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Old March 7th, 2011, 10:06 AM
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While waiting for your Spring gardens.....

.....just a few from my Autumn garden, though there won't be much. I hate the thought that your flowers are still aways off for you.


The Gaura amidst the petunias. Petunias are great value here, they seem to flower for a ridiculously long time.

Then two David Austin roses, Brother Cadfael and Grace.
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Old March 7th, 2011, 10:06 AM
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I don't think Spring is ever going to come .

Thanks for sharing those beautiful flowers
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Old March 7th, 2011, 10:18 AM
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Salvia Hot Lips. Some flowers are red, some white, some red and white.

I have Alyssum along the front of many of the rose beds, it smells beautiful.

The rose Regensburg.

Hi L4H, I'm nearly off to bed but wouldn't have a clue what the time is where you are.
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Old March 7th, 2011, 10:26 AM
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ohhhh Grace!! I'd love to get some of those, I'm grace the 5th and my daughter the 6th.....what lovely flowers you have...makes me long for spring
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Old March 7th, 2011, 10:27 AM
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You need to look for it but there is a blue salvia here on the left blending in with the petunia colours.

A humble geranium.

Some yellow(ish) petunias.
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Old March 7th, 2011, 10:41 AM
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Melinda, my mother's name was Grace so I just had to have that one. Yes, you'd be looking ahead, while I am getting depressed because I know there won't be many flowers at all during Autumn/Winter here.

Lady of Meginch, described as a rosette type. It is certainly apt.

Lichfield Angel, next to the above. They have flowered repeatedly , a wonderful pair.

Finally a little Aster.

There is a flood warning here, darn it! Heavy rain tomorrow and the next day. I am getting sick of these tropical storms extending from coast to coast like they have this Summer. It is very humid here tonight. I shouldn't complain though when a friend in Queensland got a text message and a landline call today telling them they should consider evacuating. I am praying they stay safe seeing she won't leave her home.
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Old March 7th, 2011, 10:59 AM
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I can smell those flowers....

Where in the world are flowers blooming right now? Australia?
We probably won't see a hint of colour until April here in Northern Ontario.
Those roses pictured are beautiful..... my favourite
J.

Many flowers have I seen
The rose is a good'un
But give to me the good old flour
That makes a Yorkshire puddin'
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Old March 7th, 2011, 02:59 PM
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Yes Goldfields lives in Australia! While we're enduring our winter bleakness she fills our screens with beautiful flowers. Hope your friend manages well with the flooding Goldfields, and that you don't get any yourself.
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Old March 7th, 2011, 06:43 PM
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oh thanks DogDancer..... I've never had the pleasure of going to see Australia but my daughters have and love it. Yes, even a picture of flowers cheers us up this time of year!
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Old March 7th, 2011, 06:59 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
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Definately gets you excited about whats to come. In New York we got a really good thaw, and actually had more grass than snow. Not for long, were back to 12 inches of white.
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Old March 7th, 2011, 08:20 PM
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Inthedoghouse, I'm in Victoria(bottom right state on mainland Australia), they call it, funnily enough, the garden state. Not that appropriate for where I am, we are temperate verging on being semi arid. This Summer just gone is about the best anyone can recall though, quite wet, warm and humid, which did marvels for the garden.
Dog Dancer, things could get amusing from here on in. Everyone's dams are full and when runoff can't get into our house dam I'm not sure where it's going to go. I'll phone my friend later and see whether the floods reached her property.

Now, following our last lot of rain comes Zephyranthes candida(windflower, Zephyr Lily, Rain Lily). Following today's rain a lot more might flower.

Some different coloured Statice, another good value plant, flowers for a long time.

