Gardening

wells that was interesting. yes it is the same plant, thankyou. it is an endangered species in its native AUSTRAILIA!! it is considered 'invasive' but not 'problematic' in hawaii. it is quite rare although there has been sightings on most of the hawaii islands. a 'baby' plant (ie. 5" high) costs about $50.

it does bring to mind though the enormous responsibility we share when we destroy native habitat. these orchids may be growing because the land was cleared, not in spite of it, but there will be other plants, some endemic, some rare, some already near extinction, that are destroyed with every acre cleared.

the ohia forest itself is in danger.

i am going to have to catalog each plant before determining if it is a weed, a rare treasure, or just an ordinary nice sort of plant. obviously the most prolific plant growing in the clearing is baby ohia. as this is not presently catagorized as endangered, there is nothing i can do with these. the same with the bamboo orchid. although rare on a world scale, it is prolific here. there must be forty or fifty different ferns and flora on that one half acre. i am going to have to find a botinist!!

 

half acre of the land was cleared about 5yrs ago. that space is where we will build our house. i dont want to destroy rare plants, plowing them under gravel. the only reason i knew about that orchid was that one was in flower, enabling me to find others. some of the ferns too are rare. the plants that have taken over the clearing are different to those in the forest. so i just have to be carefull about what i am pulling up.

one of the difficulties hawaii faces is the slow eradication of all its endemic species.

you are not allowed to export plants without certificates and 'bug' checks and stuff. but you can never have too many orchids so these will be transplanted somewhere safe.

 

I'm impressed with you LauraB...so good to see people like yourself caring properly about native flora! Glad also that you've identified the orchid (I thought it looked familiar)

 

why thank you sweetie. i am at an advantage though. nature is not only impressive here, its almost oppressive. it is magnificent on such a massive scale, with such a variety of ecosystems, in so small a space....
and there is so much danger in some of this beauty. the sea, the land, the weather, even the air and water (we are a giant petri dish and we have round the clock allergens....and VOG! (volcanic gasses)

one would have to be blind, deaf and devoid of taste and smell in order not to respect the nature here.

 

In my books, recognition is only given where recognition is due...so it really is a big Thank You to you and your kind.

 

Looks sooo nice MK, we have dirt

 

How pretty. Told ya, got dirt. now there are trenches in the front where a sprinkler pipe broke and the whole works needs to be replaced. The moment something blooms I'll post it. LOL

 

@ Mankind those Nasteriums make a wonderful salad. The leaves and flowers are edible and have a great peppery taste.:drool

 

I wondered when we would see an English garden. I always thought that was the national hobby there. Nice flowers, Emma. I may do the same thing (just spread a bunch of mixed seed) next spring.

 

Vegan gardener here. Why does everyone think they have to put poison on their gardens??

Try some of these things to keep pests away, including deer and rabbits, without poisoning your food and your backyard:

• Brush your dog or cat and place the hair around your plants to keep them away.
• Spray a garlic and lavender mixture around your plants.
• Pee around your plants (seriously). The nitrogen in your urine will ward them off.
• Lastly, you could buy a rabbit fence or chicken wire at your local hardware store. Also, copper will keep slugs away if you are having problems with those.

Hope this helps. No poison in my garden!

 

Really, Really nice MK

 

Rabbits ar bad, but not as bad a deer. Tried to garden and all I had was a salad bar for the deer. They ate everything, even the ones that they were no suspossed to like

 

Oh, sorry, I knew she was gone but thought it had been longer. I'm sure she loves it and is proud you did all that for her, it's really beautiful.

 

Talked to my daughter this am, her husband brought home one of these, I have never seen one that I remember. Hope they have a big enough pot!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnera

 

Whats funny is when she was little and was ready to nap she would drop where she was, kinda, LOL Once I was hanging laundry on the line, she was around 2, couldn't find her, was in a panic, ready to call for help, suddenly there she was asleep under a leaf that covered her, about the same shape as the one in the pic, nowhere as big, just to her being tiny.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Burning_Monkey/Driveway.jpg

That is part of my 'garden'.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v79/Burning_Monkey/Big_tractor_1.jpg

That's my rototiller.

 

Kind of. It's my family's farm, but not mine entirely.

 

Even so how nice to be part of something that produces what people require I used to live in the Salinas Valley (lettuce bowl) and swore you could survive off the roads, spillage off produce trucks.
My dad came from Iowa, Lamont I believe, 100 years ago, lol almost 1919 I only saw him twice so don't know much about the area.

 

Lamont is a nice area. Only been into that area once, and I was on my way somewhere, but it is a nice place.

 

Man MK you sure do have a powerful "Flash" on that camera of yours, I'd swear it was daytime, but the dang plant is "Blooming"LOLLOLLOL

Great Garden Bro

 

Ok, it's getting closer, we're getting ready for rock. Put down that cloth about a week ago, had the yard covered, cloth tacked down when it happened. 116 degrees with 40 mph winds, the next couple days all was in shreds. It's either too cold or too hot.

