Lots of Interesting Things

It always amazes me how much is going on in the garden as the nights draw in and get chilly!
I have a passion as you know for the tropical type plants and lo and behold I have quite a few in flower.
I adore white flowers and would have lots more around if allowed. When a white Brugmansia flowers it is an amazing sight



this one has the most beautiful evening scent



The cup and saucer plant is flowering like there is no tomorrow




I hope I can collect some seed from this as its such an amazing plant!

I also found this sweet little fuschia, how its survived I've no idea as it is so neglected, but up it comes year after year. Quite unfair really as my mum faithfully lifts hers in each winter and pots them out again the next year!!!




This is a bizarre pic. I'm trying to show you my 'Zebra Grass' it has grown so much this year and has the most amazing colourings on the leaves!




Should be quite a clump next year!

Due to the large amounts of rain we have had we have a large amount of these!!



T has been embelishing her jeans





I love what she does when she does these bizarre things, I wish I could photograph her everyday to show you what she wears as she has such an individual look about her. She is blossoming and it is so lovely to watch!

Jake has been feeling the cold




so decided to get into bed! It was a sad day yesterday as Jakes 'Mummy and Daddy' moved out. I shall miss them alot as they have been such wonderful neighbours! Prior to them, on both sides, we have had some horrendous neighbours, so I wait in trepidation of what is to come! But shall greet them with a smile and keep an open mind!

The trap was set for the first time last night



thats Sassy you can see the other side! Baited with scrummy pilchards. Alas nothing caught. I shall reset it tonight as he rarely visits during the day!
The good news is I managed to contact the lady at Cats Protection who has arranged for me to get an RSPCA neutering voucher, so I can get the feral cat neutered, then once he is done I think we will re;ease him somewhere far away and if I have to go through the same process next year I will!

plus


Happy Birthday 'ickle' sister!

An Amazing Lady!

I managed to contact the cat rescue recommended by my new vet and I met this amazing lady yesterday, she runs the charity called 'Cats in Care'. (according to there newsletter they are in there 30th year and having looked at the registered Charity site to see how the finances are, I found out very little!)

She lives in this bungalow down a long track and I knew I was in the right place as there where cats in all the windows. She invited me in for a coffee in a way, you knew she wanted company. I had dressed accordingly and was led through a door to an enormous pen attached to the back of the house. There where beds and cats everywhere, this enclosure is so the cats don't bother the neighbours. This was her home and she kept apologising for the state of it.

In the kitchen, there where beds ontop of fridges, worktops and a plank of wood over the cooker with a cat asleep on it, what had I let myself in for. The smell was unpleasant, but bearing in mind how many cats she had (34) not overpowering and clean!

We went through to the 'lounge' and it was then I realsied she had no heating only a 'parkray'? Is that the one you light which heats your water? No TV, only a small radio. More beds with cats, along the top of bookshelves, on chairs on bean bags, again the smell was there but not unpleasant.

So we sat and chatted and before I knew it 3 hours had passed :shock: she is a well educated lady who wanted to know about my family, my girls, was exceptionally interested in T and thrilled that K was at Uni. and so it went on.

Anyway to cut a long story short at some point in the conversation I mentioned my father was a Master Mariner, so was hers. She asked which company he worked for 'Ellerman City Liners' I said, her chin dropped, so did hers! Her's was actually the commodore!

She mentioned that all her family where buried at Blackhorse Hill Cemetary, which was 5 mins walk from my home and my junior and senior school, in fact the one school I went to was .................... wait for it.........................
Blackhorse Hill School!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She lived and was raised in Wallasey which is about a 20 min drive from where we lived and where I learnt to drive!!

Now I believe these sort of meetings, with so many connections don't just happen, there is a reason.

If I lived closer I would definately volunteer as I am a cat person and love cats. But I want to find out more, and there AGM is in October so I may go along.

In all the research I did, I found one thing they lack, a website! There is no information about them on the web at all, apart from the charities website and then again thats not uptodate!

In my days as playgroup chairperson, I did that for 5 years, I was a mean fundraiser! But before I consider this I want lots more info!!

What do you think friends, coincidence or what??

Dare to be Different!

The front of my house is north facing! Not the best aspect for the plants I like to grow but you would be amazed at what can grow there! The picture gives you an idea of what it looks like.!

The two palms which you can see at the bottom of the pic I will move to the patio.



I bought and planted my Caster Oil Plant this year it was small and only cost £5 and look at the size of it now!!!



Good investment I think.
The tree ferns also a bargain buy from Wilkinsons at £3.99 each, have come on in leaps and bounds.



To over winter these I just need to stuff a handful of fleece into the crown.

I am exceptionally disappointed with my double white brugmansia's



every bloom went all brown round the edges, I think more because of the poor weather, but not one I will keep.

In the top pic you can see in front of the window some dead plants, well they were Busy Lizzies, not very exotic I know but they love this position and add a bit of 'pink' my favourite colour! I am trying to find something abit different to replace them with. That would add a bit of colour at this sometimes dull time of year.
Current favourites are Choisya ternata 'Sundance



yellow is such a cheerful colour, about three of these, with two Phormium platts black



quite effective, but, and there is always a but, the whole lot would cost me a whopping £25.54 which is rather alot of money on plants that might not make it through the winter. Mind you the garden centre said they would survive and if I bought them from them, I could take them back if they died as I would have a 5yr moneyback guarentee. But that would add about another £50 to the bill!!!

So plenty to keep me thinking!

My lovely cat Tango,



refused to come in last night and suffered because of it. I was woken at 0400 with a big cat fight going on, so shot down the stairs (yes I sleep that lightly) went to the back door and it was occuring in my neighbours garden. So charged down the garden in my (pink) nightie armed with a torch. I couldn't find them or get through the shrubs to try and scare the feral off, it carried on and on I was running up and down the garden trying to make enough noise to scare of the feral but not wake the neighbours. It still carried on, I just couldn't see them then I obviously shined the torch in the right area as the feral ran of and Tango eventually limped in with blood coming from his back leg!
So another visit to the vet, another £33 bill, but he recommend a Cat rescue who would loan me a trap. So I get the trap tomorrow and they expect me to get him neutered and release him again.
What would you do? I know what we plan to do?