Thread: What's in your garden?

Originally Posted by malmomike77

ah apologies, needed to double click the pic - was too big to show on my page, you'd JPPRd it i seem to be having an Ootai moment

Hey I now reduce all pictures to 30%. Ootai hasn't cracked me upside the head since, so must be OK.

^ its appreciated by us older members

Originally Posted by malmomike77

ah apologies, needed to double click the pic - was too big to show on my page, you'd JPPRd it i seem to be having an Ootai moment

Originally Posted by Stumpy

Hey I now reduce all pictures to 30%. Ootai hasn't cracked me upside the head since, so must be OK.

You both go and get ****ed.

malmomike
The picture was fine for me without having to do anything

Stumpy
Sometimes you just have to admit defeat and give up trying to educate an idiot who has no comprehension of the problem he creates.

Carryon gentlemen just as I will

Originally Posted by ootai

Carryon gentlemen just as I will

Roger that El Capitan.

The garden looks like it was hurriedly tidied up before we arrived but I really don't mind. The wife grew a passion fruit vine before we left last year and the family have been enjoying the fruit.



One of the coconut trees has started to deliver with over 30 decent sized fruit...



Some yellow papaya instead of the usual green variety...



...and plenty of limes this year. Nice to see a St Andrew's Cross spider happily undisturbed in one of the lime trees.



Argiope aemula - Wikipedia

Quite a number of butterflies too but I haven't unpacked the big lens yet.



...and the Hibiscus are still looking good.

Originally Posted by ootai

You both go and get ****ed.

working on it

Originally Posted by Stumpy

Roger that El Capitan.

perhaps not with a capitan

Originally Posted by Troy

The wife grew a passion fruit vine before we left last year and the family have been enjoying the fruit.

I love passion fruit, I grew some up a couple of concrete posts with a canopy. They turned their nose up on my concrete offer and headed for the nearest Lam Yai tree where they set about growing up and through it and cropped really well. My advice grow them up the base of trees.

^ Good advice...wife planted at base of a tree and it has spread to neighbouring ones providing a canopy. These are the yellow passion fruit, which aren't as sweet as the ones from South America, but still very nice

^ see i quite like them with a bit of bite, too many sweet fruits in Thailand, why i like pomelo and star fruit too

Not in my garden yet but my biology experiment with a Woolworths avocado stone has split open and sprouted a root so maybe it soon will be...

Originally Posted by Looper

my biology experiment with a Woolworths avocado stone has split open and sprouted a root

I have found that various local avocado types will sprout quite strongly. I have a few looking for space in the garden. I started being interested because they have potential as shade trees here, they are evergreen deciduous and can grow tall if you let them.



Once in the ground they become more difficult. I have had maybe ten die and there are six little saplings struggling around the place. I have found they need huge amounts of water and when young they might need some shade from the midday sun. I have also read that grown from seed an avocado tree might not bear fruit for the first ten years. My best hope has made it to about 1.5m.



Good luck with yours.

A very small snake I found as I watered the plants. I think a Common bronzeback, although it was above head height so I couldn't see that very clearly. Not much thicker than a pencil so I guess it must be very young.

Looking for bugs in the bushes yesterday, I managed to distinguish between the greens to spot this leaf insect. I nearly fell off the chair as I took the picture one-handed whilst lifting a twig out the way so I could get a decent shot...



I didn't realise there were so many different species of them; I have labelled it as one of the Katydids but I think it may be Holochlora nigtotympana from these pics Holochlora nigrotympana species page - THAILAND NATURE PROJECT

I also spotted what look like grasshopper nymphs...



Taken with my Sigma Macro lens...

Originally Posted by Shutree

Once in the ground they become more difficult. I have had maybe ten die

Exact same experience for me thus far. I had one that was doing really well and got about 3 meters then just died. I gave up.

Off to the vet but first some warm water to get his blood flowing



So Monster and Joey had a big pounding MMA fight and Joey tapped out.....literally. He can't put any pressure on his front right leg. Took him to the vet this morning and his shell is to thick to get a clear xray. So we put him in the sun in hopes he would show off his new gimpy walk but no deal. They gave him a shot for some pain and I said I will get him home and line message you a vid when he walks. Got some vids and sent them off. Vet said I need to make some dolly so he can push around and keep pressure off it. I told my wife...Not gonna happen. He weighs 84.2 lbs. Its Sink or Swim just like in nature. He either mans up and recovers or...well...you know.

BTW, Our Female just dropped out 23 eggs last week.

Originally Posted by Stumpy

Front yard grass. Its a thin blade and loves the direct sunlight

You are making me look bad!!
Cut it our is my wife sees this is not going to buy my weeds are better for the environment theory.

Originally Posted by Stumpy

make some dolly so he can push around and keep pressure off it.

Our local Mr. DIY store has some heavy duty wood dollies, round with strong-looking wheels. I am sure that could carry the weight. I was about to play on one myself then remembered how stupid and hurt I would be if I fell off.

Originally Posted by Shutree

Once in the ground they become more difficult.

Miss Lusty gave me an avocado sapling in a pot which which her mum had grown from a nut and I optimistically planted it in the garden. It was promptly ravaged and savaged by wallabies down to a twig and had to be dug up and repotted and is currently resting and recuperating on the balcony.

I might keep my new seed sprout in a pot as a curiosity and buy my avocados from Woolworths.

Originally Posted by Stumpy

Off to the vet but first some warm water to get his blood flowing

I like how you've done your concrete stamping in a tortoiseshell pattern stumps. Keeping it in theme with the natives. If Monster gets any bigger he will be camouflaged.

In my garden today were rocks and mist

I am replacing the palm trees I moved down the hill with a rockery since the black knight of the forest (who never says 'ni') prefers rockeries over shrubberies and I like to keep him happy

Originally Posted by Looper

savaged by wallabies

There are many life forms eating away at my garden. So far, no wallabies, I am pleased to say.

Well not really "in my garden" but this morning I was on my 15km mtn bike route and on my way back near my place I usually cut through a park then get some air down the stairs then ride along the side of the river for a bit. I was cooking along and just about to do my zag along the fence between shrub and I yanked on the brakes and stopped about a foot short of this Prehistoric bastard.



Fortunately I saw the body colors just before I was about to pick up the speed.





This fella is huge, well over a 6" spread. I was laughing thinking man, think about ripping through its web and you look down and that big bastard is on your shirt about chest high looking at you. Probably not an easy thing to just swipe off.

This gal, I think. I wouldn't know but my friend the Internet thinks it is probably a Giant golden orb weaver.

Nephila pilipes - Wikipedia

Yes, they can bite you.

Originally Posted by Shutree

Giant golden orb weaver.

Yeah, I knew pretty much it was a orb weaver spider. Big sucker and I was careful and touched on its web to see how strong it was. I understand now why they have been known to snare small birds.

I am going to check on it tomorrow.

Stopped on on my bike ride home this morning to check her out.

Her web is easily a meter in circumference now and she switched sides to lay in wait. Be fun to have a camera with time lapse to see what it snares.



Was doing some web repair



All set and waiting. I held my Samsung S20 Ultra phone next to her and I'd estimate her length at near 16cm long 10cm wide.

Originally Posted by Stumpy

I held my Samsung S20 Ultra phone next to her and I'd estimate her length at near 16cm long 10cm wide.

Do we really need the full specs of your phone?

^^ love seeing them. We had one string its web between two lam yais a few years back. Never did see what she caught, maybe thats why she moved on. I put a couple of pots down to guard against forgetting and walking into it.