September 2015 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Jupiter]

Really beautiful Otto, thank you for taking the time to do that for us. Doesn't sunny weather make you want to run and grab your camera? You have incredible Fritillaria species there, and Erythroniums! You weren't joking the other day when you said you have thousands.

I visited a wonderful garden today; Sheringa, the garden of Dianne (Danni) and Andy Kaines at Carey Gully. It was absolutely beautiful Otto, you would have loved it. Here's a link to the photos I took today, for anyone who's interested. Danni is a real plant collector and a lovely lady. - https://goo.gl/photos/V1WqtbFTYey6G1HZ7

[Parsla]

Oh goodness – such a lot of beautiful flower photos since last I looked.
Otto’s garden is a picture with its sea of Erythroniums and Scilla. The tinge of green on all the yellow fritillaries pictured is very attractive - some fine examples holding their own in Otto’s rock garden.

Hi Mel, if the P. kesrouanensis sets seed I will send you some – but not sure it will this year, as this is its very first flowering.. Then again, Marcus or Otto may know where to access some.

A few sunny days and the garden is finally popping into Spring. 
1. Little pom-pom blooms of fothergilla
2. The weeping branches of Exochorda macrantha are smothered in white
3. The weird and wonderful spikes of Bellevalia dubia (kindly gifted by Marcus)
4. Racemes of the early spiketail Stachyurus praecox draped like so many pearl necklaces
5. Tiny crinkled buttery blooms of Saruma henry opening (from the treasure chest of Lynn McGough)

Jacqui

[Jupiter]

A few from the weekend. We had lovely weather; I feel almost like I've had too much sun!




This little Moraea aristata came originally from Danni Kaines. This is the most flowers I've ever had at one time.




I'm embarrassed to say I don't remember planting this tulip, but it was a lovely surprise when it opened the other day! No idea where it came from.




Erythronium revolutum x californicum, looking magnificent. I can't stop admiring it!




Tropaeolum tricolor in full swing.




Fragaria 'Pink Panda', very sweet thank you Otto.




Tropaeolum tricolor does well in hanging pots.




The path leading up to the rock garden.

[Parsla]

So many photographs after a sunny day or two! Spring fever?

James, your landscaping is superb. Absolutely beautiful.

And nice way of concatenating your photos - how DID you retain resolution?

Jacqui.

[Jupiter]

Thank you Jacqui, like you I'm a "new" gardener and my garden is still young, but I'm proud of what I have achieved and looking forward to me and the garden settling in. When I visit people like Danni, as I did yesterday I am reminded just how much I have to learn. She bought that property and started gardening in that spot three years before I was born! I don't feel that young and she doesn't seem old enough, but that's the reality of it.

Regarding photos and their presentation on the forum; I'll send you an email rather than clutter up this thread with technical talk.

A couple more

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Guys,

What a wonderful time for us Southerners!

Delicious photos and lovely stories, anecdotes.

For those interested I will be posting a series of articles on fritillaries of the Eastern Aegean and the Turkish coast over the next couple of weeks and these will include references to most of the species Otto posted here a couple of days ago. http://hillviewrareplants.com.au/marcus-harveys-notes-and-ramblings

Mel and Jacqui, I have seed of that paeony listed in my latest catalogue.

Cheers, Marcus

[Otto Fauser]

Most likely my only chance to see your beautifully landscaped garden here on the Forum Jamus . The Adelaide Hills are too far away now for me . I like the play between light and shade and also like large tasteful pots as garden ornaments - planted or not . Also enjoyed the photos of the plants in Danni and Andy Kaines's  garden , I constructed this garden 'DOSHONG LA'  40 years ago , almost as long ago as Danni's . Please ask her where she bought her bulbs of Fritillaria  persica .  The photo of my Erythroniums was only a portion of the entire mass . Noticed a few self sown seedlings in flower of crosses between Eryth.
oregonum and hendersonii - lovely .

[t00lie]

Having some 'down' time this 'arvo' I finally decided I'd had enough of Monty our dog deliberately skidding on the moss that is supposedly our lawn ......     so I decided to create some more garden beds .

I'll turn the moss/soil over by hand over in the next week taking care to weed a couple small patches of buttercup and it shouldn't take too long to plant out .It will a relief to liberate numerous pots mainly of of Trilliums and Hellebores ......

In the only part of the lawn that's left now I filled in the depressions created by the removal of some pavers with used potting mix.
Cheers Dave.

New woodland area update --gravel paths in , new beds mulched --about 40 Trilliums ready to be planted out this weekend as well as a number of Dactylorhiza and Hellebore .
Still heaps of room left so I might divide some of the small miniature Japanese named Hostas growing in beds elsewhere as well as plant out a number of Erythronium seed pots at the sunnier end nearer the house......

Of course it all looks a bit new so once the plants are in and the surface has settled the beds will receive a light coating of leaf mould from the bush.

Unfortunately the area will be too shady for these pots of flowering weeds.....

Cheers Dave.
 

[David Nicholson]

Lovely pics from your garden Jamus. I particularly liked the one of your path up to your rock garden, you obviously have an eye for design.

[fermi de Sousa]

Today David Glenn led garden tours in his garden to show people many of the bulbs which he grows at "Burnside", his home and Lambley Nursery at Ascot, near Ballarat in Central Victoria.

Sorry, I got distracted Here are more pics from "Burnside"
Tulipa clusiana ssp chrysantha
Tulipa clusiana 'Lady Jane'
A cypress lined avenue into the Potager
In the Potager the paths are lined with tulips, wallflowers, Forsythia 'Golden Clusters'; the teepees will be covered by clematis later in the spring and into summer
More rowed out plants in the open paddock
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

More from "Burnside": we were allowed into the "private" areas where David grows some of his rarer bulbs:
The Frit bed
Fritillaria conica
Fritillaria affinis x 2
Possibly Fritillaria graeca olivieri
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Some more from David Glenn's garden:
Dwarf species bearded iris
White DBI -possibly Iris pumila?
Another Fritillaria affinis
Anemone blanda
Another anemone - ? A.hortensis

[fermi de Sousa]

Some more from David Glenn's garden:

A bright red (?species?) tulip
Fritillaria tuntasia x2
A daphne
A different looking Fritillaria (conica) probably carica (Thanks, Marcus)
cheers
fermi

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Fermi,

Great to see all those bulbs at David's. Thanks for posting the pictures.  David is usually thought of as a perennial man but, as the pics confirm, he has a soft spot for dwarf bulbs.

Just a couple of observations: in the first batch you identify one as being possibly Fritillaria graeca. I think this is F. olivierii, possibly from Otto.

The "other fritillaria" is F. affinis, possibly previously known as F. mutica.

The other different looking F. conica looks like F. carica.

Cheers,  Marcus

[Jupiter]

Otto, I would guess that Danni would have grown the Frit. persica from seed, but she also used to import bulbs herself, like many of you here did as well. I will ask her but I'm letting her recover from the trauma of the open garden before I hassle her. She is more of a plant person than a people person, which I can fully relate to myself!

When I visit lambley I shall drop plenty of hints about Fritillaries and hopefully he'll offer to give me the behind the scenes tour too...

Here's the view from our kitchen window this morning... I'm loving the spring bounty.