TEA ROOM # 31

Here we are again. I couldn't have all the ladies ( and men ) walking so far even though most of you are younger than me. i thought a nice stroll along this path might be nice. Get an appetite for the cakes and a cuppa later. It is a pleasant surprise to see all the friendly faces atill popping in for a comfy chat. Today is quite chilly but fine so far. Aside from the wind, we had very little of the weather predicted. No storms and only 3 mm of rain. The wind was scary for a while but gone now hopefully.
I complain when the rain misses us but a lot of the other weather also bypasses us , so no complaints there.
The garden looks a bit fresher even with so little rain but isn't that always the way ? A little rain is better than a whole lot of tap water.
At least a lot of the fire areas got a tad more rain so will be helpful to the firefighters efforts.
I think I'll be playing 'pick up sticks' today after the wind. Remember that game ? Sitting on the lino floor trying to get the colored sticks out without moving the rest .
Better go and get started . Have to go and put up the signpost for here too.
Don't wander too far down the track and get tired.
Jean.

Good morning everyone. A bit chilly here this morning. Just got back from walking the kids to school. I have a lot of repotting to do. I'm going to have to start moving plants around as I've run out of space again. I've put all the epi cuttings under the Nectarine tree for the moment until I get hanging pots for them. Then I'll have to find hanging space. Oh the dilemas of having so many plants. Has anyone seen the Sedum called Autumn Joy? Mine has just started to colour. The heads are about as big as saucers, and would have 20 or more heads. It puts on a brilliant show for months. I especially love it when the flowers turn a bronzy colour, [they're pink first]. I'll get a pic when they've more colour. Does anyone know what my pic is today? It selfseeds, and is really pretty when it's all covered with these 1inch purple pompoms.All of the plants are getting a bit of respite from the sun with these overcast days. and us too. Well had better go and do something. talk later. Hope everyone is well. Colleen

Hi everyone sorry I have been trying to get in and around in between workers here wanting stuff ...sometimes I just have to drop everything and go ...I always try to get into our lovely tea room but when we get over 100 it's too far to walk when we are busy ...I'm naughty because I am a yakka and cause us to have to move more often than we should ...can't resist though!
I am so very pleased conditions have eased a little for you Jean and all our lovely Victorians ...I have heard that the floods up North while not causing a heavy toll on lives(thank goodness!) have taken a very heavy toll on everyones moral and business has almost ground to a stop ...I am so very sorry that has happened. I hope they all get the help needed there too. Like everyone ...lots of repotting and moving things ...I love the cooler conditions giving us a bit of a break ...can't work too long outside when it's hot!
I am looking forward to Autumn and Winter so very much ...I am a bit of a dope trying to grow tropicals when I should live in Bowral or somewhere like that, can't help myself ...like all of us we just gotta try to grow what we love ...I usually feel pretty proud of my tropicals ...until you see a tropical grown in the tropics ...I then feel like running outside and say sorry ...mine are nice but not supurb ...Oh well guess I would like Lily of the Valley too ...oh heck why can't we have it all ...I tried to grow it once and tipped ice water on it all winter ...ha ha ha ... no make that boo hoo hoo, same with other cool climate things. What things would you love to grow if you could ...(pretend we have the climate for it) ...for me it's lush and smelly ...but wait then there is the .....
oh well!
Back in a bit.

Hello all.

I agree with you, Chrissy. I love hydrangeas but have realised they don't love me. They want to be stars rather than sharing a spot with a zillion other plants. Daffodils and hyacinths are regarded as disposable here. I am a bit of a collector and have way too many plants for the size of the space available. I have lots of heliconias and gingers, and love freesias which do very well here climatically but the turkeys regard them as peanuts. They last about ten minutes in the ground. I have grown them in pots but the turkeys get them through the wire I put over the top. If I have a bigger space between the surface of the ground / potting mix and the wire mesh, the turkeys wait till they start growing and pull them up to get the bulbs. I planted out some more heliconia and gingers tubers last week and, before a half hour had passed, the turkeys had dug one up and eaten the tuber away, leaving the roots and the top of the plant with nothing in between.

