Thanks Shell.Well hope you enjoy to rest of your day.I think i'm going to call it a night.Take care and stay safe.
Cody
TEA ROOM # 33
goodnight cody ^_^ sweet dreams ...it's only afternoon here.
Oh golly falling into a dam ...my dam is full of black eels! ick! ...I hope you are ok.
Golly I hear wedding bells ringing all about the place ...those pretty cakes are causing hunger pangs ...I have not had time to eat since brekky! How exciting an impending wedding! ...can hardly wait to see the happy pics.
shelley that Aztec Gold was almost as hard to get going as Equador Pink ...there are very easy ones and there are some more touchy ones ...I am still feeling my way with these plants ...I reckon there are those that would root in concrete just about ...like frosty pink and old sydney apricot ...others may sulk unless given perfect drainage and comfortable temps.Once they have roots however ...off they go. You can practically grow a broom handle in washed river sand.
mya those parrots will go nuts up there ...while we have warm days, our nights can dropdown quite sharply ...I can hardly wait to see how they go up there.
shelley 61 I went to work the day I turned 14 ...luckily I got to semi retire (if you can call it that, while married to my hurricane) to look after my grandchildren, instead of them going off to kindy. In those days people would come to school asking about future workers.
Retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be, everyone I know who is retired complains that they are too busy ... want to go back to work for a holiday! ...I am 60 this year and my youngest grandchild is off to high school the oldest bought her young man home for dinner on Saturday evening ...sigh!
The thing that upsets me about growing older is that I have to stop and wonder if it is worth growing a seed any more *giggling* I always thing it might not fruit or flower before I croak!
Speaking of which I was waiting for hubby this arvo when bang ...plop ...look what fell out of the tree and onto my car ...so pretty they are the size of a large deep blue marble ...in fact I looked around to see who threw a marble at my car ...but it is a "fruit" ...so I am thinking should I grow it? ha ha ha ...let me see say 20 years that will make me 80 ...ummm.
Anyway does anyone know what this is?
Hi all,
Chrissy - looks like Lily Pily fruit. There is one next door that the Flying Foxes love.
Back from Sussex yesterday arvo. Flying visit until next weekend. Managed to finish off the bore pump housing.
The neighbour (84yo Ray) apart from telling his usual rude jokes told me he read somewhere that the local Council was working at ways to meter bore water and charge us for use! Can you figure that?
I read a good book once that enlightened me to the fact that because we are contained within an atmosphere that every molecule of water since the dawn of time is still here but in different format and place. (except maybe Astronaut wee). Whatever we draw from the ground either goes back into the ground or evaporates and comes down as rain elsewhere. Simple logic!
Kat - are you after my heart? Cecille Brunner, Honeysuckle and Geraldton Wax are all favorites. The GW loves the sandy soil here in Cronulla but we have treated it as a 7yr plant. When it gets leggy and yuk we throw in a new one and off we go again.
Picked up a 2 metre tall grafted 'Frisia' rose for $20 which I thought was a good buy. Left the other three there but may succumb! It is one of the best perfumes!
Also found this. Did not notice it last year because it was in the middle of a Geranium mess.
Now, because I'm too lazy to look through the books..............?
Cheers
Steve
steve this fruit thingy is the strangest fruit it is almost all a hard nut thingy ...with a very thin saphire blue skin with just a thin layer of brown mush under the skin ...it isn't a lilly pilly I have them ...I have never seen anything like this ...I will probably feel silly when someone recognises it but for the life of me ...I don't know what it is? It looks like a giant blueberry ash fruit (I loved that too!)
any one know????
have fun down in the sand steve.
Never mind I tracked it down ...
http://lamington.nrsm.uq.edu.au/Documents/Plant/bluequandong.htm
so tomorrow I have to go back ...I will pick up some more seeds ...I think I will plant some here ...anyone want some?
Thanks Chrissy,same for you too.My Cat had her kittens yesterday.She had four of them.Two boys and two girls.Well hope everyone stays safe and take care
Cody
Them all together.
Rose your babies are just precious......
hello everyone. A cool morning here but it will warm a bit more when the sun gets up and about.. I just had to go out to the greenhouse first thing to smell the perfume of my lovely angel, Alphonse.
I have buds popping out on quite a few of the Angels now. I just hope I get to see all the flowers before we get any wet or windy weather.
