October 2015 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Hillview croconut]

My God Jamus, your last batch of pictures are truly fabulous. They are spellbinding!

Cheers, Marcus

[Parsla]

Yes, they really are fantastic Jamus. I do feel embarrassed posting after you.

This is perhaps a little out of context for a rock garden club, but I am so pleased with how the Japanese snowbell has grown into a beautiful conical form.

1. Styrax japonica with a carpet of fallen blooms
2. Close-up of the flowers

[Lesley Cox]

Golly, I'm doing other things for just a few days and pages more are added! Wonderful plants at this very productive time of year.

Just 5 to start with as it's bedtime.

I've had such pleasure from the Barnhaven seedlings from a Nov 2013 sowing. These two are both polyanthus, 'Spiced Shades' which look really good in a group with varying shades and 'Gilded Ginger,' which all have a fine gold edge round bright to dark red or almost black centres. Both are seeding gently about now. As you can see, I'm putting in parsley seedlings just about everywhere. I never have enough.

Anemone nemorosa 'Winterwood Pink' came from Marcus a few years ago but originated in the Mt Tomah garden of Don Schofield. It starts pure, pristine white so seems badly named but within a couple of days begins to age to pink then deepens to almost magenta by the time the petals are ready to drop. These shown are about half way there. I've had a lot of garden visitors these last two weeks and most have wanted this lovely plant.

Then two of a favourite from way back, seed in the first place from Jack Drake at Inshriach Alpine Plant Nursery near Inverness. The lovely white form of the marsh marigold, Caltha palustris. I've always loved this plant and happily, it is setting lots of nice seed. I'm enclosing the heads in clusters of 3 or 4, in the little netting bags recommended for Narcissus or other seed heads, so the birds won't get them and I'll get them before they fall.

[Jupiter]

Thanks guys, it's a great time of year for us gardeners isn't it?

Jacqui I love your Styrax. What a gorgeous shrub that is... I was very impressed with your purple hazel. Where did you get it? I hope they mail order as I'd love one of those. Your garden is destined to be absolutely amazing with a backdrop of such wonderful trees and shrubs.

[Lesley Cox]

More tomorrow. I'm getting plants ready for my last stall of the season, at Larnach Castle next Sunday. Will be glad when I can put away all the tables, cloths, photos, and other odds and ends one takes to these events and get on with what will have to be a huge propagating programme as I've run out of almost everything by now. Still NZ Iris Soc Convention on the weekend of Nov 20-23 but though it's coming here, I won't be selling though will have a list ready for anyone who wants it. Masses of dwarf bearded forms are in bloom now but they'll be almost over by then.

[Jupiter]

Lesley, I've never seen Caltha palustris in person. Yours looks so lush and healthy. All your plants do... that Anemone nemorosa is pretty as a picture.

[Hoy]

Lesley,

You get me longing for spring! Although the weather today is quite nice and springlike (contrasting very much to the weekend which was very 'fallish') the blooming period is definitely over

[Lesley Cox]

Thank you both. Some more spring for you Hoy though last night we had a cold southerly come through with heavy rain and there is fresh snow on the local hills, the 9th snowfall this year - and we usually have 2 or maybe 3, so very cold today.

Daphne petraea 'Persabee.' Pesky thing just wouldn't open for the few shows we have here but has come up smiling this last week. It flowered well in the autumn too so I thought it wouldn't now but am very happy with this performance. I think this plant is about 10 years old now.

Armeria caespitosa, a seedling from my favourite nursery, and they have called it 'Sugar Baby.' I don't like the name but the little plant is very good, soft pink, less harsh than the commoner forms.

Our native Myosotis colensoi at the corner of a trough (with Gentiana depressa). This species is a lime lover coming from the limestone outcrops of Castle Hill in Canterbury. It is protected.

Saxifraga pubescens 'Snowcap.' It usually flowers more thickly so maybe needs a bit of refurbishment. Also in a trough. The green rosette foliage is slightly sticky so is inclined to get thistledown tangled in it later in the season.