Anyway, it is still stinking hot and humid here and won't get cooler till May. We really only have a few weeks of cooler weather so trying to grow the cold climate bulbs and fir trees and even stone fruit is impossible. I love roses but am not prepared to have a dedicated rose garden so the roses that survive here are the ones that don't mind crawling above other plants. I think Mr Lincoln, Papa Meilland and my all-time favourite, Climbing Cecille Brunner, have adapted to jungle life. I have a lot of things in big square self-watering pots as then I can leave them out where it is not really garden space and they get the sun that way. Because our backyard is so steep and jungly, there are not a lot of sunny gardening spaces as so much is under the trees. In winter, there are parts of the garden that don't get any sun because of the trees and the steep slope.

Happy gardening, all. Cheers, Kat

Chrissy your as bad as me, i watch gardening australia and fall in love with the plants only to find out i cant grow it up here as there is no winter to speak of, so when im on holidays down south i buy them anyway and it is akin to signing there death warrant, i am afraid i have had to curb my ways and leave the southern plants to the south, as i have sadly seen too many pass away in front of my eyes.
Jean i am so glad your fire fighters are starting to get a little respite from the weather, i hope you get some decent rain down there soon. the photo you posted is just lovely, if it was not so cold down there i would nearly think about moving, but i am afraid i just love the heat too much, i do not do winter very well i am a sook if it gets below 23%. We had our coldest winter day on record here last year it got down to 9% of a day time this is unheard of, i did not think i was going to make it through the day, my boss laughed at me when i wore ugg boots to work. (yes i live in the tropics and i own a pair of ugg boots, i had them for my trip to hmas cerberus,hastings, victoria when my son graduated in the navy in august 1997, i have never been so cold in my life, i admired the fortitude of the people that live through winter every year.)
i best go and do some work, have a lovely afternoon
shell :)

hello everyone,

jean -that photo of magnificent. where is it taken? i would love to wander through that right now and forget about everything for awhile.

my mother-ln-law took me shopping today and we went to the nurseries. i don't often go in to the local nurseries as they are way more expensive then the local market but it sure was fun. she got me three red hot poker plants, crepe myrtle and another white pompom verbenum shrub. very nice. i have put them in the garden already. we had 9mm last night. oh it was lovely to actually be able to sleep without fear of fire. we had no power though so kids kept waking up scared because it was so dark. we usually have one light on in the house so they can see a little when they wake. we lost power around 9pm last night and didnt get it back until about 5am this morning.

the wind was sooo horrible yesterday and the ash that has come into my house is astounding. the kids can draw their names in it - its that thick. will have to do some spring cleaning to get it all out. oh well, at least i have a house to get ash into LOL.

must go and do something productive.

have a nice day all. shelly

G'Day All, 77sunset re your query on the previous thread about the cactus bits you sent me. No trouble I think there is only one piece that has not as yet presented a new shoot. They are not growing all that fast but I assume as they get bigger roots they'll take off. This is them a couple of weeks ago on the right with the labels behind the Margerine container. Thank you for sending them.
Brian