I put up the archway rescued from the tip. It looks just right over the entrance to the cottage garden area and matches the gate nicely. . About 2 years ago, we were lucky to get 5 lovely old gates from an old farm being pulled down. The owner said take them as they would only be buried with the rest of the house You know the gates I mean. Metal with wire They have the pretty fancy bits along the top. I remember them from my childhood. The fences with the wire that had the scalloped top, then the gate with it curly bits on top. These are rusty but still in good condition. I may spray the one I have on the cottage garden, green, to match the arch.
I found some large red buds poking up through the soil yesterday. They are all my Blood Lilies or Haemanthus. Last year I separated the patch and spread them around. Maybe not everyone's preference for bulbs, but I like to see them in a large patch. They do take a while to grow to flowering size so are always dear in the shops.
I saw a photo of a white one once. Very different . I will have to look for one for myself.
Sue, the little frogs are still in my broms so they must be happy.
Chrissy, when in WA, we used to love going out and finding the red Quandong fruit. I am assuming they are the same family as your blue. The nut was like a brain with all the sqiggly lines. The fruit was just a thin skin over the nut but delicious. The Sandalwood is apparently a relative too. When we were pulling Sandalwood trees to sell we used to crack the nuts and eat the kernels. TheSandalwood nuts are smooth.
Cody, your kittens are so huggable. Enjoy your day.
Steve and Kat , if you like Geraldton Wax, you would have loved living where I was in WA. Inland from Geraldton and
along a lot of the roadsides you will see it growing like a weed. So beautiful. On the block I was living on at one time there was a large area of just Geraldton Wax. Imangine about 2 acres of dark pink. I have some white here grown from cuttings of a piece I found in a bunch of flowers at the tip years ago. It does grow easily from cuttings .
In WA , you would see the white growing among the pink and a dark red.
Chrissy, I know what you mean about having to wait for seeds to grow into trees before we 'croak'
I have given up thoughts of seeds from some things for that reason. I want to see things now while I am here to enjoy them.
Hello Mya, Dalfyre. Helen, Shelly and anyone else peeping in the window.
I am off outside to tear down another old archway that needs replacing. We built several,about 6 years ago when we cut down a large nectarine tree. i couldn't resist using the branches for the arches. With the dry weather making the ground shift, they have become very lopsided and I don't like seeing them like that. It is easier to make new ones than try to fix these. the new ones will be of treated pine . I want to put a wisteria over one so it needs to be strong.
i am going to go and smell Alphonse once more then get something done.
Have a great day everyone.
Try this Coconut Cake ladies , before the men get to it.
Jean.
Thanks Mya and Jean,take care and have a great day and stay safe.
Cody
a very good morning to all.
We are expecting a very hot day to day this morning I planted my angel seeds .
when I was walking the dog I looked across the street and there was angels above a fence cut the walk short went back and made new friend they kindly gave me 2 cuttings .this made my day I hope every one has a great day till later -----------Sammut
Good morning to all, Colleen, the boys arrangements are lovely they did an exceptional job and they placed very well in the competition, they should be very proud of themselves. Cody your babies are just soooooooooooo cute.
Jean i love those old gates, your arches will be lovely, you will have to put up a pic when it is done. Steve nice flower, i have no idea what it is but it sure looks good. Chrissy i am determined not to lose this cutting, i will baby it and hope for the best, and i would love one of your blue seeds to try, i checked the site and they reckon it grows in north qld.
Helen i open my parcel properly when i got home yesterday and was so thrilled they are all planted, i checked on the babies this morning and they seem to be happy after their big trip to the north, thankyou again. Shelly how are your beer traps going. I am off to do some work have a great day everyone.
may pop back in later
shell
Hmmmm thith cahke ith wreely yummy!
Hhhh Hmmph! Excuse me for talking with my mouth full! That cake is sooo yummy! I've only got time for a quick bite- gotta run!
ohhh but Cody those kittens are sooo cute - I'm envious of you getting to enjoy them up close!
Sammut - that's the reward for being a friendly neighbour ;-) Isn't gardening a great way to make friends!
Gotta go - good day to all.
Leisa.
Hi all,
Just a quickie, as I slept in & my sister is almost here as a surprise Birthday Present for me! I wasn't expecting them till tomorrow!!
shelly61, I'm glad your Parrots found their new home safely, I didn't put any seeds in? Maybe it was just the dirt had fallen out a bit? Partial shade, maybe under a pergola or verandah? Also, try not to let them dry out. I'm sure they will love the climate up north.
Mya, I'm looking forward to trying the Desert Roses, Thank you so much.
Cody, I love your new little babies, I'm a sucker for kittens!!
Better run,
Take Care all, will catch up again, next week, with Wedding pics.
