After my last post I decided to do a search and find out exactly what is a Spathiphyllum. I search in google and found this link to Wikipedia entry. As soon as a saw the picture, my mind went "Oohh, one of those." So now I know that it is called a Spathiphyllum.
Monday 28 May 2007
Are you a green thumb gardener?
On Stuarts page, he had put links to some older posts, one on African Violets I will post about soon, but I thought this little quiz gave an interesting outlook on where I'm at on the scale of becoming a green thumb gardener.
Are you a green thumb gardener?
So you've been pottering around with a couple of plants, got your hands dirty in a bag of potting mix and even removed the odd snail that was molesting your cabbages. Does that make you a green thumb gardener?
Let me paint a couple of scenarios for you and see how you fair.
1. You visit a friend's house and notice that their spathiphyllum is wilting on the window sill. Do you;
a). Immediately grab a container of water and pour it onto the plant
b). Point out to your friend that their plant is not as healthy as it could be
c). Mourn over the loss of another indoor plant
d). Type "Spathiphyllum" into Google to see what it is
As much as I would like to chose something higher, I would not be game to comment to a friend and I certainly wouldn't water it for them. OK I admit it, I'm off to actaually search to find out was a "Spathiphyllum" is on google. Make that a D. :(
2. You have heard that composting is a great way to recycle your garden refuse. Do you;
a). Build your own compost bins and start filling it with garden waste
b). Head to your local hardware store and purchase a manufactured compost bin
c). Feel bad when you put the next lot of garden waste in the garbage bin
d). Wonder if it's okay to put some of the kid's toys in the compost
I'm so excited, that's exactly what I did. OK maybe lining a few bricks up (I didn't use mortor or anything) is not quite building. But it is working, I love my compost.
3. There is a gardening fair coming up on the weekend. Do you;
a). Schedule your weekend around attending it
b). Phone your neighbour to see if they're interested
c). Stay at home thinking that it would have been a great idea to go
d). Buy tickets to the football
And if you are me, travel 3 hours to sydney, stay in a hotel and wander around for two whole days. Yes I was in heaven at the ABC gardening expo last year and I am waiting with baited breath for this years. That reminds me, have to book the hotel.
4. Your friend has just purchased a "Wollemi Pine" and invites you to come and help plant it. Do you;
a). Drop everything and rush over - even if you had to wake the baby
b). Try and schedule a better time during the week
c). Tell them that you intend buying your own Wollemi Pine and you'll check there's out next time you're visiting
d). Type "Wollemi Pine" into Google to see what it is
Especially because they are cool. But also because I'm still earning how to plant trees and it would be a great learning experience. Now I just have to find a friend who would buy a wollemi pine. Oh and a baby.
5. You find some snails in the garden eating your lettuces. Do you;
a). Instinctively know how to eliminate them organically
b). Pick each one off by hand
c). Reach for the Bayer snail pellets
d). Remove the lettuces because you think they're a weed
Time consuming I know, but is there a better way. Better go and search on google :), so I know how to instinctively eliminate them organically.
6. As you flick through the channels on your TV you come across a gardening show. Do you;
a). Make yourself a herbal tea and cancel every other appointment to watch it
b). Make sure nothing else is on the other channels
c). Note the time and channel so you can watch it next week
d). Write a letter of complaint to the broadcasting tribunal
I will watch most gardening shows, I also marked C, because I would want to know so I can watch it next week and the week after. My favourite show will always be Gardening Australia on the ABC, and I'm slowly teaching my husband that 6:30 on Saturday is quiet time in our house.
7. Your children get inspired to garden and want to help you. Do you;
a). Find creative ways to educate them about gardening
b). Give them a packet of seeds to plant
c). Get them to pull out all the weeds in the veggie patch
d). Give them your gardening tools and go and watch TV
Let's be honest here, I would definitely try and find creative ways to get them involved in garden, such as the ideas given the Gardening Australia magazine each month. But I would also get them to plant seeds and plants in the garden, and yes I would get them to help me in the vegetable garden. Now I just need to get myself some kids, maybe I could steal some nieces and nephews sometime.
