TEA ROOM # 38

I thought I would have a sit down out here where I can see the autumn color . So pretty to view from the Tea Room patio.
It's quite chilly here this morning, but should be a nice day again. We managed to get the second wall of the back veranda done . It does look better than what was there before. Hopefully a lot less of the cold winds will come in now. I have a new plant place now that side is done. Just right for pots of Angels. Sorry to hear you are all still getting rain up north. We still badly need it down here. It will take years of rain to wet the subsoil again. The weeds are taking off like an express train. I have a carpet of tiny Californian Poppies and wallflowers all self seeded. I slid the shovel under some of them and moved whole lumps to different areas . I am hoping I get a few cosmos this year as only one came up last year. Glad to see that you all had a nice Mothers Day.. I had phone calls from the kids and when my granddaughter comes to visit from Perth in a few weeks. she is bringing me a present . Hubby is buying me a plant this week as we did not get to shops last week. I am still watching my Frosty Pink angel . The flower is slow to open . Probably felt the cold and wants to stay inside the pod.
Sue, you were lucky to get those ornaments for your garden. How nice for you.
Sammut, I bet you are out near your fire this morning. Have some warm toast for me.
Cody, You will have lots of fun watching your ducks. They can be real clowns at times.
Chrissy. I love tenors and watched that link you put up.
I was watching my favorite comedian as he is on Youtube too. Billy Connolly. Aside from the language, which can be very offensive with some of todays "comedians", I just cry with laughter listening to him. Along with Bill Cosby, they are the 2 most funny men.
I did go to a concert many years ago with my daughter, to see Geraldine Doyle, the Irish comedienne. She was wonderful along with the Irish fiddle players with her. I used to see her on the TV , so it was great to go to a concert and see her in person. Such a funny lady. I wonder what became of her.
I am going to be out in the sun today as I have a bit of repotting to do with a few cacti getting too big for their pots.
Those small bougies that were mentioned are great. I have two in pots and am going to put a couple more in baskets for the front veranda later. They are so easy to grow and do look nice and compact.. Better get over and put up the moving notice. before anyone gets hungry.
Have a great day everyone.
Jean.

Hi Jean,i hope you don't get to cold their.It was raining here this evening.Well now the ducks has a little pond and pool in their pen.LOL!!!Well i hope you have a bless day and stay warm.Take care

Cody

Good afternoon all I am running very late today, had a busy morning, well it is Monday yet again, I must admit the weeks go very fast, I have no idea where the year has gone to, I must be getting older lol.
Jean please post a photo of your updated verandah, hopefully it will be finished in no time, a new area for plants is always a good thing.
Cody your flowers are lovely, those balloons are wonderful, I still have a happy birthday one from last year that still has not deflated completely.
I hope everyone had a lovely Mothers Day, Sammut I do love your gifts, you were very spoilt as you should be lol.
Colleen 2 bunches of flowers they are lovely, I do love the one the boys did for you.
My kids took me out to lunch yesterday, and I got some new shoes, 1 practical pair for work and one not so practical pretty pair of black strappy heals with diamontes. I probably won't wear them hardly ever, but they decided I had to have them lol. I got a voucher for an underwear shop, and some coffee cups. But no plants sigh. I will have to hint much harder when my birthday gets here at the end of the year lol.
Steve I dislike the commercialism, of these days as well, especially easter and christmas, I hate the hype, but I must admit I do love the actual Christmas Day and I love birthdays, that is my favourite day of the year and I always take the day of work and do something fun for the day.
Speaking of work I best be doing some.
Have a wonderful day everyone
Smile and stay safe
Shell

Hi Jean...Cody and Shelly!

Today has been the coolest day here for the year...so far.
Nice for gardening. I have been busy doing some repotts of the bigger plants.

Over the weekend I broke a piece off a tooth on my plate. Well my tongue keept going to the break and driving me silly. I couldn't wait until this morning to get it fixed. Yep...$120.00 later it was fixed.