Helen
Leisa, you ate the WHOLE cake? I'm shocked! At least you did do the washing up! lol
Jean ,is there any chance of a pic or two of your newly errected archway?
Happy birthday Helen! :)
Jean, we'd best have another cake in honour of the occasion.
This message was edited Mar 23, 2009 8:15 PM
Never fear Shelly,I can always strike a yellow for you and send it over the water,always plenty of Angels to share......... Leisa that is my all time fav cake ,thanks for leaving me some....
Jean,I know what it feels like, when you smell your first Angel...HEAVEN....
This message was edited Mar 23, 2009 8:58 PM
Two lots of cake in one day. Oh my. Noone will fit in the door after this.
just for Helen Chocolate Espresso birthday cake.
happy birthday.
Back again (looking shame-faced & a bit full after all that cake....)!
Jean - your blood lilies are coming up thru the soil. I've got a plant that I think is called a blood lily, but they usually die down over winter & then shoot again in spring. Mine flowered in Nov & now all I have a nice green leaves (which will start to die off in the cooler weather).
Are they the same type of plant do you think? here's a pic of the flower from last Nov.
Leisa.
Happy Birthday Helen!
This message was edited Mar 24, 2009 11:58 AM
Leisa here's a link for those plants
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/930292/
Thanks for the link! Yes mine looks just like: Scadoxus multiflorus (Martyn) Raf (Blood Lily is easier)
Sounds like these are plants that old ladies give to younger ones - my elderly aunt gave me mine!
I'll have to remember to pass some on when I can't garden any more!
Oh the choc cake looks good, but I'm still too full from the coconut cake I just couldn't ... or maybe just a waifer thin slice ;-)
Leisa.
You can tell the Haemanthus by the huge leaves that come up and lay flat on the ground after the flowers die.The flowers always come in autumn and the leaves can be nearly 2' long. I like them but a lot of people don't.
I see that you are all leaving the cake alone until Helen gets her share.
Here's a photo of the arch and old gate. Excuse the rust but I am going to give the gate a quick spray in dark green to match the arch. Not perfect but then my garden is rustic.
i love it.
Jean.
Jean it looks great, even with the rust lol. Mya my mum used to call those blood lilys, balls of fire, i always thought the name was very apt. i have a couple growing in full sun and another couple in full shade, they are equally as happy as each other, the flower is magnificent. Happy birthday Helen, i hope you have a great day.
have to go
shell
yummy cakes.
Loved the pink roses in the white choc Wedding Cake.
We had a Groom Cake as well.
I swiped one of hubby's aviation books & had it made to surprise him.
He loved it!
It was a really rich chocolate cake.
So we had chocolate as well as a rich fruit cake to offer our guests.
I got myself side tracked looking for a good pic of the groom cake...
ahh the memories :)
Happy birthday Helen. Jean your gate and arch look just perfect to me especially as you said that it leads to the cottage garden. My friend calls my garden at the back the secret garden as you never know what you're going to see next. other people might call it a mess. It's very overcast here today but I can't smell any rain yet. The roses are flowering like mad and everything else is looking good. There's still some plants with some heat damage but I'm sure they'll come good. How's everyone elses garden looking.? Shelleyto4kids, hows the plants going? Sammut a birthday soon I think. Gardengal hope you're okay after your fall.Maybe a ladder hanging from one side of the dam might be the way to go. I'd be more worried of snakes than yabbies. You probably made such a noise when you fell in that the poor little blighters shot for cover. Chrissy, what are you up to today? Ann and Mya is it getting more humid up there now? Supergran have you disappeared again ? What sort of plants do you have? Any specialities? Well must go be back later. Colleen .
happy birthday helen. colleen, plants are going well. i have my ones that were sent to me all confused so don't know who sent what... but there is a little one flowering with a pretty purple flower. it is very cute. have put trays of water under my three parrots and they seem to be going well.
i had a tray of seeds growing - 100 of them and something knocked them off my potting bench. ggrrr. i assume it was one of the cats. lost the lot. have to start over again now. my seeds in the garden i planted long weekend seem to be coming up or most of them anyway. have chopped all the agapanthus flowers off - 3 wheelbarrow loads full. the agapanthas are looking the worst for wear. seems like the fire has effected most of my garden and some are only showing the signs now. have chopped a lot right back to nearly nothing to give them a chance to recover properly. my easter daisy is still flowering though and seems to have gone more purple now than pink. i will be taking cuttings when it finishes flowering and try and put it throughout the garden as there isn't much flowering at the moment. jean - all your geraniums are flowering beautifully though. you have such pretty geraniums. i am hoping they survive the winter. last winter i lost all my geraniums even after people told me i couldn't kill them!! i can't wait for them to grow bigger and they will be lovely next autumn. they are such beautiful colours and so bright.
off to pick up kids from school. shelly
Thanks Shell,Leisa and Helen.Hope you all enjoy the rest of your day.Take care and stay safe.
