October 2008 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Lvandelft]

Salvia jurisicii is herbaceous and ours is a pale purple shade.

Did not see this plant here for ages Fermi, though trade offers seed of it here.
In our climate it is better used as a biennial.
But easy from seed.

[Paul T]

Fermi,

Glad to hear that Otto is home and as well as can be expected.  I have delayed emailing him because I figured he wouldn't want lots of emails to go through when he got home.  Please pass on the best from Yvonne and I if you're talking to him, and hopefully I'll be in direct contact by email with him soon.

Thanks for the Otto updates by the way.... it has been great to be able to hear how he's going.

[Maggi Young]

We are so pleased to hear that Otto is home and on the mend.  Just had a message in the mail from him, actually, as I was reading these posts!

We are able to spend time with Otto and his garden whenever we like, even from thousands of miles away, because some time ago he sent us a CD with a super Australian TV programme, featuring him and his garden.... a real treat, I can tell you.  It's really nice way to feel close to a man of tremendous talent and personality. We wish you a complete and speedy recovery, Otto! 

[Paddy Tobin]

Fermi,

That Penstemon californicus is a delicious plant, great grey foliage which would grace the garden even without the attractive flowers.

Glad to hear that Otto is well.

Paddy

[Maggi Young]

For Otto, from us all.......

[Lesley Cox]

Otto is indeed feeling better, I spoke to him last evening (my time). The main pain now is from the op itself, where the cut was made, not from the spine which was damaged. He is a bit frustrated not being able to drive or garden but that will come in just a few weeks. He ventured down his steep garden yesterday, with sticks, and had no problems. He expects to be back into the Forum today (Monday).

The time people are kept in hospital nowadays seems almost frighteningly short. One of my Market Trust bosses went into Dunedin Public on Thursday week before last, had op for malignant tumour on Friday and was back home Monday morning. Seems OK though.

[David Nicholson]

Good to hear Otto is improving Lesley.

[snowdropman]

Otto is indeed feeling better

Lesley - this is excellent news - many thanks for keeping us up to date.

[David Lyttle]

So what is mine then David?

Lesley,

I am going to have to eat humble pie on this one - I now have a clone of your Clematis foetida kindly supplied by Peter Cooke. He told me it originally came from Muriel Davision of Maple Glen. Although it is noticeably different from the common local form of Clematis foetida it apparently keys out as Clematis foetida which is as good an identification as anyone can manage. I guess this is another example the wide amount of variation present within many species of New Zealand plants.

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks for this David. I had wondered about natural variation because so many plants DO vary enormously in the wild, but you being you, I didn't like to argue. I hope your pie tastes good though.