Will grab a "cuppa" and some of Jeans left over Mother's Day cake while I am here.

Sorry everyone, I visited the old tea room by mistake ...a nanna moment after a sad day ...see you all tomorrow.

hey jean ...I googled that blanket thingy because I thought it may be a good idea and look at this ...no way!
http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/snuggies_complaints
What a shame it sounded so good ...I would love to know what you think of it when you get it.
Evidently it is like a hospital gown and opens at the back ...and it has a chemical fume issue ...hopefully they may have improved after all the complaints.
hic, I have had a glass of port ...you can tell can't you.
Tomorrow is a new day =) ...

Hi Shell,thanks i didn't know they could stay blown up that long.Cool!!Well have a great day and take care.

Hi Marleneann,well enjoy your day and take care.

Cody

Good morning everyone. It's starting to get really cool here now.I think the jumpers can stay out for a while. There's been some beautiful flower pics. I am quite surprised at the amount of plants that are flowering. The Mother's day cake was really beautiful Jean. Shellyto4kids how are the sedums going? You'll have to tell Jack Frost to keep away wont you. I put the frost guard up around my Justicia yesterday. Hopefully it might get a bit bigger this year.The Angels are looking good and growing slowly. Haven't heard anymore about my shadehouse. I get really frustrated when people can't even be bothered getting back to you. Why don't they just say that they don't want to do the job. I wish that I could do it myself that would fix them. Maybe You and Hubby can come over here Jean and help me. Maybe I'll just put shade cloth around my verandah but the trouble is that it's right outside my back door. Still it might be a temporary solution for this winter. Now that i've put it into words not just thoughts it doesn't sound as silly. Mmmm Maybe a trip to the hardware store coming up. Everyone have a lovely day and will be back later. This is a pic of a succulent Crassula called Ruby Stars.

Good morning everyone. A very chilly morning here but should lead to a nice day later. We have been forecast to have lots of wind from Wed. Not going to like that. I want rain not wind.
I will get out with the hedge trimmers today and get snipping around the edges. I have a large grevillea that does like to sneak across the path and a few smaller plants that need clipping back for winter.
Shelly, my 'updated' veranda is only really a space at the back door. About 10' square, it was just a roof but the previous owner put makeshift walls up which were very rough and let in lots of cold wind. All we did was pull it down and use hardiplank for the bottom half of the sides and some recycled fibreglass for the top half to the roof. The new plant space will be outside along one wall where we could never get to properly. Now it is cleared and ready for plant pots. We always call that area 'back veranda' from habit. I just wish I had a real veranda all around the house.
Hello Marleneann I do hope you are okay with your teeth now. I would hate anything to happen to mine. They cost so much in the first place.
Chrissy, that blanket thing you looked at is not what I have bought. I have seen those on TV and would not touch one. Pretty ridiculous price for what is just a common fleecy blanket with sleeves.
I bought my heated throw from Harvey Norman. It is more like an electric blanket you can throw over your legs which is where I feel the cold even with the split system on the wall.
I would not touch many of those things you see on TV ads..
Hello Cody, have an enjoyable day with your ducks.
Hello Colleen. I have a pink Justica out in the garden. It survives each winter but doesn't grow much. I keep telling it I will move it one day, but have not gotten around to it. Maybe today. I did have one in the old shadehouse which had been going well until this last summer. I moved it into the greenhouse with the begonias and it now has new shoots.
I have seen a yellow which I must try and get a piece of. My 2 pink ones were grown from cuttings
Pity you don't live closer so we could help you get your shadehouse up. What about getting brother to help ?
It is not hard if you have some help. All you need are some split pine posts and the shadecloth plus a few hardwood crosspieces. . There are so many easy to use brackets etc in the hardware htese days, one can get the roof done easily. We used the pine posts for the frame and the cross pieces are hardwood 4" x 2" , cut to the length we wanted. They hang in metal brackets from the frame. I have lots of baskets hanging from them so they are solid.
Hello to everyone else looking in. Pop in and have a cuppa. I am off outside as the sun is out. Very chilly but a bit of work will keep my hands warm. I have a lot of thr recycled fibreglass left from the old greenhouse and the back 'veranda' so may make a little shadehouse somewhere. Can't waste the stuff and I don't want it just laying around.
Have a great day in your gardens. Enjoy some lovely nibbles with your cuppa. Apricot Tarts.
Jean.