So how did I go I got A= 5/7 B=1/7 and C=1/7 Does that equate to an A or a B. I think at the moment I'm more a B, but with time I hope to become an A, which equals a Green Thumb Gardener. I'll let you know when I get there.
If you ended up with all (a)'s then you can call yourself a Green Thumb Gardener. If you mostly answered (b) then people may suspect you have tinges of green on your thumbs and if you answered (c) for most of the scenarios then you are likely to be classified as a weekend gardener.
However, if you found that all the (d) responses were resonating with you, (as hard as it is to say this) gardening may not be your forte.
Are you a green thumb gardener?
So you've been pottering around with a couple of plants, got your hands dirty in a bag of potting mix and even removed the odd snail that was molesting your cabbages. Does that make you a green thumb gardener?
Let me paint a couple of scenarios for you and see how you fair.
1. You visit a friend's house and notice that their spathiphyllum is wilting on the window sill. Do you;
a). Immediately grab a container of water and pour it onto the plant
b). Point out to your friend that their plant is not as healthy as it could be
c). Mourn over the loss of another indoor plant
d). Type "Spathiphyllum" into Google to see what it is
As much as I would like to chose something higher, I would not be game to comment to a friend and I certainly wouldn't water it for them. OK I admit it, I'm off to actaually search to find out was a "Spathiphyllum" is on google. Make that a D. :(
2. You have heard that composting is a great way to recycle your garden refuse. Do you;
a). Build your own compost bins and start filling it with garden waste
b). Head to your local hardware store and purchase a manufactured compost bin
c). Feel bad when you put the next lot of garden waste in the garbage bin
d). Wonder if it's okay to put some of the kid's toys in the compost
I'm so excited, that's exactly what I did. OK maybe lining a few bricks up (I didn't use mortor or anything) is not quite building. But it is working, I love my compost.
3. There is a gardening fair coming up on the weekend. Do you;
a). Schedule your weekend around attending it
b). Phone your neighbour to see if they're interested
c). Stay at home thinking that it would have been a great idea to go
d). Buy tickets to the football
And if you are me, travel 3 hours to sydney, stay in a hotel and wander around for two whole days. Yes I was in heaven at the ABC gardening expo last year and I am waiting with baited breath for this years. That reminds me, have to book the hotel.
4. Your friend has just purchased a "Wollemi Pine" and invites you to come and help plant it. Do you;
a). Drop everything and rush over - even if you had to wake the baby
b). Try and schedule a better time during the week
c). Tell them that you intend buying your own Wollemi Pine and you'll check there's out next time you're visiting
d). Type "Wollemi Pine" into Google to see what it is
Especially because they are cool. But also because I'm still earning how to plant trees and it would be a great learning experience. Now I just have to find a friend who would buy a wollemi pine. Oh and a baby.
5. You find some snails in the garden eating your lettuces. Do you;
a). Instinctively know how to eliminate them organically
b). Pick each one off by hand
c). Reach for the Bayer snail pellets
d). Remove the lettuces because you think they're a weed
Time consuming I know, but is there a better way. Better go and search on google :), so I know how to instinctively eliminate them organically.
6. As you flick through the channels on your TV you come across a gardening show. Do you;
a). Make yourself a herbal tea and cancel every other appointment to watch it
b). Make sure nothing else is on the other channels
c). Note the time and channel so you can watch it next week
d). Write a letter of complaint to the broadcasting tribunal
I will watch most gardening shows, I also marked C, because I would want to know so I can watch it next week and the week after. My favourite show will always be Gardening Australia on the ABC, and I'm slowly teaching my husband that 6:30 on Saturday is quiet time in our house.
7. Your children get inspired to garden and want to help you. Do you;
a). Find creative ways to educate them about gardening
b). Give them a packet of seeds to plant
c). Get them to pull out all the weeds in the veggie patch
d). Give them your gardening tools and go and watch TV
Let's be honest here, I would definitely try and find creative ways to get them involved in garden, such as the ideas given the Gardening Australia magazine each month. But I would also get them to plant seeds and plants in the garden, and yes I would get them to help me in the vegetable garden. Now I just need to get myself some kids, maybe I could steal some nieces and nephews sometime.