This message was edited Mar 4, 2009 3:20 AM

Hello again . I have just been cleaning the bath uuggghhh.
This is an old house and I think the bath must have lived here first. Our water is so awful that it leaves stains and I have as yet found no cleaning product that will removethem , short of maybe an electric sander Ha ha. I must have been having a real granny day as I even cleaned the laundry trough. This is the object in which hubby must wash all his things from his pottering in the shed. As he builds radio thingys that require an aluminium casing, he gets the aliminium which must be acid etched then washed. Where else ? Before we mariied, it was in the bath, which accounts for most of the scratches and stains. I 'gently' made him realise that he did not live on his own and must confine dirty jobs to the laundry.
Thank goodness , he doesn't play with engines etc. I can't imagine what the bath would look like then.
He is a dear, but having a very large cabinet complete with quite a few radios, transmitters and other ham radio gear was not what I wanted as lounge room decor either so he kindly moved them too.
The pitfalls of marrying a dear man who has lived alone for quite a while.
Now I lived alone for a long time too, but I did not have my plants inside . I think we women definitely see our houses in a different light to the men, as to the use of space. Ha ha.
The day here has only worsened and I have the heater on. We had a few light showers and a lot of very cold wind.
I have been brave and taken off the fruit on my epi. I am drying the seeds and will plant soon. I then have to wait around 6 - 7 years for a flower. ho hum. Something to look forward in my old age, haha
Chrissy, you are no more a yakker than I am . Feel free to talk as long as you want. It is easy to move us and gives everyone something to do as they go looking for us.
This is the idea of the Tea Room I think of it as chatting over the back fence. I promise I will not come around and ask if you are finished yet. I had that done to me in a cafe once. How insulting.
Kat did you go down and bring the python back yet ? I haven't seen him today.
Don't we all just pine for what we can't grow ? I want acreage filled with wonderful deciduous trees underplanted with 100s of azaleas and rhodos plus all the gorgeous bulbs that won't grow here. I also want a tropical area for gingers, helliconias, and all the lovely things I see on here.
I do have Lily of the Valley. Mmmmmmm
Shelly, I borrowed the photo from somewhere on the web> I like to have different pictures on my desktop so wander around look for pretty scenes. I think this is in USA somewhere.
Brian, I was just curious about the funny little cactus that is in tiny pieces. It never seems to hold itself together. Dear little thing. Maybe I should bring it in near ET.
I see the wine has gone down a bit again. The wine bar must be popular at night.
Better go and put cleaning things away. Have a nice evening .
Jean.

Well its nearly 5pm and time for me to go home yippee.
Mya i went into the link for paraplants site you posted on another thread, wow the hoyas are amazing i am going to go nuts, i did not even know this site existed i love it, i have only investigated the hoyas i will have a look at the rest later.
have a wonderful evening everyone i am off to my son and daughter in laws for dinner, i love not having to cook for myself.
shell

jean - have you tried gumption for the bath? it was the only thing that i use now after trying a massive amount of different things.

have been pottering around the garden all day today. feel so much better for it. potted up a heap of things that darling colleen has sent me. thanks again colleen.

cooking dinner and then i hear some wine calling me..... we had 9mm of rain last night and its been on and off showers all day. i feel so much more calmer knowing that we have wet ground and no chance of fires. think i will have a few tonight and then a really good night sleep :)

shelly

I reckon that would be a good idea to put your little cactus with ET it's probably his sister.
I've just put a couple of bottles of the white wine Fernao Pires up at the bar and a red Graciano for Budgieman since he prefers reds.
Brian

>we had no power though so kids kept waking up scared because it was so dark. we usually have one light on in the house so they can see a little when they wake.

Shelly, there are torches available these days that are fantastic for kids, as they don't require batteries. There are the wind up types, or those that you simply shake up and down for a few seconds to get a few minutes of light. They're only around $10, and a good demonstration of science in action.

That pathway is gorgeous Jean, a reminder that Autumn really is just around the corner. We've had temps in the high 30's the last couple of days, so it's hard to imagine that it's getting chilly down south already.

Kat I have two big hydrangeas i would like to dig up... you are welcome to them.
I wouldn't part with my white one though, am planning on taking lots of cuttings so I can share it around.
Shame I can't post them to Aussie.
Chrissy some folks here consider Lily of the Valley a weed...
I am not one of them although I dug it out of the front garden - it was totally choked.
Now there is room for the daffodils to breathe.
I transplanted Lily of the Valley to various spots & thought it had all died, but this last spring a few pieces decided to pop up.

ChCh has a good climate for rhodies & azaleas & the roses seem to like it here too.

Naturally I would like to grow frangipani & other frost tender tropicals...

Hi all.
Jean if I had my way it would be acres of trees, deciduous and evergreen. Conifers, Elms, Pines etc
Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains is somewhere you would love.
Kat - We have Cecille Brunner growing out the front. Gave it a major haircut
recently and struck two cuttings. They look ok at the moment and are destined for Sussex Inlet.
We have had Mr Lincoln at some stage. The Cecille is a favourite. A friend has one as a sort of standard that is over 2 metres high and I can't join my hands around the gnarled trunk.
Cheers
Steve

my little cutting of CB went from a dainty little cutting to smothering the hen house in 2 years ...love the musky fragrance hate the hacking ...just about every cutting strikes! I love rainforest plants and am growing a black bean tree ...one that I love (I will be long gone by the time it matures). Lushness entices me with vivid splashes of bright corals and other warm colours to light it up. Of course if we had the budget we would have garden rooms of every kind wouldn't we? I have a huge Norfolk Island pine and a wind break of huge She Oaks out the front ...these scream in the wind like Banshees ...I love it! Love trees! love understorey plants and ferns.
Those red hot pokers are terrific!
*Yawning *
Better start getting ready for bed ...goodnight everyone.

