try and get some to grow here and I do like the colors of them.
that's a mystery Stake. Those blackberries have a mind of their own apparently. We have not had a wild blackberry plant here on the property or anywhere near that I know of but every now and then I find one popping up. I know the birds could drop the seed, but from where, I don't know.
Let us know if you find the answer to the thornless ones habits.
Hello Shelly. know what you mean about the weather. Yesterday was fine and got a bit warm. Cloud came up late in the day and I said to hubby, it looks like it wants to rain. Ha, he said and looked on the computer which said there is nothing forecast. Early this morning we had 35 points of rain. Didn't I laugh at him
Colleen , buddlias are so pretty. My white is out but I savaged the pink last year and it's sulking this year.
I had better get food out or the hordes will over run the kitchen. Have to go out later to get the pine posts for extension. Epis are all drooling at the thought of more room.
Have a taste of these and help your self to tea. Sugar Cookies
I know Lesley, Marleneann , Dalfrye and the rest will be around for goodies. have a great day.
Jean.
Good morning to everyone!
It's going to be hot here today. Expecting 33d.c.
I have been up early watering plants. Fred mowed the lawn at 7.30am.
Will plant out some angels later in the afternoon and will have to cover them for a few days.
Jean I think a cold drink would be good when I return later. Thanks.
chrissie - thankyou for your advice. have some envelopes here so will wait until it dries out a bit and go and harvest them. we have had a light sprinkle of rain for about the last 2hours. not much is registering in the gauge but the ground is wet.
jean - glad you got some rain. the garden looks so much nicer after a rain doesn't it. brightens everything up.
helen - your pots look really cute. love the purple stones. purple is such a nice colour.
marleneann - keep cool. was just talking to my boss in perth and he has hit 38. told him to get the wading pool and the laptop out and work. that is hot. quite cool here today - only about 21 so have jeans and t-shirt on. very funny weather.
having visitors so best be off and do something - house is looking gorgeous after all my hard work the last 3 days. now to keep it this way whilst the kids are on hols.
shelly
Good Morning all, Yes, I'm a slow starter!!LOL!!!
It rained most of the night, Yay!!! The garden loved it!
Yes, I think my pots will go well, gauging by my visitors admiring them.
I can't help myself, I say "pick one!!" Lucky I had done more & still have more to do.
Same with my mosaics, as soon as something is finished, friends or rellos have a Birthday. Oh well, it's nice to give something I've made.
Better get out & into it, in between showers.
Have a nice day,
Warm Regards & Thanks, Jean for the Cookies, great Breakfast, LOL!!!
Helen
G'Day All
I keep my seed in screw top jars or screwtop medicine bottles, the small plastic ones. The size depends on the size of the seeds and quantity. The seed must be properly dry before sealing, which is seldom a problem here, just lay them out on a piece of newspaper in the sun.
A long time ago I thought I had grown a new variety of tomato, seed was saved from a variety known as "Burnley Gem" which at the time was a good variety. The new one turned out to be no better than the parent, so that was the end of it. Recently I found a jar of seeds in the shed dated 1983 and as I was very dissapointed with the flavour of modern tomatoes I thought i'd have a go at growing the old variety. I got about 50% germination which I thought was pretty good for 20 year old seed that had just been dried and stored in a screw top jar. To my disappointment I soon found out why the researchers had bred the new varieties. None of my old tomatoes reached maturity they succumbed one after another to various Tomato diseases.
Photo is the "Loveday Lovely" the new tomato.
We love our tomatoes! but I only grow the cherry and grape varieties because I don't like to use poison, we are lucky enough to live within a market garden area and get our tomatoes from a good grower who specializes in wild honey and tomatoes.I remember loving green zebras because the bugs left it alone and it tasted delicious ...haven't found it again for about 5 years. I like to grow things that don't require sprays of the chemical kind.We live in a strawberry district here and people come from all over for them but after talking to the grower I would never touch any but my own ...she told me that they spray them three times a week ...eek!
Hullo fellow gardenizz!
Dropping in for a cuppa and a squiz at whats going on. A new face since I was here last?
Hello Helen! I hope you are enjoying the tea room. I loved the succulents in the little pots. I used to have many also, but have since freed them into various spots in the garden
Hello to Colleen, Googling 'Puya + mail order' should get you a response. Sometimes they come up on Ebay also.
Hi Chrissy, Your garden is looking colourful as always.
