October 2008 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Lesley Cox]

It's a bad day for pictures today with strong nor'west winds. The temp is to go to 26C then plunge as the wind turns to the south with snow to 600m. Our usual predictable NZ spring weather!




Lathyrus laxiflorus is a super plant which takes drought happily. This is never watered through the year, with maybe a couiple of months without water (rain) in summer.


Houstonia caerulea is pretty but flowers more sparsley then its white form.


Erigeron aureus is always good but I wish it would set fertile seed.


This is tiny Dianthus 'Whitehill' and there are 3 plants in this little group, in a raised bed.


A lovely Pacific Coast Iris seedling

[fermi de Sousa]

Thanks Fermi,
could you tell more about Ixia Teal, where it comes from, breeder, etc?
This cv. is not known in Holland.

Hi Luit,
"Teal" is what I've known it as for many years but it may be listed as "Amethystina" which is what Paul has it as. I don't know anything about its history except that it continually turns up in catalogues "disguised" as Ixia viridiflora(!), which is different as Paul has indicated as well.
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Fermi, wonderful photos.  So good to see the scale of your garden - huge.  Did you have those rocks on the property or did you have to bring them in?

Say hi to Otto and wish him a speedy recovery.

Susan

Hi Susan,
it was a bit like bringing "coal to Newcastle", but our property had been cleared of virtually all the large rocks ( we did unearth a few whoppers) and we had to buy in all of these large ones and collect smaller ones from neighbouring blocks (with permission!). The Rock garden itself covers an area about 10m x 10m which is bigger than most backyards these days! Because of the space we can afford to use large rocks which would be impractical in most suburban blocks.
I'll pass on your regards to Otto when I speak to him,
cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

At the NZAGS Study Weekend back last January. I bought 2 small plants of Daphne petraea 'Persebee.' Even then they had incipient buds, now open.




One of my Rhododendron Day sale purchases (there were many!) was Clematis foetida. Far from being foetid, it has a delicious perfume and is very pretty to boot.


This is a clematis of 2 halves, the first pic showing the original plant and the second showing a sport which has appeared this year.




Ranunculus parnassifolius is happier in a trough than its previous pot. The others are a white Saponaria ocymoides and an almost finish Armeria juniperifolia 'Beavan's Variety' from which I should have removed the deadheads. There is a not quite dead Salvia to the left.

[Lesley Cox]

6 to finish with.


This is one of the late Alistair Blee's collection, being distributed by Hokonui Alpines, Trillium erectum album


and my T. pusillum v. ozarkanum




The gorgeous Rubus x Tridel 'Benendon.' I love this plant.


Primula reidii in its white form which I think is var. williamsii


and finally, a mystery primula for which I'd like some information or even better, an ID. It has been in NZ for many years as Primula "Wockii," a name for which I can find no reference and I'm pretty sure doesn't exist. So some bright spark decided it must be Primula rockii, which does exist and is yellow (but not THIS yellow, more a burnt orange shade really), but this isn't it (see illustration AGS Bulletin Vol 19, No 1, page 35). I'm sure it belongs to the Vernales section and seems to be, in effect, a sort of polyanthus and has the typical sweet scent of polys. It can be made to set seed with other vernales prims, such as polys and primroses.

[Paul T]

Beautiful, Lesley.  Particularly that beautiful white Ranunc and the Trilliums.  Excellent!! 

[Gerdk]

and finally, a mystery primula for which I'd like some information or even better, an ID. It has been in NZ for many years as Primula "Wockii," a name for which I can find no reference and I'm pretty sure doesn't exist. So some bright spark decided it must be Primula rockii, which does exist and is yellow (but not THIS yellow, more a burnt orange shade really), but this isn't it (see illustration AGS Bulletin Vol 19, No 1, page 35). I'm sure it belongs to the Vernales section and seems to be, in effect, a sort of polyanthus and has the typical sweet scent of polys. It can be made to set seed with other vernales prims, such as polys and primroses.

Lesley,
Sorry, I can help you only a little bit concerning the name.
There is a Primula marginata ' Wockei ' - a cross of P. marginata and P. arctotis - and of course not your plant. The name ' Wocke ' is well known here in Germany because Erich Wocke is the Author of   ' Kulturpraxis der Alpenpflanzen ' (practise for cultivating alpine plants) - still one of the best reference books in German although from 1940!

Gerd

[Lvandelft]

Lesley

Gerd and I had this morning seemingly the same thoughts, when seeing your pictures.
I needed some time for looking up, but here is my result:

P. x wockei, mentioned in your description of the yellow Primula is a hybr. of  Pr. x arctotis with
Pr.  marginata.
(P. x arctotis is a hybrid of P. hirsuta with P. auricula) when I am right, because there are
several opinions about that.
P. x pubescens is one of the other names for the same hybrid.
It is all very complicated, because in earlier days the British were seldom on the same line with the
European, (German) authors.
P. x wockei was raised in the nursery of Erich Wocke in Oliva near Danzig (now Gdansk)
The flower color is somewhat like a P. Linda Pope, I believe.
I hope this is a bit helpful for you??

[Lvandelft]

"Teal" is what I've known it as for many years but it may be listed as "Amethystina" which is what Paul has it as. I don't know anything about its history except that it continually turns up in catalogues "disguised" as Ixia viridiflora(!), which is different as Paul has indicated as well.
cheers
fermi

Thank you Fermi, both viridiflora and Amethystina are not in culture in Holland as far as I know.
At least they are not registrated here.
But I like the one you showed very much, because its long inflorescence and the bluish color!

[johnw]

Lesley - Wonderful plants especially that delicious Clematis. What is the lowest temperature you see there?

And that Ixia Fermi, what a colour!

Great to see Spring down there as winter approaches here.

johnw    -  +13c with a rainstorm approaching; no frost so far. N. bowdenii just opening here.

[dominique]

Hi Lesley
I like too your Rubus and Clematis. Thank you for the pics
Dominique

[Lesley Cox]

Thank you everyone, and especially for the information about Erich Wocke and his primula, CERTAINLY not mine. So I'm no further forward really. It doesn't really matter except that I hate wrong names on my plants and would like to clear this one up. I'll keep looking. It would help if I knew when it came to NZ and the source, but I haven't been able to find those out.

John, Clematis foetida is a sort of "edge of bush" plant, scrambling through and up low trees such as manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) and others. Such areas get snow in winter and probably a good deal of frost too in some areas where snow isn't consistent, and the ground is subject to freeze/thaw conditions. In my own garden I get to about -5C but I know it will take quite a bit lower than that. If there's seed later, would you be interested in some?

We had 28C here yesterday but back to 14 today!

[David Lyttle]

Lesley,

The first plant does not look much like foetida to me. The flowers are not yellow enough.  I think you were had. The second plant  looks like a marmomaria hybrid. Clematis foetida is flowering profusely at the moment in various places around Dunedin.

[Lesley Cox]

Well if not foetida, what is it? I bought it from Peter Cooke. I don't feel "had" as I bought it for its flowers and perfume, not for its label.

The second is from Dick King, yes, a marmoraria hybrid, possibly with foetida but he wasn't sure.

[David Lyttle]

Lesley,

Both are lovely plants but neither is foetida - Although I am presently at work and am waiting for another program to run I just happened to have a picture of foetida in my pocket. Flash drives are wonderful things!