I shouldn't complain about not being able to grow daffodils. We have a ginormous frangipani that takes up half of the front yard...and cocos palms and camphor laurel and jacarandas and bauhinia and enormous traveller's palms and leopard trees and loquats..that's just in the front part... When I bought this place, the rest of the street was chockers with trees.. except for the frangipani this front yard was bare. there was a monstrous jacaranda and flame tree out the front in the street. When our manipulative neighbour, opposite and below, moved in, the trees started disappearing. What he didn't chainsaw himself, he coerced the council to do. He used to be able to get them to give ours a chop as the wires used to be overhead. then they moved the telegraph poles to the other side of the road, so, to his annoyance, it all hangs out over the road again. The only bare spots now are his and the rose patch next door. Everyone else has a form of jungle and that's what they came here for. I think these two should have bought in one of the planned estates where everyone has the same letter box and line their bins up exactly the same way on bin day. two more weeks of marking..can't wait. Goodnight all. Cheers, Kat

This message was edited Mar 4, 2009 8:50 AM

Morning, everyone. It's pre dawn here and there's actually a very slight nip in the air...not enough for a jumper or anything but enough to turn the fans off for a bit. The mosquitoes have been ravenous lateky and the fans tend to blow them away a bit. Look forward to reading your posts. Take care.Cheers, Kat

Morning Katciao,
There is a very little nip in the air down here to, such a beautiful morning if only the day would stay like this .
I have a garden of trees in front , my house is a little lower than the street I have plans one day to remove the grass and and have more trees s this is how it looks now.----------Sammut

That's lovely, Sammut.(and Good Morning to you!) The birds must be wonderful in the morning.Is that a school or similar opposite? More open space for the birds. cheers, Kat

Good morning all. It's an overcast morning and rain is forecast. I still live in hope it may arrive properly one day instead if the little sprinkles we keep getting
The wind has not come up as yet but it is cold. I do hope we have some Autumn and don't leap straight into winter.
We gardeners are never happy with the weather are we.
We want perfect weather and plants we can't grow. We are a weird lot but isn't it fun ?
Kat, you are about early, looking for nibbles for breakfast I suppose.
Your yard sounds very nice and jungly. Any more pythons lurking ? Maybe you could get a very large one to move in to the fencemans yard .It could lay in wait and have him for dinner.
Sammut, your place looks pretty . The birds would love your trees. Hope you are feeling better.
Hello Shelly (Qld ) and Shelly (Melb) It is nice to see that bit of rain in the fire areas where it was needed. Gives everyone a chance to relax a bit.
Thanks for the wine Brian, although It doen't seem to last long . I think there are a lot of night owls that like to pop in for a glass or two.
Steve , your roses sound more like trees although Cecile Brunner does tend to grow large. I have 2 small ones that were cuttings from a very large old bush . The owner cuts it back with a chainsaw when the flowers get out of reach. It has to be very very old as the old lady who planted it died a long time ago.
Mine are growing well and are around 4' high . I do cut them back but may just let them go now. Make a nice windbreak there.
Dalfyre, hydrangeas don't like it here on the hill but I have seen some beauties in more sheltered gardens around.
There are some in the Portland Botanic Gardens and one is a lovely Oak leaf type that turns burgundy red in autumn.
Chrissy, I do love your splashes of color. Those Bouganvilleas are always gorgeous
Shopping day today , but a very big week for bills so I see no plants coming home . I may just happen on a weeny one maybe.
Better go as hubby is getting impatient. He likes to get going so we can get good parking over in Hamilton.
See you all later. Enjoy the nibbles.
Apple Galette.
Jean.

