November 2014 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

A drizzly start to November but we've already had hot days into the low 30s (^oC) and the first brown snake(s) have been seen in the garden!
One of my favourite North American bulbs in now in flower, Dichelostemma ida-maia, the firecracker flower;
cheers
fermi

[Jupiter]

Fermi that's lovely, starting November off with a bang I see.    Sorry, if I didn't say it someone else would have I'm sure...

A few things flowering here but I haven't had time to do any photography for a while. I hosted a barbecue lunch today and have been cooking all morning, cleaning up for the last hour and now I'm sitting down, finally!

[Jupiter]

Androsace lanuginosa

[Lesley Cox]

Dichelostemma ida-maia, the firecracker flower;

I haven't had this for a long time but got some seed recently. It is germinating now but so is something else in the same pot, looks like maybe one of the easier calceolarias or something, like C. falklandica or biflora. A little mystery for later and how did I come to oversow the bulb seed?

[vivienne Condon]

A few plants that are just loving our new garden.

    Ramonda myconi Alba 2
    Ramonda myconi 2
    X Brigandra calliantha 'Salisbury'
    Edraianthus serpyllifolius

[vivienne Condon]

I'v just read Cytisus demissus has had a name change to Cytisus hirsutus, I find it difficult to keep abreast of all the name changes. I grow this plant in an old copper pot as the slugs, snails and rabbits love every bit of it and leave me with just the stalks.

[Maggi Young]

I'v just read Cytisus demissus has had a name change to Cytisus hirsutus, I find it difficult to keep abreast of all the name changes. I grow this plant in an old copper pot as the slugs, snails and rabbits love every bit of it and leave me with just the stalks.

Crikey - I've  lost the plot with name changes - my brain hurts......... though these photos of your plants looking so good is better than an aspirin, Viv!   

 X Brigandra calliantha 'Salisbury'  is especially pretty - great  colour markings.

[Maggi Young]

Viv: do you know the history of  X Brigandra calliantha 'Salisbury'   ?

[Lesley Cox]

Lovely plants and pictures Viv. I do feel for you, with rabbits around. Roger shot 3 a couple of days ago so we've had respite for the last 2 nights but there are plenty more in surrounding paddocks. We are fencing everything! It doesn't look too bad on the whole, the green wire blending into the landscape and the stakes will weather to greyish quite quickly. I think this photo shows the fencing and it's not very obtrusive and has certainly stopped both rabbits and poultry from their marauding.

[Hoy]

Lesley,

It's easier to fence out rabbits than sludges anyway! Even now in November the mild moist weathes has been ideal for the gastropods
And this summer I have had problem with common sparrows. They love to pick all my small new plants in the rockery.


Vivienne,

Nice plants! I haven't had flowers on my Ramonda this summer. Too shady maybe.

[Otto Fauser]

Viv , lovely plants in your new ,cooler garden where Ramondas seem at home . Your blue one is a much paler one  than mine . Do you still grow the pink R. myconi .? Please strike a cutting of Edraianthus serpyllifolius for me .
 
   The late Essie Huxley in Tasmania received the bi generic hybrid  x Brigandra calliantha 'Salisbury'  from the late Gerry Mundey (UK)as well as several Petiolaris Primulas . The first person to make this cross was Prof . Otto Schwarz , Jena  Bot. Garden . in the 1960s , of which he sent me a plant. Unfortunately I lost it ,as it was of a slightly different colour.

[vivienne Condon]

Hello Otto, I do not have Ramonda myconi pink at all I'm sorry, we will have to keep trying to raise it from seed. I will certainly do some cuttings of the Edrianthus serpyllifolius for you.
Thank you Maggi, Lesley and Hoy for the lovely comments some times my garden looks like little Fort Knox every where trying to protect my plants.
Maggi I have a question and photos on a pulsatilla I wondered where I should put it would Olga and Susanna look on the Southern Forum I have taken pics of the leaves and the flowers. Viv.

[Maggi Young]

Viv - I suggest you post the photos  in the pulsatilla thread - keeps all those together there and makes a better resource for those plants.  When you've done that I'll post link here so they're noted here too.

[Maggi Young]

Otto, thank you for the background on the x Brigandra -  it is so interesting to know something of the history of these plants.  Not to mention learning of these connections with the legendary Essie Huxley and Gerry Mundey.

[fermi de Sousa]

Fermi that's lovely, starting November off with a bang I see.    Sorry, if I didn't say it someone else would have I'm sure...

Jamus,
this Forum can never have too many punsters
Lovely Androsace - I must re-introduce it to our garden (it's often on sale at the FCHS Shows) as it survived the first 5 years of drought but the 6th or 7th finished it off Amazing to think it lasted so long considering it comes from the Himalayas!
Here are a few November Flowers in the garden,
First a Nicotiana hybrid we got from Craig Wilson at Gentiana Nursery, Olinda - it's been magnificent in its second year in the garden (after 2 or 3 in a pot!); the vari-coloured flowers give a lot of interest, I think,
Next is a burgeoning clump of Spuria Iris hybrids, the brown one is 'Intensity', if I'm not mistaken,
Third is a clump of the black centred Ixia rouxii flowering over a clump of dianthus and then an individual wand close-up,
cheers
fermi