Shelly, I use envelopes for seeds that I intend to use sooner, rather than later. I always write the collection date on it too. I haven't really tried storage for a length of time, but imagine Chrissy's italian rellos and stakes ideas on the glass jars is a goer, as long as the seeds are properly dried before storage and kept cool and dry.
Lesley, how are things over there in Gisbourne? I hope the weather is being nice to you.
Marleneanne, I wish i had a Fred! lOL. Actually, my Bill is out mulching the leaves with the mower. I used the blower this morning to clear the gum leaves from the paths. Did the storms get as high as the Sunshine Coast?
Stake, mmm Tomatos! I wondered what Mallee gums looked like, as we had them for sale as tube stock at our Tafe annual plant sale. I should have grabbed a couple!
Hi Sammut, your Mandevilla is looking very lush! You must have the magic touch when it comes to gardening!
Hi Jean,Whats on the menu? A lovely pic of your Epi blooms. There was no sugar cookies left when I looked! I think Marleneaane and Lesley got there before me.
I have visitors arriving this arvie, so it's only a short visit, but I will leave you with a picture of my Hoya, which is in it's second flush!
Sue
Chrissy, for lots of heirloom vegie seeds , try Diggers seeds always an ad in Gardening Aust mag. I had some of the green zebra once from them.
gotta go. Getting posts, can't wait. Jean.
OMG ,so many new faces around here eating all the goodies,you better palce out more food Jean!!!!
Hope everyone has had a wonderful Xmas break but one more big night on our way before we can all rest,I'm absolutely shattered.
Chrissy my Angels are doing beautifully now that the possums have left them alone....I even did some research on trying to eradicate them but because they are a protected species,I can't touch them,Lesley in NZ they're not protected and they have a contraption called Tims trap or something like that ...lethal.
I have tried to keep up with the posts, so know who is who,so hello everyone,even a few males.
My Frangipanis are stunning, blooming and smelling beautifully.I have been able to acquire huge cuttings from friends and they all seem to have rooted,they look like they have been in the ground for years....I'll take some pictures soon. Talk soon...Mya
So Sue did you enjoy your christmas? ...we missed you!
Mya too! I hope everything is going well for you and your gardens ...34C here in my little place grasshoppers and lady birds (leaf munchers) are still here and those dreadful black hibiscus beatles ...I admit to wanting to poison them but I just can't bear the thought ...the frogs croak in gratitude ...I wish they would clean up the bugs!
Any ideas? I squish what I can but I can't keep up at this time of the year ...I want Autumn!
So Colleen are you ct?
Jean that is where I got my zebra tomatoes before ...great place.
I will try to get some cuttings going for you re mandevillas
http://www.toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/articles/vines/mandevilla.htm
No, No, not yet Chrissy it's too soon.. I have a tray of frangipani seeds that have to mature some before it gets colder. With the weather here as contrary as it is I don't know where I am. I need some sun shiny days, we have had some good rain but today is hot, humid, overcast and windy. I suppose thats not too bad as tropicals go but I don't think the windy helps much...
Nice freckle faces,, I like the white ones best but all are nice.. I think I gave all mine away.. Does the Exmouth grow very tall?
Mya I have a Timms trap up the coast where the possums are and it works quite well if they aren't too big otherwise they just eat the piece of apple and shake it off, then go back the next night for more. It is quite a savage trap and goes off with such a force it would be sure to break fingers if they were in the way..
I have been using plastic pill containers for my seeds for ever, they are easy to store.. At one time tried using envelopes and found them not as good then one year a snail got into them and made holes in all the paper containers and my storage area turned into a disaster area..
The Angel cutting is about to...This is probably Noel's Blush too as that is the only one I have seen offered for sale through mail order...
This may be better as posting it chopped off the end..
And look at this Chrissy and Jean...
The trumpet is almost as long as the plant and by the time it opens it probably will be.. (Equador Pink) Sorry about the hose..
G'Day
Chrissy why don't you try the Vegetable oil in a bowl and see if those beetles will go for a swim. Apparently it didn't work for the Earwigs in NZ but it costs next to nothing to try and if something does drink it there will be no harm done but I don't think the frog would be too happy if he fell in.
Weed_Woman, were you referring to "The Mallee Gum" or just the Mallees as Eucalypts. The Mallees are multi stemmed trees with the stems growing out of a Lignotuber (some call them Mallee roots but we call them Stumps, roots are the things that take up water and nutrients for the tree).
