October 2011 in the Northern hemisphere

[Maggi Young]

Trond, I would be very pleased indeed to accept your offer... I will pm my address 

[Hoy]

You are welcome

[Anthony Darby]

It looks like a refined Impatiens glandulifera?

[arisaema]

Pascal;

'Emei Dawn' is a different species from I. omeiana, although I have no idea which one... I never even got it to sprout here, may have to ask you for a root when your plant is larger 'Milo', I. arguta, 'Magnar' - they all died this last winter, so -20C is apparently a bit too cold for them.

[Pascal B]

No prob Bjørnar, will dig one up for you when you get back. It seems to only produce female flowers so is not able to spread through seeds.

[YT]

Tricyrtis hirta var. masamunei '紫酔(Shi-Sui)'. The name means 'purple' + 'rapture'. It is said that the original plant was found and collected from a wild T. hirta var. masamunei population at Kagoshima and propagated by seeds. Unfortunately, leaves got damages by typhoon 2 weeks ago.

[Hoy]

Tricyrtis hirta var. masamunei '紫酔(Shi-Sui)'. The name means 'purple' + 'rapture'. It is said that the original plant was found and collected from a wild T. hirta var. masamunei population at Kagoshima and propagated by seeds. Unfortunately, leaves got damages by typhoon 2 weeks ago.

A very nice flower! Sorry about the typhoon damaging the leaves. Here it is the slugs which damage the new shoots in spring.

Bjørnar, do you want a piece of omeiana as well? My 'Milo' froze too but I found seedling. However, when I had potted them up the slugs found the seedlings too although I had placed the pots high and dry (nothing is really dry here these days) 

[fleurbleue]

Nice form Tatsuo, there are so many Tricyrtis varieties offered now 

[Pascal B]

A rather tatty looking Impatiens "Emei Dawn" which has been battered by the wind and rain. The wind is still strong so not the best picture but it gives some idea how this hardy one looks. Flowers are pale pink with a yellow-orange throat.

[Magnar]

Even in the north we still have flowers, and no frost yet, which is rather unusual.

Gentiana x macaulyi

[Will Youngman]

Yes we in Perthshire Scotland are also having unusually Mild weather, it has hardly stopped raining since June think I am going to start Bog Gardening.

[Maggi Young]

Yes we in Perthshire Scotland are also having unusually Mild weather, it has hardly stopped raining since June think I am going to start Bog Gardening.

A few of us have had that feeling! Just mind you don't get the urge to start bog-snorkelling as well.... not a respectable thing for SRGC members, I'm sure! 

[Hoy]

It is not raining everywhere! We crossed the mountain plateau of Hardangervidda (1300m asl) today (Saturday Oct - a bright blue heaven with only a few small woolly lambs resting near the horizon. it is a long time since I have seen the unclouded sky! However the other day a snowstorm passed and left some white stuff. And tomorrow the forecast says more of the same.

Still I found a few plants in bloom. Here is a greeting to Ranunculus from another

[johnw]

Puya mirabilis is looking better than ever after this very wet summer. The flower stalk is over 1.5m high. Note how the slugs have managed to climb to the top and taken a few bits of the buds before being squished.  How do they know there's a meal up that stalk?

johnw - 24c today after a very warm October night.

[Hoy]

Today we are hit by the predicted snowstorm - a bit early in the season even for this place 1000m ASL.
A few plants strive to cope with the snow. A goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea), a knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa), a completely unseasonal dandelion (Taraxacum sp) and a Jacob's ladder (Polemonium caeruleum); and the meadow.