You are browsing our members' comments

Oh excellent work Delonix. I'm taking cuttings tomorrow and trying them out in water this time. The ones I popped in seed raising mix seems to be doing okay but the root systems are still in their infancy just yet.

Yes I"ve been reading lots of comments on various gardening forums about Darragh and just how windy it's been in some spots. Hopefully there won't be too much devastation.

I'm waiting for the mangoes to ripen to see just how tasty they're going to be. For the most part, the mangoes we pick up at the roadside stalls in our suburb are just superb.

They're staples in tropical gardens here Linda.

Yes Linda, I see lots of butterflies, bees, wasps, and little birds like the Sunbirds in there. I've also been seeing lots of grasshoppers as well but thankfully they're the small ones.

I won't mention the snakes!

Oh what a contrast! 33 degrees!...those mangoes look very 'handsome '
Storm Darragh is still buffetting this morning...

I love the leaf shapes and the coleus colours go well with the greenery.

It looks really healthy and good for the wildlife too.

A heartfelt thank you for all your lovely good wishes for Gerry and myself for Christmas.
Our son is going to join us for Christmas day.
Let's hope the weather is better for everyone travelling nearer the day.
I wish you joy, love, hope, and a good gardening year for 2025.

The high season in Palm Springs is from mid-November through April or maybe mid-May, after that it an oven!

It was kind of discovered longer than 20 years ago, but was thought to be a variant of Beccaiophoenix madagascariensis. I did quite a bit of research on this palm about 15 years ago. Because of my horticulture/botany background and being a member of the IPS (International Palm Society) since 1984, it’s just me. 😂

I think it would have taken me more than 8 days to complete that amazing puzzle. Well done.

Season's greetings to you Sheila.

Merry Christmas to you as well Linda. Your Christmas bauble is simply lovely.

Heck that really is horrible heat!!! Not my sort of place either. I'm barely able to cope with the occasional highs we get here of around 40-45 deg C and I've lived here all my life!!

Palm Springs, CA. has lots of Ixoras growing outside. They grow in areas where there’s refected heat, also. It gets up to 125 degrees f (52 c) in Palm Springs. Yuck!!!

Palm Springs is about a two hr drive from me, but I rarely go there because of the extreme, horrible heat! Yuck! 😂

So sorry to hear the news about your colleague, Kate. I'm thinking of you and the few colleagues left to do the work that's needed in such a large area.

I think everyone understands why you won't be around for a while and we wish you all the best during this rather distressing time.

That puzzle looks complicated to me Shirley_tulip....but very colorful gardening theme.I am surprise it took you only 8 days to put together.

Dear Sheila,
Happy Christmas and all the best in a New year... especially good health.
Your tree looks very bright and cheerful .

Definitely not a silly idea! I'd say 'quirky', which provides loads of interest.

Wishing you a lovely, joyful time at Christmas Linda

Yes I agree with you there Delonix. I can't see Ixoras doing well as houseplants. Perhaps they would do well in a hot, sun-filled greenhouse or conservatory but even then, they'd need many, many hours of sun.

well I made sure my 2 got sandy/muddy/wet.grazed knees etc just like I had done. We also had a marine aquarium and I remember being woken up about 11.30pm to watch a hermit crab move shell. I'd have been about 6 or 7.
both of them still do enjoy being 'outside'.

I was thinking about you lately Kate. I was missing you around here and assumed that something is not right .

Life is not always kind to us and I am very sorry to hear about your friend. Very depressing.
Lucky you have some supportive friends. Keep strong and take care of yourself.XX

Hopefully it will survive the winds.

I do sympathise Kate. It’s so hard to get back to reality after such a shock. A few weeks ago, a friend (one in my book group) had a stroke and didn’t recover consciousness. We still can’t quite believe that we’ll never see her again, and she was only 71, but your colleague was far too young.
Don’t worry about posting on here, and do look after yourself. xx

Thank you.

Thank you Bushbernie. This is by our guest house and not part of our garden. I have lots of silly ideas implementing around the land.