Good morning all, the sun is out and it is turning out to be a lovely day in the tropics.
Chrissy I am very sorry for the loss of your friend, I do hope her family is doing ok, sounds like she will be dearly missed. If I was there I would give you a big hug.
Rhonds the orchids are beautiful, I am trying them for the first time and I will see how I go. Bowling is one of those games you can not help but improve at EVENTUALLY lol.
Jean at least with your new back 'verandah' walls it may at least stop some of those cold winds you get down there, and a new area for plants is never a bad thing.
Mya did you go to the markets on Sunday and did you manage to find anything nice to take on the ferry home.
Marleneann, what a pain, I am not afraid of snakes or spiders, but send me to a dentist and I am sure I hyperventilate (sorry i have spelt that wrong ) and they charge like a woulded bull.
Colleen have you tried those dial a hubby type companies, they normally are faster than the larger companies, well up here they are anyway. I wish you luck, you would not think one little shade house would be that much of an ordeal for these companies.
have a great day everyone I may pop back in later if time permits
smile and stay safe
shell

Couldn't resist showing you all these photos sent to hubby by a friend.
I hope the little fella never hurt himself but isn't he just so cute ?

Love the "chicken". It looks like it may be one of those Maremmas that bond with what they are guarding. I would say he's bonded okay.

Hi Jean,hope your day is going good.Love the pictures,the second one is so cute.Well have a bless day and take care.

Cody

Sorry everyone ...I wrote a long rambling thread and poof!!! ha ha ha oh well.
Got to do the mail now so back later ...brian ...look for your seeds in the next day or two, anyone want seeds (Brugs) to play with ... just Dmail me as I have extra ...to send out this week.
Back later !

colleen,
the sedums are going really well. out of the 8 cuttings they have all taken. here is a photo of them. my other variegated one is in the garden and seems to be going well. i will take a cutting of the variegated one and send to you soon.
shelly

a rose my daughter brought me for mothers day - guy savoy

Hello everyone!
Just like Chrissy I had a long post and it went POOF!

Well my beauty is diminishing fast...first my teeth now a hole in the cheek.
I had a biopsy taken today. Will know the results next Monday.
I feel just like my 1981 Ford Falcon...yes that's my car...just about ready for the scrap heap.

Chrissy sorry to hear about your friend passing away.
Here is a pic just for you to cheer you up.
It's a picture of the Orchid Display I set up for the Society at one of the big shows.

visited my Mum today, took her Mother's Day gift over.
She has some nice plants in her garden, we do swaps all the time:)
I gave her the two bunnies - the smaller one is the most recent.
The big bunny was for Xmas.
The kitty was a gift from her neighbour across the road - she has a spectacular garden.
Many of Mum's roses are cuttings from there.

Hi All,
Shell - don't listen to Rhonda. She CAN bowl well.
Too hard on herself. All us kids? have bowled at some stage.
Guess who taught us?