So how did I go I got A= 5/7 B=1/7 and C=1/7 Does that equate to an A or a B. I think at the moment I'm more a B, but with time I hope to become an A, which equals a Green Thumb Gardener. I'll let you know when I get there.
If you ended up with all (a)'s then you can call yourself a Green Thumb Gardener. If you mostly answered (b) then people may suspect you have tinges of green on your thumbs and if you answered (c) for most of the scenarios then you are likely to be classified as a weekend gardener.
However, if you found that all the (d) responses were resonating with you, (as hard as it is to say this) gardening may not be your forte.
Sunday 27 May 2007
Green Thumb Sunday -Flowers
When I went for a walk in my garden this afternoon, I was surprised at the number of flowers in my garden. I'm not really a flower person, my husband commented the other day, that I'm really only interested in plants I can eat. Not completely true, but close.Near by garden pond, there is the pineapple sage with its pretty red flowers.
Also near the pond is this flower. I think the plant is called savoury, but I'm not sure. I love it's daisy like flowers.
Then there is the potato vine. I know I should prune it, but I do love the constant white flowers.
I really must begin cutting flowers and bring them inside occasionally.
Saturday 26 May 2007
Saturday Musings _ Things to do
Well now I'm suddenly back into gardening, there are so many projects I'm considering.
Big Gardens
I would love to start turning the back lawn into gardens, but I think that is going to have to wait awhile. Our lawn is on very bad soil at the moment. Very compacted, But I'm planning on doing these tests soon to see just how bad the soil actually is. Very bad is my guess. I think that I will have to use a no-dig style garden over every section of the lawn, so help build up suitable soil for gardening.
The lawn is basically divided into three sections, (see the photos below) I have different plans for each section, but there are reasons, why I can't get started on them yet.
Here is a photo of the whole lawn from the back step. Please excuse the rubbish and such in the garden, I'm slowly getting better about keeping a tidy garden.
The three sections are viewed from this point.
1) The first section is the one closest to the house. The vegetable baths, drain onto this section of the lawn, (when I'm watering). For this section I would like to create a cottage style garden with lots of daisys, bulbs and other stuff I haven't discovered yet. The problem with this section is it is held up using a retaining wall, which I'm pretty sure I will need to raise so I can build up the soil using my favourite no-dig style.
2) The second section is under the clothes line, it will also need the retaining wall built up and I suspect this will be the last garden to be developed. My plan at the moment is to have a sandy style garden with mostly low ground cover and plants that have low water needs. I am planning to keep the clothes line, as much as it is ugly.
3) The third section which runs along the back fence. At the moment there is a metre strip with a pine log style border. (Which I hate by the way). We have just had the privet cut out, but there is still a lilac and a few low fleshy plants. I don't really know what they are, but maybe one day I will take photos and see if anyone can identify them. My plan for this garden is a natural habitat garden with mainly natives. I had hoped to get this garden planted this year, but it is not going to happen. I didn't get the no-dig soil set up early enough, and now it is time to plant the plants and I haven't killed of the lawn etc. I did consider starting the no-dig part now, so I could plant in spring. But I suspect with level four water restrictions on the way , I'm better waiting and planting next Autumn. I'm sure I'll survive the wait, and it gives me plenty of time to plan.
So that is the lawn projects, which are long term goals.
But what about short term projects?
African Violets
I inherited these two African Violets off my Nana, they are in pots that I made for her one christmas. But I think they are due to be re-potted, so I am in the middle of learning how to do this. All a bit scary. I promise I will do it one day. At least I now know that you can buy special potting mix for African Violets.
Inside plants
I went for a walk through our local nursery today and boy did I start drooling. I was mainly looking for indoor plants for our bedroom and the master bathroom. For the bedroom I think I'm going to get cyclamen as mentioned in an early post and these miniature bamboo ferny things, which will match the bamboo in the courtyard.
