|
Post by tod2 on Mar 20, 2021 9:09:19 GMT
Mick, please hang about and get us a snap with your phone. I'm interested in the blackbird to see if it is the same as our Forktail Drongo's.
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Mar 20, 2021 9:23:26 GMT
Will do tod. A Forktail Drongo sounds like an Australian insult.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Mar 20, 2021 12:00:58 GMT
And probably is! What a cheeky bird! It can almost talk and I think imitates other birds. What I noticed today is I have dozens of different butterflies scooting around the garden. One little " ünattractive" one even can in my study door and settled on the corner of my desk! I think it has all to do with the blooming Plumbago at the moment.
|
|
|
Post by kerouac2 on Mar 20, 2021 18:10:03 GMT
I think we had a nasty forktail drongo banned from this site at the beginning.
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Mar 20, 2021 18:22:54 GMT
Tell us more!
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Mar 20, 2021 19:45:46 GMT
I bought some perennials two days ago but am waiting to plant them. It was 0° here this morning with a clear overnight sky. Even though it warms up in the day and it's sunny, I think the plants will not be happy after being at the nursery.
Plumbago is one of the last plants to start putting out leaves here. I'm always afraid I didn't cover them enough in winter and expect them to have died. They do bloom for months afterwards though -- well into late October/November.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Mar 22, 2021 10:23:01 GMT
I bought two black ophiopogons today. The man selling them told to me wait until November to remove the small plants that develop away from the mother plant.
And I planted my perennials yesterday.
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on Mar 22, 2021 21:44:24 GMT
I'm getting ridiculously excited about the 6 bags of compost being delivered tomorrow.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Mar 22, 2021 23:50:02 GMT
Gold, positively gold!
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Mar 23, 2021 12:01:51 GMT
I'm getting ridiculously excited about the 6 bags of compost being delivered tomorrow. Cheery I think your garden is just as excited! Compost is the lifeblood of a garden and we have 4 areas where we make compost of our own. Besides my usual grass clippings I save every bit of kitchen veg scraps, egg shells, tea bags(ripped apart) and anything foodwise that has not been cooked. So far it is breaking down in step with our needs. I wish I could be your fairy Godmother and wave a wand so that a further 6 bags magically appears from my garden to yours.!
|
|
|
Post by casimira on Mar 23, 2021 13:31:36 GMT
One of the things I did regarding composting many years ago was to set up a section way in the back where I could have 2 separate compost piles going on at the same time. Because one is frequently adding fresh additions to just one heap, having 2 going is ideal. The one with the fresh additions is still in the breaking down stage and the second one is broken down ready to go compost after shoveling or using a hay rake to transfer the broken down "gold" into the the other one. My husband took recycled wooden pallets and made bins with them with the front section open for easy access. Also, because we don't have a lot of grass clippings from our own garden I drive through neighborhoods on days when I know garden crews are mowing the pristine mansions along the major residential avenues with large lawns. Most of the time there are obliging lawn cutters who help me load a few bags into the trunk of my car. (It's the fresh grass clippings that really help in the "heating" up of the compost piles).
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on Mar 23, 2021 18:44:19 GMT
I'd love some of your compost Tod and Casimira. We do make our own but its only used to mulch the garden. Jeff made one huge bin but I can't turn it or get stuff out and have to wait until he feels like getting me some out which happens about once every year!
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Mar 24, 2021 7:32:36 GMT
Cheery, don't let this opportunity pass - ask Jeff to get digging/tipping your well rotted compost to mix with the garden delivery stuff. Promise him a Mars Bar.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Mar 29, 2021 9:22:35 GMT
I need help to identify this plant. I have watched it grow from a small plant and was curious to see what it turned out to be. Now I see a second small plant coming up. Before I rip it out of the rose bed (yellow flowers) I would like to find out if it may be worth keeping - whether its poisonous or just useless. Small one growing next to large one.