It's a wee bit cooler this morning ...only 14C here it will get up to around 26/28 later ...this is what I love about Autumn warm days and comfortable nights ...beautiful mornings!
Kat I suppose your neighbour will go live in a cement city somewhere. I feel sorry for him.
Sammut look at all that space!
Teresa Lily Of The Valley ...a weed????? whaaaa nooooo!!!!
All the Northern Italian migrants weep at the mere sight of it ...(some so desperate they have plastic ones planted in their gardens) as children it would herald Spring ...growing and flowering wild in the mountains which looked over the little towns.
I wore that fragrance for many years ...can't find it any more.
I have even thought of trying to grow them in a cool room (summer) but hubby sold the cool room ...oh well ...like I said we all want what we can't have, here at daves garden we can ogle others treasures ^_^
Shelley4kids I love using Gumption ...not only for the great cleaning but the smell ...it's one of my favourite! reminds me of some perfume I used to wear.
Jean how cool is it down there? ...how goes it in the garden?
Your hubby is a gem but I know what you mean re stuff here there and everywhere ...I laid down the law re home being not the place for car parts early in the piece ...after having dinner with friends who had wheels and tools all over the dining room (he was a mechanic like my darling) ...these days I have to share my downstairs with all things mechanical ...the living areas upstairs are still parts free ...poor hubby sometimes has to fight his way through the dining room full of floral stuff though ...I am so naughty!
Sammu the cordyline is great.
White Strelitzia ...ummm beautiful but huge! make sure you have plenty of room.
Brian keep an eye on ET
Steve what things have you planted in your new garden?
Lee what do you think your choice may be for your "special plant"
Better be off ...

See that big palm thing to the right of my picture? that is a white strelitzia ...huge!
I forgot to wave at our Northern friends ...hopefully the weather is kinder ...as it is here at the moment.
Mya is waiting for that purple frangipanni to open (so are we ...^_^)
Ann and Cestrum probably cleaning up after the big wet! ...I think perhaps autumn and Winter is the best growing time in the tropics ...while our gardens rest.
Jean ...I am watching! ha ha ha ...leave those floral orphans at the orphanage ...enjoy your day in town.

Good morning everyone, its raining here, I was almost going to say - as usual! - but can't really do that, its only been raining for TWO DAYS!!!!! my tanks are filling again, the smoke and the smell of burning is gone, and - I swear!!! - my garden is SMILING!!!! the ground is now soggy instead of crunchy, and the lost urge to go rebuild and repair everything is BACK!!! I was beginning to have a horrible feeling I never wanted to go into my garden again.
I'm going to be ruthless and turf everything that couldn't cope with the heat and dry, lost a few natives, yet my camellias have had NO water other than garden "showers" and this rain, and have never even flinched through it all. They have to be the most tough and resilient plants ever....
Helen in Wonnie, thankyou for your concern, we were very fortunate, were never under threat from the Bunyip fire as it was always burning away from us. Did get a bit nervous at one stage when we had that fire on one side and the Upwey fire on the other, would have been interesting if they'd both decided to change direction, but all is well, and I'm sure the season is over for this year...
All those poor fire survivors, now they have to face the nightmare of WET sooty blackened mud all around them, I do hope their new homes can be started as soon as possible.....

Todays miracle?? my treeferns have all their fronds browned and crisped and hanging, and from the tops of them today I notices big clumps of new fronds already starting to uncurl and open up their new little frondlets (???)....yes! I like that word.....these are almost as tough as my camellias......

I have included a picture I found while browsing, way out of season, but I love it and use it as background every Christmas........for cat lovers only I guess..........and NO calories!!!!

Brrrrr!! I might have to put the heater on!!
Margaret

Margaret i am in love with the cat pic, it is sooooooooo cute. i am so pleased that some of your plants have been stuborn enough to bounce back.
Sammut the front garden is lovely i could not get over all the bush across the road, i did not think sydney had any left. Jean enjoy your shopping day, one or two little plants won't break the budget, well at least thats what i keep telling myself. Shelly i have one of those shake torches it is great you never have to worry about batteries running out, i have had it for years and still going strong, it is not as bright as a battery operated one, but for kids in the dark it is perfect and they like shaking it to make it work. Kat i don't like your neighbour at all, sounds like a pain in the @%$@#. Some of my trees overhang my neighbours yard but they love it, Jan reckons she gets my shade without having to do anything for it, i have very nice neighbours. And as for the mosquitos they will pick you up and carry you away at the moment, i heard on the radio they have 600 cases of dengui fever now and growing (i don't think i spelt that correctly).
Chrissy your pic is lovely i love the colours but not your 14C.
Good morning to everyone and have a wonderful day. best go and do some work counting down 2weeks and 2days to go till i get a week off yay.
shell

