Autumn is Here!

I can tell when autumn is here not only by the changing colours of the leaves, or the low hard sun in the sky but by looking round my garden

My Caster Oil Plant, I can still remember the first time it flowered, I believe two years ago on this blog, since then it has been dug up cut back and re-planted and this year yet again it shows me its different developments of its flower..









It always flowers at this time of year, and I love it because it is so different to anything else I have in the garden,

I was given a tuber of this flower Impatiens tinctoria (I believe)





yes there are other types of 'Bizzy Lizzie' lots and lots I have the book to prove it! This one is currently 1 metre tall and flowering away merrily, a sight for sore eyes at this time of year!!


My tree ferns have loved our awful summer and have grown amazingly well, I will stuff the crowns with fleece and leave them to there own devices this winter. This is the small one



and my bigger one has masses of fronds





A sure sign of colder days and nights is I can find the cats relatively easily

Jake's favourite position is half in and half out of the cat flap, I have yet to get a pic but I will



he comes and goes as he pleases now, but I lock them all in at night! Although he is timid he acts quite dominant on occasions, Sassy does not like him at all and avoids him at all costs, when they do meet everyone can hear it. Funnily enough neither Sassy or Tango have given him a swipe, Chimarnie my old cat would have, its all Jake needs, maybe its not in the nature of a Burmese?? Watching him round the house I understand how important a tail is to a cat, he is definitely not as agile.

Sassy likes to be as close to me as she can



sitting on the chair next to me when I'm on the computer. She is so sweet.

Tango is sneezing alot



and is not complaining to much about being shut in, which is unusually for him. I have checked for other symptoms of 'Cat flu' but he doesn't seem to have them, he is drinking and eating so maybe its just the sniffles.

In the autumn I come in from the garden and start to make and do in the home, I have been quite busy so have some nice things to share with you, but not right now. I am away for a few days visiting my mum so will be back next week.

Don't forget the hour changes this weekend!

Cats

As sunday was such a glorius day, and Jake had successfully found the cat flap, plus there where four of us here I though today should be the day when he would be allowed out!!!!!






he had an explore around and kept popping back in for a lie down! Or flop as we call it!



as you can see he is not easy to see



and after more exploring, look at the awful new fence our neighbour has replaced the ivy with!



he disappeared for 5 3/4 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not that I was counting of course!

So I tried hard to keep myself from worrying and having an early heart attack!





By moving some plants around to disguise the 'fence'! Quite pleased with this.

Sassy as you can see was not atall bothered



Eventually Jake returned, much to my relief, but then Sassy and Tango stayed out all night so I didn't get much sleep last night!!!

All the T's....... Tori and Tango!

We have had a bit of a hectic end to the week, T has been in hospital!!! She got severe abdominal pains on Thursday and they where so bad one of her friends phoned hubby (he was closest)as all the college would offer was a taxi!!! So he took her to A & E. By the time I got there they had got her in, to be examined and given her pain killers.
Anyway to cut a long story short, they thought it was either an ovarian cyst or twisted ovary!
Admitted her for a scan
continued to feed her pain killers on an empty stomach
she wanted her teddy!
Started being ill, due to pain killer on empty stomach, even though I had told them she was sensitive to this!
K came home.
T was scanned, nothing urgent found.
Discharged, even though still being ill and couldn't even keep water down!
Slept for 17 hours
Got up feeling lots better drank alot ate a little and went back to bed again, where she still is!
We are glad she is home and it was nothing urgent, although this is being followed up by a deeper scan to make sure everything is OK!

Then of course Tango does not like one person being the centre of attention unless its him!

So sitting on T with her wrist band on his head and he doesn't give a hoot!



we had the front fire lit but clearly it was too hot for T!!!



His passionate face!



I apologise for hubbies legs, but I just loved this pic, it sums Tango up, relaxed!



All of the pics of Tango where taken today, as I said he likes to be the centre of attention!

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?

Look!

