Ferny Creek Horticultural Society

[fermi de Sousa]

Otto lent me his memory card so I could post some pics to the Forum of the FCHS October Show.
Since these pics were also on it, I've taken the liberty of posting them as well!
Firstly, a working-bee to prepare the old Quarry Rock Garden to become a native plant garden


Then go and choose a good selection of new plants




Then plant them out - with protection from varmints!


cheers
fermi on behalf of Otto

[fermi de Sousa]

Next, you select some of your (Otto's) plants for a display.
Iris acutiloba


Iris samariae hybrid


Tulipa scardica


A Paeonia suffruticosa raised from seed, 2m tall after 12 years.




An orchid or two:
Calanthe striata ssp sieboldii


Cypripedium formosanum


cheers (more to come!)
fermi on behalf of Otto.

[fermi de Sousa]

After you label your display as set out on a bench


You can admire the "floor garden" of Native Australian Flora from a nursery in Cranbourne, no Lesley, not the RBG annex.






And enjoy the rest of the show.






cheers
fermi on behalf of Otto.

[fermi de Sousa]

BTW those aren't fluoroscent lights in the ceilling in the last shots; this was a purpose built hall with natural lighting so that you don't usually need a flash to take a photo inside on a good day! Try convincing the church hall committees to do the same!
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

Huge thanks to Otto and Fermi for this joint production!
What a lovely looking show in such a good hall. I'm particulalry impressed by that great floor display, very neatly done... though I don't like the big labels but I realise the reason forthem.

Fave pic has to be of Otto's Iris acutiloba.....who wouldn't love that plant?

[Paul T]

Otto,

Great pics!!  Thanks for posting them Fermi.

The Irises (in particular) are just stunning.  As I mentioned in the SH thread I had only recently "discovered" Iris acutiloba in the Turkey and Iran book, so seeing Otto's pic of it was very nicely timed.  What a gorgeous flower!!!!!  And the Cypripedium of course!!  I'm suffering some pangs of serious coveting here at the moment!! 

Thanks again for posting the pics Fermi, and to Otto for providing them. 

[Rob]

The floor display of native flora looks really impressive.

How did you get the large rocks into the hall?

[Paul T]

Rob,

Probably a lot of muscle involved, and a trolley or two as well I'd imagine.    Worth the effort though by the looks of it. 

[David Nicholson]

Thanks for posting these Otto and Fermi I enjoyed them very much. Cracking Irises Otto!

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks Fermi. Nice to be at the show for a little visit. A picture of himself would have been a bonus but I suppose if he was taking the pics.....

I'll look forward to seeing the new rock garden at FCHS next September.

[fermi de Sousa]

Thanks for all the kind comments.
Lesley,
if the "Frit to Trill" seminar goes ahead it will most likely be on the weekend of the FCHS Spring Show, so it will be an added bonus for those who can come for the whole weekend as we can possibly have a few other gardens open as well! And it'll be more than 8 months after the NZAGS Study weekend so people can have saved up enough to do both!
Rob,
the rocks aren't that huge and were probably moved into position as Paul suggested with elbow grease and a trolley! I don't get there during the set up due to the distance and the fact that it's during working hours! In previous years we've relied on various members donating plants for the floor garden and it was discontinued last year due to the effort. Instead a smaller bench garden was used a couple of times but the floor garden makes a greater impact I think.
cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

So give me the exact dates please Fermi. Tim mentioned Sept 22nd. Is that about right? I think we'd probably want a good week in Oz to make it worth while. Don has offered us his garden too so even if the others don't, I will.

[fermi de Sousa]

Lesley,
as long as you plan to spend time with us for the talk and the  gardens you can stay in OZ as long as you like (40,000 other Kiwis already have!)
No dates have been confirmed but we were thinking of the second weekend in September, which makes it Sept 13/14. I hope we can confirm a date soon for people who have to travel long distances!
cheers
fermi

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Thanks for taking me around the show Fermi and Otto - I'd never visited one down under before