Cody
This message was edited Mar 23, 2009 11:28 PM
Hi,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY HELEN .
Jean, The arch looks good with the gate .
Cody Beautiful little baby kittens
Colleen 6 sleeps to go to mine not thate I am counting .
Shelly Bad luck lossing all the seeds
thates it for now close to time to go to dinner every one have a good night .----------Sammut.
Thanks Sammut,have a bless night.Stay safe
Cody
Hello everyone. It's raining here. Not a lot yet but rain.There is no wind and it's not as cold as the mornings have been..
I am hoping a bit of rain will freshen up the garden and push those Angels to flower soon.
I have some of my Nerines popping their flower stems up . Looks like the red/orange ones will be first this year. No sign of the white yet. The larger pink ones seem to always keep a leaf or two all year. At least i can see where the pimk ones are as they push each other right up out of the ground. I will definitely have to divide this year.
Was there anyone else interested in having one of my small bulbs of the Vallotta Lilies ? They will take a year or two to grow to flowering size but are worth the wait.
I see lots of green starting to come up now with the few showers we have had. Weeds What a pity our favored plants don't grow like the weeds. Although you up north would have quite a few that do.
Chrissy or Sue, I have a plant from a cutting one of you sent me ages ago. It has a largish dark green leaf. A stem has come out from the centre with small bright red buds down the top. I will have to take a photo when the flowers open, it looks like it may be very pretty. I have had it in the greenhouse as it looks tender. I will try it outside in the spring
Cody, your kitties are so lovely, Enjoy your day and I hope you have good weather there.
Hello Sammut, How are all your plants going that you bought the other day, all arranged in their places ?
Hello Shelly (V), sorry about your seeds. Thats one problem with cats. They do tend to jump up on things.
I hope you didn't lose them all. Gather the dirt from the tray and put it on the garden. Something may still grow from it.
With the geraniums, ignore them . Mine thrive when left alone. No fertilser or other pampering. I think when they die off in winter sometimes, it's more the wet than the cold. They definitely don't like wet feet. I keep finding mine growing from the rubbish bits I throw around the trees etc down the back.
hello Colleen. i hope all your Zinnias grow. They are a lovely flower to brighten a space. I put some in when I lived up at Bright. They covered a slope and grew like mad. Every year I would have them back from seeds self sown. I have tried them here but seeds seem to disappear from the garden . could be ants or something else taking them. Maybe the soil doesn't suit. I will have to try more . I can't plant seedlings as the balckbirds scratch them out unless I protect them. This is a easy to do with just one or two plants but can't be done with a lot.
Hello Leisa and Mya. Kat are you there ?
Hello Dalfyre, that cake was a nice idea
Haven't seen Steve but I would say he was looking forward to another weekend. Brian, I never touched the wine and I even hid a couple of bottles but it's all gone. I think Helen may have been practising for the wedding. I did see Shelly (Q) out the back and Gardengal was hovering around the kitchen.
I had better put out some goodies to keep you all fed. I don't know what i will be doing today as I was planning on being in the garden but not in the rain.
have a great day everyone .
Enjoy the mixed cakes
Jean.
Good Morning Everyone,
Thank you so much Jean for the yummy BD cake, I did get some, & Thank you for the Birthday wishes, shelly61, sammut, Leisa, Colleen, Gardengal, shellytwo4kids & others. How lovely to get so many Best Wishes! There are 3 empty bottles on the sink here!LOL!! So will have a bit of tidying up here today. It was a lovely surprise for my sister to be here all the way from Sydney. I don't think I'll need to eat at all today, Hahahaha!
Have to run, lots to do,
Take Care all, I'll pop in again when I can,
Helen x
jean could it be firespike? I love it! It is ok but likes a sheltered position. Would you believe it can grow quite tall? I nicked a pice of it from a beautiful old church in Wollongong there was a forest of it living under a canopy of lovely old trees ...quite a sight at about 8ft tall and full of these blazing spikes. Oh that's it ...leaves left ...flowers right. I sent you some quite a while ago.
This message was edited Mar 25, 2009 11:08 AM
For you ...
http://www.azcentral.com/style/hfe/outdoors/articles/2005/12/10/20051210irish1210.html
very interesting.
