September 2009 - Southern Hemisphere- Spring

[Lesley Cox]

Fermi, I am deeply shocked and horrified at your picture of the Mertensia. Tim had told me his were flowering and I couldn't say I didn't believe him, but...... BECAUSE!!! mine from the same batch of seed have just started to germinate a couple of weeks ago!!! There were 3 or 4 when Tim emailed but there are 30ish now and already some are big enough to put into small pots. But I wonder why such a delay in mine? I sent a lot of that seed to various people and I've not heard from anyone except Tim, that there was germination. I hope there has been.

Anyway, I wish you well with it. It loves a cool, moist place and hates wind. Perhaps not the best description of Redesdale.

[arillady]

Two views of the first flowers on Iris bicapitata ex BIS 2007/11 collected by Tony Willis in Gargano, Italy. 2006 seed donated by Harald Mathes and planted on 23.3.08. It seems it used to be lumped in with Iris lutescens according to a google search in Pacific bulbs website.

[Lesley Cox]

That is really nice Pat and flowering so soon from seed sowing. I know AC in Argentina has this one too.

[arillady]

Please remind me who AC is.

[Lesley Cox]

Sorry Pat, I mean Alberto Castillo.

[fermi de Sousa]

The peony that dares not speak its name is in full bloom!





We call this Paeonia mascula ssp russii but others will disagree
cheers
fermi

[Paddy Tobin]

A paeonia by any other name...

Paddy

[Lesley Cox]

Out today is a bulb of Fritillaria rhodokanakis, all yellow or perhaps more accurately, yellow/green, with no red on it at all. It hasn't flowered before but is one of a little group that has flowered in part for 3 or 4 years now. I'm hand pollinating, naturally. Two other bulbs will flower in a day or two.


and inside it


Here are the others in the patch, from last year. Not a lot of colour but some.

[fermi de Sousa]

Lovely frits, Lesley.
A few pics taken in haste this morning,
A deep yellow DB Iris just opening,


A double Narcissus poeticus which is possibly a hybrid with a jonquil as this year a couple are "double headers"!


And a single flowered Poet,


The first flower on the tiny bearded iris, I. suavolens


cheers
fermi

[Ragged Robin]

I just love your first flowering little bearded iris, Fermi, I. suavolens....really furry looking and a lovely colour and altogether very cute  

[Lesley Cox]

Is the double poeticus scented Fermi? It looks like the one my mother used to hace but it flowered much later - November here and she always said it came from the Orkney Islands as a cultivated plant but had never been found in the wild (not that the Orkneys aren't wild  ). I've got 3 from Marcus this last summer in hope that they're the same thing.

Not a single bearded iris out yet but lots of buds.

[fermi de Sousa]

Lesley,
these are scented and remind me of gardenias in appearance so I think that clouds my memory of what they smell like! I'll try to get a sniff of them tonight.
Robin,
THis iris is absolutely tiny at about 5cm high! It came to me as I. attica but I think it's more likely to be I. suavolens.

These are the first flowers on Gagea fibrosa

grown from seed sown 2 years ago - so they are still in their seedpot as is this cute little Anemone coronaria (Iraq) from seed from Goteborg.


The wonderfully vibrant Bellevalia dubia


Another DBI - "Knick Knack"

cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

I have a pot of seedlings somewhere of Bellevalia dubia. Must go looking. It's that long grass again! B. forniculata is almost out and should be worth a small picture in a couple of days.

[Lesley Cox]

About 7 years ago I was given a nice plant of what was supposed to be Iris unguicularis 'Starker's Pink.' It has never flowered until today I found this first and rather mutilated flower (we've had terrible winds, both hot and cold, over this last week) and obviously it is not 'Starker's Pink' but I'm rather hoping it is cretensis which I've had from seed several times recently but always turning out NOT to be cretensis. Any opinions are welcome.

[Otto Fauser]

A few interesting plants seen at the weekend at the spring show of the Ferny Creek Hort.     
 Society . A lot of the usual Daffodils , Camellias, Magnolias , shrubs and trees , tree Peonies  ,small bulbs , Alpines and Australian Native plants  : I thought the prostrate     
native Kennedia microphylla was delightful - the terra cotta brown pea flowers matching 
 the terra cotta pot .Also thought the new brown foliage of Epimedium wushanense exciting ,
   my contribution was the construction and planting  ( had to raid my garden ) of  the     
1.5 x1.5 crevice garden in the black raised box
   001(20) small australian plants by Kuranga Native Plant Nursery
 005(4) various Australian Epacris species in a small vase
 013 (4) Kennedia microphylla , unusual colour for a flower ,
 011 (7) Epimedium wushanense - spiny ,brown new foliage ,
 002(3) my crevice garden