[Lesley Cox]

As mentioned above, I have lots of dwarf bearded irises in my garden and every year can't resist a few more. I have a very good source close by, a nursery which grows ONLY dwarf and intermediate bearded forms so I'm a good customer. These are -

Alamosa, bred locally at Mossburn by Noel Lapham
Wise
Cliche (with an acute, Clish-ay)
Little Timothy
Mahogany Snow

Some are miniature dwarf, some are standard dwarf. The netting is to keep off hens and rabbits and doesn't look good as the foliage gets crumpled but is better than the rhizomes eaten right down to the roots.

[Lesley Cox]

Some things now from what I unromantically call the Railway Bed. This is because as one crosses the rail line and comes into our place, this bed is closest to the gateway and just 15 metres from the railway. There are trees overhead giving a high canopy with good shade which makes meconopsis and such things possible. (They are in bud now.)

Hosta 'Kabitan,' a real dwarf form with almost golden foliage but greener in shade. I love this little form. So do rabbits!

Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty' which is spreading well now and Hosta 'Sun Power,' another gold foliaged plant but it burns if in sunshine, so again, shade is best. It takes on yellower colour as summer comes along.

Part of the bed. The white Glaucidium had 10 flowers this year, best ever and the lavender behind it had 8. It flowers earlier by about a fortnight. There are the Meconopsis, Beesia, the white and blue Anemonopsis, cardiocrinums, primulas, Dactylorhiza and all kinds of shade-loving plants in this bed, my favourite place in all the garden. (Smaller too,Trollius laxus v. albiflorus, epigaeas, Olsynium douglasii, the white Caltha, various crested irises and some others and, and, and...)

Glaucidium palmatum album

Podophyllum hexandrum. A good crop of the wonderful red pods is already developing.

[Jupiter]

Lesley you've knocked me out with that last set... such interesting and rare plants looking incredible. You are a great gardener. Oh to live next door to you and be able to get up close and personal to those botanical marvels... Sometimes I check real estate prices in NZ.... maybe one day, when the kids leave home.

[Parsla]

Lesley you have such beautiful plants - I'm sure that same shade bed would be my favourite too. I can't believe the size of your glaucidium, I have tried it, and persevere, but it's only a leaf or two and then back underground. Do you have a secret?

Jamus, I have two types of purple hazel (Corylus avellana purpurea and C maxima purpurea). The difference is more in tree form than leaf shape or colour - to my eyes anyway.  The latter seems more treelike. I think Don Teese of Yamina Collector's nursery posts Australia wide. His plants are always healthy and well grown.
And thank you for your nice comments. Not that it makes it any easier to post after you   
Jacqui.

[Lesley Cox]

Jamus I thought for a moment there you wanted to get up close and personal with ME! Ah well, can't have everything I suppose.

This bed has been wonderful this spring because we've had so much rain and a really cool spring except for a very few days. But I still have to water it every few days because the tree roots take so much moisture.

[Jupiter]

HAHA Lesley! My wife might have something to say about that! I sometimes joke that I should find a rich widow with a big garden and charm her into letting me be her gardener (and hopefully weasel my way into the will! that's terrible).

Yes I'm splashing water everywhere too...Warm dry weather ahead. I did a walk at Mt. Lofty today and almost wept at the beauty... I'll see if I can get up there on the weekend with my camera and share it with you all.

My Iris graminea is looking great at the moment. The perfume is intoxicating - to me it smells just like tinned apricots.

[Hillview croconut]

Hi Lesley,

I bet Jamus says that to all the girls

I am very envious of your Daphne. Well I am very envious of lots of things from your last set but sadly I couldn't grow most of them. I don't believe anyone grows Daphne petraea in Australia anymore.  I could be wrong,  maybe Don had one tucked away there in  Mt Tomah. Now biosecurity costs are through the roof I doubt if anyone will be into the future and who'd trust a government quarantine facility to nurse it through its enforced captivity.

Did you import your plant?

Cheers,  Marcus