Here is the Banksia I picked up on the weekend.
I'm starting to really like this Nursery.
Low turn around on plants so often very mature. This was $16.00.
Cheers
Steve

Good morning to all.
Another foggy morning here but the days usually turn out fine and mild. The wind is forecast for tomorrow and to the weekend. I hope it gets lost on the way.
I went mad with the hedge clippers yesterday and tidied everywhere. I even cut back a very large shrub that has been threatening to smother my cotinus . It took a bit of doing as it is one that has all the branches twisted and interlocked. I ended up just cutting and wading through the whole bush. I then had 2 big half balls to roll over the fence. While I was doing this one of our magoies sat on the fence about a foot away and watched. I asked for a bit of help but he just sat and supervised.
I have a flower on my pink Justica. Now it will be out in the open so I will move it to the fernery later, I think. I am still waiting for my Frosty Pink Angel to open. I think with the cold, it may give up .
Hello Shelly (V) such a beautiful rose you have now. A lovely present
Marleneann I love the old Falcons. I have had 4 over the years and would love to still have one, but hubby hates old cars and says they are nowhere near as good as modern ones.
Well at least when I looked under the bonnet of the Falcon, I could fix things I always worked on my own cars years ago but these modern engines need a map and a university degree to even find a part. I hope the biopsy went well.
Dalfyre , your Mum must love your cute bunnies. I love ornaments and things around the garden.
Steve, watch out now. That nursery will love you and be waiting for your visits all the time. Isn't it nice to find one that is good with plants and prices ?
I have been in a few where the plants are so potbound , you wouldn't want to even try them. I have to laugh too, when I see all our common triffid plants being sold by nurseries for high prices to unsuspecting people.
Chrissy, I hope you are feeling better now. It is always sad when people pass on.
There must be someone out there that gets to read all those posts that go poof. Probably the same person that has all those odd socks and other disappearing objects.
I am still looking for a project to use up my bits of recycled fibreglass. I will move all my Rhipsalis today. They are trailing right to the ground so I will hang them under the tank stand where they can grow without bother. That will leave more room for all the Aporos to grow. Make it easier for me to move around the very prickly Aporos too.
Hello to everyone else out there. Kat are you still there ? Not been eaten by turkeys ?
Hello Lesley, Shelly, Mya, Helen, Sue, Cody and Colleen..
Enjoy your day and have a nibble with your cuppa.
Try this Chocolate Mousse Cake.
Jean.

Good morning everyone.Another lovely day. cool and sunny. There have been some lovely pics put up. I love the one with the chook and the pup and I wonder what the little frog was thinking. Mummmmm!!!!!! Marlenann lovely slide show. My first buy form e-bay arrived yesterday. 5 little 7-8" aechmea mexicana rooted pups for $20. I'm having a plant garage sale on Sunday. I have accumulated too many cactus and succulents so thought that was a good way to get some money for more. I have been working on this for a couple of weeks, putting them out under the carport on shelves and a trestle. I have been growing the pieces for while though because I needed to get them rooted before I sold them.Anyway I'll get to meet some other gardeners and have a chat and maybe end up with more bits and pieces who knows. The pic is of my newly acquired Salvia. When I went to plant it I dropped it and several pieces broke off so I put them in a pot and now have more plants. Shelly the sedum are doing well. At least they didnt get hit with the frost. All the natives should be okay aren't they? They usually tolerate the weather pretty well. How are all the succulents? Cody you are getting quite a menagerie of poultry aren't you? I love chooks and ducks but find it very hard to give them away if I've rared them. The same with kittens so I just keep them and get them desexed. I had 19 cats here at one stage.Talk about the cat lady. I only have 9 now and I love everyone of them. Lily is sitting here beside me now, Soxy is on the chair and Ruby is just walking around talking, Dudley is probably annoying something, Justin, Sally, Sammy,Holly, Little Pottum, are all probably asleep with a full stomach somewhere outside. Well must go and do something, be back later. Colleen

Hi everyone ...jean I think seeing all these feathers has scared Kat away ...sorry the cats here drive me mad ...they belong to my grandaughter, who like many young folks bring animals home and then forget them ...so I am the care giver here ...they assault me everytime I open the door ...because I feed them they think chows on when ever they see me ...as a result every where I go they run under my skirts as I am carrying big pots etc and almost trip me up ...then there is the cat poo ....they poop in my sugar cane mulch ...the cheeky blighters! so I get very smelly surprises on my shoes and sometimes fingers ...so but after years of raising children's pets I want peace, no more dead birds/lizards/rats as presents thanks finding young Blue Tongue lizards with their innards torn out brings me to tears, the same with the birds ...I know I sound like a hard person, but when they knock my plants off the benches I really see red ...grrrrr no, sorry you can keep your cats ...personally I think they should be banned in rural areas. The things you do for your darling grandaughter ...I said no when she wanted a cat ...now I have three and she is never home ...the area is plagued by feral cats and when I moved here they would attack me as I was trying to take groceries out of the boot of the car.