For the main bathroom I saw lots of wonderful plants, some trailing ones and the maidenhair fern looked so beautiful and delicate.
Vegetable garden
The vegetable garden is still going, but I do need to plan some more plantings. I want to plant more silver-beet and rainbow chard, which is being eaten all most every night some weeks. As I mentioned early in the Rhubarb post I am planning to set up a perennial vegetable garden down the back of the garden. I'm thinking about planting rhubarb, raspberries, aspargas and artichokes at the moment. I'm still going to plant in baths, but this time I am going to try putting sand and gravel down before I place the baths. I am hoping this will stop some of the weeds growing up around the baths.
So there are some of the projects I need to get started. I might start by looking into where I can buy sand and gravel for the perennial vegetable garden and potting mix for the African Violets.
Big Gardens
I would love to start turning the back lawn into gardens, but I think that is going to have to wait awhile. Our lawn is on very bad soil at the moment. Very compacted, But I'm planning on doing these tests soon to see just how bad the soil actually is. Very bad is my guess. I think that I will have to use a no-dig style garden over every section of the lawn, so help build up suitable soil for gardening.
The lawn is basically divided into three sections, (see the photos below) I have different plans for each section, but there are reasons, why I can't get started on them yet.
Here is a photo of the whole lawn from the back step. Please excuse the rubbish and such in the garden, I'm slowly getting better about keeping a tidy garden.
The three sections are viewed from this point.
1) The first section is the one closest to the house. The vegetable baths, drain onto this section of the lawn, (when I'm watering). For this section I would like to create a cottage style garden with lots of daisys, bulbs and other stuff I haven't discovered yet. The problem with this section is it is held up using a retaining wall, which I'm pretty sure I will need to raise so I can build up the soil using my favourite no-dig style.
2) The second section is under the clothes line, it will also need the retaining wall built up and I suspect this will be the last garden to be developed. My plan at the moment is to have a sandy style garden with mostly low ground cover and plants that have low water needs. I am planning to keep the clothes line, as much as it is ugly.
3) The third section which runs along the back fence. At the moment there is a metre strip with a pine log style border. (Which I hate by the way). We have just had the privet cut out, but there is still a lilac and a few low fleshy plants. I don't really know what they are, but maybe one day I will take photos and see if anyone can identify them. My plan for this garden is a natural habitat garden with mainly natives. I had hoped to get this garden planted this year, but it is not going to happen. I didn't get the no-dig soil set up early enough, and now it is time to plant the plants and I haven't killed of the lawn etc. I did consider starting the no-dig part now, so I could plant in spring. But I suspect with level four water restrictions on the way , I'm better waiting and planting next Autumn. I'm sure I'll survive the wait, and it gives me plenty of time to plan.
So that is the lawn projects, which are long term goals.
But what about short term projects?
African Violets
I inherited these two African Violets off my Nana, they are in pots that I made for her one christmas. But I think they are due to be re-potted, so I am in the middle of learning how to do this. All a bit scary. I promise I will do it one day. At least I now know that you can buy special potting mix for African Violets.
Inside plants
I went for a walk through our local nursery today and boy did I start drooling. I was mainly looking for indoor plants for our bedroom and the master bathroom. For the bedroom I think I'm going to get cyclamen as mentioned in an early post and these miniature bamboo ferny things, which will match the bamboo in the courtyard.
For the main bathroom I saw lots of wonderful plants, some trailing ones and the maidenhair fern looked so beautiful and delicate.
Vegetable garden
The vegetable garden is still going, but I do need to plan some more plantings. I want to plant more silver-beet and rainbow chard, which is being eaten all most every night some weeks. As I mentioned early in the Rhubarb post I am planning to set up a perennial vegetable garden down the back of the garden. I'm thinking about planting rhubarb, raspberries, aspargas and artichokes at the moment. I'm still going to plant in baths, but this time I am going to try putting sand and gravel down before I place the baths. I am hoping this will stop some of the weeds growing up around the baths.
So there are some of the projects I need to get started. I might start by looking into where I can buy sand and gravel for the perennial vegetable garden and potting mix for the African Violets.
