August 2014 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Tim Ingram]

Marcus - t'was ever thus if you read Kingdon-Ward and the plant explorers of old. There is a divide between those who actually go out and discover the world and the vast majority who don't and get their kicks from consumerism. But both my children (who I like to think are quite intelligent) spend hours playing computer games and poring over i.pads, and I probably spend much more time on the computer than I should. Connectivity with others who find plants so fascinating is important even amongst the so called 8 million gardeners within the UK (possibly less than 8000 are captivated by alpine plants, more's the pity when you grow them) - even amongst the gardeners I know well here in Kent hardly any are really hooked on alpines and a more intellectual view of gardening. We are a pretty unusual lot!

[Jupiter]

For me it's an absolute passion for the details that make every species unique. It's about the plants themselves for me, although I want my garden to be beautiful and have an ambiance at the level of design, after I've created the bones I want the plants to take over the space and make it their own. I want visitors to my garden to feel that the plants have the upper hand and I am just an observer, although this is an illusion because we play the role of shepherd when we garden, guiding nature and helping her when she leans toward our vision of paradise and scolding her when she strays.

Italianate gardens? Not for me thanks.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Jamus,
I think you'd like the Italianate gardens created by Harold Peto; have a look at Iford Manor and you'll see what I mean. There are pics somewhere on this Forum; we visited it last year and could've spent days there - the perfect mix of Italian style and English floral exuberance!
cheers
fermi
PS I love that oregano! What are the flowers like?

[Jupiter]

Fermi I looked at some pictures of Iford manor and it does look amazing. It almost has a lost city, ruined feel? I have a lot of stone in my garden and straight lines and even the odd statue and urn, so I suppose I'm influenced by the romance of the Italianate style as well. We definitely plan to go to the uk and visit some of the great gardens. Have you been to Hidcote and Sissinghurst?

[Hillview croconut]

Hi,

I am not going to argue one way or the other on the effect of hyperconsumerism. Just to say that it has pervaded our lives to an unprecedented degree, aided and abetted by the internet (and before that by tv). We only have so many conscious hours in a day. Something (s) has to give (way) ... . Jamus, you and me, well, we already belong to that weird tribe who are curious and self starters. The rest of the community . . . well they are up for grabs. Suggest you take a look at Edward Louis Bernays' maxim on mass marketing. Its the gold standard by which advertising operates.

BTW I agree that connectivity is a good thing but txting while crossing a busy road at peak hour? There's got to be some serious stuff happening in that person's brain ... and it ain't good.

Jamus, I have never seen this origanum of yours. And obviously neither has Fermi? Did you grow it from seed? I see that it's called Lebanese Oregano.

Cheers, Marcus

[Hillview croconut]

PS I suppose I am trying to make a case for the beneficial effects of gardening and plant study, apart from the obvious. For quiet spaces, for a chance for an interior world to develop, for contemplation, from time free from the humdrum rollercoaster of a busy life, for the lost enjoyment of taking the time to REALLY look and register the world, for a true connectedness to all other living things and the web of life that supports us .... . Are we going to leave it only to the poets to do this for us? And then read it online?

PPS There is a wonderful Leunig cartoon from many years ago that presents these ideas far better than I can in a single frame
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=leunig+sunrise+cartoon&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=_CnxU9r0JZG68gW03oCgDw&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=1188&bih=559#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=kfOZvrIAUCfraM%253A%3Bkazhcla4SGpvDM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F2.bp.blogspot.com%252F_YfzD4D5MyQU%252FRvM8n7sl5zI%252FAAAAAAAAAjs%252FXarOt8vzRdM%252Fs320%252FMichaelLeunig_Sunrise.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fpoltoons.blogspot.com%252F2007%252F09%252Freferences-and-inspiration-2.html%3B320%3B229

[Jupiter]

Biblical oregano - Origanum syriacum is a beauty and is an important herb in the middle east. It's known as Zaatar which is a name also used for the mixture of this herb dried with sumac and sesame seeds and salt. This spice mix is made in Australia  variously with dried thyme or oregano as a substitute. I was very interested in spices about 10 years back and collected a lot of spice plants from all over the globe. I bought a tiny packet of equally tiny seed from some odd ebay seller and got a couple of germinations. Only one survived and I bought it with me when we moved house 5 years ago. It's loving it here. The flowers are very insignificant, green bracty little balls a lot like marjoram. I love it for the lovely rugose leaves arranged neatly in opposite pairs up the stems. It's has excellent culinary properties and of all the oregano I've grown it has the purest, cleanest oregano aroma. A lovely plant and you're all welcome to divisions or seeds.

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Jamus,

Interesting ... would love some seeds sometime. Don't send divisions - Tasmania is a separate country these days

Maybe I could swap you Sideritis syriaca just to keep the symmetry?

Cheers, Marcus

[Lesley Cox]

I LOVE Leunig. I was introduced to him by my Mt-Tomah-in-the-Blue-Mountains friend. Many a laugh since then. The one you showed Marcus, reminds me of all those people madly taking photos on their smart phones of this or that celebrity and never actually getting to see the REAL celebrity, only later as a picture.

So pleased I belong to the "never throw out your iris seed pots" school. This morning, the 3 seeds I was given by Otto, ex a German contact, of I. stenophylla ssp. allisonii are all up, in one go. They were sown in October 2008! Of course no-one knows better than I that a seed germinated doesn't equate to a bulb in flower but one has to start somewhere.

[Lesley Cox]

I wish we had a politics thread on the Forum.


Edit by maggi - well, we don't!

[Hillview croconut]

I fear part of this discussion might be excised off at any moment! Lucky the Boss is asleep

Lucky you with the iris seeds. I think part of the allure is the potential for all sorts of mishaps to occur along the way. Bit like Extreme Fishing with that mad Geordie, Robson Green.

I bought from a German guy a large swag of seed of your said species. I had max germination but over the years they have dwindled. Since discovering Seramis my weights have been considerably raised and now I actually have increase on the remaining bulbs.

I still pine for I. fosteriana. Such a spindly, sickly customer here in Tasmania. BTW the opening sentence in the Wikipedia entry for this plant is NUTS! Does anyone know how to change it?

[Hillview croconut]

Hi again,

Bringing it back to plants:

Crocus chrysanthus "Nanette" - little-known variety given to me by Otto a long time ago.
Fritillaria strausii - probably a Pilous plant. I have no experience with this plant so I don't know if its correctly named.

Cheers, Marcus

[Hillview croconut]

Hi,

Fortuitously today's post by Michael McCoy touches on some aspects of what I have been trying to say. AND a wonderful picture of a young Otto Fauser in esteemed company!

http://thegardenist.com.au/2014/08/watching-the-watchers/

M

[Tim Ingram]

Some great links there and a compelling photo at Great Dixter: doesn't Beth Chatto look quite coy surrounded by all these male gardeners? For me I have an ambivalence about the Internet because it introduces so much so quickly and yet there is a magic in seeing all these plants. I like the use of the web as a blog or diary that shows what you do day by day (which is why Ian and Maggi's garden is so fascinating to see). It's a process rather than a collection of beautiful images. The result can be an incredible garden like Great Dixter or Beth Chatto's but it is (borrowing from that cartoon) outside the window rather than on the screen. My garden still recalls some fantastic walks in the Tasmanian mountains (especially since Lesley has sent me some plants of Richea scoparia), as well as loads of places I will never the chance to see. Nice to have writing about gardens and places as well as pictures.

[Hillview croconut]

Well spoke Tim.


Yes doesn't she?  Michael made the same observation in his reply to me.

Cheers,  Marcus