IIII'm Back,
Fit as a fiddle mind clearing at last.
Kat. in frount is a old High school a new one was built now half is a school for special needs children . and police offices of PCYC .
out side my garden area I have one tree growing on the side walk there is two trees in center meduim strip the rest are in the school grounds often see rabbits hopping around over there a few reasons why I bought here one was not facing other houses there is a feeling of open space .
Colleen I dont remember the day you said a white Bird of i have never seen one I will look out for thate one .
I have so much more to say but next door neighber has called me in for coffee I will return later.
this is my this morning moving things around .---------Sammut.

Hello Everyone,
Yay!! We have had dumps of rain, for the last 2 days. I was out in it, yesterday, moving pots around to get the benefit. The garden is much happier, moist instead of crunching!
The sun is out but it's cool, very pleasant.
Must go & see what I can re-pot, prune, etc,. I love seeing everyones gardens & am glad all are well.
Here is a pic of my "babies"
Take care ,
Helen

This was taken of my granddaughters (ehem ! I have to look after him ...he is a cheeky brat ...knocks my cutting pots over!) ...Boogie is a Rag Doll pussy cat ...prettiest fellow you ever saw, just drapes himself over anthing handy and will run away from other cats because he is such a sook.Don't tell anyone because I grumble about him following me everywhere (almost trips me as he runs under what ever I am am carrying in my arms) but I love him now darn it! (had every animal in my lifetime just about ...didn't want anymore ...just garden now thanks) I guess I would miss him if Melissa moved out ...I would say this is the cat for anyone who wants a companion, they are bred to live in the home ...that is why he follows me every where ...I don't allow him in my home. They are of a very gentle nature we have never seen him snarl or put the claws out, just wants cuddles and food and is a very "talkative" fellow . More like a dog than a cat ...here he is last year helping with the garden ...he is a big fluffy ball right now he has grown up.
Hi Helen my little parrots are slowly growing ...no sign of blooms yet so I decided to nip out the tops to get them branching out ...I shoved the little inch high nipped bits into the soil and I think they look very happy despite being tiny they are sitting up all green and perky looking ^_^ ...ok this is Boogie!

Hello all. I'm sneaking in quietly so Chrissy can't see what I bought.
How could I not buy the 4 little pathetic things reaching out to me as I wen tpast. ?
4 little succulents that are so sad. One has hauled himself right out of the soil in his effort to catch my eye. Succeeded didn't he ?
They were reduced to $2 so I just had to give them a home.
The day here started out with misty rain and gradually cleared to being quite warm. I'm glad some of you are getting real RAIN instead of showery sprinkles.
I don't begrudge it to you but I do want a little here too.
Hubby says watch what I wish for or I may get more than I want. My Angela are doing well despite the wind the other day and they did surprise me as I was expecting to see torn leave setc . I have to do a major repot as all the "babies" are no longer liking their smaller pots. They want to be out with the big kids.
Chrissy, Alphonse is so small yet that his bud is touching the soil. I hope it blooms okay. I must take another pic of it.
I have a few pieces of the purple Cherub that I cut from the top. It was growing too tall with just one stem and I wanted to encourage more stems. As soon as they root , I will be packing a suitcase and sending a couple north. They can see how they like being among their larger cousins.
Better go and pot these orphans.
Love the pussy cat pics.
Here is a photo of my youngest grand daughter Meghan. She has started school this year and the shy little chubby has turned into a pretty and confident girl.
Have a nice afternoon all. Jean.