Sunday 20 May 2007
Rhubarb
Saturday 19 May 2007
Photo Hunter - cooking
Today we pulled out our walk-in pantry and over the next few weeks we are going to make a laundry. But on our dining room table I ended up with all the things I use on a weekly to monthly basis to cook.
So to me all the things in this photo are the basis of all my cooking.
Friday 18 May 2007
Herb Spiral
Accidently made this post, might as well finish it. Dad has still not arrived. Very typical of him. Safely I can say that as he refuses to read my blog because he considers it a diary, which to him is very personal.
Any hoo back to the herb spiral.
While waiting for Dear Dad, I've been wandering around all the blogs down the side of my page. At sturts page I found this post about a herb-spiral
I won't post a picture, because I don't have his permisson. But it looks like a really cool way to grow herbs.
Got to rush, car just pulled into the drive way.
Any hoo back to the herb spiral.
While waiting for Dear Dad, I've been wandering around all the blogs down the side of my page. At sturts page I found this post about a herb-spiral
I won't post a picture, because I don't have his permisson. But it looks like a really cool way to grow herbs.
Got to rush, car just pulled into the drive way.
cyclamens
It is a rainy Friday afternoon in Canberra and I'm waiting for my Dad to arrive for a visit. There is no point in me starting anything too productive, so I thought I would blog.
At the moment I have a beautiful pink cyclamen sitting on my kitchen bench between the sink and on the window. I orginally brought it for the bedroom, but I haven't found a suitable pot yet, and to be quite honest I think I would miss it now if I removed it from the kitchen bench. I just love it. I love the look of the flowers; they are so delicate looking, but somehow sturdy at the same time. But I also love the leaves, the colour and shape are so distinctive. I'm starting to think, that cyclamens are going to become a favourite of mine. My plan at the moment is to buy a couple, and put them in nice pots and rotate them between the bedroom and the courtyard. I have read that cyclamens do much better as house-plants if they get sometime outside in the cool night air. I haven't managed to take a photo of the cyclamen, my mum has taken the camera on holiday. But I have searched for some on the net.
This is very similar to the one on my kitchen bench, but mine is smaller
I searched the Gardening Australia website and found this factsheet the photo below is from the factsheet. That is a lot of cyclamen.
At the moment I have a beautiful pink cyclamen sitting on my kitchen bench between the sink and on the window. I orginally brought it for the bedroom, but I haven't found a suitable pot yet, and to be quite honest I think I would miss it now if I removed it from the kitchen bench. I just love it. I love the look of the flowers; they are so delicate looking, but somehow sturdy at the same time. But I also love the leaves, the colour and shape are so distinctive. I'm starting to think, that cyclamens are going to become a favourite of mine. My plan at the moment is to buy a couple, and put them in nice pots and rotate them between the bedroom and the courtyard. I have read that cyclamens do much better as house-plants if they get sometime outside in the cool night air. I haven't managed to take a photo of the cyclamen, my mum has taken the camera on holiday. But I have searched for some on the net.
This is very similar to the one on my kitchen bench, but mine is smaller
I searched the Gardening Australia website and found this factsheet the photo below is from the factsheet. That is a lot of cyclamen.
Sunday 13 May 2007
Mouthfuls of Heaven
Following in the Steps of Nigella Lawson - One Saucy Bite At A Time
Here is the blog that has got me back into my blog, my garden and cooking.
The recipes are yum, and I'm loving reading what has been cooked each week. Love you Bells. Thanks again
Here is the blog that has got me back into my blog, my garden and cooking.
The recipes are yum, and I'm loving reading what has been cooked each week. Love you Bells. Thanks again
Green Thumb Sunday
JoinWell after a long break, a friend has inspired me to get back into my blog. Life has been a bit up and down recently, and the garden has been plodding along without much help from me. I've watered and I harvested most vegetables and stuff, but that was all. No new plants at all. For today's Green Thumb Sunday, I thought I would show some photos I took of my miniature harvest. We loved all the tomatos and I was so proud and happy to eat my own sweet corn. We also had lots of fun pulling up all the potatoes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