The little Datura will open today ...I am excited but surprised as it is only a few inches tall ...I guess that means it may die after flowering, I guess it was planted quite late in the season, still if we get some more warmth it may still set seed first.
look at the kittens ...cute ^_^
Happy birthday Parrot queen ...sorry if I missed it ...I hope it was a beaut! gosh so much going on your way ...you must be exhausted!
A big wave to all the happy gardeners ...ahhhhh Autumn is here isn't it wonderful?.
http://www.jackiefrench.com/cal.html
I love this site and love Jackie French ...my kind of gardening ideal.
see you later.
chrissy
Good morning everyone, well it is just a perfect day here today, spent the first 10 mins of my morning here at work, looking out the window, i just could not help it as it is so nice outside, then back to reality and work for a living lol.
Jean it was not i you saw lurking round the back, i was peeking through the window, and there was none left lol. Gardengal was definately the culprit, i had to settle for cake and a cuppa tea, although the birthday cake you left for Helen was devine.
Shelly, i had some strange cat appear one night and have 5 kittens and she left me to raise them, about 8 months later she came back and dropped another 5 and left, i have not seen here since and that was 9 years ago, at one stage counting my 1 cat i had and due to my not being able to find homes for all these cats as fast as i would have liked, i had 8 of them running around, the destruction they left in there wake was amazing, i would come home everyday to destroyed plants, upturned pots, and plants shredded everywhere and that was just outside, inside, well lets just say my ornaments and photo frames copped a hammering and i never had a single vase left in the house. So i do know how you feel lol. They are just little treasures who can't help themselves i found if i did not laugh about it i would cry, i could not do anything to change the devastation they caused so just had a drink and a giggle. Oh and i did eventually find homes for them all, now i just have 2 cats that are both to lazy and old to do anything except chase the odd grasshopper and even thats an effort for them most days.
have to go and do some work i do hope everyone has a wonderful day, Helen don't get too stressed with the wedding, sit back relax and enjoy the ride, i do hope the day is perfect for you all.
shell
Supergran9
Mar 25, 2009
Happy Belated Birthday Helen
Chrissy, you have the right plant. The little buds are opening and look like your pic. I am so pleased to have it . Now I have to find a good place for it out of the weather. It can't live in the greenhouse forever.
better go and feed the man. Happy day everyone
Jean.
G'Day All. Here's a couple of wines you may not know but they are under trial here.
A red from the heat of Spain "Graciano" widely grown in Spain.
A white from the cool of Austria "Gruner Veltliner" 58000 Hectares in Austria will probably need to be planted in the cooler areas of Australia like Orange, Bathurst and Tasmania.
Half a dozen of each to try.
Brian
>Gardengal was definately the culprit
Are we talking cake or wine here Shelley? (hic!) oops sorry 'scuse me!
It's a glorious day here too. I think Autumn has to be my favorite time of the year. Growth doesn't really wind down here, the plants just seem to breath a sigh of relief. I know how they feel! During the warmer months here anything that's not done outside by 9am is pushing to be done as the sun is just so harsh.
We made a choice a number of years ago to have no more cats, because they can be so destructive to wildlife, as as such we're really not that thrilled when others wander in anyway (they've no respect. lol)
Our little maltese/shihtzu ex rspca refugee does a wonderful job of sending them back home. He can't run nearly fast enough to have a hope of ever catching them, but he's just so proud of himself when he comes back in. He's a funny little fellow with a slightly undershot jaw so has a permanent grin.With his character he reminds me very much of a little boy who likes nothing more than getting dirty.
I was looking for this pic to post the other day but couldn't find it. I must find a better way to store my pics, as there are just too many of them.
Jade vine, incredibly stunning when in flower. They're such an intense colour they don't look real. This pic is from Flecker Botanic Garden in Cairns. The colour of the pergola just sets it off to perfection.
Gardengal your little refugee is just as cute as, both my cats are desexed and are not allowed outside without supervision, for the same reasons, i can't handle it when cats decimate the local wildlife. My big black Jack Cat does a great job of keeping away the strays he is huge and the local cats are all terrified of him lol. i have already filched a bottle of Brians white to get me through my wednesday afternoon, i am not fussed on the reds so they are all yours. That vine is truly amazing, i can just see it hanging from my patio, Cairns is not that far away from me about a 4 hour drive, i wonder if they would notice it missing, lol.
have to go and start packing up my wednesday is nearly over yay, Brian thanks for the pick me up.
have a wonderful evening one and all
shell