Red Nerines.
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Old March 7th, 2011, 08:52 PM
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The first one is my white Buddleja. I have just bought Buddleja Black Knight (dark purple) but it's only tiny yet. If I can get hold of a mauve one and a yellow one I'd be very pleased.
At the head of my Tammy's grave , the rose 'Pegasus'.
Then Cabana starting its Autumn flush.
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Old March 7th, 2011, 09:07 PM
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On my darling Susie's grave, Best Friend.
Makybe Diva bud.
One of my blue salvias.
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Old March 19th, 2011, 10:28 PM
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3 roses. Ashram, Belle Story and Grace again.
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Old March 19th, 2011, 10:38 PM
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And another 3. The Dark Lady, showing how she changes colour as she ages. The Pilgrim, and the always beautiful Pierre de Ronsard.
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Old March 19th, 2011, 10:58 PM
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For a change of pace, my first Crinum Mooreei flower. So graceful, and the perfume is nice too.
The Pandorea jasminoides vine on one of the tank stands.
And now, this last flowering shrub is a total mystery and if you can identify it I'd be rapt. I have posted this on the garden forum and sent it to The Diggers Club, and so far no ID on it. It was given to me, so no name tag unfortunately. Sent this particular photo to show the size of the flowers in comparison to my hand.
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Old March 20th, 2011, 12:46 AM
SamIam SamIam is offline
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Beautiful, Goldfields, wow! Maybe they were in your yard when they decided to call it the garden state!
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Old March 20th, 2011, 02:26 AM
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Nice of you to say so, Sam, but no, this garden is only a result of a fluke wet summer. Two years ago we came out of 13 years of drought, so bad that farm dams were not filled, only house dams, via a channel system, and with the storages locally down finally to about 3% capacity. During the drought I had no grass at all at times, just bare dirt where I exercised my dogs. Then Queensland got a wonderful wet season which sent flood waters down through the centre of Australia to fill Lake Eyre, and I believed the local plant nursery owner who said that we'd get good weather once Lake Eyre filled, so I guess I've gone on a real spending spree for the garden since the drought broke. Haven't a clue what will happen next Summer, so I will just enjoy it all while I can.
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Old March 20th, 2011, 02:05 PM
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Beautiful pictures Goldfields .

We are in spring here on the west coast but some of those central and east coast could still be a while. I've noticed a bunch of cherry trees in blossom this week and I have lots of things budding new growth in my garden.
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Old March 20th, 2011, 03:22 PM
SamIam SamIam is offline
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Well, Goldfields, I sure hope the next few years do you well so you don't lose all the beautiful new ones you've put in!

For your amusement, here is a section of my spring garden as it stands on the vernal equinox. This tray is pansies.
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Old March 20th, 2011, 07:22 PM
shirley1011 shirley1011 is offline
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Goldfields, with all the wet weather you have there this year, how do you manage to not have any black spot on your roses.....all it does is rain here a few days and poof I have block spot all over the leaves? Do you have a secret you could share?
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Old March 20th, 2011, 07:34 PM
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Thanks, TeriM. Great news that finally Spring is nearly there. Share your photo's, please. It's interesting to see what grows there, though I do get envious. I just realised the other day that I'm one of those people who goes through a plant catalogue and decides she'd like every plant in her garden. Is that an addiction, or what? (Haven't told my husband yet what I've ordered from the last catalogue. It'd be cheaper to take up smoking again.)

SamIam, that's an interesting way to grow pansies, are they peat pots? I am just so totally hooked on growing plants from seed. I did 32 punnets the other day. We're out of milk, so whoever goes to town can bring back some more seed raising mix, I'm sure there is more I can plant yet. I guess you could easily get Spring annuals started there by using a sunny windowsill? Thinking of which, I should go out and see if my seedlings need water.
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Old March 20th, 2011, 08:25 PM
SamIam SamIam is offline
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It's a handy little set-up, sphagnum peat wrapped in biodegradable mesh, comes as a dehydrated coin that expands when you add water, the tray is reusable, so very handy and nothing wasted. Each variety of seed goes in a certain period of time (up to 12 weeks) before the last frost date, so they'll be the right size and maturity when you put them in the ground. I've never done as much as this year (will be 36 dozen plants), but last year I would have been eligible for "sorriest attempt", so I'm stepping up towards "worthy of looking."
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Old March 20th, 2011, 10:31 PM
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I like the Pilgrim and it's little follower.

