January 2023 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

Nearly the end of the month and we are in the middle of a hot summer.
A few things are still coming into flower.
1) Commelina coelestris
2) Allium flavum tauricum yellow
3) Limonium peregrinum
4) Pelargonium australe
5) Habranthus tubispathus Pink form
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Hi Fermi,

It sounds like you have experienced above average temperatures this summer, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The pics from your garden are looking good for mid-summer.

Here in California, early December was cold, and then the ARs (Atmospheric rivers) arrived with record precipitation amounts. Currently, temperatures are much above average and the weather is dry. An outbreak of Continental Polar Air is forecasted for early February. It appears the weather is going to become very cold, but nothing like early February of 1989.

Despite the weather our garden is coming along well.

Thank you for sharing your photographs.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Robert,
thanks for your comments.
Sadly the garden is quite dry and the only decent flowering is where we supply extra water.
The weeds are particularly bad this year and have "gotten away from us" after abundant rain all winter and spring.
In the background of most of my pics you can see the dry grass and sere conditions!
Here are a few flower pics taken this morning:
1) one of the myriad of Delosperma cooperi hybrids popping up in our pots
2) Drimiopsis maculata - most;y grown as an indoor plant
3) Limonium hyblaeum - Sicilian Sea Lavender is apparently feral in parts of Australia
4) A form of Pennyroyal which seems to be native to our area or is an escapee from gardens!
5) Salvia canariensis candidissimum which suffered badly during the winter wet but is slowly recovering.
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Hi Fermi

At one time I cultivated Salvia canariensis candidissimum in our garden up at the Placerville property. What a fine species. I think that the form we grew had flowers and calyxes that were a bit paler. The wooly white-gray foliage and stems were striking.

The species would likely thrive in our Sacramento garden, but we have to choose carefully when considering larger growing plants with our limited space here in Sacramento.

Are the Gilia capitata still volunteering in your containers? Last year I did trials with some of the other subspecies that do not grow in our immediate region. I have to admit that I still enjoy our local subspecies mediomontana and pedemontana even though their flowers are generally much paler than those of other subspecies. I am making progress with a line that blooms continuously for most of the summer. A lot of other good progress is being made with Calochortus species as well as our local Themidaceae. Several species grow on our Placerville property and give indications of much untapped potential.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Robert,
yes, we get a few Gilia capitata popping up in pots each year but I've not seen any in the garden where we've planted them the year before.
They flower in early spring; here's one from November
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Hi Fermi,

Thank you for the information and photograph.



We are anticipating a banner year for wildflowers this spring and summer. This photograph was taken during the spring of 2016 in a burn scar area. Pictured is Eriophyllum lanatum var. grandiflorum with Gilia capitata ssp. pedemontana. Eriophyllum lanatum generally responds well after a fire if precipitation is adequate. In our region, Gilia capitata is found in sunny, dry, rocky terrain. My earliest planting of this species was destroyed during our 3-week deluge of rain this December – January. The bulk of my planting was finished after the rain and is thriving. I will be reporting more on their progress later in the season.