REPURPOSING
Last week this terracotta pot held a collection of succulents. Then I planted the succulents elsewhere, emptied the pot, scrubbed it and left it to dry. My plan was to turn it into a bee bath. The water in the existing bee bath seems to evaporate very quickly. I had to put it up on a ledge as Louis, our dog, considered it his outdoor water bowl.
When the terracotta pot was dry I rubbed it down then wiped it with a damp cloth and placed it on some newspaper before spraying it with blue paint. This is the paint I used on the metal chairs hanging on the wall behind. During the next three days I painted the outside and inside twice to get good coverage. I had also coated the inside with a terracotta sealant to retard water seepage.
The next job was sealing the drainage hole in the base. I used a silicone sealant which I’ve used successfully on similar jobs in the past. Fingers crossed it is long lasting. I am assuming the silicone sealer wont effect the water quality in any way.
Finally, the pot is painted and water tight, so I filled it and then put a small, solar powered fountain in it. I’m hoping the base of the floating fountain will be a safe bee landing spot as the water slightly overlaps the base.
So far the only visitor I have seen is a honey eater, but the fountain has been there less than 24 hours, so time will tell.
GROWING
Gorgeous when the hippiastra bloom each year. I have two different red ones and some dwarf white ones. Big, bold and pretty.
This hippiastrum was given to me by a family friend many years ago. I was able to harvest some seeds and grow seedlings to give to his daughter recently.
Abraham Darby sprawling roses with alstromerias growing under. Reliable cut flowers.
The only way we get tomatoes is to protect them in exclusion bags! This delicious voluntary tomato bush is very big and spreads over several metres growing along the top of a bed of agapanthus. The tomatoes taste sweet and remind me of old fashioned, thin skinned tomatoes, easy to cut and tasting of sunshine!
I am assuming the next lot would have tasted wonderful, too, but wont be finding out as this was what remained of the exclusion bag when we returned from down south. I will surrounded the heritage tomatoes growing in pots with wire netting, but the bush producing these tomatoes sprawls several metres along the top of other plants. Netting is not really possible. Our back garden is really quite small but obviously jumping with wildlife. Annoying.
Spent two nights at Mum’s on the way home from Bunker Bay and couldn’t resist these roses. Her spring garden is a riot of colour. Next weekend would have been the Brunswick Show, the local Agricultural Society show but it is cancelled due to CV-19. She enters flowers in many sections and always wins prizes. Last year she was awarded a certificate celebrating the 50 years she has entered things in the show. Her flowers would have done well this year, too.
BLUE AND WHITE CHINA FISH
First saw these fish at a garden centre where I’d met a friend for lunch. Intended to buy some on the way out but forgot. Thought that was a good excuse to arrange lunch there with her again. Then I walked into a homewares shop in Dunsborough when we were down south and there they were, dear little blue and white fish. I really like blue and white china and now I have three blue and white china fish floating in the fountain.
COOKING
Making and eating Fish Curry. I’m not really keen on curries with coconut milk and creams, so the cooked onions and warmed spices are mixed with tomatoes. Added a dollop of yoghurt. Don’t eat a lot of rice, either, so cooked some mashed potatoes because you need something to soak up the wonderful, rich curry juice! Finished with a good squeeze of lime.
Now days I try to cook recipes to make two meals for two people. Sometimes I put one in the freezer for busy days but more often we eat it within two days. Might change the cooked vegetables for salad but we don’t mind the same thing two nights in a row.
RECYCLING
Western Australia has introduced a new system for recycling glass and plastics, with many local collection sites for dropping off these containers. This is a great idea. Each plastic or glass container returned attracts a 10 cents refund which you can direct to charity at the collection site or take as cash. The biggest problem for us was storing the containers until we had enough to go to the drop off point.
Image Containers for Change
Problem solved. I had this faux greenhouse, a plastic crate I drilled air holes in to grow mushrooms, on a shelf in the garage. Now we store the clean containers in the crate until we take them for recycling. The plastics are reused in plastic and the glass, similarly, is reused in glass.
Our newspapers are delivered rolled in a sheet of single use plastic. I’ve asked people how the sheet can be reused, I’ve looked online, but still these sheets go straight in the bin. I appreciate a dry newspaper, but not the plastic! Any suggestions?
October 22nd is COLOUR DAY. Think about how colours effect our mood, productivity and behaviour. Interestingly, blue poles have been used in Scotland to minimize violence and also in Japan to dissuade suicides. Both projects have been successful.
Some colour themed idioms that come to mind:
out of the blue, feeling blue, once in a blue moon*, green with envy, caught red handed, green thumb, black thumb, black sheep, a grey area, tickled pink, white lie and probably many more!
*A blue moon is an extra full moon in a given period, such as a second full moon in a month, which occurs this month.