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Happy Christmas to you Bernie, and let's hope it's a cool Christmas eve so that Santa and his team can deliver all the presents o.k.......

The SF Bay Area is still not warm enough for crotons. I know it’s getting warmer, but not warm enough yet.

My crotons are growing and flowering like crazy, right now. We’ve had record highs throughout San Diego County in the last three days. Mid-80’s for a lot of inland areas, low 80’s here where I live.

I bet they cut them down. They had a few very beautiful Chambeyronia ‘Watermelon’ palms and they grow to the ceiling and they cut them down. The big gate was right next to the palms, also. Crazy!

Yes, I was so surprised it grew so well outdoors for two years. My biggest mistake was bringing it indoors and forgetting about it. It got infested with bugs which killed the heart.

Merry Christmas F'few and thankyou, I'm certainly looking forwards to a new gardening year, although I can't really say that this year has ended yet as regards my garden, I'm still popping out and deadheading flowers, forecasters keep warning of freezing conditions but in actual fact its very mild really so they 're still producing blooms, I might be regretting saying that before very long , lol.

Hello Klahanie and thankyou, its good to be back, I missed all of you as well, hoping all the glitches have been fixed now and we can carry on next year enjoying ourselves posting and showing photos...Merry Christmas to you ..xx

Very lucky this time Sue. We've had large trees fall before and they have always caused some type of damage. We are thanking our lucky stars this time.

I most certainly am enjoying being home again after a year and a half away. I found it hard at times being so far away from my garden!

Wishing you and yours a very happy Christmas!

Sue, it did take me most of the day but it was such an enjoyable experience I didn't mind at all. I had the air-con on and Christmas music playing in the background!

I will only ever get rid of decorations when they completely disintegrate or break. They spent so much time in storage that they are all in pretty good shape for now.

I am super excited to be at home this year. Of course, I will miss being with my son and grandchildren down south but all of those grandchildren are now a lot older and don't get as excited being with their grandparents all the time!

Merry Christmas Linclass, love your decorations. I hope we have a good 2025 for all our gardening projects.

Balcony thankyou, I have already noticed a difference today, I'm looking forward to being able to be active on here again and follow everyones blogs and seeing all the photo's, I know I have FB but its not the same as being on here, I did try other sites but just couldn't get on with them......
Hope you, your wife and the family have a lovely Christmas...xx

It used to have very tall tree ferns like Cyathea medularis,C. brownii that reached the ceiling. I wonder if they transplanted them?

I tried mammy Delonix. It survived the winter but didnt grow much in its second summer..then died.

I'm shocked that a moth orchid on the porch is in full bloom here in the third week of December on a sunny 66f day.

Sue, my comment seems to have not been sent, so PM on the way to you!

Merry Christmas Lincslass. Your house looks very festive.
Glad to see you back, you were missed.

That's useful to know ... thanks Julia.

Thank you both...Shirley, they are an accommodating size too.

Glad to see you are back to creating blogs, Sue! I'm also glad we could help you with adblocker! It's not just GoY where you will notice the difference but everywhere you go on the internet!

Now looking forward to seeing your garden again - in the spring!

Happy Christmas to you & family.

This is a lovely blog, you have some real treasures there Bernie, I bet it took you ages to put them up, I love the telling of your memories flooding back as you were getting them out, each one a precious gift from all those children you taught, things like this are special to me as well, I have many decorations that we've had for years, too many really but I won't get rid of them, I try to add some of the very old ones amongst the modern newer ones so they sort of get changed around each year, there are really special ones that come out each and every year...I hope you have a really special Christmas Bernie , sounds to me as though you are excited and looking forward to being home for a change...xx

So glad to hear that, Sue! I'm off now to read your blog! :)

I took a look at your plant & it looked very good!

wow !!!.. You were lucky this time Bernie, obviously you now have a garden angel protecting the garden...You really are enjoying being back there and working to sort it out, from what I can see it still as amazing as ever, I always loved seeing all your video's, so many thanks for sharing...Merry Christmas to you..xx

Hello Sheila and thankyou, its grand to be back, I missed everybody...Merry Christmas to You xx

Hiya Shirley, its funny you mention the printer, when Derek passed away we put his computer and all the gear upstairs in the little room, Sherryl even bought a new desk for all the kit and caboodle, that included our printer, that was over a year ago, do you know she still has not connected it up properly, consequently we have no printer in action, hopefully when she gets around to setting it all back up our one will still work, lol. In Leicester on Monday waiting whilst Juliet had her op, we wandered around the shopping centre, one of the places we went into was a photographic shop that you can print all sorts of things, so she spent money in there printing off special gift cards, goodness knows what it cost her Shirley, mind you it was warmer in there so I didn't mind the wait...I haven't a clue how to connect anything so if I need something printed I ask my granddaughter Lizzie or her dad to do it for me at their house, grandson George has now made his home in Liverpool, he would have done it all for us if he was still living at home. I was quite lost without Goy Shirley so I'm really pleased its sorted, haven't tried any pm's but assume they are okay as well, the photo's went on very quickly, don't know what Dave has done but he's a very good chappie ..x

Good to see you Sue, and your Christmas Decs are a treat!