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Mar 29, 2021 10:40:48 GMT
The Castor Oil plant, Ricinus, came to mind.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Mar 29, 2021 17:08:40 GMT
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Mar 30, 2021 7:35:42 GMT
Before I rip it out of the rose bed (yellow flowers) Yes , That was for the yellow flowers in my border along the lawn. These two yellow roses are where the ? is growing through them. It's definitely not Castor Oil plant as that has reddish stems. These are thin green straight stems. I did do a bit of Google searching and the nearest plant I could see is one that develops large white saucer-like flowers consisting of dozens of mini flowers. Grows in swampy or wet areas and is DEADLY poisonous. It is called en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicuta_virosa. I'm off to the plant nursery to see if anyone there can identify it.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Mar 30, 2021 10:25:51 GMT
Further to my question about that spiky-leaf plant - The Nurseryman could not identify it BUT it is being looked at from a cellphone pic by a botanist somewhere. The Nursery guy is going to WhatsApp me the result.
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Apr 4, 2021 20:19:26 GMT
Completely weeded one of the front garden beds, planted potatoes, repotted the Hostas, split up and potted mint and generally watered.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 5, 2021 7:53:45 GMT
I just went to the market to buy some vegetables and fruit but I saw there was a woman selling flowers and plants so I came home with my basket of food and went back to buy a purple salvia, two perennial verbenas and something called "million bells" which another woman buying some claimed were really nice and gave lots of blooms all summer.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Apr 5, 2021 12:51:32 GMT
Finishing all that must be a good feeling, Mick. Nice haul, Bjd! I looked up "million bells" and was not only surprised by how many hits there were, but that I recognized the pictures of the plant. I never knew a name for it before. www.thespruce.com/flowering-million-bells-1315700
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Apr 5, 2021 12:56:02 GMT
Bixa, are they related to Petunias then? They look exactly the same to me.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Apr 5, 2021 13:26:39 GMT
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Apr 5, 2021 13:52:18 GMT
The petals are much smaller than petunia petals although they are the same shape and the plant I bought has three different coloured flowers: red, yellow and purple. The seller told me that they are often put in hanging baskets because they get bushy and hang down. I have a tall pot with a blue salvia in it and will put it in front.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Apr 8, 2021 7:44:02 GMT
On our last visit to Kruger i bought three Maroela trees. Just teeny little seedings. Now the time has come when I have to plant them in their respective life-long position soon as this winter has passed. They lost all their leaves last year and since then have tripled in size. I am too afraid to put them in new positions until they have leaves again to give them a good start. As you can see, I have made good use if spare pots by planting green beans too! This is the flower on the beans - they also have enormous leaves.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Apr 9, 2021 11:02:30 GMT
Phoned the plant nursery this morning to find out if they have identified that green spiky-leaf plant. Nope. Still waiting to hear but I doubt I'll get an answer anytime soon. I looked to see if there was a plant identifying site - yes, but you have to pay. I'll keep trying.
|
|
|
Post by cheerypeabrain on Apr 9, 2021 13:59:07 GMT
Not a caster oil plant imo....my first thoughts were some sort of 'hemp' plant....ahem.....but it isn't. I havent a clue. Sorry Todd.
Yesterday I had some young plants delivered to grow on. It's the 'Crimson Silk Collection' from Sarah Raven Plants. 5 x a deep, dark pink cosmos, 5 x cerise salvias and 5 x red petunias...they sound like they'll clash but theyre sold to be planted together so should look nice in a pot standing on the plinth in the garden. Got 15% off (incidentally in the UK there's a code for 15% off SR plants and seeds in this month's Good Housekeeping magazine.
|
|
|
Post by onlyMark on Apr 9, 2021 14:41:14 GMT
Phoned the plant nursery this morning to find out if they have identified that green spiky-leaf plant. Nope. Still waiting to hear but I doubt I'll get an answer anytime soon. I looked to see if there was a plant identifying site - yes, but you have to pay. I'll keep trying. Tod, check out the leaves of the Lupinus polyphyllus on Google. Check a few photos to see. Same? Also, maybe the PlantNet app might work for you as a free resource.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Apr 9, 2021 16:07:59 GMT
Thanks for that name Mark - I looked at so many variations of Lupinus and the only real similarity (as far as I can see) is European Yellow Lupine. That looks the closest. So, unless I get a phone call saying rip it out, I am going with the flow and letting it mature to flowering or ?
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Apr 30, 2021 21:13:36 GMT
I knew the UK people would but wasn’t sure about you other chaps.
I think he’s a lousy gardener.
|
|