h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi ho we had rain last night had to go round shutting windows , got a nice breeze blowing today and didn't sweat on my walk 28 c today, I have noticed those purple orchids in many peoples gardens recently must be easy to grow I might try to get some.
Every body over here are just about into summer clothes now

We seem to be heading back into winter here I've had to turn the heating back on, though still no rain on the horizon. It will be out with the hose and watering a bit later.
Those orchids are quite easy to grow and once you get them established they will form a lovely big clump. Over here we can get them as bulbs, but you might be able to buy them as a growing plant where you are.

Hi just found out that the button with a flower sign on it on my Olympus E-20 camera is for close ups so watch out for a few of them from me in the future

We have Amaryllis blooming on the deck , two open so far about ten more coming , dark red in colour will try for a pic later , now busy

Put a pic up http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/dna/h2g2/brunel/F1694533/ext/_auto/-/http://www.flickr.com/photos/21128589@N02/

Hiya
Sorry it's been a long time replying, were in the middle of our busy at work and i'm knackered once i get home

Have you tried the micro (flower) sttting on your camera yet? I use it all the time when taking photos of flowers and bugs, you can get in really close on the photos once they have been put on the pc.

I'll look forward to seeing pics of that Amarylis

I still havent got round to putting any more photos online yet, i've just been too busy.

Hi I need new batteries for the olympus maybe tomorrow, I also put one pic up of the Amaryllis, http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/dna/h2g2/brunel/F1694533/ext/_auto/-/http://www.flickr.com/photos/21128589@N02/

That is a very attractive flower and very red!
We grow Amarylis as a christmas houseplant, they are too tender to survive outside here.
Have you experimented with that 'flower' setting yet?

I'm not a gardener so no ideas about settings ,I think my wife got these last year so they are first time flowers for us , I do know they've been on the deck in a plastic greenhouse all winter,about 6 weeks ago they were taken out and left out on the deck(south side), their are about ten plants in all the others are in bud and look the same colour .
I'm going to get new batteries for the camera today so will try the (flower button soon )

Those amarylis come in a variety of colours, some are very exotic looking. I did grow one called Sumatra, the thing grew like a triffid and nearly took over the living room My place is quite small, so theres little room for such a huge flower. I'll stick with the orchids for now.
Do you get any pretty birds or animals there? I've seen the photos of your pheasant, which was very impressive.

their are pic's of the dif Herons farther back in my Flickr that live around here plus teal and a pair of Cormorants that stay around but , I see them all the time so not exotic to me , most of the birds are a little dif than home colour wise but after almost 30 years here I don't really notice the change , lot's of insects here that you don't get to see/hear , my garden is full of praying mantis ,grass hoppers etc, the noise is very loud in the summer +frogs end up not noticing the noise as it's non stop.

Yesterday my wife brought home a new hanging Jasmine plant a friend gave to her, hope it survives the summer

Counted 9 large (dinner plate) red cheek turtle in the river today on my walk , plus green winged teal, and some brown ducks, sorry no time to look up names

praying mantis, how fascinating. I've never seen one, not even in a zoo.
I did get a photo of a turtles bum when i was a Kew the other week I was'nt paying proper attention and thought it's tail was it's head.

I don't like Praying Mantis they tend to eat their prey slowly without first killing it, then it can get very noisy

Oh joy! I was eating my dinner when i read your post I would still like to see a real live one though.
It's damselfly season here just now. Theres is pond just down the road from me, it's the perfect place to see damsel and dragonflies There was a pretty blue damselfy in my garden yesterday, it was camera shy so i never go a photo.

Sorry ,Just a thought our Mulberry trees (2) are bearing fruit at the moment , about a quarter are black ,I do eat some but the birds love them we didn't plant them suspect birds present, we get lot's of Dragon flies(Tombo) all summer long over here they tend to change colour /type as the summer goes around ,I like them .

If i remember rightly mulberry leaves are very pretty with unusual shaping? They are not particularly common trees here, mainly because they spread very wide, not ideal for a smaller garden.

Dragonflies are one of the most spectacular insects, the way they fly is fantastic. No aeroplane could ever reproduce that sort of flying.

Not sure about the Mulberry leaves ,they look standard heart shape with a toothed edge(see my Flickr page 13) , they are grown like a bush when used for silk worm food,
I was out looking at the leaves with arms up when a Swallow flew through my arms and over my shoulder ,I enjoy watching them there are four flying low over my lawn /pond catching insects lots of times then later early evening the bats come out doing figure eights, so glad I can sit on the deck birdwatching and listen to Wogan at the same time.

It's interesting to know that you get swallows there at the same time as we see them here. Do they also breed in your country?

I've had a very busy few days and more to come the next few days.
I did have time to go into my garden for a look about and i'm pleased to report that one of my lovely little orchids is flowering. It's called 'fragrant' orchid, but you would have to get your nose almost down to the ground to find out if it is fragrant,

Yes the swallows breed here, It's the Barn Swallow flying around here and I see their nests on many walls here , people are OK with the nests being in their carports etc just put cardboard on the floor to catch the droppings .