I am surprised by that Pat - I thought Australia would be too hot and dry for the Chrysanths - they are such a versatile flower, many shapes, forms and colours. They are something new for me, I wasn't a great fan of them, but these little patio Chrysanths don't get battered by the wind so do much better for us.
Pat lives in New South Wales where the climate is more temperate and wetter than other parts. But Pat lives in or near the mountains where it gets much colder in winter.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Thanks Busy, I guess most people would think of Australia as being hot and dry - hence the big fires. I should have taken more notice in my Geography classes!
Hi GD and Busy. You're both right of course, but our country is so big that we have a whole range of climates. On our Gardening Australia TV show, they have a presenter for each region. I've lived in the tropics (Darwin, NT), on the east coast of NSW, in Melbourne Vic, and now in the mountainous and colder region, so I've gardened in many different climates. Our region here is cold and can get snow in winter but high 30 s in summer. We are mostly dry. We've only had 11 mm rain so far in October..
time to get up, I can here voices in the kitchen, so ourvvisitors are up and about, bah! I like laying here snug under the bedclothes and reading the mail.
Pat the versatile gardener - you are far more versed in the gardening world than I ever will be, with all your climates and terrains - we just seem to have average everything here although perhaps more wind than I would like.
Getting towards bed time for us, I am just listening out for the owl and hedgehogs before I go.
Hi GD. Yes I have gardened in many different climates which doesn't necessarily mean that I know as much as you'd think. I didnt study Horticulture formally until Canberra, but the lessons learned in the tropics were always there in my mind. I sometimes think about some of the things that I grew up there. Ginger, lemon grass, bananas, pawpaw, mango, avocado, etc. plus lots of ornamental plants. Couldn't grow a tomato to save my life there though - Too hot.
strangely though, I found Melbourne the most difficult climate to grow vegetables in. I never did work out why. I manage very well here.
You have adapted to the differing conditions Pat, and learned as you went along. They always say to look at what your neighbours are growing when you move into a new area - if you don't see it in the local vicinity, there is usually a good reason why it won't thrive. I would have thought Melbourne more accommodating than some other areas, I have never been there, but they did have huge fires just after my dear friends moved there in 2007 so it must be very dry.
I like the idea of growing pawpaw & avocado though. We have grown ginger plants, aubergines and agave here as they can in the sheltered parts of the South of England.
GD. I'm not sure that the bushfires can be entirely blamed on dryness, so much as our eucalyptus forrests are very volatile. To see how fast a fire can progress up a forested hillside is truly terrifying, and even jump to the next ridge. I hope your friends weren't affected by their experience.
time for bed for me now, so I'll catch up tomorrow, if I can get a chance.
Posts
I am surprised by that Pat - I thought Australia would be too hot and dry for the Chrysanths - they are such a versatile flower, many shapes, forms and colours. They are something new for me, I wasn't a great fan of them, but these little patio Chrysanths don't get battered by the wind so do much better for us.
Pat lives in New South Wales where the climate is more temperate and wetter than other parts. But Pat lives in or near the mountains where it gets much colder in winter.
Thanks Busy, I guess most people would think of Australia as being hot and dry - hence the big fires. I should have taken more notice in my Geography classes!
Hi GD and Busy. You're both right of course, but our country is so big that we have a whole range of climates. On our Gardening Australia TV show, they have a presenter for each region. I've lived in the tropics (Darwin, NT), on the east coast of NSW, in Melbourne Vic, and now in the mountainous and colder region, so I've gardened in many different climates. Our region here is cold and can get snow in winter but high 30 s in summer. We are mostly dry. We've only had 11 mm rain so far in October.
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time to get up, I can here voices in the kitchen, so ourvvisitors are up and about, bah! I like laying here snug under the bedclothes and reading the mail.
Pat the versatile gardener - you are far more versed in the gardening world than I ever will be, with all your climates and terrains - we just seem to have average everything here although perhaps more wind than I would like.
Getting towards bed time for us, I am just listening out for the owl and hedgehogs before I go.
Hi GD. Yes I have gardened in many different climates which doesn't necessarily mean that I know as much as you'd think. I didnt study Horticulture formally until Canberra, but the lessons learned in the tropics were always there in my mind. I sometimes think about some of the things that I grew up there. Ginger, lemon grass, bananas, pawpaw, mango, avocado, etc. plus lots of ornamental plants. Couldn't grow a tomato to save my life there though - Too hot.
strangely though, I found Melbourne the most difficult climate to grow vegetables in. I never did work out why. I manage very well here.
You have adapted to the differing conditions Pat, and learned as you went along. They always say to look at what your neighbours are growing when you move into a new area - if you don't see it in the local vicinity, there is usually a good reason why it won't thrive. I would have thought Melbourne more accommodating than some other areas, I have never been there, but they did have huge fires just after my dear friends moved there in 2007 so it must be very dry.
I like the idea of growing pawpaw & avocado though. We have grown ginger plants, aubergines and agave here as they can in the sheltered parts of the South of England.
GD. I'm not sure that the bushfires can be entirely blamed on dryness, so much as our eucalyptus forrests are very volatile. To see how fast a fire can progress up a forested hillside is truly terrifying, and even jump to the next ridge. I hope your friends weren't affected by their experience.
time for bed for me now, so I'll catch up tomorrow, if I can get a chance.
One of my poppies is about to open. There are also two more bids hiding in there. Maybe tomorrow it'll be fully open.
Try 'buds'