Moosey News : April 2007

Dear Subscriber,

The autumn weather is warm and settled, and so is the atmosphere in my garden - hopefully this is not the lull before any nasty winter storms! I'm doing lots of little things in the garden and on the website - trying to think small, and act sensibly!

This month's features :

1. What Counts in Your Garden?
2. Yet More Sam McGredy Roses
3. Sweet Peas
4. Colours Calendar
5. A Self Seeding Puzzle

Regulars :

6. Plant of the Month : Martin Johnson Begonia
7. Animal of the Month : Fluff-Fluff the Cat
8. Garden Quote : Less Mess
9. Garden Gallery : Burgundy Iceberg Rose
10. Forum Focus : Spring!
11. Gardening Advice : Be Prepared - Rosemary Verey, as Heard on TV
12. Searching for Moosey : big personality plant
13. Coming up this month : A Water-Driven Water Pump? Pretty please!

This month's features

1. What Counts in Your Garden?

What counts in your garden? Are you a fan of odd numbers? That's odd as in 1,3,5,7,9 - and so on. Or are you seduced by large numbers - like three hundred and seventeen? That's the number of Moosey roses, by the way.

2. Yet More Sam McGredy Roses

I know that Sam McGredy produces beautiful hybrid teas, and I know that I choose not to grow many hybrid teas, but...

3. Sweet Peas

Join me in celebrating my first non-random Sweet Pea success.

4. Colours Calendar

Here's another of my new, free-to-download Moosey Calendars. This one's full of my favourite brightly coloured flowers, both annuals and perennials. It runs from April 2007 to March 2008 - I hope that's sensible!

5. A Self Seeding Puzzle

I only notice my self seeders when trimming, pulling out, or cutting them back. Why don't I appreciate their abundance and generosity when they're busy flowering?

Regulars

6. Plant of the Month : Martin Johnson Begonia

While working on the Moosey What Plant Am I? Questionnaire I've rediscovered some quirky plants which are buried on the website - like this Begonia named after the captain of the 2003 World Cup winning English rugby team. But for this year, 2007 - go the All Blacks!

7. Animal of the Month : Fluff-Fluff the Cat

Every morning Fluff-Fluff the cat comes with me to feed the hens and let them out. Every evening he helps me herd them back into their house. It's a lovely routine - I hope he has no ulterior motives!

8. Garden Quote : Be Less Messy

It's more of a gardening resolution than a quote - but it's very easy to remember! Read about my attempts to have less mess in my gardening journals.

9. Garden Gallery : Burgundy Iceberg Rose

This rose photographs incredibly well, but... Yes, there is a wee problem - it's just me, and my lack of understanding of colour. See what you think!

10. Forum Focus : Spring!

There have been oodles of beautiful spring flower photographs posted on the Moosey forums lately. Everyone in the north is getting re-inspired. And a good friend in Canada is getting organised...

11. Gardening Advice : Be Prepared - Rosemary Verey, as Heard on TV

I followed the advice of this famous English lady gardener for almost two weeks! She suggests that one should always have the garden looking good, ready for possible garden visitors. Hmm...

12. Searching for Moosey : big personality plant

What Plant Am I? Quiz

This searcher was probably trying to find a quirky impact plant for some special garden. He or she could try out my What Plant Am I? Quiz - it's designed to match personalities!

Big Plant With Personality - Gunnera

Then again, if he or she just wants to see a big plant with personality they could check out my potentially giant Gunnera - only three years old, and still growing!

13. A Water-Driven Water Pump

Hopefully, a water supply for my little wriggling stream - specifically a water-driven water pump, so shining water can trickle through the Wattle Woods. Ah - lovely!

Cheers,