CHOKING HAZARD - No Small Parts

 Brace yourselves: This is a self-indulgent dumping ground for my latest Star Trek fan art, so either nod & smile until you get to the end, or just click away now and wait until I post something more interesting (athough that could take a while...)

 

 Diving straight in, here is the result from August's 'bonus photo' in my Cloud Mouth post: August's Art Challenge: "Hailing Frequencies Closed" (in honour of the dearly departed Nichelle Nichols at the end of July)

 

 

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 I had an idea for September's "TOS Anniversary" Art Challenge theme - the Ardanan floating city, Stratos.  That didn't pan out - the sketch on the right is as far as I got - so I ended up submitting a sculpture-type thing of the TOS operations & engineering insignia instead.  I cobbled it together from old, broken & seaworn roof tiles on a wander down to the beach to blow away the frustration that Stratos had built up.

The Infomaniac Garden Photos Event 2022 Finale

The

 

I N F O M A N I A C

 

Garden Photos Event

 

2022 Finale

 Oh!  You're all here already!  I wasn't expecting you so soon.  I was just dismissing the Official Hexenhäusli Device Woodsman.  He won't be long - he's just wiping off the excitement of having tended to my wood...

 

 While he sorts himself out, why not have a scroll through this round-up of 2022's Garden Photos Event?

☙❧

 

Programme of Events

 

Monday, 31st October

Terrifying Triffidery: The Orangery of 'orror!

 

Tuesday, 1st November

The 2022 Infomaniac Garden Photos Event kicks off with dandelions and ducks

 (well, a duck, anyway)

 

GPE #9 : IDV's Fruity Goings On

My favourite fuchsia: Blacky

 

I N E X P L I C A B L E   D E V I C E' S

Divided Loyalties

 I didn't spend as much time in - or any money on, I've just realised - my garden this year, mainly because it was either occupied by The Parents or was far too hot!  So, this year's garden photos aren't really any different to last years - although there are one or two exceptions, of course.  In fact, I felt much more excited about my allotment, even though it's more work (despite never looking much like any work has been done on it at all!).  So, because I couldn't decide between them, just like with Mr Tonking's Garden Photos Event tour, mine is also divided into two: my allotment, and some snaps from the Hexenhäusli Device garden. 

 

 First, the allotment through the seasons:

 

April

 

After a bit of a tidy up and some digging

Apple blossom from later in the month

GPE #8 : UptonKing Does Double Duty

M R  T O N K I N G' S

 

Marigolds!

 

 

Hurrah!  At last we get to see UptonKing's oft mentioned marigolds!

 

So, there is a story to go with this.

You see, several years ago, we hired a contractor who was to build steps over some crumbling steps at the rental The Boyfriend resides in.

 

1/  This is what he left us… and it warped over the years.  We couldn’t sue, because he’s a friend and that simply won’t do.  So, this year, I painted the railing and put in marigolds.  I collected the seeds from the previous year’s crop.

GPE #7 : Melanie's Pink Bits on Parade

This hummingbird, as spied through the window of the ProximaBlue ranch, is buzzing with nearly as much excitement as we are to unveil...

M E L A N I E' S

Pink Paradise

 

 But first, in keeping with the pink theme, Melanie has put together these hors d'oeuvres:

 

From Florida, some plants that look rather festive and ready to party. I don't know what they are called.

 

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GPE #6 : Jon Wasn't Allowed to Get His Hose Out...

The absolute “Star of the Year” - Hemerocallis “Crimson Pirate” flowered constantly from May to July!

Marooned Crimsoned on

J O N' S   &   M A D A M   A R C A T I' S

 

Botanical Treasure Island

 

[I can think of far worse places to be marooned - I mean, 'crimsoned',

than Jon's & Madam A's city oasis - IDV]

 

2022 turned out to be a remarkable year for many reasons, but the unprecedented heatwave and drought we had was a real test for any kind of garden - London hit more than 40C/104F over a couple of days in July, and we had weeks and weeks with no rain whatsoever, culminating in a hosepipe ban (which is a bind when your garden consists mainly of pots, as ours does - 200 of 'em!).

Some plants merely shrugged it off - salvias and pelargoniums love to bake a bit, as do lilies and hemerocallis (as above) - and our houseplants, all outside for the summer, have never looked so good (the aspidistra threw up more than a dozen new leaves, and the orchid sprouted its flower spike earlier than ever, so we may have flowers by Xmas). Others suffered quite a bit - the fuchsias dropped loads of leaves (but still flowered well), the dahlias and phlox were covered in mildew and just looked sickly, and the ipomoea and thunbergia vines were a bit pathetic.

However, this is a garden photos event, not Beechgrove, so lets look at some, shall we..? These are my choices from each month to date in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers...

January, Hippeastrum 'Cape Horn'  -  and February, Iris reticulata 'J.S. Dijt'

GPE #5 : Savvy's Spare Sophistication

This was part of a really gorgeous peony bouquet. It was store-bought because I tried to grow a plant, but it wasn't to be! I'll be sending another photo for Halloween.

S A V V Y

 

Makes Me Work...