Thank you so much GF for sharing your beautiful gardens. It's been so nice throughout the winter months to pop on here and see your astounding variety of fresh foliage and blooms.

It was such a beautiful sunny day here today that I tended to my gardens with a yearly spring dormant Lime/Sulphur spray. Hoping that this will control any winter bugs/disease before any damage occurs.

Heck, with your gardens throughout all our winter and our gardens throughout your winter, we can all have a beautiful bouquet all year round!
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Old March 20th, 2011, 10:37 PM
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Sorry, Shirley,1011, I didn't see your post earlier. I got sidetracked, upping the insurance on my dog trailer. They've increased in price by $2,500 since I got mine.
I do get black spot, also, to a much lesser degree, powdery mildew. The latter only seems to effect (umm, dark red rose, ummm ... having a senior moment here) Papa Meilland. I have two plants of that rose, the one protected by the house gets the powdery mildew, the one out in the breeze doesn't. So, with my garden big and open, I think that's why I don't get that much black spot either, roses need light and air around them. For powdery mildew I use a milk and water spray, for blackspot one of those sprays you can buy for a number of purposes, aphids , black spot etc..
I hate to admit this, SamIAm, my sister gave me some of those coin thingies and I didn't realise they expanded so threw them out. Duh! They looked useless to me. Now you know who's useless. So what did you plant other than pansies?
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Old March 20th, 2011, 11:03 PM
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Kiss Me Quick - proper name Centranthus ruber.
Buddleja 'Black Knight'.
A lovely David Austin rose, William Morris
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Old March 20th, 2011, 11:20 PM
SamIam SamIam is offline
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Not your fault, Goldfields, new equipment ought to have come with instructions, otherwise they just look like a chunk of dried dirt!

Let's see... I've got the pansies, petunias, snapdragons, carnations, pink pampas grass, trailing petunias and trailing begonias. Don't know if you grow zonal geraniums from seed, but I didn't find any. I also got sweet peas for the fence, you're not supposed to start them indoors but last year I got two flowers after first frost and nothing before, so I think I'll give them a head start anyway. They'll all get mixed in out there with super-hardy bulbs and perennials. I have an ant problem killing off some of my plants every year, hope I can finally get that fixed.

What's winter like where you are, as far as the garden goes?
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Old March 20th, 2011, 11:32 PM
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This dainty one is Limonium latifolium - Fairy Statice- and the colour is Emile Blue.
Next is just a succulent, can't tell you its name.
Finally, a rose named Seduction.
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Old March 21st, 2011, 12:06 AM
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The Pilgrim is a lovely rose, I agree, klm. Some of them are so photogenic that I bless the digital camera being invented. I thought my old Sony Mavica was good, just using floppies, but I go nuts with a digital. Still, the Mavica is good for short doggy videos.
I am looking forward to your Spring/Summer gardens. There is usually very little flowering here during Winter, but then I've put so many new things in, the garden might surprise me. We'll see.

SamIAm, they say if in doubt, read the instructions, but there were none.

Pink Pampas grass, that sounds nice, though here I think Pampas Grass has to be disposed of carefully from a garden , it can take off in the wild. I don't ever start my Sweet Peas outside. I put everything in punnets, otherwise ants or some other insect takes the seeds. Your garden should be a picture. Are you doing Petunias from seed? Don't they have microscopic seed? I only ever get them as seedlings because of that.
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Old March 21st, 2011, 12:47 AM
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[QUOTE=SamIam;994871] Not your fault, Goldfields, new equipment ought to have come with instructions, otherwise they just look like a chunk of dried dirt!

I also got sweet peas for the fence, you're not supposed to start them indoors but last year I got two flowers after first frost and nothing before, so I think I'll give them a head start anyway.QUOTE]

I start these inside and I am telling you they grow fine when you transplant them. Mine grow against my garage, up the wall and on to the roof. I also throw some seed down at the same time, just to expand the bloom time.
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