The tree with the common name of "Mallee Gum" or "Coast Gum" is eucalyptus diversifolia a multi stemmed mallee to 4 mtrs high or single trunk tree to 10 mtrs.
Regards
This message was edited Dec 30, 2008 1:29 AM
ooooh Equador Pink! wow great work ...most of the "named ones" have it in their genes.See that straight shoot coming up? you just let it keep going a little more then take it as a cutting and it will grow a lot taller and make a nice umbrella shape.Congratulations!
Brian I have ice cream containers (yellow) with soapy water and oil in various places and it catches some bugs but not enough ...I also have the yellow lids with oil to "catch " the white fly ...they are reasonably effective. When the weather is kind I use homemade white oil and soap spray ...the trouble is that it has been a year and a half of rain so the sprays wash off. I am just grumbling in the heat ...generally I don't do too badly.
By the way any NSW folk looking there has been a Funnel Web spider warning today ...out early and in plague proportions ...generally I don't mind our spider mates ...they do a fine job with bugs but with this fellow I would steer clear.
For all the folks with sore bits I hope you all recover soon ...nothing worse! so take care of yourselves ...eat lots of green leafy things and get plenty of rest (yeh I know stop laughing).
Hi all,
I'm back again after battling the tourist traffic down the street.
Nice to meet you Sue/weed_woman, that should be my name!!!LOL!!! I'm not much of a gardener.
I'm just lucky most of my garden is low maintenance, natives, cacti ,parrots,LOL!!
I'd like to show you all this pic, I took on holidays a few months back. I have stacks of amazing plant pics, shame they aren't in my garden!!!
Hope you are all having a great day,
Cheers Helen
Chrissy just had a thought. What about hanging the old sticky fly traps in your hibiscus and the beetles might just land on them and then they won't go any where else. You could also try making your own by spreading honey onto paper or rag strips.
Regards
Boy! Christmas must be over. Have you lot stopped for a breath?
Back from Sussex today and noticed our Wisteria is halfway up the palms next door.
So I have been busy with trimming. I know Funnel Webs are scary but what about
stumbling across an American Alligator on the South Coast of NSW or White Pointer
off the beach in WA. I would prefer to encounter something I could put my foot on!
Sue - I love Hoya and have not grown it for ages but after seeing your pic it's on the must get list.
Cheers
Steve
Sorry, yes, the date is wrong on the pic. It happens when I change batteries. I forget to fix the date???DER!!!
Helen
Hello again all you lovely lot. been out, Hubby had Drs appt. Never bought a plant but did get the pine posts. building ahead. It has turned warm here, although why at this time of day I don't know.
Hello Steve, nice to see back all spry and chipper, ready for lots more gardening.
I bet that wisteria looks lovely up the tree when it flowers.
Lesley that Angel is so gorgeous. Wait until I have something to show. Mine are growing fast.
I saw Mya there somewhere ans Sue . Lovely to see you.
I will have to do a double shift making goodies for all youlovely people. I may have to put chairs along the fence if we all keep hanging over it chatting.
Perhaps a large shade sail and move the tables over.
i found a 4 o'clock Chrissy. i hope it grows up and has babies. The bright pink ones I have all the time are coming up in the old manure bed.
I found 2 more Cherubs popping up in the seed tray but no more Angels.
I will have to start planning on which epis are going to move into the new place soon. Once we start, it doesn't take long to build. I think the whole thing is bigger than our house now.
Sue that hoya is so pretty. Mine is just getting buds. I saw on eBay, a lot of very different ones. I may get one just to have something climb up the shade house
No not another collection, I can hear the comments. Just one more.
Better go and think about food. My stomach thinks my throat is cut.
Jean.
Yes Chrissy I'm ct. If all you girls keep showing those beautiful angels I just know that I'm going to have to try them. You can keep the funnel webs if you like. I dont mind spiders in general but the funnel webs and the white tail give me the shivers. I really dont like snakes of any kind either. It's quite windy here today, not very hot but the wind is really annoying. Helen,what is that pink leafy plant that you showed. it is stunning.Just a pic of an ivy geranium, they all have their own beauty dont they? I have been out trying to find a better place for my growing collection of cacti. Ive had them on the table out the back but I knew that they couldn't stay there. I didn't want to put the little ones in the ground just yet. I think they look good in the pots. Everyone to their own choice I say.Jean how's the new epi home coming along? I noticed on that link that you put up Chrissy that there is a yellow mandavilla as well. Have never seen even a pic of that. Well cheerio for now. talk again soon.
