November Downunder

[Lesley Cox]

Now a few bulby things. A few days ago David showed Lilium lophophorum so here is mine, I suspect from the same seed source, our chum Dick King who grows many fine plants here in Dunedin. I have mine as v. linarifolium (or do I mean linarioides?) This one is a little past its best due to a couple of hot, dry, windy days. There's another coming though and I'm hoping for seed.


Lilium oxypetalum has big flowers for the size of the plant whereas L. nanum has small, very stiff flowers in a nice plummy shade. The pods are beautiful too, being fat, bright green but with black ribs.




I am thrilled to have 2 seed pods on Oxalis laciniata, the blue form which I posted on the old Forum a month or so ago. So one for me and one for friend Otto. A careful watch is needed as they mature, pop and disperse with almost no notice or visible browning.




Rhodohypoxis `Knockdolian Red' is a fine patch of colour through late spring and summer, only needing ample water, like them all, to keep it blooming continuously. I find red very difficult to portray with a digital camera. They always seem washed out and paler.


Always I return to irises, perhaps my favourite of all genera. Here is a dwarf form of the NW American species, Iris douglasiana. It is just a fraction of the usual size and has lovely dark green glossy foliage to set off quite large, mid purple flowers. What's more, it come's true from seed, a bonus in the Pacific Coast group of the genus. These are first flowers on a young plant.




And finally, the little ephemeral Iris barbatula, whose flowers are stemless and only last a day, so not one of the great showpieces of the iris world, but charming and not difficult. It is related to the tuberous species such as I. decora.

[Lesley Cox]

Well, that was supposed to be it but I see there are a couple of pics out of order. A small warning. This is what happens when you forget to attach the pic before going on to the next text. If you go back to the relevant place then attach the pic you missed, it comes in the wrong sequence. I could fix it by removing the lot and starting over or probably by deleting this and adding that, but.....never mind!

[fermi de Sousa]

Lesley
I also think that the Saponaria clan is a bit neglected! I'm quite impressed with your seedling "Gala Day", it seems to marry the two parents nicely. Perhaps you can slip a piece into the next importation one of our group does! Would it survive the methyl bromide?
cheers
fermi

[mark smyth]

David your first two Geraniums are nodosum and pratense white form

[Maggi Young]

 Lesley, you are really getting the hang of the picture posting stuff... I knew you would, even after your initial howls of anguish!!  Funny you should mention the Saponaria... last night in a super talk for the Aberdeen Group, the supreme grower and exhibitor, Fred Hunt, showed a super plant of Saponaria, (though, being me, I forget which) it was a compact mat, just full of  big flowers, looking at its peak. If anyone is in doubt, I would say, if it's good enough for Fred........
It is a shame that there can often be a tendency to overlook or undervalue excellent garden plants, simply because they are widely grown/available.
Pity that Weldenia candida isn't more readily obtainable, isn't it? Such a gorgeous plant and your photo is a beauty, Lesley, the flowers are perfect!

[Lesley Cox]

Fermi I don't see why the saponaria wouldn't survive the methyl bromide, at least as well as some Viv has waiting here, such as Asperula suberosa which is so soft and has very fine roots as well. I'm quite worried about that one. A few others are doubtful too.

I need to get more propagated of `Gala Day' (named for my nursery, Gala Plants, named for my family's connections with Galashiels and the surrounding area in you know which country). So I'll keep some from the next batch and grow them on as hard as possible for you. (They wouldn't be ready for Tim's importation, scheduled for April. Maybe I can arrange to take all that lot with me, rather than freighting them.) It is especially nice with crimson calyces as well as the pink flowers which really are not done justice in the pictures.

[Lesley Cox]

Can just squeeze these two beautiful white "flowers" in, in November. Sea flowers, shall we say and I'm indebted to Allied Press and Otago Daily Times for permission to place them on the Forum.

These are, obviously, two of our now famous icebergs, floating off the Otago coast. Iceberg watching has become a major passtime over the last couple of weeks. I've only had a tiny, very distant glimpse myself, but people who've flown out and around them say it has been the most thrilling experience of their lives.

In the first, the little black dots are the Australians who landed and placed their flag. The berg has mostly melted by now as it travelled north so the flag is probably at the bottom of the sea.

The scale is seen from pic 2 in particular as it is of only one end of a berg, and some has just crashed into the sea, hence the churned up water. Helicopter overhead gives a size comparison.





Sorry about the scrolling when the 2nd is enlarged. I can hear Anthony fuming already. I didn't realize they'd be so big, only about 98kb.

[fermi de Sousa]

Lesley
Australia is under a dire drought at present, those Aussies were only trying to get us some more water! However they'll probably now be prosecuted for losing the flag!
Here's a pic of an alyssum tortuosum in the Rock garden a couple of weeks ago.
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

Lesley, I think the scrolling may be excused in this instance... after all, everyone knows that Icebergs are HUGE !! Majestic things, lovely to see these photos, thank you.

Fermi, glad to see you are busy in the garden with the Alyssum to show us rather than pfaffing about with flags! May I wish you rain... soon!

[David Nicholson]

Lesley, really enjoyed your pictures of the icebergs-magnificent