Mousetrap: Not any more there are less and less sheep every year. More profit in butter. LOL

New Zealand, we jokingly call it the seventh state of Australia but it's a country. LOL

Foxy Lady: Well I've got the best of both worlds not to hot and my grapes are ripening nicely. Just have to cover them so the birds don't eat the lot. LOL

BerniceC: I'm impressed, and it looks like you'll have a lot of fruit off of that plant.

BerniceC:That explains somethings now I'm interested in knowing what sort of a tree this rosella flower grows on. Is it a tropical plant?

BerniceC: I'm curious what is in Rosella jam, not the birds I hope. LOL

Foxy Lady:Trust me Foxy I don't want to mention it. We shouldn't be getting snow in the middle of spring, and I especially don't want any late frosts as all my vegies are starting to shoot up. Roll on summer.

BerniceC:I'm in Hamilton, and we have a lovely sunny day, but the southerly wind is blowing straight off of the snow. It's freeezzzinnng. LOL

BerniceC:Cold in Queensland, nah I don't believe it. LOL, we've just has a late cold snap with snow down to 500 meters, now thats cold.

spicieangel: couple of questions are the flowers individual or in a bunch like hydranges (sp) also how big are these leaves 1 or 2 inch across?

Foxy Lady:Thanks for that I'll give them a try this season. Always looking for new ways to eat our vegies.

Foxy Lady:That is so true. I like beefsteak, as the name suggest big and large. Foxy question for you when you fry up your green tomatoes do you slice them or just quarter them?

Mousetrap: Loved the laburnum tree in flower, hope mine will give as good a display this year.

skipinnz: ajtgirl, just noticed spelling could be "grevillia or grevillea" the one I'm talking about is spelt with an "e".

ajtgirl:Well it's native to Australia, and there are a lot of different varities and cultivars. It does extremelly well in high temp, poor soil & low rainfall areas.

ajtgirl:A ground cover that would surive is grevillia (sp)

Foxy Lady:Do you turn your green tomatoes into pickels or relish?

amandalove:Juglens nigra is mainly grown for timber, but nuts are edible, most people grow the european walnut for the nuts. They are worth the effort, as a mature tree will produce quite a few kilograms of nuts. Once the fiberous skin rots off they need to be air dried for a few weeks. Then cracked ready to eat & there shouldn't be any staining if they are dried properly

Foxy Lady:we're eating citrus at the moment and might look at making some marmalade, Mandarins are nearly finished and they are sweet.

Foxy Lady:It's not only the vegies it's also the fruit. We virtually have our own fruit all year round.

Foxy Lady:We don't get the snow but it gets cold enough. We can grow vegies all year round, they just slow down a bit in July.

Foxy Lady: Yep, mine's full of winter vegies at the moment, Brussel sporuts and silver beet etc, can't wait to get tomatoes/cucumbers started in the glass house for spring.

New Zealand

BerniceC: Is there any root attached to the plant? It certainly looks like a ginger.

Now because I've read all your posts over our winter I'm glad to say the first daffodills are out at our place and spring will be just around the corner.... I can't wait.. LOL

Foxy Lady:Have they got a smooth skin or hairy like scarlet runners? I hate scarlett runners as all the dandylion seeds stick to them and are hard to clean off.

Foxy Lady: Pole beans, is that a variety or are they just climbing beans? Reason I ask is I'm always looking for new bean varities, found some purple ones last year that cook up green.

plaintiger:They actually drown as they don't want to leave, just like me when I'm at the pub. LOL

ajtgirl: I don't think the slugs care, they just go for the malt or hops not sure which but it really works. My problem is I usually drink all the beer thats why I've got a torch LOL

ajtgirl: Beer in a small container partially buried. if the opening is small enough then pets shouldn't go near it and the rain shouldn't dilute it that quickly, place cap back on after a few days and throw in rubbish bin.
Other method is a torch and catch them at night.

plaintiger:I've been to the ginger factory in Queensland Aust and they have a whole heap of different tyeps of ginber plants with the most spectular range of flowers and colours.

Foxy Lady:Foxy Lady ment to ask with the mint tea do you dry the leaves or use them green?

Foxy Lady:Never thought of using it for a tea might just try it. :o)

Foxy Lady:That sounds just like a mint we have . It's called catmint and after it's mowed it smells nice for quite a while, and it is a little bit invasive.

Doris: Ha Ha good point, our's seem to be on the menu everynight and the slugs and snails dine until the sun rises. You can get some nice yellow verigated varities also.

Groucho: Well a couple of sugestions are Chatham Island forget me nots & Cyclamen. Both are low growing but have nice displays of flowers.
They also do well in colder climates with little sunlight.

Groucho:You could try tree fern(ponga) but they can get tall. How big an area are we talking about?

plaintiger:tilandsia, is the plant and if the climate is tropical then Elk & Staghorn ferns could also be considered.

WatfordFC:Sorry to hear that I can only assume they were cut back to soon. It works for us each year, but the plants do look really tatty when we prune them.

Foxy Lady:Other side of the world New Zealand. Though we don't get as severe a winter as you get over there. My vegie garden produces all year round, just limited a bit during winter.

Rose: Well I hope your seasons don't turn upside down like ours are at present. I've got Daffs coming out and it's winter, they won't last long it's getting mighty cold at nights.

Rose:Once the flowers have gone all brown and ugly, I cut that flower stalk back to the last leaf and thats where the new growth will come away from next season

WatfordFC:Hydrangeas need to be cut back fairly ruthlessly after flowering to give a good display next year.Could this be your problem?

nobleheart: Frangipani, is one you missed. We're growing one but as yet it hasn't flowered, we believe it's to do with temperature.

spicieangel: Did some research and found this:- Along with its ease of growth, Lucky Bamboo has long been associated with the Eastern practice of Feng Shui - Lucky Bamboo is believed to be an ideal example of the thriving wood and water element, with the addition of a red ribbon sometimes tied around the stalks - which is believed to "fire" the positive flow of energy. The number of stalks also has meaning : three stalks for happiness; five stalks for wealth; six stalks for health. Four stalks, however, are always avoided.
Hope this helps.


Edited to shorten post.

spicieangel:Not sure which type of bamboo you're refering to, is this Nandina/dwarf bamboo?

plaintiger: Actually all of it but I was able to identify a lot of the plants.

nobleheart:The last site was hard to read but some terriffic plants. :o)

ajtgirl:I planted brassicas, mainly brussels and a last lot of lettuce and some tomatoes in the hot house. I want a couple of good frost next month.

ScarletRose:Strawberries they are sweet memories now we have to wait for next season, seeing as we're going into winter. So enjoy them whist you can. :o)