March 2018 in the Southern Hemisphere

[David Nicholson]

1) Colchicum byzantium looking a lot better after a few days!
2) Cyclamen mirabile ex Tilebarn Nicholas - not a patch on Viv's as shown on the Vic Group's Blog http://agsvicgroup.blogspot.com.au/
3) Sternbergia sicula originally from seed from Rannweig Wallis in 1998 - first flowers in 2003
4) Zauschneria cana (syn Epilobium canum) ex"Solidarity Pink" NARGS Seedex 2016
5) more Rhodophiala bifida seedlings are in bloom
cheers
fermi

Lovely stuff Fermi, all they're short of is a bit of yellow tape, I here it's freely available over there?

[David Nicholson]

..............................I'm home now with some home help but the right arm is in a heavy sling and I'm not to use it for 6 weeks though I can wiggle my fingers and even write a little. I can't drive of course so am very much at the mercy of others..................

You managing to lift a glass with your left Lesley? All the best and look after yourself, no more throwing yourself around the garden.

[Lesley Cox]

My warm thanks to everyone for your best wishes and I'll keep them all in mind during the down times.The shoe pixie Susan, has been wonderful always, my most frequent visitor and loyal friend that she is.

I usually phone Otto on his birthday then he on mine 2 days later but somehow missed him this time. Perhaps he was in the garden as I certainly was as the weather has been lovely in between tropical cyclones and storms.

I know what you mean John about the time and that darned extra day caused by the Int. Date Line. In my 4 bed room was an American woman from Chicago who was tramping/travelling alone around the South Island and actually left hospital the day before I did. She was to go back to Seattle with her daughter who had come out to collect her and by the time they'd arranged their flights with a stopover in Honalulu,  they really had no idea of what day they'd be back home at all and were totally confused. She has been driving a small car alone on one of Central Otago's beautiful but unforgiving roads and it's thought she went to sleep. The car went down a bank but it was on cruise control and didn't stop until it eventually piled up in rocks and Phormium bushes. She came into Dn hosp by helicopter a couple of days before my accident and had a hip fracture mended but still had terrible bruising. Like many Americans she was tremendously positive about it all and mentioned how lovely the newly snowy mountains were as her helicopter lifted off though she must have been in terrible pain.

My own surgeon wasn't due i found out later to be back until the Wednesday and then with a full schedule but was asked to come early which he did so I was tremendously lucky I think, especially as i was bumped up to the top of his list.

But to more important things, while I've not been on the end of any cameras for a while, I am really pleased to report excellent germination conditions over these last two or three weeks and since there's nothing wrong with my legs I'm making frequent trips to see my seed pots which are greening up rapidly witjh some real treasures coming through. I was given a little seed of the furry flowered Lamium armenum after last October's Trillium weekend and this has germinated well (slug pellets applied) as have several from the SRGC seedex including Iris collettii a little tuberous rooted species, Pulsatilla vernalis, 2 collections and several more. As well  there are many from my own seed so by golly I'd better get my shoulder sorted soon.

[Lesley Cox]

Lovely stuff Fermi, all they're short of is a bit of yellow tape, I here it's freely available over there?

I'm carefully avoiding THAT subject knowing what a great cricket fan Fermi is and how delicate his sensibilities are. I'm concentrating more on a certain test in which England were cleaned out in what was three days, once the weather had had its say.  One of our better wins and of course we are hoping for a repeat this coming weekend.

[fermi de Sousa]

I'm carefully avoiding THAT subject knowing what a great cricket fan Fermi is

I don't tend to waste time watching the cricket - though we do have to keep an eye on the grasshoppers as they do more damage to plants
At our meeting last Saturday Palmiro and Verity brought an amazing pot of Bessera elegans for the bench.
It was also our Plant Swap and they brought a few pots of the bessera and I got one which is now flowering - it'll take a few years to match theirs!
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

A sunny break this Easter!
1) Sternbergia sicula enjoying the sun;
2) Cyclamen graecum album;
3) Zephyranthes 'Grandjax';
4) Zephyranthes candida;
5) Cochicum 'Conquest' from Otto but a bit damaged before emerging (the flower, not Otto!)
cheers
fermi

[Parsla]

its lovely to have an easter break, seems so long since i have posted - partly because of the tired, scorched, mess that the garden has been after a long dry summer. Partly because its been so busy.

sorry to hear of your accident leslie, and hope you are on well on the road to a complete mend.

thank you fermi for keeping the side up by showing your flowers - especially taken with the dark colchicum you posted last.
And Jamus, what a crocus.

here is a small offering...

1. Colchicum autumnalis album - a new one for me
2. Paeonia seedpods after harvesting - my first decent crop - are they not spectacular?
3. A saxifraga fortunei hybrid
4. A collection of saxifraga species gifted by Otto last week, unbelievably generous, and bedded in a beautiful aged pot.
5. My clump of crocus goulimyi gets a little bigger each year and is trouble-free.

Happy Easter to all.

[Maggi Young]

Jacqui, if you are not going to keep those paeonia capsules for yourself, you really ought to find a flower-arranging pal to give them too- I can just see those wired up and used in floral art.