| Stormdancer Posted on Friday, July 25, 2008 - 07:24 pm: |   |
A Pisces child... My best and longest friend since I've been here in FL has a son who shares Ellie's birthday also...My grandma's is March 13...exactly one month from mine in Feb...and exactly 40 years older. |
| Growit Posted on Saturday, July 26, 2008 - 02:36 am: | |
Yep. I have no excuse to ever forget to wish your daughter a Happy Birthday. |
| Greth Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 06:23 pm: | |
Growit, the Sweet Cicely arrived, thanks very much. Covered with quarantine stickers, but otherwise intact! I might try some straight away in the coldframe, and some later in spring. I remember from way back when you said you collected lizards, I have a toy Underwoodisaurus gecko (Yes we actually had a toy to match the lizard), so will post that to the return address, if that's ok with you. The real Underwoodisaurus is now an Underretainingwallisaurus, we released it to go and find some friends. |
| Growit Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2008 - 10:51 am: | |
Excellent. I was wondering if you were ever going to get it as I sent it over a week a go but I suppose that is not bad for the other side of the planet! Just happy they let you have them and didn't destroy them on entry.
It needs to be sown fresh and stratification to germinate Greth so I would plant straight straight away. Do you get much in the way of frost there? If not might be worth trying some in the fridge.
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Myrrhis+odorata
I was not expecting anything in return Greth. Such a lovely idea and yes I do collect lizards but really not necessary. I don't want to cost you anything. You seem to have enough problems with no rain, new baby and roos eating everything. |
I guess they probably don't make Havaharts for those... LOL!  |
| Greth Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 06:47 pm: | |
I'll try some in the cold frame, and some outside, we do get some frosts.
The roos are mostly behaving themselves now there is lots of green in the paddocks. Managed to get quite close to a mum with baby in pouch this morning, so cute! Naturally no camera.
We have had a big flock of sulphur crested cockatoos around the place lately. These guys are unbelievably noisy and could be very destructive, but they keep out of the garden mostly.
This thing is a Norway spruce, a leftover living Christmas tree from the disposal section of the nursery. (reduced from $45 to $25). Couldn't resist such a large conifer at such a cheap price, but it will need careful placement and nursing for a few years if it is going to survive the dry months. I might leave it in the pot for a year while I prepare a suitable place. It can go in the shadehouse once the weather gets dry, and can be a portable Christmas tree this year. If it grows it will be huge, these get to 30 metres. I was hoping to be able to airlayer some lower branches to use as bonsai, but apparently airlayering non juniper conifers is a very difficult and long process at best. Still deciding on that one.
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Very cool. I love Shmoos, even though they are so deafening. You have $5,000 to $10,000 sitting in your tree, depending on which US state you'd like to sell those in. |
| Greth Posted on Saturday, August 02, 2008 - 07:26 am: | |
Oh, Dj, the flock is about 50 birds at least, this was only a few of them!
It is ridiculous that our parrots, which are in plague numbers in places, aren't marketed overseas. Because there isn't easy overseas marketing, the overseas prices are so high that there is a huge smuggling racket. And we end up shooting the things because there are too many! Better to have a system to sell Aussie animals- that would destroy most of the black market.
You would pay maybe $50 a bird here. They can't be taken from the wild without a special permit, legally I couldn't keep a bird even if I rescued it when it fell from a nest, and I certainly couldn't sell any offspring without the proper paperwork. I can only take it to a registered animal rescuer, who can keep it if it is not fit to return to the wild.
The reason they have been visiting our place is to harvest a little bulb weed, I think it is called Guildford grass. It grows thin wiry leaves, to about a foot long, looks like grass from a distance, but is lousy stock feed. The bulbs, however, are really tasty, our chickens love them, and they were an Aboriginal bush food. The parrots wait till there are good rains, and the ground is soft, and then they descend and pull them up.
For me, I have to dig them up in my garden area, inch by inch. A solid layer of newspaper/cardboard mulch defeats many of them, but they are still a big problem.
Here is my flowerbed, looking possible after three years of work. Here we have, a mass of stocks at the back, planted last spring and survived summer to be looking good now. White daisies in the right corner, I think these are annuals but self seed, these came only a week or two ago from the discard dept of the nursery. The dark thing on the right is Savory of Crete, the light grey thing is Curry plant. The yellow/orange flowers are Gazania, leafy green on the right is perennial statice. There are also a small variety of thyme, broadleaved Sage, some anemones and freesias.
This was a rocky hole in the ground, we filled the whole lot with compost, then newspaper and a peastraw finish. Planted a lemonade lemon tree and a red canna lily. All in about two hours. the rock problem for the lawnmower is now fixed, and there is a new garden bed to contemplate. May still extend this bed for reasons of style, for the moment I just covered the rocky parts. Somewhere in the mulching frenzy I think I lost my trowel, but I'm not going to dissect all that to try to find it again, I have a good spare.
