October 2010 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Otto Fauser]

Bill , such intense blue in your Herbertia pulchella seedlings - striking!
I have lost Allium schubertii on several occasions ,but I always replace it : such a wondrous flower and name .

 Lesley , I won't go to sleep again while the fennel is baking in the oven . As it is Asparagus season at the moment it will be that delicious vegetable with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some shavings of parmigiano reggiano.

      Otto.

[Otto Fauser]

Dear Maggi for you : a few photos taken today at the Golden Jubilee Conference of the Australian Rhododendron Soc. , held in the Rhododendron Garden , only a few minutes from my home .
 
  Ken Cox from Glendoick Nurserywas the guest/keynote speaker and he sends his regards to you . The titles of his lectures were : 'Woodland Gardens of the 21st. century'  and 'Riddle of the Tsangpo Gorges ' . very informative and enjoyable , and very important ,he has a sense of humour ,

a few Vireya Rhodos . I specially liked the tiny red species in the beer can ( a popular and quality australian brand),
 much thought went into the theme of colour coordination !

[Maggi Young]

What a treat for me and for the other  Rhodo lovers , Otto, thank you.

Kenneth is an entertaining speaker indeed and of course his expereince of travelling far and wide in pursuit of rhodos is pretty remarkable. 

[Lesley Cox]

Ferraria crispa
Ferraria foliosa
Ferraria uncinata
Are you fond of tarantulas Bill?

Lesley, I suppose you're referring to the smell of the flowers? Can't be much worse than a dead, smelly possum in a watertank 

Well no, I was referring to the size, the shape and the frilly furriness of the flowers. I've seen tarantulas just like them.

[Tecophilaea King]

Trilliums are fascinating, unique woodland plants. Trilliums are not hard to grow, but they can take awhile to become established.
They also make great garden plants. These are just a few of the Trillium species I grow up in the North Island, not easy, but growing them in the coolest part of the nursery and plenty of TLC I manage. 

Trillium grandiflorum
Trillium luteum
Trillium pusillum var.ozarkianum
Trillium rivale

[Lesley Cox]

A very nice clear yellow form of T. luteum Bill. I hope you've been down on your knees to have a sniff at it.

And by the way, there's no i in ozarkanum.

[Tecophilaea King]

Hippeastrum is a popular bulb flower for indoor growing. The bulb is tender and should not be exposed to frost, but is otherwise easy to grow, with large rewards for small efforts, especially those that flower inside during the winter months.
Hippeastrum papilio, the butterfly amaryllus, surely one of the most remarkable and beautiful of all Hippeastrum, and has greenish white petals dramatically marked with burgundy stripes.  
This magnificent Hippeastrum Bogota is a yet another crossing between H.cybister and H.aulicum.

[Tecophilaea King]

While working in the nursery I managed to snap this beautiful monarch butterfly in the process of depositing its eggs on the swan plant or milkweed (Asclepias fruiticosa) which is the main food for the beautiful monarch butterfly and hopefully will produce  the caterpillar, pupa and eventually the monarch butterfly again. Will take more pictures later when the eggs will hatch.

[Ezeiza]

The name of the Hippeastrum is Bogota, which incidentally is the capital city of Colombia.

[Tecophilaea King]

The name of the Hippeastrum is Bogota, which incidentally is the capital city of Colombia.

Thanks for the geography lesson Alberto, have corrected the name accordingly.

[Ezeiza]

With an accented "a", Bill. Great pics.

[fermi de Sousa]

This is a section of a rock garden where a few nice things are flowering,


including Conostylis candicans (with the bright red new growth of Banksia petiolaris in the background)


and this little Dianthus gracilis


While this Iris siberica "Bluebird" brightens up the lower area of the slope.


Elsewhere, the matting Dianthus anatolicus is now in bloom


and another dianthus is almost unnoticed being the same colour as Achillea ageratifolia,


A seedling Pacific Coast Iris is also just open (thanks to Diane W for the seed)


cheers
fermi

[Tecophilaea King]

Xeronema callistemon aka Poor Knights lily is a species of flowering plants which is endemic to the Poor knights Island and Taranga Island in the north of New Zealand
The spectacular red flowering Poor Knights lily, is an outstanding but little know plant, which was discovered on the Poor Knights Islands in 1924.
It has handsome tussocks of bright green flax-like foliage from which spring the three feet flower spikes which terminate in great trusses of blossom.
The flowers are made up of nectar-filled florets crowded on a horizontal stalk, almost in the manner of a bottle brush.
This unique plant will always be a real showstopper in any garden..

[Tecophilaea King]

This beautiful Cyrtanthus falcatus from South Africa with its curious 'shepherd's crook' flower stem and long arching leaves is very easily cultivated and deserves to be grown more widely.
Cyrtanthus falcatus flowers in early spring, the color of its flowers are between red and pink, These are infused with green on the outside and lined with red on the margins

[John Kitt]

WOW!! and WOW AGAIN!!

Both worth seeking our in the future.