I saw you Jean ...a hopeless case ha ha ha, (like the rest of us).
I would prop that branch up a little (Alphonse Mucha) bloom ...I don't know how big the bloom may be ...when he is grown up the bloom is very big! ...get a sturdy twig with a fork in it and prop the little branch up so you can enjoy the flower ...lift it up high so you can have a good look and sniff.
Here is my only granddaughter ...owner of said cat Boogy ...don't we all think grandaughters are beautiful ...I miss them being little ...
she will turn 21 on the 4th of July ...

This message was edited Mar 5, 2009 7:13 PM

Boogie is beautiful i do love cats of any decription, and Helen your babies are as cute as Jean your grandaughter looks lovely and i am very impressed you only found 4 orphans.
Nearly time to go home another day is almost over and it FRIDAY TOMORROW yay.
While everyone is showing off there babies or grandbabies here a my grandbabies
beau is 5

and Mia is 3

shell

Awe aren't they darlings ...my picture of melissa went off into cyberspace ...trying again ...she made me a granny at 39. She is the image of my baby sister except for her dark colouring ...she may make me a great granny by the time I am 65.
It's been a great day in the garden ...I have enjoyed the Autumn chores ...
Does anyone know if lime seeds come true to the parent or even similar? I planted quite a few and was pretty surprised to find that they all came up ...I ask this question because I grew a wonderful manderine from a seed ...is it worth planting them into larger pots then to the garden?
Both bunches of bananas are going for their lives ...huge!
Tomatoes every where!
Cape gooseberry everywhere
Persimmons looking good
So much going on
It's great to be alive!
I found a great trick to get rid of those blasted stink bugs ...Get a bucket of water ...(I put a few drops of a nice smelling detergent in it to damp down the stink of the bugs) ...put your glasses on to protect your eyes and pick up a long fork ...I then hold the bucket under the offending bugs and knock them into the bucket. It works a treat. Wear long sleeves if you don't want that nasty squirting to burn your skin.
Ok that's it for tonight

G'Day Chrissy100, Your limes are unlikely to be as good as the parent but there is a chance, although small, that they will be better. However if you have access to the parent tree why not bud (graft) some and grow some on to see what they will be like. If grafted you will see fruit in 2 or 3 years the seedlings can take up to 10 years to fruit.
I could do a demo for you if you wanted showing how to do the micro budding usually practised on citrus.
I just had another thought can the little movies taken with the digital cameras be posted like the stills are?
Brian

This message was edited Mar 5, 2009 5:57 AM

This message was edited Mar 5, 2009 6:01 AM

Hi all.
Just passing. Thought I'd drop in.
In answer to your question Chrissy the native garden at the back of the property now has a Acacia floribunda - Sweet Sally, a Callistemon citrinus 'Burgundy", another thing that escapes me at the moment, heaps of cherry tomatoes, half a metre square of Dendrobium, some Pelagoniums and a pot containing a Norfolk Island Pine which I grew from seed. I have been given free reign in the garden but I know planting this will be frowned upon. But it's going in. I'll claim it was self sewn and grew to half a metre in a week. Do you think I'll get away with it?
Sort of using this space at the moment as a garden nursery. As I dig things up they will go to the corner awaiting further instructions. Going down there for the first time in three weeks this weekend. Miss it. There will be little gardening as the bore pump housing needs to be finished and the lawns will need mowing.
By the way I think Boogie would make a good Ugg Boot. A bird man will never be a cat fan!

Good night all.
Steve

*Steve* Cheeky! ... more like a fluffy slipper his tail is like a feather duster, my Norfolk Pine is about 30 ft tall ...I love it now ...wanted to chop it when I moved here, but it has been such a surviver it is like an old friend now.
Boogie is such a sook he runs away from the birds but the birds don't know he has a yellow streak. I don't need pets (caged) there are many wild birds ...including grass budgies ...all bright grass green. Have fun down south.

jean - your granddaughter is so cute. she is the same age as my youngest son. he has just started prep. he is developing such a strong personality.
chrissie - your granddaughter is gorgeous! she has the same birthday as my daughter! mine will be turning 17 this year. and boogie is so fluffy and nice. one of my cats is more like a dog too and will wander around behind you keeping you company.
shelly - what gorgeous grandchildren. they look so cheeky just as kids should be.

i feel so young with everyone talking about grandchildren when i have such young kids. so glad i am learning so much at such a young age though. i am only in my thirties but forty is around the corner.