Thanks Hywel, I wished I'd asked about the adblock months ago, it was so easy to follow that link,lets hope we are all clear now and can continue here as before, I was missing my Goy and all my friends, there are quite a few that don't use FB ..Hope you have a good Christmas Hywel ...xx

Sue, great to see a blog from you, well done on getting back to GoY. Our son-in-law has been with us most of the day, waiting for his car to have a service/MOT and he's kindly spent ages trying to get our printer working. No success though ... I feel like throwing it out to be honest! Good old pen and paper beckons ... :o))

Merry Christmas Sue xx
Nice to see your decorations, glad you had no damage from the storm, and happy to know you've been able to get rid of the ads :)

Once again Balcony its thanks to you and Hywel, I did it immediately and have even posted my own blog without any problems whatsoever....

Seaburn its good to have it back again, I was amazed when I turned it on last week and found it was working, when I tried a while back I couldn't find it, just some gobbledy gook that I did not understand at all, I as you know am not teccie-minded at all, I must have coincided with when it was down or whatever, was Shirley's post that explained it all but I was still frustrated at all those ads, Hywel and Balcony pointed me in the right direction and I have no ads at all, we've been around a very long time and I would hate to think it had gone completely...
How are things with you and all your family, I hope your garden escaped the storm damage, some people had it very bad didn't they, not the time for your outings on the motorbike Seaburn although a day like today would be nice...I'm indoor gardening, watering and sorting out my household plants before the Christmas and New Year neglect time, happens every year as they get shoved aside to make room for xmas decs....Have a wonderful Christmas Eileen and like you I'm keeping everything xx that we are sorted out on here now, I really do get lost without it...

Hello and thankyou Bernie, I'm now trying to catch up on the blogs and the friends I've been missing, I am in contact with a few on FB but not everybody uses it, I was feeling sad when I thought Goy had gone completely, lots of friends and memories have been made over those years.....The sun is shining beautifully here, has been for the last few days, we deserve it after all the storms and amount of rain we've been getting, weather has gone a bit mad in the last few years, it seems as though we are like you and get all or nothing, not for as long as you with your dry and wet seasons but its a fact we are experiencing longer periods with no rain at all and then it arrives and I joke and say I can have a paddy field , I've even considered making a prairie garden in part of my garden, something that will love the dry weeks when the lawn turns brown in places and my summer plants die off, lol....We have to accept what we get don't we, lol.... Have a wonderful Christmas Bernieh.....xx

so pleased GoY is working for you again. It is a relief to have it working well [fingers crossed it will continue]

Also pleased you have had no storm damage and as for chairs being blown around I don't blame you leaving it on its back.

Your home looks very cheerful and I hope it brings you the best Christmas ever.

I'm late looking in to GoY (again!) and would like to wish you a very happy Christmas and new year. The view you have from your garden is stunning.

:o))

Karen, that's just what happened to me a few weeks ago! I was coughing such a lot that my back became so painful I didn't know whether to sit, stand or lay down. I hope the hip brace brings some relief.

Thank you all for your lovely replies , I too have add the Adblocker what a difference it makes so hope to see more of your lovely posts and gardens in the future .

So I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a healthy and peaceful New Year x

I think it was coughing Shirley. Had a rotten virus for a couple of weeks now. I am getting better. I’ve ordered a support brace for my hips. I think this will help. And rest.

Hello Dewald,

I just was made aware of this post by a GoY member. I am the Palm GoYpedia editor.

It is in fact a Phoenix canariensis. You can dig them up or just cut them down to eradicate them. There must be large female trees in your area. The birds most likely carry the seeds to your area. P. canariensis seeds are extremely viable. It pops up here everywhere…even in asphalt.
Although, we have a major South American palm weevil infestation killing hundreds of thousands of P. canariensis now. Over 100,000 palms have been killed here in San Diego County, California since 2010. ☹️

I purchased a Licuala peltata ‘Sumawongii’ in 2009 and it grow unbelievable fast, four fronds a year (pretty much unheard of here), I brought it indoors and it died from major bug infestations. It’s a very poor houseplant because it loves humidity and good air circulation. I would think if you baby it by getting a humidifier, never let it dry out and use a systemic pesticide every 4 months it may grow ok indoors.

This is what my Licuala looked like in June of 2010.

https://growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/159125-licuala-peltata-sumawongii-sumawong-pleated-licuala/all

...thank you Janey x

So glad to hear the storms did not cause any damage at your place. I think it's a good idea to leave the chair lying down.

Your Christmas decorations are lovely. Everything looks very festive. Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

Simply beautiful.

That's such a great idea Klahanie. I'm sure those decorations will be greatly appreciated. Christmas can sometimes be very bleak for those in need.

Very, very different to the conditions here Shirley. Christmas Day will be spent indoors in the air-con.

Thank you Linda for your comment.

Very nice collection of ornaments.
I just donated big box of Christmas "stuf" to local charity.
I did not have any connection with it .Just bought too much over the years. I am decreasing my decoration as I age. Still have a few I like around.
Merry Christmas.

Very pretty.

Glad you have been able to see everything now without ads blocking things for you!

Then I could grow one in our living room! :D

Oh Sue, that doesn't sound too good about your relatives being in hospital. Let's hope they make a good recovery.

Having read the comments from both Hywel and Balcony, it seems you're all sorted and are advert-free now, hooray!

Long may it stay that way ... :o)

Bernie, here on the South coast of England we are due to have a wet and windy night, then dry tomorrow, but a chilly 7 degrees. How different to your weather!

Wishing you and yours a happy Christmas.