Ok ducking for cover now!
Yes the slideshow worked well for me ...very nice plants Marleneanne.
I love Salvias too Colleen ...in the Spring you just snap off pices and shove them into the ground and bingo they have roots in a few days.
The big red ones that come from the hybrid seeds never stop flowering here in the dappled shade areas ...always nice to see that hot red on cold Winter days. Good luck with your sale ...I think a plant swap day could work well for you too ...they do it all the time in America ...I don't think we do it here do we?
Yes jean it is really funny to see those things sold to new gardeners who don't know that what they are buying may be almost a weed ...it does take advantage of their lack of gardening experience ...I remember paying 12.00 for a plain old pink impatients in the early seventies ...they called it sweet sultan so I thought it was something exotic ...later upon visiting hubby's sister found them growing like weeds in her garden ...of course I went home with a ton of cuttings that all grew. I learned from that ...off I went and bought gardening books by the ton ....even then though you learn mainly by the doing. look at the Angels ...sounded forbidding and way to hard ...only it wasn't.
I do think these letters that go poof are somewhere with a lot of odd socks to.^_^.
Well back later gotta go make some lunch for my fella ...then over to the angel thread.
Enjoy the day everyone ...beautiful in the sun ...been around 2C overnight here though.
chrissy

Good afternoon all, I am running late today, busy busy this morning.
It is overcast today, but I am in such a good mood it does not really matter, I am not even cranky that I am at work, boy I must be feeling good lol.
Even if the budget told me last night I can't retire till I was 67, I have bad new for them I have no intention of working for the next 20 years, I am on the count down only 13 years to go lol.
Rhonda are you telling little fibs Steve dobbed lol, what is your average. Mine is not huge but it is alright for bowling one night a week, by the way bowl well tonight.
Steve great plant even better price, I have tried banksias up here but they just keep going belly up on me, I think I have far too much clay for them, or too much heat, actually probably a bit of both.
cant pop in for long today, to much to do.
So everyone have a wonderful evening
don't work to hard, smile and stay safe
shell

I worry about planting big natives ...I think they adjust better when grown from tube stock, they seem to adjust to the conditions at a better rate. steve should do alright with what probably is sandy soil.
I think a built up bed of sandy medium is a good way to go on heavy clay.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~casliber/banksiahints.html

I've come back inside. It's just too cold out there to do anything. We are having spots of rain so it gets uncomfortable.
I'm with you Chrissy. I love cats somewhere else. I have been through too many years of them when the kids were small. We have the neighbours b****** cat always here in the garden after the birds. I have asked them to keep it home but they don't care . Their kids seem to bring all sorts of animals up and leave them. The neighbour said it was so the grandkids would have pets to play with when they visited. Right, they visit about once a year. I have had to chase out of our yard, ducks , chooks, dogs and cats. Thank goodness their cattle and alpacas can't get out.
Colleen, that's a pretty salvia. I have just planted 3 new ones. They do so well here and flower most of the year.
I see in the garden this morning, I have a confused agapanthus, It is flowering way out of season.
This is a photo of the last of this pretty blue and white salvia. I am cutting it back as it has grown right over a few smaller plants over the summer.
better go and have a cuppa now . Enjoy the rest of the day. Jean.

it must be the weather, i have a confused agapanthus & noticed the service station up the road has several flowering.
And I have a rose that is having an autumn flush of flowers... started in April.
I am pretty sure it is a variety that only flowers in spring.
As long as it also produces the goods in November I won't mind the extras now.