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| Greth Posted on Saturday, August 02, 2008 - 07:47 am: | |
The toy came with a chocolate thing, something like a Kinder Toy, only an Aussie variety. Kids have had it for years, its just been rolling round on the bottom of the toybox. They don't appreciate it as much as you will.
I found another little gecko to accompany it. Could you look out for woad seed for me? I havent checked yet to see if this is safe to post, but I would love to be growing it.
New baby is getting older, we are getting reasonable winter rains, and the roos have plenty of grass and arent bothering the garden now. |
| Greth Posted on Saturday, August 02, 2008 - 07:54 pm: | |
Ohh, so much to tell.
DH has been eyeing a neighbour's bulldozer with envy for a coupla years now, we need lots of earthmoving work. He finally got up the nerve to visit the people on Friday to ask how much it would cost to use it. Initially the man said about $300 a day (Fair enough). Then he found out DH could weld, build wind generators, we have lots of firewood to spare. Now the price is down to the cost of Diesel fuel, lol. DH is down there right now doing his welding jobs! He built a lovely driveway to his house, we thought it cost thousands, but his total cost for materials was $25, plus diesel, of course. So we getting a new driveway real soon now, and a base for the new shed, get our dams cleaned out...
Oh, and he breeds British bulldogs, kids would love one, and he wants someone to grow lots of native plants, he has the seed and will share.
He got tears in his eyes looking at DH's engineering shed - why didn't he meet us years ago?
They also have the most gorgeous garden statuary, arty stuff, would cost a fortune, but no garden yet! Hmm, maybe they need a local horticulturist with lots of plants to share, and can get anything at wholesale price...
One tiny moment of bravery for DH is gonna make a huge difference to our lives, and to our neighbour's. |
| Stormdancer Posted on Sunday, August 03, 2008 - 07:35 am: | |
Oh Greth!!! Congratulations!!! Now your DH sounds a bit like mine...swap those 'special talents'!!! Looks like you'll be able to give those poor muscles a bit of relief now. |
| Valia Posted on Sunday, August 03, 2008 - 11:03 am: | |
Bravo!! |
| Jak3 Posted on Sunday, August 03, 2008 - 11:05 am: | |
Wow, does this sound like a wonderful break! I love to swap talents and things that I might have for something else....Ususally for us it's small stuff - a few plants here and there, a few jars of preserves, minor things. But to have access to a dozer when you have so much land - that is fantastic!! I hope to see your new driveway, and shed, and the neighbour's nice new garden *LOL* |
| Nibbs Posted on Sunday, August 03, 2008 - 03:17 pm: | |
Wonderful news, Greth! |
| Greth Posted on Sunday, August 03, 2008 - 05:46 pm: | |
Don't think we are likely to get a bulldog pup, the mum is a national champ, cost $46,000, which at a rough guess of exchange rates equals one bloody expensive pooch.
Ah, well, I will be happy enough to have lots of native tree seed to play with, will help revegetate the back half of our property too, or I can sell some leftovers, lots of people around here could do with local area natives. There was a successful native nursery in the local town for years, but the owners retired just when I moved up here. Unfortunately we weren't financial when they were selling off all the shadehouses and gear.
Time for my annual visit to the rose nursery today. DS's teachers are on strike, so he has a long weekend. The rose nursery is located right next to the touristy Chocolate Factory, always means cooperative children when I go to buy roses! Will take the camera for some rose pictures to share. |
| Valia Posted on Sunday, August 03, 2008 - 06:55 pm: | |
I hope you get some chocolate pictures, too.
Anne |
| Greth Posted on Sunday, August 03, 2008 - 10:00 pm: | |
No sooner said than done, Anne.
Melba's Chocolate Factory is an old heritage building. They make all the chocolates where you can see them, and lots of free samples. The kids' idea of heaven!
Yes, those are chocolate cow pats, they also do sheep nuts...
The rose nursery doesn't look much in the middle of winter! Unfortunately they only sell roses barerooted in July and August, so I don't usually visit when most of the roses are flowering. Was bright and sunny at home, miserably wet at the nursery.
This is the area where they grow all their sale plants. This is one of the best rose nurseries in the state, they have a huge range. I ordered a moss rose (always wanted to grow one) and Pretty Jessica! Must look for an Ellie rose sometime...
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| Stormdancer Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 07:46 am: | |
Sure looks like ya'll had a fun outing!! I'm with the kids on that Chocolate factory....YUM!!  |
| Flowerfreak Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 08:29 am: | |
Congratulations Greth! That is wonderful!
Ooh, now that is my idea of heaven too! If this wasn't a garden forum, I think I'd be chocolatefreak versus flowerfreak  |
| Greth Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 04:54 pm: | |
Great fun when they are rolling out the boiled lolly mix, All that shiny hot toffee.. It's not completely handmade, but minimum old fashioned machinery, all very fun and easy to understand. No Oompa Loompas tho! Didn't see any jelly lizards for Growit, chocolate ones wouldn't post :(
I get to go back over there on the weekend to pick up my roses. With free admission and free samples, no reason not to drop in again. |
