Mystery Succulent Flower

I love a good mystery - don't you?

This little potted succulent was a leftover from the previous owner of the house. It's a little battler - it withers and shrinks and then comes back again, and has flowered each year with this bulbous purple lone flower.

To be honest it kind of freaks me out - once upon a time I worked on film about flesh eating vines, and they had waxy flowers that lured people to their death...(yah not exactly an award winner)... and I think it reminds me of them...

It also kind of reminds me of a banana flower - this one's on our tiny banana tree near the chicken coop - here's hoping that the bananas get a little bigger.

Anyway - my google searches haven't come up with anything - so if you know what my mystery succulent is please let me know!

The Secret to Inner Peace Is...

...Sorting out your tupperware cupboard.

Ahh, that's better.

Somehow getting on top of a little task like this just helps calm down my inner cranky control freak just a little. She won't mind if I just schoomze on the couch watching 30 Rock back to back now...

Rot n Roll: Our New Compost Tumbler

These days everyone has a Tumblr. Well I've gone one step further and got one in my backyard. (groan!)

We've persevered with our current compost box for over two years now with underwhelming results, so I didn't feel too guilty splashing out on a whizz bang tumbler when I spotted this one on Deals Direct (sorry for not including a link but I can't find it on their site now?) I've always read amazing claims like "compost in 6 weeks!" on tumblers like this - so I've got high hopes.

It's not actually too horrible looking, which is always a plus. And it seems to be doing a good job so far. The compost is moist, but not smelly.

Here's a sneak peek...

I need it to churn out a load of lovely compost quick smart - I've got a poinsettia on our fence line that needs a growth spurt of another metre to block out our new neighbours from view...