Talking about things flowering out of season. My cherry tree fruited in December and then flowered again in February- March. Hope that doesn't stop it from flowering again in spring.

i have agapanthus flowering as well. funny.
jean - do you always cut back your salvias or only if they get too big? i am reading some people cut them to the ground in winter but not too sure if i should be? i am very new to salvias but have got 4 so far.
shelly

Chrissy is right on two counts!
1/ Cats (what was God thinking! other than whoops I made a mistake with
that mouse thing now how can I fix it?)
2/ Banksia - sandy soil at Sussex and if I stand at the back door I can see
four in neighbouring yards. It's all about enticing those black cockatoos and lorikeets.
Have not approached the neighbour again about the pygmy fences as he says "I'm 85. Why would
I bother spending money on a higher fence. Besides I like to say G'day" So we are going to plan B which is lots of mature plantings along that fence. I mean the guy is nice but every time I'm in the backyard it's "hey steve"
Then there is the undies on their clothes line thing!
Anyway off to dinner now. Before I go Salvias are on the list for Sussex.
Cheers
Steve

Greetings all. I am still here. By the time I sit down to read the day's posts, I am rather tired. In the mornings, before rushing off to work, I run around like crazy doing the chooks and replanting what the turkeys have dug up..if I can find them..and filling in the holes they have dug..especially under the sides of the chook run. It is a small movable one and I didn't want to have to dig down and put wire etc there but it may be easier in the long run. We have two roosters starting to crow so they are going to have to go to a farm. I have someone who can take them but it is always very hard parting with them but if I take them to a produce agency, which is one of the alternatives, I wonder whether they get taken for cock fights or grey hound training. The RSPCA can't promise homes for them either..so..off to the farm! These two are such characters and so handsome. One has the irridescent green tail feathers.
I sympathise with you over fences, Steve, but at least your neighbour is not ripping your plants out. Fenceman is away for a few days and I have been able to water over that side..he has ripped out every single loquat tree seedling..even those I had in pots! he has trimmed the loquat trees so I just have stalks. No, they are not growing on his place but he leans in with his pruners and chops the branches off clean at the trunk. I just wish the turkeys would do their thing in his place but theu don't ewant to. Our place suits them more.

Sorry. Had to rush off before post was finished. The weather here is magnificent. I haven't felt cold at all but then, I think I have turned into a fur seal since I had Ross River about twenty years ago. I seem to run with the choke out, if you get my drift. Lots of activity..I think my thermostat must have blown! Mind you, I don't want to go somewhere icy and bleak and chilly..warm and pleasant suits me just fine. We get enough cold icy and windy days to make it seem like winter.( er..that's a week or two in July / August)

Just walking out the back in the dark and the crunching underfoot was me walking on the remains of my radermachera summersweet, a ginger plant with the roots pecked off and a few epi plants. Turkeys!!!!!

Hey Kat, if he's away, why on Earth haven't you taken the opportunity to erect something high enough to stop him? If it was ugly on his side it would probably make you feel good too. lol

Morning all. I've been busily planting (mostly grasses) in the past few days, in the hope of getting them established before we have heavy rain next month. I'll be pleased when the job is done, as the slope that I am planting varies between 45 and 60 degrees, so is not only difficult to walk up and down, but does absolute wonders for the leg joints by the end of the day.