Tango has been going AWOL since jakes arrival. We noticed how thin he had become and because he hadn't been around much the dominant smell in the house has been Jake so recently each evening about 1800hrs I lock the cat flap so you can only come in. Basically forcing the issue of a meet. We need someone to be dominent, until they are I can't leave them alone



so yesterday they passed one another. Today Tango passed Jake a number of times



he insists on being fussed and has even rolled over and laid on his back, which I haven't managed to capture on camera as its difficult taking pics one handed!



this evening Jake has been wandering round the house somewhere and Tango has been in and used his litter tray even though he has one of his own downstairs. I think the dominance is coming through without any fights!

We are still concerned with Tangos skinnyness, he has never been this thin so I think next week I will get him to the vets for a FIV Feline Aids test, as he seems to have a piercing of his ear and has obviously been in more fights. I spotted the feral cat down the road by the equestrian centre with a mouth full of rat. I wonder if Tango does come back positive whether the RSPCA and cats rescue will be more helpful in trapping him. I bet they will, whilst I may lose a much treasured pet becuase of there lack of help! Lets hope it doesn't come to that!

Pottering

The other day after hanging the washing out I decided to take a few pics. The rain has certainly helped my garden this year and had we had a bit more sunshine I think I may have needed a machete to get through the jungle plot!

The Red Tiger, banana at the back has grwn immensly, so much so I think I may have to move it as I think its a bit close to the fence!



Can you see why I love the Maurelli so much, isn't this leaf lovely!



The sedums are all a beautiful colour at the moment.



My Queen Elizabeth rose still flowering madly.



Further down the garden I have a few bananas still in




the problem being is I can't find the labels so don't know which is what?? Do you lose labels, I seem to be brilliant at it and that is not good!

In the greenhouse is one of my Alocasia's



I have always loved this one because of the markings and the shiny leaves. I moved it in as we have had quite a few cool nights!

In my other greenhouse is my very special Manihot Grahamii



I will over winter this in the greenhouse as it is so small but I need it to lose its leaves so it will have to be placed in a cooler part of the heated greenhouse!

Behind my small greenhouse my neighbour grows this



it is now invading behind the small greenhouse but my side of the fence



and I expect it to arrive in the greenhouse next year, as you can see I have quite a problem as the space is not big enough to fit a spade down let alone my bum!!!!!!

Do you remember the size of my Tetrapanax Rex when I planted it, no? Well look here to remind yourself! Now look at it.




Imagine how big it will get next year!

This corner will need sorting as yet again I have to much in a small space...



I'm glad I potted the bamboos into these pots they have really taken off



and I couldn't really complain to my neighbour about her invading grass if I had let the bamboo run free!!!

My cup and sauce plant (Cobaea Scandens) I have never grown it before and I highly recommend it if you have something that needs to be covered, fast! It is an annual, so if you don't like it you just dig it up at the end of the season. I like it



the flowers first bloom and they are a pale colour getting



darker as they age.



and the bees love the pollen




and finally the second meeting has occured, Jake has spent a fair bit of time in the cage whilst Tango & Sassy where around. Having had a very busy week trolling back and forth between home the college and the hospital. When Hubby came back from hospital yesterday he said how skinny Tango has got, and he's right, I hadn't noticed how much weight he has lost. So we decided that currently the biggest scent in the house was Jakes, as basically Tango only comes in to sleep then goes out in the morning till the following day. So we decided to push things along and T very kindly came in at about 5pm yesterday, so I locked the cat flap, Jake was in the cage and we shut the kitchen door. So Tango had to deal with it. Everything went so well we opened the cage and.................



nothing happened??? You can see Tango in the distance by the cat flap. They walked around, skirting one another, I expected Tango to take at least one swipe at Jake and nothing happened, no growling, spitting or swiping??? So we opened the kitchen door and they both wandered around, very wary of one another but it was so fine we left them to it, but kept our ears peeled. Jake stalked Tango where ever he was about 10 inches behind was Jake! He is so desperate to have a mate to play with and my two don't want to play at all! Maybe I will have to get a kitten lol! Shhhh don't tell hubby!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More to follow...............