... the sky is baby blue, and the just-unfurling leaves ...

Latest Articles

... the sky is baby blue, and the just-unfurling leaves ...
Page Previous 1, 2, 3 ... 355, 356, 357 ... 423, 424, 425 Next

Downsizer Forum Index -> Grow Your Own

Author

Message

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15578

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 19 7:31 am Post subject:

That does look a lovely show Jam Lady. Orchids are quite spectacular aren't they. I have a moth orchid, but think it is dying. It was doing quite well, then suddenly went downhill. Not sure that it will survive, but I have done my best for it.

We are currently having a very early spring, but most of the flowers seem to be keeping their heads down at the moment. The weather forecast isn't too bad for next week, although cooler than we have had the last couple of days, but after that who knows. Our weather is nothing but unpredictable.

We were working in the woods again yesterday, and it was really hot. I was by a fire too, which didn't help, but had to take my sweat shirt off so was just wearing lightweight trousers and a short sleeved polo shirt. It started to get a lot cooler when the sun started to go behind the trees through.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45468
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 19 9:24 am Post subject:
very nice report, glad you found the linky issue. i do not remember kew having an orchid collection as good as that one, the media reports do not do it justice but yours does . pity the web does not have a smellyvision option as i guess some of them are quite perfumed and jungle smells nice anyway.

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2507
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 19 1:39 pm Post subject:

dpack, the orchid show is a temporary exhibition. Goes up in late February, removed in April. Different theme every year. In 2018 it was like this:

2018 NYBG orchid show

This year the show will be removed on April 28. The major renovation of the Palm Court and two adjacent galleries starts the next day and will take a year and a month to complete.

That means the big summer based-on-art exhibition - Roberto Burle Marx this time - will be mostly outdoors. Ditto the every winter holiday train show.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45468
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 19 2:32 pm Post subject:
it is done with great style to have the plants ready, installed and still alive at the end is awesome gardening and logistics. when i used to wrangle houseplants ( it got to daft numbers and care regimes so i stopped ) i had a couple of "simple" orchids that were rather nice but nowt like those. thanks for sharing

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2507
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 19 5:49 pm Post subject:
Yes, well, but they have funding, production greenhouses and staff. Makes a difference from do-it-all-yourself.

cassandra

Joined: 27 Mar 2013
Posts: 1733
Location: Tasmania Australia

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 19 10:07 pm Post subject:

Sebastian has had his obedience lesson and is going through the motions of being obedient. Apparently it is all my fault because my attempt to jolly him along stimulate and undesirable level of excitement which encourage him to get above himself so we are being rather more low key and communicating with shhht rather that good boi. And so far apart from the lack of commitment on his part, it does seem to be working. Though I will probably not feel confident till we have another lesson with the trainer as I had to untrain myself before training him with the result we both got a little confused on the finer points.

The weather here is even more than usually erratic with minus.07 yesterday morning and 33 forecast for tomorrow. As a result I will be spending my rare day at home today cooking up a storm so I don't have to cook during the hotter weather. For some reason I am a bit run off my feet at present with driving patients, social commitments and other such distractions. But most of it is fun so no complaints.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45468
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 19 10:51 pm Post subject:

ummm , i had a few quite varied domesticish habitats to play with but no budget

at one time i had about 35 mints and more tradescantia varieties than i could count.
the jungle stuff was mostly at work

my pet plants are now one smallish planter of aloe, a couple of old chum cacti and a crassula ovata that i have " had" for 55 years ( there have been a couple of times when i had to replace mine with a chunk of one of the clones i have given to folk but we are probably stuck with each other

).
there are a few other dryish things in it and the wildlife is well unusual.
a cubic foot of semi desert that has been establishing for quite a while is rather fun.

i like jungle things but temp is an issue and most places are not suited to damp liking plants

with a bit of direct sun desert things are probably as easy and robust as it gets.

bonsai is fun, i gave mine to a very good plantswoman , some of the raised from seed must be close on 50 yrs old by now, the red acer japonica was a of a venerable age when i got it as part of a debt. fat as my ankle and a bit over knee height. i had that for about ten years before finding it a servant.
bonsai are a long term job preferably in one place, they might be relatively small but they are not hand luggage or low maintainance:lol:

i do have one semi natural bonsai, a norway maple, that i left in a wall top for 5 years and then put under the bramble hedge and then treated badly for5 yrs . it is half a foot tall with very small leaves, probably about time to find it some very nice ceramic to live in.

about 20 yrs back a chum and myself decided to leave what would have been a small fortune in wild bonsai where they were. i am well happy with that call

i suppose work with what you have and what you can do is as good for plants as most other things.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45468
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 19 11:00 pm Post subject:
ps big agaves are fun but not very friendly to cuddle. my little chum went to a more suitable home by the time it was 4 1/2 ft across and too heavy to pick up at arms length even during repotting there may be reasons why i have taken to planting trees and letting them get on with it

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15578

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 19 7:06 am Post subject:

Glad your obedience training with Seb is progressing Cassandra. The problem is with training dogs that both you and the dog have to understand the same thing. When a dog tries to jump up at me I say 'down' and apparently, according to some dog owners, make the wrong movement with my hand. Fine, except not owning a dog, I haven't been trained in the hand movements.