... just like last year!  Still, it rained pretty much all day when I put this post together, so at least working on Savvy's Garden Photos Event post has kept me warm and dry.

GPE #4 : Ms Scarlet's Wobbly Bits

M S   S C A R L E T

 

Forgot Summer...

 

 Apologies, I thought I took more photos of my garden this year - I started well with a couple of snaps in February and then completely forgot until I got a new camera in September.

 In February I can identify the Snowdrops, and then I have a picture of some sort of pink affair - haven't a clue what it is and the photo isn't helpful as it's a bit blurry.

 

[It's a Camelia, Ms Scarlet.  And a rather vibrant one at that - IDV]

GPE #3 : Mistress Maddie Reveals All!

The Gardens of the

 

C A S A   d u   B O R G H E S E

 

Almost Eclipsed by a Moon!

These pictures are from late spring right up to a week ago*.  Here at the Casa du Borghese I, well... the houseboys and I, are still trying to bring the gardens back to where the Patriach had them with variety.  Upon being moved back, I still have no rhyme or reason to what things are or where they go, but plant what I think looks pretty, and flowers we enjoy.  I still have no idea what I'm doing, but it all seems to be coming along.

 

* Mistress Maddie sent in these photos on 16th October.

 

GPE #2 : Mitzi Likes Things With Sperm In

Fireball Lily, flowers once and then you're left with a load of leaves.

 

M I T Z I

 

Makes the Postman Gasp

 Yes, it's Mitzi's turn on the gardening merry-go-round, but before we get to the good stuff, we must first address the elephant in the room.  Or the bullmastiff in the bay window...

 

If you look closely on the right reflected in the

window, you will see the ghostly image of

my maid of all work Carmen taking the picture.

I hope it doesn’t cause your viewers too much distress.

Lofos, a climber by nature, looks equally good in a hanging basket as do Thunbergias. This one made the postman gasp.

[IDV] How do you get your Lophospermum¹ so lush?  Did you grow them from seed earlier in the year, or are they from previous year's tubers?

Mine have been pretty pathetic, but they're all from old tubers and are sharing with spider plants (which have monstrous roots).  Also, they aren't in the sunniest of spots.

I think I may have answered my own question...

I didn’t know Lofos grew from tubers. I sent off for a pack of 6 from J Parker bulbs last year and they were the sickliest looking plants, I had no hope for them, then the birds molested them looking for grubs, killing all but 1 in the process so I brought it indoors and kept it as a house plant, it soon grew about 10 feet, then Carmen accidentally caught it with the hoover causing carnage and reducing the plant by half, it grew back noticeably thicker after that, So that’s what I did with the 4 cuttings in the above hanging basket chopped them by half when they got a foot long.

GPE #1 : Dinahmow presents: Dracaenas and Drag Queens

Seeing Red* with

D I N A H M O W

Megaskepasma flower (AKA Brazilian red-cloak)

 Welcome to the first garden of 2022's Garden Photos Event: Dinahmow's!  (Well, the second, if you count The Very Mistress's dandelions and mallard in the previous post...)

 As with previous GPEs, I'll be taking a back seat and letting the gardener talk us through their garden.  As long as they provided enough - or any - captions, of course.

 Dinah labelled her photos and managed one or two captions, so I'll leave her to it.  After I've said just enough to get us to the bottom of the photo on the right, that is:

 

 Dinah's current abode (above) can barely be made out in the thicket of Dracaena, Megaskepasma erythrochlamys, and whatever that tree is on the right of the photo.  

 

* Because rather a lot of Dinah's tropical triffidery have red shaded blooms & leaves (and she's even published some more, here).

 

Cordyline rubra

The Infomaniac Garden Photos Event 2022

 Yes, it is the moment you have all been waiting for...

the

I N F O M A N I A C

Garden Photos Event 2022

... is now open!

 

 Welcome, welcome, one and all!  We're going to dispense with the whys and wherefores this year as they're all addressed in my Infomaniac Garden Photos Event page up there (underneath the blog title), and get straight on with the show.

 Firstly, thank you to all those who sent in their greenfingered photos, and to everyone gathered here now for a good old snout at someone else's idea of gardening.  Hopefully you can take away some ideas, tips and/or inspiration for your own patch.

 

 This year, as well as photos of your gardening efforts throughout the year, I also asked if you could reach back through the mists of time and send in photos of a garden or plant you may have tended back in the olden days.  Half of those who are taking part managed to find one or two old daguerrotypes or poloroids - and in some cases, many.  So very many.  So, you've got that to look forward to, too!

 

 As the Garden Photos Event started out with The Very Mistress, so it is appropriate that this year's show - the 12th! - begins with her efforts (ahem) as well:

This is the female of a pair of mallards who make regular pit stops to

my garden in all seasons. 

If you're wondering why there are so many dandelions, it's because

I don't consider them to be weeds. The rabbits will nibble the dandelions

before they'll nibble my flowers so all power to the dandelions.

The other wonderful thing about dandelions is that they are loved by bees.

 

☙❧

 Right.  Now on to the aftermath of Terrifying Triffidery.  If you haven't yet had a look in the orangery of 'orror (see previous post), then I suggest you do so before continuing if you want to guess who sent in what.