What's Goin' On - In My Garden!

[Shesawaya38485]

OLD - I've just thought to ask - do they have any scent? Hope you say "no" because then I'll want to touch AND smell them! LOL!!

Sorry to hear you are dry as well. I've read recently that there are several states up here that do not allow collection of rainwater! (No, I didn't check Snopes! ) The reason is that if you have a rain barrel it prevents water from flowing into natural streams, rivers, etc. Really?? My thought is that they just want to money for the water company because unless you live by a creek, the water is going to soak into the ground, so what does it matter if you have a rain barrel to soak the ground where your flowers/veggies are located???

I am fortunate to get my water from a natural spring and my only cost is the electric for the pump to get it where I want it. Even in this drought, my spring has never dried up and always has overflow - soaking into the ground by the creek - lol!

Oh Good!! I get to learn what a Hoya looks like - never heard of it so it must be tropical too?

20+ years ago I slipped on some ice and twisted my knee getting into the truck in CO and had to drive a clutch for 3 days when we moved to SD. He wouldn't even go get me some ice when we stopped for the night, so it just wasn't properly taken care of then and has bothered me off and on since. I did rest it for 2 days and it is much better. I wish all my bone/joint issues would get better with a little rest - most of them hurt worse when I don't get exercise daily due to arthritis setting in. Stinks getting old!! LOL!!!

I have a Blooming Christmas Cactus!! Crazy thing bloomed last year for Halloween and now for Thanksgiving - it must be confused??

[HerMajesty]

My Christmas cactus is budding and should have blooms within a week or so................seems it always is about this time of year.

Shesaway - we have covered some of the same areas in our lives...

[Oldandintheway]

Generally, the orchid pix I show either don't have scent OR so faint, it's not worth mentioning.
Those that do have a strong scent (good or bad) I will mention.
I like the Christmas Cactus's - used to grow them at the old address

Coming from such a dry country as ours, I find it unbelievable that anyone would ban collecting rainwater. Down here in most places, it's a given that you do!
In fact in some areas it's mandatory that all houses have tanks. The logic used in your area is false, & would be purely for revenue raising.
Here is my set up, plus the orchid house - a 3 x 3 x 3 meter cube with double shelves on all sides & heaps of hanging space. The house tank holds 5000 litres & is also hooked to the town water supply.
The "man cave" (shed) tanks, hold another 5000 lts. each, & are separate to the town supply.

[Shesawaya38485]

My Christmas cactus is budding and should have blooms within a week or so................seems it always is about this time of year.

Shesaway - we have covered some of the same areas in our lives...

I put all my house plants outside every spring as soon as the nights are 50+ degrees and bring them back in when the night temps start dropping below 50. My cactus always blooms right after I bring it inside for some reason. This year was unusual because it stayed so warm for so long and I was able to leave them out for about 6 weeks longer.

So, we have "covered some of the same areas" in our lives?? Do share, please I love meeting/getting to know people

OLD - for the orchids that have a scent, you'll have to use some good descriptive words so I can mentally "smell" them, but maybe ONLY for the ones that smell good - don't want to gross anybody out with descriptive words for those that smell bad - LOL!!!

I have another Christmas Cactus that is shaped differently than this one. I got the starts from a friend and it is very slow growing and has not yet bloomed. I've kept it in the same conditions as the one in the picture but I'm thinking I should probably ID it and see if it needs different light or something.

"The logic used in your area is false, & would be purely for revenue raising." I TOTALLY agree!! One of the reasons I like Tennessee is because they have very few (especially in rural areas) restrictions on what a person does on their own property.

I love your "set up"!! I can see that the tanks by the man cave are fed by the gutter system but don't see any downspouts going into the big tank. Do you have to fill it with city water or is there part of a rain catchment system that I can't see in the picture?

Hope everybody has a wonderful day!!

[Oldandintheway]

I love your "set up"!! I can see that the tanks by the man cave are fed by the gutter system but don't see any downspouts going into the big tank. Do you have to fill it with city water or is there part of a rain catchment system that I can't see in the picture?

Shesa, The house tank has both town water & house gutter water fitted to it.
The pipe going into the top of the tank is from the roof. The black pipe at the bottom of the tank, is the town water going in.
The pressure pump to the house supply, can just be seen on the house wall. (obscured x white pipes)
Inside the tank is an Aquaswitch, similar to the floating valve in a toilet cistern.
This is hooked electrically, to automatically "switch" over to town water, when the tank gets down to about one third left.
The idea is to use the top 2 thirds (free rain water) first. Hopefully, if rain is frequent enough, you're rarely likely to use the expensive town supply.
That's the theory anyway - however, ATM we are in drought conditions & everybody is increasingly having to depend on the town supplies.

[Shesawaya38485]

Ah-ha!! The old "hidden pressure pump" trick

[Oldandintheway]

G'day all - meet my latest baby - just purchased & potted up this morning.
Been after one of these for awhile & thought I'd try them for their high vitamin C & antioxidant levels.
It's wise to do a GP check with these berries, as people with certain conditions should avoid them.

Goji berry - Lycium barbarum (shrub type) native to Asia.

[Shesawaya38485]

I looked at the picture first and thought "what odd leaves for an orchid" - lol! Although I've never tried them, I have heard that they are very good for you. GPs here are not allowed to talk about anything natural so I go to drugs.com where you can enter any prescription meds, supplements and herbs you take and it tells you if there are any problems with combining them.

[Oldandintheway]

Hiya everybody - as promised, here are the latest flowers out.
First is the Hoya or "Wax Plant", that I think I've identified as Hoya pubicalyx (Red Buttons) If anybody knows for sure, let me know please.
Here's a link on Hoya from an Oz TV show. Hoya are native tropical climbers from Asia, Pacific Islands & Australia.
This one has a strong spicy sweet smell (not unpleasant) that certainly is attractive to the ants - I presume they are after the nectar.
The dome shaped flower ball would fill the palm of the hand. (for size comparison)

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&r...zKgqxAZm1EEw3g

My plant ATM




Lastly is Dendrobium delacourii, a miniature type, native to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos & Vietnam. This is described as "not pleasingly fragrant" but I can't detect any perfume yet at all. As it's not fully open, that may change later? This plant has improved for me this season, & I hope that situation continues as the plant matures.

[madelaine]

pretty!