October 2024 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Robert]

Hi Fermi,

Have any of your Themidaceae started to bloom yet? It seems like it should be the start of that season for you.

Here in our part of Northern California the weather has finally cooled to average temperatures for this time of year. It is still extremely dry. This is not unusual for our part of California, however precipitation is only about 15% of average to date. The numbers are a little better in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but still very dry. There are frosty mornings at the highest elevations in the Sierra Nevada.

With such dry weather I was surprised to see the first Dipterostemon capitatus ssp. capitatus foliage emerging from the ground. This species can be very early, however this seems extreme. The start of the rainy season will be welcome. We are hoping for a good season this year.

[fermi de Sousa]

Have any of your Themidaceae started to bloom yet? It seems like it should be the start of that season for you.

Hi Robert,
they've only just started - the first being what I think is Brodiaea coronaria

The next is what I've called "Ithuriel's Spear" but apparently that's Triteleia laxa and I think this is Triteleia bridgesii.

Triteleia laxa is still in bud, as is Dichelostemma volubile which I've called "The Climbing Bluebell"

These 3 stems are from one pot which is sitting on a bench under a Cercis siliquastrum into which it's climbing,
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Hi Fermi,

Thank you for sharing the photographs.

I thought that you might find the following photographs interesting.



This is a photograph of Triteleia bridgesii growing in its natural habitat in the Canyon of the South Fork of the American River in El Dorado County, California. This location is not far from our El Dorado County farm. I can easily arrive at this site in 30 minutes from our farm.



This is a photograph of Triteleia bridgesii blooming in our Sacramento garden. As you can see, the color pattern on the one flower is not the same as the other flowers on the same scape. Most seasons all the flowers appear similar on this plant. There are many reasons why this flower could be off-type during this season, however this is not a common feature of this species.



This is a photograph of Triteleia laxa blooming in our Sacramento garden. Triteleia laxa has a large geographic range throughout California and Southern Oregon. It grows abundantly on our farm property. I have accessions of this species growing in our Sacramento garden from many locations in Northern California. Our accessions from the low elevations in the Inner Coast Range Mountains are always the first to bloom in our garden. All of our accessions of Triteleia laxa bloom well before any of our Triteleia bridgesii accessions. The geographic range of Tritelia bridgesii is limited to Northern California and Southern Oregon. Under some circumstances, it might be possible that Triteleia bridgesii could cross with Triteleia laxa, however I have never observed this in the wild or our garden. I have been tempted to make this cross in our Sacramento garden to see if this cross is possible.

Thanks again for sharing the photographs. The Themidaceae thrive in our Sacramento garden. They can be effectively integrated into our garden by mimicking their preferences in their native habitats.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Robert,
it's interesting that themids behave so differently over here - Triteleia laxa forms are still tightly in bud and most themids flower after the daffodils have finished.
Here are a couple more North Americans:
1) Allium unifolium
2 & 3) Calochortus uniflorus
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Hi Fermi,



This is a scene of Allium unifolium taken in our Sacramento garden. It was taken yesterday, 26 October. I leave the seed heads of Allium unifolium until winter before I clean them up, or they get blown away by storms. This is a very naturalistic scene and is very much like what one would find in our local xeric ecosystems here in California. I enjoy this section of the garden immensely. The Allium unifolium seeds around creating ever-changing patterns each season. One of our early blooming forms of Triteleia laxa is planted in this area bringing color during the early spring. The bark of Arctostaphylos manzanita ssp. manzanita (background) always looks good. This dried up look during the summer and autumn works for me and is so typical of xeric ecosystems in of our part of California.



Here is another scene from our Sacramento garden. I also leave the seed heads of Brodiaea elegans ssp. elegans all summer and autumn. Here they share space with another form of Arctostaphylos manzanita ssp. manzanita. I also grow other California native species in this part of the garden. The Brodiaea shares space with Primula hendersonii, various native Eriogonium species, and our native Purple needle grass, Stipa pulchra. A number of California native annuals also seed around this location. It looks great during the spring, but I also like the very naturalistic dry-look during the summer and autumn.



Our local native, Salvia sonomensis grows near one of our paths. The scent of the foliage is divine. It shares space with other forms of Triteleia laxa, Scutellaria californica, and even the non-native Acis autumnalis. I enjoy Acis autumnalis and it often combines well with our native species. I grow many seedlings each season and select the best to plant out in the garden.