Thank you, Karen, it's very kind of you, I appreciate it. Yes, it's been quite an emotional few weeks, the initial shock has been sinking in. Everything seems to be happening all at once...I shall heed your thoughtful advice, thanks so much xx

Thank you, Julia. It's definitely been a very strange and emotional few weeks...now, a time of uncertainty.
I am still doing a yoga class and a zumba class...it's a good distraction as well as helping me de-stress. My friends, Jo and Elaine have been supportive too.
I'll keep in touch, thank you for your kindness xx

Thanks Karen, hope your first Christmas in your new house will be memorable! x

On Wikipedia there is quite a bit of info on this palm:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beccariophoenix_alfredii

It is a beautiful palm tree, Andy! To think that it was discovered less than 20 years ago & has now become a popular tree in California!

You're the first this year to wish GoY members a happy Christmas, Lindak! I wish you a happy time over Christmas as well.

We will be spending Christmas with our Spanish granddaughter with whom we have never spend Christmas in the 10 years she's been in this life.

We have spent the last 17 Christmases with our first granddaughter who was born here in the UK. It will be the first time we haven't spent Christmas with her! :(

Her 2 brothers will miss us as well! ;( Our daughter said she would miss us greatly as well. In her nearly 50 Christmases she has only had a handful without us as well! ;(

Beautiful!

I love this hibiscus! I don’t know why I’ve never purchased it before.

Rarely is Ixora offered as a houseplant. It needs full, very hot, blasting all day sun to bloom well. Even here in San Diego I plant Ixoras on the south side of my house.

A lovely colour, Shirley! I had one some years ago that a friend gave me but it didn't last more than a year on the balcony! :( Can you grow them from seed?

I've done the same, Karen! But then who hasn't? There are times we forget what plants we grew in the past & GoY brings them back to mind.

I've been getting Memories from Google Photos & I see a lot of plants that I no longer have - like these orange or dark red or even white Christmas Cacti I used to grow many years ago. Just this morning I was sent photos I took of them on this date 5 or 6 years ago!

I like to see these memory reminders as you can then look back at the photos you took long ago & see what you had in flower at the time or even events that happened way back then. If you have photos of them weather stored on Google photos you can also see if you had snow at such & such a date or perhaps flooding.

We're all with you there, Hywel! We all wish GoY was better maintained! We are all thankful for the job Dave does of keeping this forum going. It would be a sad day that GoY closes down once & for all!:(

Maybe I aught to get instagram, my cousin, brother, and the people in the art group keep on at me about it.

Thanks Ladies ... I began by finding all of the pieces with red, then blue in them and carried on from there. It took eight days as I often fit pieces when Michael is watching sport on TV! Manchester United on now so I'm looking in on here ... :o))

That's a shame Ff, Hywel's planning on planting one in a pot, good idea! It is a bit rampant when it gets going, I'm sure my neighbour enjoys it too, her side of the wall.

Yes that's a good idea Hywel, it does love to scramble, but you'll be able to keep it in check..:)

Thanks Sheila! x

Happy Christmas Linda. I love the peacock feather baubles!

Happy Christmas Sheila x

Nice! I like the colours.

Oh Kate, that sounds very bad. I am so sorry you lost your colleague and friend. Take good care of yourself and please don’t drive yourself into burnout. X

I’m sure I’ve seen Ixora as houseplants here, but I find flowering houseplants very challenging to keep alive. Foliage plants seem a lot easier indoors. They are a shrub I only see on my holidays.

Hywel, I just have to say..that is a quite beautiful description of a seaside childhood! Back in the days when children were allowed to explore. Everyone is so fearful now, of all kinds of danger. I am no different. Hardly let my 2 out of my sight as children, and now one has ‘escaped’ to Canada! (Karen rolls eyes at herself).

So many times I’ve looked back Balcony and thought “oh, I wish I still had that”. But everything changes. :)

I find it frustrating Janey when things I can see so clearly in real life turn into teeny dots in my photos! Human eyesight is truly wonderful! We can ‘zoom in’ so well on everything we see whereas the camera just records a flattened image. Isn’t our rain amazing? lol! Hope your new glasses are perfect. X

Yes indeed! We are very happy to have our view too. X