October 2008 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

Time for a new thread! We're just into October and already fields around us are starting to turn from fresh spring green to shades of yellow and brown for summer!
Here are some pics taken this morning in the garden and shadehouse.
Paeonia cambessedessii in the Rock Garden Bed,

Fritillaria lusitanica

Narcissus "Hillview Triquill"

cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Some from the Shadehouse now,
Cyclamen persicum (ex Israel) grown from AGS Seedex seed,

First flowers on Pelargonium barkleyi, received as a seedling from Viv Condon, the foliage behind the flower belongs to seedlings of P. alchemilloides (thanks, Mark, for that seed!)

Another Pelargonium, P.incrassatum, grown from NZAGS Seedex seed,

And in the garden, Pacific Coast Iris "Big Money"

I'll post more iris pics to the Bearded iris thread!
cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

I was just considering starting this thread to have another go with my failed posting. Will try here later today.

[Heinie]

The following  Cyrtanthus isflowering for me now.



Cyrtanthus falcatus which is not fully open yet

[Heinie]

I found this Gladiolus alatus flowering on a open plot across the road from my home.

[Maggi Young]

Even though we have a bit of sunshine today in Aberdeen it is really exciting to see these flowers from so far away.  Heinie, your Cyrtanthus hybrid and Glad. are such cheering colours! Lovely!

[Paul T]

Heinie,

All beautiful!!  I have Gladiolus uysiae flowering here at the moment, but managed to lose all my alatus a couple of years ago which was dreadful as they were my favourite miniature glad.  Lovely to see your pic of the alatus, and one of the stronger colour forms which I reckon are the best of them.  Wonderful perfume too as I recall.

Does your Cyrtanthus falcatus have leaves with the flowers, or does it flower leafless.  Mine have strong leaves up now so I am assuming that yet again mine won't flower this year.  How big is the flowering bulb?  Trying to work out whether to move it into more sun or not.  Grows well where it is, but no flowers.  Any chance of a picture of the full plant?

Must also comment on the beautiful Clivias in the background to your pictures.  Beautiful!!

[fermi de Sousa]

Heinie,
your cyrtanthus and Gladdie are superb! I'd love to see more of your garden and of your wildflowers
Here are more spring flowers in the rock garden,
the lily tulip, "Moonshine"



Tulipa hageri

Helianthemum "Ben Vane"

And Albuca maxima, just sending up its spikes,

cheers
fermi

[Heinie]

Thank you all for your lovely comments.

Paul,
Here is a photo of the complete plant taken about 10 days ago. The leaves and the flower scape grew out together. The bulb is 170mm from the growing medium to where the leaves emerge and the total height of the plant from the top of the growing medium is 410mm. The diameter of the widest part of the bulb is 72mm. The flower head looks even better now with about half of the flowers open.



Fermi,
Here are some more wild flowers as requested where they grow in their habitat on an open plot across the road from my home. There is a large nature reserve behind this open plot. The first photo is of the open plot taken from my pavement. I will post some photos of the garden tomorrow for you.

[Paul T]

Thanks Heinie.  There's a few of them in there that I wish I was growing here!!  What is the pink and dark centred one that looks like a Spiloxene, with with 3 petals up and 3 petals flat?  Some nice Geissorhiza and Spiloxene in the pics, amongst others.  Thanks!! 

Here's some pics of a few of the things I have in flower now....

The Hyacinthoides hesperacea 'Rosea' is I am presuming correctly named.  Very good flowerer every year, a lovely shade of pink.

This Serpias lingua is a much pinker form than the other one I grow.  Great to have terrestrial orchids that require no care or attention whatsoever, even in pots.

Then there are a couple of Trillium.... T. albidum (I think) and T. cuneatum.  Rather nice display right now.

And lastly.... my various standardised Wisteria are coming into flower.  This is the newest of them and so has the smallest top to it.  I still just love it though, as Wisteria sinensis flowers so beautifully without it's leaves.  Like lovely bunches of grapes.  And oh the perfume!! 

So many more pics i have taken recently, both here at home and at work in the ANBG.  Will try to process some more pics over the weekend to upload as we have a long weekend here in the ACT (Australian Capital Territory).  I hope you enjoy the pics.  I've also posted some in the wildlife thread.

[David Nicholson]

Lovely pics from you folks in the 'upsidedown' part of the world. Makes us 'Northerners' remeber that there is a Spring and a Summer  (hopefully!)to look forward too.

[Gerdk]

Thanks Heinie.  There's a few of them in there that I wish I was growing here!!  What is the pink and dark centred one that looks like a Spiloxene, with with 3 petals up and 3 petals flat?  

What a wealth of rare springflowers - so near to the garden! Thanks for showing these pics.

I follow Paul with the same question: Pic no. 8 some kind of Spiloxene? -perhaps capensis?

also pic no. 12 (the white version of Spiloxene capensis)?

Do you know how long a single flower lasts?

Gerd

[Paul T]

Gerd,

I "think" that pink one is a pink version of Spiloxene capensis.... thought it might have been something else, but looking again I think that the top 3 petals mustn't have opened properly.  Very desirable, whatever it is.  The thing after it that I was thinking was a Geissorhiza I've realised is probably something like Ixia rouxii?  Another very desirable plant (I used to grow it but unfortunately lost it a few years ago and don't know where to source it again!?  I have a feeling someone posted a pic of it recently?), that is for sure.  Meant to ask what the last picture of the strange yellow flowers is?  Do you collect seed of any of these wildflowers?

I also forgot to thank Heinie for posting the full pic of the Cyrtanthus falcatus too.  Thanks Heinie! 

[Gerdk]

Paul,
You are right, in the meantime I found a picture of a pink Spiloxene capensis -
all colour variants of this species seemed to be very desirable indeed.

Gerd

[Heinie]

Fermi,
It took a while but here are some photos of my garden. I hope that there are not too many for the thread.



Sunrise from the back of my house




There are about 20 different Tillandsias in this tree






This is my Clivia Shade House




This is part of the view from the back of my house upstairs










Here is the King Protea