my motherinlaw brought me two celosia kimono mixed plants for $2.00 each yesterday. i have looked them up on the internet but couldn't get much info. they are annuals. does anyone have any and do they self-seed or do i need to get seeds from them? one is red and the other pink flowering. i haven't got much flowering at the moment in my garden so would like to plant these in future years to provide lots of colour at the end summer/start autumn.

long weekend for the next three days so i plan on doing lots of gardening. looking forward to just pottering around at home and not having committments. since the fires we haven't had one day without having to do something or we have had visitors here. i am ready to just be with the family and chill out in my garden. hubby plans on pulling down our chookhouse and putting them in the un-unused stables with a yard attached. they should be happy there and it will give me another large section of garden to fill. lovely!

better go and jump in the shower - 4 kids to get ready for school.

shelly (in victoria)

Hello everyone. A very nice still morning here. Cloudy but not too cold. Of course this will all change in a few hours when the weather has had it's breakfast, dressed and decided on what it will do for the day.
I will be repotting those baby Angels that have grown so much.
Chrissy. I put a small prop under the branch on Alphonse but he is only about 20 cm tall and the branch is just a tiny thing.
He has 3 buds and I can't wait for the flower to open. I intend to bring him onto the back veranda so I don't miss the chance to smell the flower.
My Iochromas are growing so fast. They are definitely quicker to grow and flower than the Angels because you don't need the Y. Hubby, dear thing, looked at the roof that came apart in the wind the other day . He said the whole shadehouse can come down and be rebuilt. It was our first effort 9 years ago and not up to our latest building. It will be just a plain frame of pine with shadecloth, but slightly wider and higher. This is where my begonias live along with the Dragon Lilies.
Sue I looked at your garden in the flowering in March thread. It is so beautiful and full of color.
Hello Shelly ( Melb ). It's nice to have such a wide age range come in to visit here.
The pictures of the grand children are all so cute.
Steve, you sound as if you are going to be busy and the garden will be great as the trees grow. Those Norflok Pines are magnificent in the right place. I wouldn't have one here but they were planted along the beach and in some streets in Geraldton WA by the early settlers. They do make a show when grown.
There are some down in Portland near here too. I think every coastal settlement had them planted in the early days.
You have to watch out for the nuts though. Have you seen the monkey puzzle trees ? Can't think of their right name now . I remember them from Bright. Between the two, they did make an impressive avenue but don't park your car under them when the nuts are ready to fall.
Have to go over to Casterton today as hubby forgot some things he wanted yesterday. I will grab some extra potting mix while I am there. No nurseries there so no plants.
I hope all our other friends are well and will pop in again soon.
Hello to them all.
Enjoy these Lemon Bars.
Jean.

OK Shelly 61 and Ann, batten down the hatches....here we go again.....it's like a b##### roller coaster ride at present,this weather.....

My husband did say though, that Cyclone Hamish, being named after a Scotsman, is a good sign....they are so tight with everything, that they give nothing away.....so lets hope Cyclone Hamish keeps all that puff to himself!!!!!!!! If there are any scotsman out there ,it was my husbands joke, so please direct your angst towards him....for a price, I can divulge his email address!!!!!!!!

Here's our tracking map for Cyclone Hamish

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ65002.shtml

Ann lives, just a bit below where it says Innisfail in El Arish...shelly61 is in Townsville and you can see that little island just near the Townsville dot that's Magnetic Island......

This message was edited Mar 5, 2009 6:07 PM

Chrissy Melissa is a beautiful girl, and yep Shelly they do have a cheeky streak in them but they are pretty good kids with there occasional not so wonderful moments.

Buggar Hamish there goes my nice weekend i was planning to have working in the garden. I will have to bring all my pot plants in yet again, depending on what he decides to do with him self. I only hope that the towns that have already copped it this year do not get the deluge all over again.
At least they are naming them after men now as well as women, once upon a time we got all the blame for the wind they blew.

Have a great day one and all if i have time i will pop in later, have lots of work to do today, if not have a great weekend everyone and stay safe.
shell

Stay safe up there everyone. I do hope Hamish behaves himself and sulks off out to sea.
Jean.