November 2014 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Leena]

How exciting colored Iris spuria.

[Jupiter]

Fermi thanks for posting the images of your garden. It looks absolutely stunning.

Poppies are almost done here but the 'Danish Flag' are a bit late because they were started later.






Laburnum




Tanacetum ptarmiciflorum




Linum grandiflorum ' Brighteyes'

[Jupiter]

Geranium cinereum 'Ballerina' (thanks Otto)




Dianthus pinifolius




Delphinium requienii




Tanacetum ptarmiciflorum over Euphorbia 'Blackbird'

[Robert]

Jamus,

Some "killer" combinations!

I like seeing species Delphiniums. There are a number of species in our area and I enjoy growing them even if they can be challenging to grow.

Your photography is first rate! Thank for sharing so much with all of us.

[Jupiter]

D. requienii is one of my favourites Robert. It's so big and exuberant, it self seeds and isn't garish. You're welcome to some seed, in fact I should donate some to the seed exchange as well. I'm not really certain of the name. I remember reading somewhere that requienii is a subspecies rather than a species, but I can't recall the species if that is true... Anyone know anything about this plant?

I had a very relaxing morning wandering around the garden with my camera. Having time to breathe increases the keeper ratio substantially!

[astragalus]

Fermi thanks for posting the images of your garden. It looks absolutely stunning.

Poppies are almost done here but the 'Danish Flag' are a bit late because they were started

That is one fantastic poppy.  What can you tell me about it?

[Maggi Young]

I was rather taken with the striking marking of 'Danish Flag' , too.

It seems to come in both that deeply cut  form, making the petals lovely and  frilly and also in a solid petal form - both with the red/white  flag markings. There are  many adverts online for seeds of this form of Papaver somniferum so it must come reliably from seed.   

[arilnut]

Yep Maggi, just ordered some from "One Stop Poppy Shoppe"

John B

[Jupiter]

Yep from my reading danish flag is a named variety and comes true from seed (doesn't segregate). Yesterday I had a freak flower with SIX petals! I didn't get a photo, I wondered if every flower on that plant will be the same... unlikely but I'll find out soon enough.


My cardoons are enormous this year, they must be 3 metres tall.

[Tasmanian Taffy]

Hi all,
I have some seed of Papaver Danish Flag if anyone would like some please pm me cheers John.

[Anthony Darby]

This poppy was collected and pressed by the father of a fellow chorister, who is now 82. His father was a teenage volunteer in WW1.

[Lesley Cox]

What a beautiful thing to have the pressed poppy as a remembrance, so much happier (maybe) than pieces of schrapnel! I knew a gardener some years ago who had brought back tubers of Cyclamen hederifolium from Italy after the 2nd world War. It was said by his wife, after he'd died, that they'd come from Monte Cassino.

[Lesley Cox]

Had to post this extra picture of Iris 'Queen's Grace.' It is glorious this morning and the original seven spathes are making extra flowers and I counted a total of 15 this morning, all on the one stem.

[Anthony Darby]

That is a lovely delicate iris Lesley. I popped over to Joy Plants after school - if you can do that sort of thing in 40 minutes down the Southern motorway to Bombay. Wandered round the place for 15 minutes. The office door was open, but couldn't find anyone about, so came home again! If I'd found the plant I was after (which they have) I'd have taken it and left the money, but I didn't. 

[Stephen Vella]

Lesley that's a nice Iris.. Japonica or hybrid of some sort?

Jamus great Cardoon.. I use to grow this one with great effect when the flowers go over you get 6 months of dead flower heads, when the fluffy seeds are gone the dead flowers have a bristle that stay for a long time, I strip the dead leaves, one year a spray painted the stems red and the public were amazed by it.. Looks great for a wintery effect.