South African bulbose plants 2007

[fermi de Sousa]

Paul, you maybe right about the Moraea - I haven't scrabbled around to find the label, yet! I can't remember where I got it from.
Although Sparaxis are practically weeds around here, I still love'em!
Here's a mixed patch of the usual orange form and a creamy white.


cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

After posting the last pic I realised that it didn't really do justice to the markings inside the flowert so I took another pic this morning (more sun, so the flowers were more open, too!)


Also in flower is the rather unobtrusive Lachenalia contaminata with its maroon spotted flowers.



cheers
fermi

[mark smyth]

Fermi you have a great collection of plants!

[David Nicholson]

The more I look at the great pictures of the South African stuff the more I mean to grow them regardless of our climate.

[Brian Ellis]

Have a go David, after all you are not too far from David Fenwick

http://www.theafricangarden.com/

and you do have the warmer side of the country!

[mark smyth]

David is selling his National Collections due to ill health

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Fermi,
Calling Sparaxis "weeds" somehow doesn't sound right to us Northern hemisphere mortals ! 
Are we doing something wrong  

Great pix and great plants though !

[Maggi Young]

Yes, Luc, one man's weeds are anothers dream!
I have just read in the paper that the National Botanic Garden of Wales has succeeded in flowering and fruiting bananas outsdie this year.....at this rate I will only have to fight the BD for garden space and not glasshouse space. You'd think he would be glad of the chance to expand his collection into these fabulous plants, wouldn't you?  It's the Erythronium, the Crocus and the Narcissus that are the sticking point.... he loves them SO much!

[Brian Ellis]

Presumably David Fenwick is still carrying on gardening, albeit in a changed way as he says

I will still have "The African Garden" and it will still be full of African bulbs and plants, however the management of the garden has to change, and thus in the future many bulbs will be 'naturalised' and allowed to grow together, and to cut down on weeding and maintenance.

[David Nicholson]

Have a go David, after all you are not too far from David Fenwick

http://www.theafricangarden.com/

and you do have the warmer side of the country!

..... and the wettest Brian! but, as you say, David Fenwick manages it. Strange really, his garden is no more than a 15 minute drive from where I live but I have never been, must put that to rights next year. 

[fermi de Sousa]

Luc,
as I've said, I still love'em! Many South African plants, especially bulbs, have "gone feral" in Australia and are endangering our local flora. I've been known to remove such "weeds" from the bushland  - but then re-plant them in our garden! Our climate is similar in many ways to the Southern Cape so garden escapes can cause a lot of damage. Unfortunately some of my favourite genera such as Babiana and Moraea are very restricted or are prohibited for import into Australia for this reason.
Another common escapee is the ixia, but these are captive in my sandbed!


These are yellow and orange forms of Ixia maculata. Later in the month the pale blue "Teal" Ixia will flower but I'm yet to re-establish the wonderful green Ixia viridiflora!
cheers
fermi

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Beautiful Ixia's Fermi !

I guess South African bulbs prefer being captive in your sand bed to a stay on Robbeneiland 

[Maggi Young]

You illustrate well the danger to native flora, Fermi. Perhaps we should be grateful we have to struggle with some things, or our little island would be in worse fix than already, I'm thinking of the Himalayan Balsam, which is more widespread than ever this year.... soon the whole country will be in shades of pink. It is such a pretty plant, but so invasive.

[Rogan]

...and now for a mystery - this bulb (?) was found growing in a gravel pan at nearly 10,000' in the Drakensberg mountains by my brother in Dec. 2006. Does anyone have an idea what it may be?

I hope to return later this year to get better pictures and hopefully a specimen or two for positive identification.

[Maggi Young]

Some sort of Haemanthus, Rogan? And what is the little pink flower,  lower right of pic?