Your weather sounds even weirder than ours. It is still the back end of winter here, and earlier in the week it was like summer. It is supposed to be cooling down a bit now, and back to single figures next week by the look of it. Sadly, the sun seems to be hiding at the moment, so the lovely sunny days are gone.

I have an assortment of house plants. I think they really need rationalising and sorting out a bit some time, as a number of them have got a bit out of hand.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 19 3:06 pm Post subject:

My 'pooter doesn't want to play at any cost today for some reason, I had trouble with the email at the start, and it seems to be carrying on here. C'est la vie.
We were having a heat wave at one point this week, but we are getting back to near normal though still above where the temperature usually is at this time of year, and the water we would have to make the grass grow in early April. I could give my neighbours horses a good short bite now and still be able to shut the grass up and get a crop of hay later-weather permitting-in June/July. If the grass gets too much I will ask a friend with some sheep to come over to give the pastures an early bite.

I am glad Seb is starting to get the ways of life beyond his own, Cassandra, even if he is uncommitted to such life, it is called going through the motions. For example, I have cracked cooking, "if it doesn't micro-wave, then I don't cook it", simple really! I hope you are well, and pleased you are well occupied! I would not be so keen on your temperature variation.
I was given an ex police dog many years ago who was a gem. He watched me all the time and I could command him with arm movements and no voice, such a lovely dog, so gentle with children, but watched everyone/thing else with suspicion as he was trained to do.
'Them' at work want me to go full time, but 6 hours a day is enough for my patience and ability and age, plus I have wood to cut. I have done more firewood this year so far than ever before and it is still going strong. I have a friend who does the blocks of wood on his wood chopping machine, so I don't have to exercise my arm so much, but I still have to take and fetch them, and pay for the privilege of his staff-children doing the job for me. They are all over age for doing work and are sensible-the youngest is 16. It saves my right arm!

dpack, please can you tell me if the aloe plant you have is called 'aloe vera'. I ask this because a friend has given me some of the stuff saying that it will clear a rash I get on my left arm; and it did the job, inside a week!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45468
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Feb 28, 19 3:45 pm Post subject:

aloe vera is one type of aloe, it is the one most folk grow.there are quite a few sub species and strains, my big one is aloe vera.

2/3 sharp sand, 1/3 potting compost, sunny window sill or glass house, allow to dry out between waterings until the leaves start to look a little empty then soak it overnight in a bucket ( or bath tub

) . a bit of nkp + trace minerals a few times a year will give good vegetative growth.
if it is warm and sunny enough for it pop it outside in a sheltered sunny spot.

a small bit of leaf will give quite a bit of goo when squashed, as your pal said the juice is good on quite a lot of skin conditions and surface wounds.

i would try a tiny bit on a small area first , i have never come across a bad reaction but safe not sorry

ps ask your pal for an offset or two, they root easily and will get off to a good start at this time of year.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15578

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 19 7:09 am Post subject:

Our temperatures are well down now too Gregotyn, although a bit above normal. It also decided to rain quite a lot yesterday. We had to give up a couple of times as it got so wet. Clearing brash and extracting timber again yesterday, but not so enjoyable in the wet.

Think we may have heard a marsh tit at one point. We do have them, so could well be.

Hope you and Seb are continuing to benefit from further training Cassandra.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Fri Mar 01, 19 2:46 pm Post subject:

I have managed to get back onto emails by changing my phone number and it has worked we think, (the librarian thinks), I couldn't possibly say, as 'pooters' and I are not friends or relations! I have emailed my friend in Kent and am hoping for a reply as confirmation, that emails work again for me!

We have had a good day today warmish and dry. A lot of work to be done to prepare for one of our number to be off for a week-not looking forward to that as he is a good lad.

Thank you for the aloe vera growing tactics, dpack. It is the stuff that comes in tubes that I had as a present from a librarian. She saw the state of my forearm which is all red blotches and scabs 'cos' it itches like mad and once I start I cannot leave it alone, but in less than a week the itching and scabs are subsiding well, so I am very pleased. However I will have a go at some point as my donor is going back to Scotland, she is homesick for her girls who all live up there, and she is a native.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15578

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 19 7:48 am Post subject:
You should be able to buy aloe vera cream at either a pharmacist or health food shop Gregotyn. It sounds as if it works well for you. The weather here has been variable. Horrible Thursday, as we got rather wet working in the woods, and had to give up at a couple of points, but better yesterday, although not very much sun. Today looks rather grey too, so hoping the rain stays away.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 19 9:52 am Post subject:

It is strange about aloe vera, that a librarian swears by the stuff, gives me a tube, then I go to a friend's house to do some woodwork for the local play group, and I show her how much a rash has cleared using aloe and she then tells me that she has a plant behind where I am sitting-which she uses when she gets cuts or burns, (a good cook and so gets burns occasionally!) And exactly as dpack said-a small piece of leaf goes a long way. So I will be growing my own I hope!

Today I will be going to collect a load of wood which I send away to be cut for kindling on a processor, sounds decadent, I know, but it saves my arm on all the 3x3 and bigger cross sections that come my way for chopping into kindling. Then when empty I will be delivering the wood work for the children to play in. I seem to be doing more and more as I get older or is that I didn't notice how much I was doing before or, more likely, does age make you think you are busier than you really are?

	Downsizer Forum Index -> Grow Your Own	All times are GMT Page Previous 1, 2, 3 ... 355, 356, 357 ... 423, 424, 425 Next
Page 356 of 425

View Latest Posts