A couple of updates

I just thought I would do a couple of updates on some projects that I mentioned in recent posts. At our last Simple Living Toowoomba workshop I was discussing the reusable bow with a friend and I was wondering if a thicker ribbon could be used instead of the fine ribbon that is normally used.

I was buying some ribbon last week and asked if it was 'fine' ribbon and was told it was but when I got home and undid the roll I noticed that it was quite a thick ribbon so I thought I would experiment with making a bow which was featured in this post How to Make a Reusable Bow and here is the result. 

You start by sewing a few stitches on both edges of the larger outer ribbon...

 

...then you hold the satin ribbon and gently start to pull...

...keep pulling...

...nearly finished...

...now turn it over and pull tight and...VOILA...you have made yourself a lovely bow for a gift that can be used time and time again. These are so easy to make and work just as well with the thicker ribbon which I think I actually prefer. You could even make a few and use them as a Christmas gift for a friend. The instructions are here.

The other update is about the Nifty Ned's Propagation Thingamabob which featured in the post Some Great Simple Gardening Ideas. 

This is what it looked like before I went to Mt. Isa in October. There was quite a bit of rain when I was away and when I came home I found that the pepino cutting I had put in the pot (on the left in the photo) was huge and it was quite difficult to get it out without disturbing the roots of the other plants which were growing from cuttings so my advice would be to use a larger outer pot so the plants have more room.

 This is what it looks like now after the recent rain and underneath the purple oxalis there are rosemary, sage, lavender and elderberry plants which have grown from cuttings.

I can hear some of you wondering why I am propagating purple oxalis. Well, I was wondering that too so I did some research on the internet and came up with conflicting results which is often the case. One plant nursery website said that some types make good ornamental plants while others seem to consider all types to be weeds.

I just happened to find a little pot with something strange and forlorn looking growing in it so I watered it and this is the result! I asked the CEO about it and he said that he had had it growing in a pot for about ten years and it hadn't spread at all. He wouldn't have watered it and it would have relied on rainfall to keep going. He does have the tendency to pot plants up that he has been given and then forget where he put them. Anyway, I thought I would put some in the propagation pot and see what happened. Does anyone have the purple type growing and do you find that it is a pest? I'd love to know. 

It has been drizzling all day and I think the rain will clear away tomorrow. The plants are all growing in leaps and bounds and so are the weeds so now that it has cooled down once again the next few days will be spent trying to get rid of the latter and I also need to plant out the seedlings we bought at the Farmers' Market last Saturday which were strawberries + strawberries with pink flowers and zucchini. I just have to find a spot to put them which isn't overgrown with weeds. 

Enjoy the rest of the week everyone and stay safe!