August 2014 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Maggi Young]

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

Yeah, well she's reading this now, so watch out!

[Jupiter]

Yeah, well she's reading this now, so watch out!

Uh oh... I think we've been sprung kids. 

[Hillview croconut]

It was Lesley, she started it

[Anthony Darby]

I usually quote my school motto: "It wisnae me. A big boy done it and ran away. "

[Lesley Cox]

Wimps, the lot of you. Oh well, enough said.

Quote from: Lesley Cox on August 02, 2013, 03:05:35 AM

    At the DBG yesterday after a meeting I saw a planting of perhaps 30 Helleborus 'Flash Gordon.' I hoped these might be available as a seed strain but the Internet so far is just giving two or three sources of individual plants, from garden centres. I bet they'll be expensive. Billed as the result of years of selective breeding, the flowers are in a range of bright red to black, paired with very dark green to deepest red foliage. The one I liked best I thought at first was a paeony, crimson blooms and foliage of deepest plum colour, a spectacular plant. They were surrounded too, by a lot of new seedlings from last year's flowers. I'll take my camera tomorrow and see what I can do. The mass planting was really thrilling.

From Maggi: copied from 2013 thread where message was posted :
Further to this post, and some  following ones from Lesley on page one of this thread with photos of the lovely Helleborus 'Flash Gordon', I have had  this message today :

Message:

Lots of chat about MY Helleborus 'Flash Gordon' on this page. This is my strain and it breeds pretty well true. I have a huge patch of the mother plants growing in isolation on volcanic soil at 2000 feet. In flower now - eat your heart out!!

Tons of seed Lesley!!

Gordon Collier.
gordonsc@xtra.co.nz
 

I see that Helleborus 'Flash Gordon' is starring again in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens. Thanks to a 2013 post slipped in here unawares, I now realize it is a strain bred by Gordon Collier, one of NZ's greatest gardeners and a friend, many moons ago. One loses touch sometimes, to my sadness. From the name of the hellebore I should have made the connection. I'll email Gordon and beg nicely, for some seed. It seems a terrible waste though to have to ignore all those seedlings in the DBG. I would have done that anyway but I find now, after picking up a couple of crataegus fruits from the ground on Thursday, that Dunedin City Council has made it clear to all the staff at the Gardens and through them to the general public, that to help oneself even to a fallen seed pod, or a coloured autumn leaf, is a hanging offence. This is the result of a Council staffer having allegedly helped himself to a number of vehicles, maybe 20 or more, while in charge of the Council's fleet, sold therm off and not accounted for the proceeds. It was only after he died recently, a self-inflicted death apparently, that the light has been shed.

[Jupiter]

At our botanic gardens in Adelaide there is a $5000 fine for taking plant material but I don't think it extends to dropped seed capsules, fruit or leaves! I understood that it was digging plants out of the ground. Of course it doesn't stop me when a little seedling is in the path or even taking a small cutting from the underside of a perennial where no one will ever notice the difference, and seeds are fair game as far as I'm concerned! I mean honestly! I realise that many disrespectful and selfish people could do a lot of damage and that because of them they must adopt a zero tolerance policy, but I seriously doubt that a gardener there would throw the book at me. I am passionate about our botanic gardens and I defend them passionately; I would never dream of doing anything to diminish their beauty.
I was talking with Ian Powell, nurseryman and former curator of Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens and he told some horror stories of people sneaking in after dark and digging out rare specimens, including one very rare and very large Rheum (I forget the species now) which they dug on in entirety leaving and enormous crater and carted away over the fence! I was gob-smacked. How could you possibly enjoy that specimen in your garden knowing full well that it was obtained in the most deplorable and dishonest way imaginable?

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Everyone,

It is incredible what individuals will do once madness sets in. I guess botanic gardens have to protect their assests and themselves if they have agreements about the use of certain plants.

Referring back to what I previously said about the ownership of all naturally occurring living organisms, I am sure there is an element of this involved.  How many botanic institutions share their excess material with an interested public? I doubt if any in the UK do it anymore.
Our state botanic gardens does allow a fair bit of public participation.  They have a scheme whereby propagated plants are sold at open days,  they do demos on propagation and when I was involved they offered garden tours. Much of this all run by volunteers. But at least it is an attempt to give a sense of community ownership.

Cheers,  Marcus

[Hillview croconut]

BTW Back to Jamus' picture of his hermodactylus.

Jamus are they greeny, goose poo coloured and it is the light that changed their color? Or are they bluish?

Cheers,  Marcus

[Jupiter]

No marcus, they aren't really bluish, I fiddled with the colour balance because the photo was taken in very dim light and I wasn't happy with the colour in the photo. I shouldn't do that I know!

Here's another one taken with more light and more faithful I think.

[Jupiter]

Occasionally the friends of the botanic gardens volunteer group have a plant sale and I rush along hoping to see all the lovely stuff from the gardens but alas, it's always generic plants that one could buy from the local garden centre. Disappointing. Why not propagate from the gardens interesting collections? Beats me.

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Jamus,

Why?  One word: Bureaucrats!

Our gardens was staring down the barrel despite being a major tourist attaction. It HAD to find a way.  It was forced into the marketplace and it necessary community support.  If all that hadn't happened it probably remained a stuffy, self involved,  inward-looking public organization. Look at the latest crazy decision by your zoo re ice cream!

Is your flower slate or green?

Cheers,  Marcus

[Jupiter]

It's slate Marcus, almost... a little yellowish green down the throat, purplish near the 'eye spots'. Very hard to describe!

[Hillview croconut]

Is it as bluish/slate as this one Jamus?

Cheers, Marcus

[Lesley Cox]

Anthony, my SRGC Journal - July - arrived yesterday and is lovely and useful as usual but I now see what you mean by needing 3 hands for fishbox troughs. How lucky is Ian to have acquired an extra from somewhere.

I found the Taylor article on Lilium species from seed especially interesting and useful. It's one I'll refer to frequently.

[Anthony Darby]

Those tuberosus are very blue. Here's one of mine in my greenhouse back in Dunblane, being visited by a queen wasp.