December 2011 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Lesley Cox]

That's the one Fermi. Thanks. I was right about the S anyway. In warm climates can be rather rampant I believe, a bit tender here.

Again, if you have the right climate - you would Anthony - there's a taro with magnificent black leaves, suberb architectural plant for a sub-tropical garden.

David, Taro is a very large root vegetable, an aroid maybe (?) staple food of the Pacific Islanders both at home and in NZ. We import it in large quantities for that purpose. I suppose samples are taken for pests etc on the import batches but they certainly don't go into quarantine as a tiny primula or gentian would have to, any more than Calif grapes, oranges, Australian tomatoes and a hundred other imported fruits and vegs have to. Stinks.

[Lesley Cox]

An odd weather phenomenon today, something I've not seen before.

It is foggy with fog blowing horizontally in from the sea, so from the east. Some is blowing past the house but not enough to make even the slightest dampness on my car or on the footpaths, or on me, when I was outside. But it is getting caught up on the gum and pine trees on our eastern boundry and so much water is accumulating there that it is falling as rain under the trees and on the roof of my potting shed which is almost under the trees. The wind is strong enough to drive this rain for about 10-12 metres westward and so water my line of 6 Hokonui troughs. I'm grateful for that or I'd have to go and hose them.

[Hoy]

Lesley, I have seen the same phenomenon once in Morocco. Warm (and humid) air blew up a valley and had to cross a ridge some hundred meters above the valley bottom. Some pines were growing in an open stand on top of that ridge. When the warm air met the colder air at the ridge the moisture condensed in the needles of the pines and it literally rained underneath the trees. Where we were standing with no tree canopy above it was dry but it started condensing on us too. We could see that this was a common feature here as the soil underneath each tree was moist and covered by vegetation but between the trees it was dry and devoid of plants.

[Lesley Cox]

So humidity and air temperature have a large part to play Trond. This I can understand as it was relatively warm near the sea today in spite of the fog, but quite cold with us, only 5 or 6 kms away. The rain set in later at night and it is still drizzling for which I'm grateful as we're getting very dry now. The top of the South Island though has had what can only be called a weather bomb and has had 100s of mms of rain in 48 hours. Near Collingwood they had almost 600! mms in the time. I have to pinch myself to realize that's 24 inches of rain in 2 days, as much as we have in a year!

Collingwood and its surroundings are great holiday places and nearby is Golden Bay where I believe Martin B has a brother. I hope he and his family are OK. Houses are washed away, roads gone and hillsides slipped with devastating effects on the residents and the countryside. Houses which have been in the path of mudslides were shown on TV with liquid mud up to and above their kitchen bench levels. Truly heart-breaking for those affected.

[Tecophilaea King]

Yes, we've had a good drenching of rain here in Tauranga as well with 150 mm, good for the 500 iris species, PC and MDB's seedlings I transplanted the last few days, with a high humidity of close to 100 %.
Lesley mentioned the top of the South Island were in Takaka my daughter and her partner manage a holiday camp with a massive 580 mm of rain in 48 hrs to cope with.
Some campers and tents got flooded close to the river, but luckily most of the rest of the camp was well above the river and escaped most of the flooding.
I sympathise with the poor people that lost property and their livelihood in Nelson and the Tasman region.

[fermi de Sousa]

Collingwood and its surroundings are great holiday places

Not in Australia, they're not! Unless you are a mad Aussie Rules Football Fan!  (Apologies to Maggiepie!)
Some more liliums out now,
"Giraffe" - just for Gerry!


"Deliana" a soft primrose trumpet


"Tresor" a bright orange Asiatic


cheers
fermi

[Otto Fauser]

Lesley , in 2006 you sent me a few seeds of Oxalis laciniata . of the few that germinated one flowered for the first time yesterday , a lovely Christmas present . thank you . It was a long wait but worth it .

[Lesley Cox]

That's great Otto, I'm very pleased for you and I hope it goes from strength to strength. I had 4 seedlings from the same batch but none survived longer than the second year. I think they were too dry as tiny babies. But I noticed 4 buds yesterday when I was resettling the bulbs after that damned cat had been scratching. (To be referred to in the future as TDC.) I think yours may be a better colour than mine but I'll soon be able to compare, TDC permitting. I'll hand pollinate this year which I haven't done before.

[Anthony Darby]

Just think, I'll be making posts like this in 2016!

[Lesley Cox]

You have some seedlings of Oxalis laciniata?

[Anthony Darby]

Nope, but I've got seedlings of other things that should be flowering in 2016.

[Ezeiza]

Sounds promising certainly better than 2061

[Lesley Cox]

I hope to make 2016 but 2061 is doubtful.

[fermi de Sousa]

You need to get to more conferences, Lesley - then you keep wanting to hang on till the next one!
A few things in the garden yesterday,
Relhania pungens - do you think it would qualify for the AGS on-line comp?


Alstroemeria angustifolia


A seedling Origanum hybrid - possibly between O. laevigatum and O. rotundifolium


cheers
fermi

[David Nicholson]

I hope to make 2016 but 2061 is doubtful.

You could arrange to be taken to the 2061 Lesley, with all due ceremony