October 2015 in the Southern Hemisphere

[t00lie]

Lovely colourful postings folks ...I'll tone things down a little with a few whites 

Sanguinaria canadensis just opening late afternoon Tuesday then fully open in 18c sunshine yesterday .

Ornithogalum sintenisii .

A yummy unknown Narcissus ,the colour I think just about rivals Weldenia which are yet to come up.

Okay I couldn't help myself ---Pulsatilla 'Pink Denim'.......

[Arum]

Flowering now. A seedling from a batch of Trillium grandiflorum roseum seed sent to me by Anthony Darby in 2009 - while he was still residing in Scotland. Thank you Anthony for this lovely plant. There will be one with your name on it of course. Did you manage to bring your plant or seed of with you.
Edna

[Anthony Darby]

Alas no brought nothing Edna. Plants prohibited and we moved in January 2011, so no seed. I am delighted to see it doing so well. Bill Dijk grows grandiflorum in Tauranga, so given shade and a cool site it could grow in Auckland.

[Jupiter]

Edna your Trillium grandiflorum is wonderful... I'm in love with Trilliums. Beautifully photographed too.

t00lie, fabulous cool climate plants. I WILL get to New Zealand some day... the sooner the better, and then I'll be asking you all for travel advice.

[fermi de Sousa]

We're heading from spring straight into summer, the weekend is threatening temperatures around 30^oC
We'll be spending most of our gardening time watering!
Here's one of the seedling PCIs flowering under a crabapple,
cheers
fermi

[Rogan]

I love it when the dwarf Watsonias finally come into bloom; I took a walk two days ago, before our latest downpour, and visited a nearby colony of W. laccata - sadly, confined only to the shoulders of a gravel road:

Three colour forms to feast your eyes on;

A putative hybrid with the common W. aletroides;

The road-side habitat.

[Jupiter]

Nice way to kick off the season Fermi. I like the purples best of all I think...

Look at my new plant! I visited Dannie today and she gave me this Dodecatheon meadia. I love it.

[fermi de Sousa]

Rogan,
those watsonias look amazing - too bad they are given bad press over here due to some of the weedy species which have gone feral.

Jamus,
that's a nice gift! Will you plant it out or keep it potted?

Paeonia cambessedesii is now in flower in the Rock garden,
cheers
fermi

[Parsla]

Oh gosh, Edna, your trillium is  SO beautiful.

Dave, you have a fabulous collection. How many years have you been gardening, if it is okay to ask.

Bravo all.

Jacqui.

[Jupiter]

Fermi your paeonia is absolutely stunning! I love the deep pink with the striations... does it handle sun? My Dodecatheon will go into the woodland garden which I'm re-working for these types of plants. I just have to stay vigilant and keep weeding out the Geranium robertianum and canariense which threaten to take over the whole place. Not to mention violets... too many violets.

[Hillview croconut]

It is, as Jacqui says, Bravo All. Such a feast of flowers one can hardly keep up. Very windy and hot today so it will put paid to a lot of beautiful things.

A couple of early snaps before the wind:

Narcissus "Solveig's Song" - from Rannweig Wallis. Has a touch of triandrus in there.

Iris lineata - has a convoluted history. I raised it from Archibald seed, gave a piece to Otto, I lost mine, and Otto kindly returned it. I think the last I heard Otto may have lost his. Moral here? Don't divide your plant??

Cyclamen rhodium ssp peloponnesiacum - not always with the spotty leaves.

Cheers, Marcus

[t00lie]

Hello Edna
Well done on the Trillium grandiflorum --If it's what Anthony was offering as T .G. 'light pink' then I received seed in 2010 ,(I think), however my seedlings are tiny ....

Thanks Jamus
Yip plenty of cool weather and regular year round moisture here for sure .
You'll also be able to gain an idea of NZ from Fermi in a couple of weeks ........

Been gardening for a few years now thanks Jacqui ,(I'm at that age now I really don't want to count ......  about 30 years with my hands in the soil ) .I used to be an avid hunter , had pig dogs etc etc however once our children arrived my outlook on life changed in some respects. I'd always been interested in my surroundings while in the bush or up mountain slopes so it was just a small step to becoming keen on cultivating some of the plants I'd seen ,especially those at my feet .....

Nice plants Marcus
How do you cultivate your Cyclamen rhodo..... ? they rot off with me ...

[fermi de Sousa]

Iris lineata - has a convoluted history. I raised it from Archibald seed, gave a piece to Otto, I lost mine, and Otto kindly returned it. I think the last I heard Otto may have lost his. Moral here? Don't divide your plant??

The moral is propagate and share - the best way to keep a plant is to give it away! I learned this from my mentor, Ruth Tindale, and from very experienced gardeners in our group like Viv and Otto,
cheers
fermi

[Parsla]

That iris lineata is very lovely Marcus. All understated elegance.
And the narcissus and cyclamen are beautiful specimens.

Windy and hot here too. I wish the trees would hurry up and go into leaf to protect the understory plants. 

t00lie, I can see why you are so successful with all that history behind you.

Jacqui x.

[Jupiter]

Your Iris lineata is beautiful Marcus. It's very reassuring for me to see so many of you growing oncocyclus and regelia irises. Gives me more hope that I might succeed with them.

Came home early today and had time to wander around the garden with my camera... here are the results;


I've been trying various West coast North American annuals and perennials. Nemophila maculata is very pretty and I think I'll grant it permanent residency.


Speaking of North Americans, PC Irises just keep getting better.


Linum grandiflorum 'bright eyes' is an excellent annual.


Centaurea jacea. I've grown quite a few of this genus from seed and this one is a keeper.


The first poppy of the season! These are like a tradition at our place, I sow them every autumn.