 

ok, here it is after months of waiting



http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb187/Darlene1029/rose.jpg

 

It's real small on a topiary, my daughter gave it to me years ago, amazes me I haven't killed it yet

 

Beautiful all from your garden?

 

Pretty much the same here Laura, whats shameful is I was a florist for over 20 years, shhh
Actually florist get plants and try to move them quick as possible before they die or start looking bad. So most are not a good source of info they just sound as though they know what they're talking about. I had orchids (had a good source) that I have never seen before or since. Had a chocolate one once, really smelled like chocolate. Cool plants, hundreds of varieties, fairly hardy too.

 

wow, is your ivy in a pot? Once they get dry (for me) thats it, they slowly crisp away.

PS, about the orchids, never bloom for me either but I know people who plant them outside like under a tree and they live thrive and bloom.

 

Thats a philodendron, nice plant.

 

I just looked that up, the pencil cactus, I like it. I like unusal plants.
I have a lot of silk too. They look good if people spend a little time bending and
separating the leaves so they look real. I worked at a place years ago that was all silks.
We made a lot of trees too.

 

in case anyone was interested in the orchid, looks, not to buy, to bad you can't smell it through here
http://www.beautifulorchids.com/orchids/orchids_potted/oncicidium/oncidium_sharrybaby.html

 

Hi from Scotland,been a poor year for some and great for others, sun in March April May and lots of rain in July.I have pears tho for the first time and grapes as well as Apples,Tomatoes ,Strawberries,and Peppers.Early July we made jam(jelly) from our Blackcurrants.Will try and post some pics .
Nice thread here have enjoyed reading through it.:wave

 

Hi LauraR..lol wish i had an orchid...just a couple of trees and a greenhouse but with time we have managed to get the most from the space.

As far as weather is concerned its as we say here "four seasons in one day" sometimes..lol

We have had a really wet summer but our courses are top class so he should enjoy himself.

 

I'm thinking we have demon soil in the back. True we did not want lawn, I mentioned to Dan, lot of rock (meaning pathways) and planting beds. Got to be careful what you say to him. I finally had to practically throw myself in front of his wheel barrel. Looks like a parking area now, BOY!. What few plants were in the ground have taken a turn for the worse. Maybe containers is our answer.

 

The front was mostly planted before us (thank goodness)

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb187/Darlene1029/IM001963.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb187/Darlene1029/IM001962.jpg


Then the back
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb187/Darlene1029/IM001964.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb187/Darlene1029/IM001965.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb187/Darlene1029/IM001966.jpg
a friend of BC's offered to stand guard

 

Nice, Darlene, definitely California.

My mom has his twin. LOL

I don't know what these are. They were in the back when I moved in.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/musksnipe/Flowers_37.jpg

My Yucca plant and front walk.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/musksnipe/Flowers_40.jpg

My Spider plant, gonna have lots of babies.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/musksnipe/Picture002.jpg

My badlt planned garden. LOL
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/musksnipe/Picture006.jpg

My Yucca again.
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r94/musksnipe/Picture007.jpg

 

Thank you, the front was mostly planted when we moved in, not typical for where we are, look to be closer to the coast which I wish I were (can you tell by my avatars?)rolleyes
First there was a record freeze which took most of the giant birds, then record heat that burnt up what was left of the back, What a place.
Sorry, about your question, it's one of the jasmines, doesn't last long but so nice when it does bloom. Should look like this if we let it stay put.

 

Those are just lovely. I like climbing vines, have a bougainvillea in a pot hoping to keep it alive. The heat almost got it also, the blooms are a peach color.

 

Not from me, we get frosty is all, the real stuff is in Chicago oh Oregon had it's share too, and Texas I'm remembering just what came through my email

 

I was near Marbella a few years ago for a few days waiting to travel to Seville to see Glasgow Celtic in the Eufa cup final.Walking to the beach each day we meandered through avenues of Bouganvillas(?).Colourful and for someone like me who is green/brown/red colour blind the Blues and purples were amazing...even tho my team wore green..lol

 

It's a beautiful plant/vine I couldn't decide on a photo so here is the whole search. They are like colored petals protecting a very little flower in the middle

http://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...kersfield,+CA&toggle=1&ei=UTF-8&fr=my-myy&b=1

 

Bougainvilleas seem to agree with our local climate over here, (long, hot summers, and relatively mild winters). We get various types, ranging from pale pink to deep purple, and even a yellow variety. They grow really huge if allowed to grow unpruned and don't seem to need a lot of watering and care. I often see cascades of purple or pink overflowing people's back fences. Big spikes on them, too, so I need to use gloves when pruning the spiny vines.