One year on

March 2010:



March 2011:

Planting completed

I finally got the bamboo in the ground. It doesn't seem to have suffered too much from being left in black garbage bags for almost a week....




A few finishing touches are still required. I'm thinking a Balinese-style statue of some kind, plus some groundcovers or very small shrubs in between the clumps.

That just about completes the planting in our garden now. I can sit back and watch everything grow for a while. :)

********

Remember the alien eye-stalk? Turns out to be a rather pretty flower spike. They've become so tall that some are having a lie down now. Anyway, they have these small but attractive orangey-pink flowers all along the stalks:



Succulents always amaze me with their flowers.

Free stuff!

Thanks to the generosity of Aaron and Erin, I'm now the proud owner of four giant clumps of bamboo, probably over $500 worth, FREE.

They dug out a huge mass of the stuff from a relative's yard and kindly offered some of the surplus to anyone who wanted it. Of course, I very quickly said "Yes".

I had planned to plant bamboo along the fenceline outside our sliding door, and now it's all lined up just waiting till I have the time to deal with it.


Those are 4m tall canes!


Yes, I took the pics through the (dirty) glass. It's raining out there!

It's lucky that the weather has turned cool and wet this week - no chance of the plants suffering heat stress before I can get them in the ground.

Christchurch earthquake appeal

I'm copying this from my other blog, to get the message out to as many people as possible:


I know we've all been digging deep recently to help our fellow Aussies affected by floods and cyclones, but please if you possibly can, dip into your pockets again and give a little something to help our Kiwi cousins.

Christchurch is a small city by world standards and as such, has limited resources. Emergency funds have already been stretched to the limit by the September earthquake, and now this latest and far more serious quake has left many folks destitute and in need of all the help they can get.

Remember, it's not just those who've lost their homes and belongings, but many, many people who don't have jobs to go to because their city workplaces have either been destroyed or are off-limits due to the danger of further collapses.

Whether you can contribute financially or not, if you're a blogger you can still help by posting a link to the global appeal website, which is here: http://www.christchurchearthquakeappeal.govt.nz/

Even if you don't have a blog, please spread the word by posting the link on Facebook or Twitter.

It's been a little wet here...

The tropical cyclones up north are having a nasty effect on our weather in the south, with stupid amounts of rain dumped on us yesterday.

This is our creek on a normal day; just a trickle of water that you can't even see from the bridge amongst all the vegetation:



This is the creek this morning, after 60-70mm of rain in the past 24 hours:



Note the little spillway in the billabong:



Uh....what spillway? (If you look carefully, you can see a line in the water that shows where it is):



We stood on the bridge and watched thousands of dragonfly larvae and a lot of tadpoles happily swimming in the billabong. The birds were pretty happy too - lots of food for them.

We humans could do with a bit less rain, thanks.

Things are pretty good around here - a few road closures, but we got off lightly compared to some parts of Melbourne, which received up to 180mm, most of it in a very short period last night. We have no flooding, no leaks and the only signs of the torrential rain is some mulch washed onto the footpath from the front garden, and one top-heavy potted plant that's having a lie down.

Cross your fingers for us; there's more on its way.

Flood relief - on a personal level

Blogger A-M lives in Brisbane, in one of the flood-affected areas near the river. She and her boys were extraordinarily lucky in that their ground floor apartment was untouched by the floodwaters. They have spent quite some time with no power or hot water and various other inconveniences, but A-M considers herself fortunate and has been out and about helping others who were not so lucky, like 73-year-old Ken.




Please go and read A-M's post about Ken, who is in desperate need of some help. His townhouse was completely flooded and is now just a shell, with no walls, floor coverings, cabinets or power, and not a stick of furniture. You can help Ken directly by using the Paypal "donate" button that A-M has set up on her blog.

Also, if you're in Brissie and you know a generous plumber who may be able to spare some time to help Ken get a new kitchen installed, please leave A-M a comment on her blog.

I know that bloggers are a generous lot and I'm sure we can help Ken get back on his feet.

x

Alien plant from the planet Zorg

My succulent collection has endured the big wet and is now enjoying the warmer weather, with most putting on some major growth.

This particular one is a favourite of mine. I don't know its name* unfortunately, but its pretty colours and odd, warty leaves really stand out. Now it's thrown out a long stem from the centre, which I assume is a flower(?):



I get the giggles every time I see it, because it reminds me of some alien eye-on-a-stalk from a B-grade sci-fi movie.



I swear it's watching me. Creepy...


*Edit: I'm told it's most likely an echeveria.