August 2012 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Paul T]

A great range of colours in there, Otto.

[Lesley Cox]

Deeply disappointed that the few bulbs I was able to obtain last autumn of I. histrio, are in flower now and are all 'Harmony.'

[Hoy]

Lesley, that is a blow below the belt!

[Paul T]

Bummer, Lesley.  NOT good. 

[Lesley Cox]

Yes, I almost cried when I realized. When I was in hospital back in early June I asked Roger to see if he could find the little pale blue irises which I expected to be out or in bud by then but he couldn't see them even with best instructions. It wasn't until I was home that I found the pots and instead of irises in bloom, they had barely broken the pot's surface so I wondered then if something was wrong. 'George' which I had lost, turns out to be 'Pauline.'

[Paul T]

Have you talked to your supplier?  Here's hoping they will at the very least refund your money, or better yet give you what you actually thought you were buying.

[daveyp1970]

Yes, I almost cried when I realized. When I was in hospital back in early June I asked Roger to see if he could find the little pale blue irises which I expected to be out or in bud by then but he couldn't see them even with best instructions. It wasn't until I was home that I found the pots and instead of irises in bloom, they had barely broken the pot's surface so I wondered then if something was wrong. 'George' which I had lost, turns out to be 'Pauline.'

Lesley i feel for you this has happened to me a few times.NOT GOOD.

[Mini bulb lover]

In my garden at the moment -
I have a pot of 3 or 4 Scilla siberica, only one of which has come up and flowered. I assume the others will follow in their own time...
This year is my first trying to grow Galanthus nivalis "flore pleno". It's only grown 10cm (4 inches) tall. I'm guessing it's too warm for it in my area? Mind you, July was warmer than average in Melbourne. I've read online that it can grow up to 30cm tall. Beautiful flower though.
I also like Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis 'Tricolor'.
And lastly an anemone-centered hellebore.

Otto, I'd love to have such "weeds" in my garden.  Your self-sown seedlings of Crocus tommasinianus look like an arrangement!

Fermi, you have some beautiful Narcissus. Your garden must be a treasure trove of beauty at the moment.

Paul - if your Anemone blanda 'Radar' seedling does well in Australia, maybe call it Durus Radar (durus being the latin term for "tough, strong, enduring")?

Lesley, my heart goes out to you with your iris mix up. There's nothing worse than after the long anticipation to find that your bulbs aren't the ones you were expecting. And speaking of iris reticulata "Pauline", I've looked online and it looks very similar to "Purple Gem". Are they the same? I've bought Pauline this year but it doesn't look like it will flower. 

[David Nicholson]

In the midst of our lousy Summer here in the UK (at least in the South Western outposts of it) it's great to see your lovely stuff in the SH. Roll on Winter/Spring is all I can say.

[Paul T]

John,

Great pics.  Love that pink anemone centred hellebore. 

Thanks for the name suggestion.  I like the idea of it (it does seem to be a more durable version  , at least so far), but I think that including 'Radar' in the name would be end up meaning that it would be shortened to 'Radar' and that would just lead to confusion.

Yesterday, whilst the phone to Otto, he suggested a great name for my blanda seedling.  He suggested calling it 'Yvonne's Memory', after my late wife.  I just love that as a name.... not as stilted as including the full surname in the name, which is how I was leaning prior to that.  I still may go for the full name, but thought I would like to put Otto's suggestion up here as well and see what people think?  I hope I'm not counting chickens before the eggs have hatched... but I figure if it has made it through the last couple of wet summers then I think it stands a good chance of surviving our normal conditions.   

[David Nicholson]

Lovely idea. "Yvonnes's Memory" it should be.

[Maggi Young]

Yes, I agree that 'Yvonne's Memory' is a lovely name.... and I also agree that including Radar in any way would have probably lead to confusion.

It is such a pretty flower and I think it would be super for it to have such a fine name for Yvonne.

[Mini bulb lover]

Paul, I think that's a great suggestion from Otto. When my father passed away (at a young age), one of his fellow members in the camellia society named one of his new hybrids after him. 21 years later and I still see it for sale at nurseries here and there. I think it's a beautiful tribute to name a plant after a loved one.

[Paul T]

Which Camellia is that one?

[Mini bulb lover]

Camellia japonica Keith Ballard. It was created by Dr Bob Withers who I believe was well known in various garden clubs here in Melbourne.