It usually rains in early June, and it is then that it tends to turn cold here for a couple of months or so. Kat, I'm sure I can find a good recipe for Turkey Pie. lol

Good morning all. It's still a bit dark this morning. The sun is lazy. I don't blame it though as it is another cold morning. Shopping today so I hope there are a few orphans for me . It was cold and damp yesterday but I did manage to get out and talk to the plants.
Chrissy, I moved Frosty to the veranda and may bring him inside to encourage that flower to open.
I love the way the other Angels are keeping their flowers. Glasshouse Angel still has buds but maybe they won't open in the cold. The flowers stay looking lovely for a long time.
Dalfyre, it must be the milder weather we have had for so long that is confusing the plants.
Colleen I hope your fruit trees do bloom again in spring. I am surprised at how well my alogyne is handling this cold too. It is still flowering and the small one I planted a few months ago is also flowering still.
Shelly (V). I don't cut all my salvias back but the tall ones do tend to grow lanky as they like it here so much. I leave them to do as they want up to winter, then cut back. I hate chopping off the flowers but it has to be done. The pentsemons are the same. . Maybe I should have a garden just full of pentsemons and salvias. Certainly would look pretty.
Steve, I remember when I was young and living near a large Housing Commission estate, all the houses were built with the fences made of steel pipe and cyclone wire and only about 3' high. One could stand at the top of the street and look down every bckyard. Quite funny at times because those were the days of outside toilets down the back.
I had friends living there who had some very funny stories.
I think in later years the fences may have been altered.
Kat, so glad the turkeys haven't eaten you. I agree, you should have put up a large obstacle while fenceman was away. Maybe next time.
A few very well established trees on your side of the fenceline and really hard to get at ones too with thorns or something. What does the council say? What he does is definitely illegal. Might be worth a good solicitor and civil action.
Gardengal, be careful on that slope. We don't want you sliding down . Have you tried using some old tyres to help with any erosion ? I have seen them used by laying them flat into the ground a bit and planting in them . Also chicken wire pegged down helps.
I saw a house made of old tyres on TV a while ago. . It was very ingenius The tyres were packed with dirt then built up to make double walls which were then backfilled with dirt also. It would be well insulated.
Better get a move on as hubby will be getting impatient to be going as usual.
Hello to everyone else and I hope all are well.
Sammut are you off on another venture or just hiding from the cold ?
Cody have a great day.
Try this lot of lovely mixed cakes . Remember to share now.
Jean.

Someone in the past has used tyres as landfill to fill eroded sections Jean, and the disaster they created by doing so and the hard work involved in remedying it put me off the idea of even thinking of using them altogether.

I did take a slide a couple of years back and am still paying for it with the hip I landed on. A cortisone shot would probably fix it, but I suspect that once I'm not walking around on such ridiculous slopes all the time it will possibly settle down anyway. The one thing that went through my mind at the time was worry that the meat ants would devour me if I was injured and couldn't pick myself up. Needless to say, I got up pretty quickly. hehe

Kat, I've decided what you need for fenceman is a motion activated sprinkler. I couldn't imagine having to live next to such a horrid individual.

Hi Jean,hope your day is going good.Well take care and stay safe.


Hi Colleen,yea,we do have alot of them.They are also messy too.I don't think i could keep them all.They would eat me out of house and all.LOL!!!!!Well take care and stay safe.

Hi Shell.

Cody


The 12th was my 3 year annv.This is what my hubby got me.

This message was edited May 13, 2009 11:51 PM

Very nice Cody. Hi everyone. Just popped in to let Chrissy and Jean know that I got the seeds. Thank you. I have been a bit busy with the plants.I had to go out today as well so haven't had a lot of time. I have to set up another bench-table for plants for Sunday and still have more plants to put out. Will leave you with a pic of the Ptilotis [cats tails] Colleen

