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mystic fred
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 02:45 |
My Michaelmas story...a tale from the Gazebo..
for some years i have been battling with Michaelmas Daisies sprouting all over my front garden, on one occasion i pulled up a carpet of roots and replanted the whole border, no sign for a year or two but the little b**gers kept creeping back...
In the end i gave in and let them have their wicked way, but chopped them back into order at every oppportunity, unaware of the amazing display that was about to develop..by continually cutting them down i have been rewarded with a glorious purple and yellow vision in this sunny autumnal period - when most other flowering plants are dying off these little gems have really come into their own, and a bonus for the many bees who continue to busy themselves gathering pollen....sometimes it pays to come to a compromise with your "enemies"!
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Atavachron
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 02:46 |
happy accidents
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Dean
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 02:47 |
loverly
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mystic fred
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 02:53 |
there are usually loads more bees around the flowers, there weren't many on saturday evening when i took the photos. Now i am seriously considering taking some around to the back garden...
Edited by mystic fred - October 13 2009 at 02:57
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Jim Garten
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 03:04 |
Fantastic display - as you say, a good example of compromise with the enemy; a microcosm of world politics...
...sort of
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Jon Lord 1941 - 2012
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el dingo
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 03:08 |
I've had a similar experience with Crocosmia
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It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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mystic fred
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 03:10 |
..though not looking forward to the clouds of "fluff" when the flowers die off...
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el dingo
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 03:24 |
I know what you mean. I'm just replacing my half hoops of petunias & geraniums with winter pansies - the ivy has lasted for years so I just cut it back and bung it back in the pot with the pansies and the new muck - stable down the road + friendly people = free muck. Then some daffs in out the back and I'm done for the season - I've only got a little courtyard out back so most of it's in pots (I've got a collection of herbs to rival Thos Culpepper)
Edited by el dingo - October 13 2009 at 03:26
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It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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Atavachron
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 03:30 |
el dingo wrote:
I've had a similar experience with Crocosmia |
just about to add them to Avant Garde
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el dingo
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 03:36 |
Yeah - sounds the part doesn't it?
I can't remember the plant's "street name" - something like Lucifer's tongue i think but I'm not sure.
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It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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Man Erg
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 05:29 |
el dingo wrote:
I've had a similar experience with Crocosmia |
That Would probably be the 'Lucifer' variety. Vivid red prawn shaped flowers when in full bloom. I like the colour of the seed pods and leaves in the Autumn.A lovely bronze tint.
I have divided mine and given them to friends but from now on I am going to divide and rule by throwing one half into the composter!
Fantastic display of Michelmas Daisies,Steve.My African Daisies (purple and white) have had a wonderful season thus far.I think the final flush of blooms seem to be going over.We hve had a couple of light frosts and I think that it has nipped anymore blooms in the bud so to speak.
Edited by Man Erg - October 13 2009 at 05:34
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Do 'The Stanley' otherwise I'll thrash you with some rhubarb.
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el dingo
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Posted: October 13 2009 at 07:55 |
Yep - they're the ones. Loads of little bulblets every year.
Incidentally seeing your username reminded me to buy Pawn Hearts on mp3 today - I've not heard it since I sold most of my vynil years ago
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It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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mystic fred
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Posted: October 18 2009 at 10:24 |
Brought in my Begonias as there is the danger of frost, never grown these before so wondering how i store them for winter, are they corms or bulbs?
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Dean
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Posted: October 18 2009 at 10:32 |
Some are tubers and some are rhizomes
I've never tried keeping them beyond the season- I assume the tuberous ones can be kept like dahlias, the others are annuals and I doubt they can be kept.
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mystic fred
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Posted: October 19 2009 at 02:24 |
thanks Dean, at least keeping them in pots indoors allows a few more weeks before they die off
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Man Erg
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Posted: October 19 2009 at 02:25 |
mystic fred wrote:
Brought in my Begonias as there is the danger of frost, never grown these before so wondering how i store them for winter, are they corms or bulbs?
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Hi Steve,
My Dad used to pinch out the flowering bud(s) this returns energy back to the tuber.wait until the flowers turned yellow, cut the flowers off, then remove the tuber from the soil and give it a good clean,checking for any infestation etc.Overwinter in potash,wood shavings or shredded newspaper in an cool,dry place, a bit like tulip bulbs. In late February re-pot.Huzzah!
Edited by Man Erg - October 19 2009 at 03:05
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Do 'The Stanley' otherwise I'll thrash you with some rhubarb.
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Dean
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Posted: October 19 2009 at 03:49 |
^ see, just like Dahlias
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progmetalhead
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Posted: October 19 2009 at 04:33 |
A tad long but just soooo soooo funny!!
Pocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for their anniversary submitted this:
Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse- sized tazer. The effects of the tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety......??
WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and pressed it against a metal surface at the same time, I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs.
AWESOME!!!
Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.
Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two AAA batteries, right? There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and then thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?
So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and tazer in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; and a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.
All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference (loaded with two itsy, bitsy AAA batteries); pretty cute really, and thinking to myself, 'no possible way!' What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best ...
I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side so as to say, 'Don't do it stupid,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny lil ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and .........
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD .. . WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . . . WHAT THE ....!!!
I'm pretty sure Hulk Hogan ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs! The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.
Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a tazer, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor! A three second burst would be considered conservative!
A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling.
Apparently I had crapped in my shorts, but was too numb to know for sure, and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head, which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my testicles and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!
P.s... My wife can't stop laughing about my experience, loved the gift and now regularly threatens me with it!
If you think education is difficult, try being stupid !!
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mystic fred
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Posted: October 19 2009 at 05:41 |
...phew...better be careful out there, you never know what a lady could be carrying in her handbag these days...
thanks for the begonia tip, Lee, will try your Dad's recipe
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chopper
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Posted: October 19 2009 at 16:32 |
We've had the Police Armed Response Unit doing a demo at our Scout Troop. They showed us a video of someone being tazered, then offered to demo it. Nobody took up the offer. Tazers obviously do their job very well!
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