January 2015 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Hillview croconut]

Pretty Sunburst
Similar
"Old Mate" Lankon", Again!

Marcus

[Paul T]

Lovely, Marcus.

[rob krejzl]

canadense

duchartrei

Seedling trumpet

[Jupiter]

Stunning lilies guys. Rob, I LOVE canadense and duchartrei. Amazing plants.

Here's one of mine, common as dirt but lovely none the less.

[rob krejzl]

And a couple more

A Sims hybrid OT

Erica cerinthoides (out of season, but that's Tassies climate)

Tigridia orthantha

[Hillview croconut]

Hi,

Just a couple more. From a lovely bright day at 5.30am this morning to a bruised and rainy sky by 5pm

I have lots of origanums but the two stand out for me. I l also have a lovely variegated form involving both leaf and bracts but alas the trade won't interested because it shows blemishes too early in the season, sigh!

Cheers, Marcus

[Hillview croconut]

Some Classics and the variegated origanum

 

[Tim Ingram]

The Ebenus is a wonderfully interesting plant isn't it? A sort of 'cross' between a tree lupin and clover. We grew this for a few years from JJA seed and it's a plant I would love to grow again along with the Californian silver lupins. Every now and again I've seen seed of smaller Turkish species listed but never managed to grow them.

The origanums - along with teucriums, stachys, sideritis, thymes etc - are becoming more and more of an interest in our garden. I haven't yet tried 'tea' made from dittany or sideritis

[Hillview croconut]

And just to end. Three "berries" from the slopes of Mt Wellington. I've left them at the common names. If I finally get around to putting Essie's waratah up on her thread you will find poetic references to two of them.

Pink Mountain Berries - taxonomy now changed
Cheese Berry - this is the plant snarers "baited" their treadle snares with.
Climbing Blueberry - can come in a variety of colours.

These should bring back memories Tim?

Cheers, Marcus

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Tim,

I too, have seen Pavelka list some other species. I have certainly bought all of the species of sideritis from him and I have drank the teas. As you will know in some parts of Greece and Turkey these are considered very important. I was told by people in Pythagori on Samos that the stock drive to the higher areas of Mt Ambelos, where one of the species grows, is delayed until its harvest. One time I collected some for an old couple who owned the rooms where we were staying and they were delighted. The irony was that I collapsed in the shower a couple of days later from food poisoning and yes ...  I was fed tschai t'omeros as a reviver!

We are probably better suited to growing them all out here in southern Australia. I know I do but I wonder how many others do? The Ebenus cretica is still rare here. In fact, I had Diggers, one of the very big mail order garden clubs and plant sellers, approach me before Xmas wanting to buy 300 to 400 seeds because they had identified it as a potentially good garden plant.

Dittany I haven't tried to drink but it has opened many a conversation with Australian Greeks and my local shop keeper, who is from the SE of Crete, kept me in chocolates for months when I gave his wife both the dittany and one of sideritis for her to grow on her balcony.

Cheers, Marcus

[arillady]

I bought two packets of Mountain Tea yesterday - Sideritis sp. is all it said on this firm's packets.
It is a pleasant drink before bed. I must try more seed as it should grow here.

[arillady]

Two rainlilies and the Calochortus which flowers mid summer. We too had a few days or rain recently so I am madly digging arils rhizomes

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Pat. It's Calochortus fimbriatus used to be classified C. weedii var. vestus. If you somehow got it from me it would have came from a Ron Ratko collection back in the noughties. It is a good easy plant with me. Always stuck and I like it for its beautifully stippled and patterned flowers. They are very box-shaped, aren't they?
M

[Lesley Cox]

Sideritis species are said to be hallucinogenic and so popular in Turkey and the Middle east for that reason.

I have Tigridia orthantha as Rigidella. I know it's close to Tigridia. Has it now been shoved in with it?

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Lesley,

I DON'T think that is the full story. As Pat is suggesting, it is called Mountain tea," chai to m'oros". Sideritis tea is used for all sorts of ailments. It is one of their herbals. In fact many of these teas are being scientifically scrutinized for active ingredients.

Cheers, Marcus