Hello everyone. It's windy and raining here today. Not a lot of rain but rain nevertheless. The wind is not as freezing cold as I was expecting so it's not too bad to be outside .
Chrissy, I brought Frosty inside last night in an effort to encourage the flower to open but so far no success. It will most likely just stay as it is then fall off. All my seedlings are looking good . Still new growth coming. The Angels more in the open are starting to yellow off and drop leaves. I really am looking forward to next season to see how they do after their good start .
Shopping day yesterday and not one plant came home. All that was on the orphan stand were a couple of tatty camellias which I didn't want and a few even more tattered vegie seedlings which I also did not want.
I may have withdrawal symptoms during the next week without a new plant. Ha ha.
Hello Colleen, glad the seeds arrived. Hubby was supposed to post them earlier but left them in the car until I saw them. The seeds were from a double pink and a double and single mauve , but what comes up may be some of both or all one color. I like that pretty cats tails .
Hello Gardengal. Yes i have seen tyres used where they have been a mess. Done properly though, they are really good. I have seent he chicken wire used a lot on slopes. One council used it along the beach sand dunes to help keep the sand stable while new plantings took hold. .
Hello Cody, thats a lovely present from your hubby. Congrats.
Steve, you should have lots of Banksias and Proteas able to grow in your sandy soil. . I like them but they don't like my heavy clay. There is one sole surviving Pink Ice Protea. Hubby had a lot here years before I came. The neighbours over the road had a Protea farm but their soil was quite different . You can still see some of them growing across the paddock, but the neighbours are long gone.
Hubby's ones all died and I am surprised at this one still being here. it lives under a large gum tree and flowers every year. Half of the bush is gone now as it had started to die slowly on a few branches. I cut them off and there are flowers coming on the good part. I must say they are not my favourite plant . I love some of the Banksias though and we can see a lot of them over in Coleraine, about 25 mins away. There is a very large native Arboretum there . It is a nice place in spring to walk around among the flowering trees and shrubs.
Better get on and do a few domestic jobs. ugh, I'm not very domestic until the weather drives me inside and I get bored. I may then attack the whole house and hubby wonders whats going on. My spring cleaning is mostly done in winter while I am confined to the house.
Have a lovely day everyone and enjoy your gardens.
Try this Apple Meringue Cake
Jean.

Good morning everyone, I could not pop in yesterday as my server was down at work, what a pain that is all day with very limited computer usage, so I did what little I could do and read my book for the rest of the time, this was such a shame lol. The techs have fixed the problem so now I am back in full swing again yuk, but on the bright side 'ITS FRIDAY'.
9 cats I do love cats, and the most that I ever had at one time was 11 (10 were kittens ) and they successfully decimated my house. I found homes for 9 and I kept 2 and they are both very demanding. I can not imagine having more than 2 bosses in my house.
Cody your water feature is lovely and happy anniversary for tuesday.
Kat I still thing barbed wire electric fence is a great option for your neighbour, probably not legal but at least it would keep him out of your yard. Better yet get a rotty, they are really good for yucky neighbours, and your turkeys for that matter lol. I am only kidding but it is a good fantasy lol.
Gardengal I am such a clutz, I could never live on a slope like yours, it would be lovely but for me not very good option. I can not remember a full days gardening without me bleeding somewhere lol. I usually get my hands or lower legs, never serious though, which is probably a good thing. I have only ever required stitches a half a dozen times lol.
Well I best get to work a little behind today due to no computer yesterday.
Have a great day
smile and stay safe
shell

Sorry I have not been into the tea room much ...been obsessing over my newest angel ...you know how it is ...or at least you will jean come next Spring ...no matter how many beautiful new angels grow out for you ...I bet you will never forget the thrill of seeing those first beautiful angels in Spring ...or I guess those Iochromas either!
Well now what are we all doing this weekend ...the days here are lovely but it is pretty chilly overnight ...when I don't go outside until after 8 then you know it's brisk! the days seem so short now don't they? not enough time any more.
Kat I too vote for the electric fence ...not illegal, but very effective I know because after accidently being zapped myself a couple of times tending to my cows ...let me tell you it sure does the job!
Good luck with the dam thing ...ours was already there luckily ...we had to hack lots of pampass grass from around ours but I note that the bull rushes seemed to be very effective.
Those proteas need perfect drainage in sandy soil.I love them for everlasting cut flowers.
Oh well better go do some housework ...gosh Fridays seem to blur into one don't they?
back later ...enjoy your morning everyone.