November 2012 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Lesley Cox]

Some bulbs/corms

[Lesley Cox]

And again

[Virpi]

Like little sunshines those Lewisias  . I am expecting to see my yellow ones to flower next summer for the first time.

[kaydale]

Hi everyone, well just about settled back into reality after a wonderful trip to NZ.  Dad and the mower didn't get on at all (in fact he's killed it) so imagine 21 days of no mowing    That and heaps of weeding, oh the joys of coming home!
We did see some fantastic gardens while we were over there and met some great people.  Thank you so much for the kind comments Lesley after our meeting at the botanical gardens.  I really enjoyed it, and Amarlie took some great photos.  I have attached one of us in the Clive Lister garden.
I also saw that you were talking about Larnach Castle in the previous month and were having fun with your camera so attached a couple of photos from there as well. 
We are still sorting out the photos, approx 7500 all up    

[Maggi Young]

We are still sorting out the photos, approx 7500

Yup, that sounds like a good trip! 

The gardens look terrific..... and even Ian the Christie Kind would be pleased with that huge  blue poppy!

[Lesley Cox]

Glad you are safely home Lesley. Your super book will be on the way on Monday. Lots of oohs and aahs over it.

The yellow Lewisias are really lovely Virpi. I bought this one from a local nursery (Hokonui Alpines) who had a stand at the International Daffodil Show in Dunedin, in September. Needless to say it was not the only plant I bought! The yellow fades as it ages then goes apricot as the flower dies, but still is pretty and will make a nice combo with the Alyssum and the bright orange Erysimum 'Orange Flame' which I like a lot but is not the easiest plant to place.

The Watsonia is possibly not correctly named as I have it from two sources and tho' they look similar, the one pictured here is about 40cms high while the other grows to just 15cms. I'm not too bothered either way. The Gladiolus is one of those plants whose origin I don't know. It was just there one day. I never bought it, never was given it, didn't grow it from seed so who knows, but it's a lovely thing. No perfume. The double Narc. poeticus I really do love in spite of generally. NOT liking doubles and the split cups etc. This was a favourite of my late mother's who knew of it from her reading. Apparently it grows on the Orkney Islands but as a naturalized, not native plant, and is not known in the wild elsewhere - or so she told me. The perfume is wonderful and of course it is precious because it flowers so late, later than any other daff.

[Lesley Cox]

The little viola grows to a very tight matlet and flowers freely but is NOT V. albanica, under which name it is sold here. It had the cornuta horn at the back and I believe it may be a hybrid. Gerd Knoche is not sure so if has doubts, I'm certainly not going to be certain. It has not set seed for me in the past and is listed by a nursery as sterile but this year it has at least a dozen little fat pods so far. The job will be to collect the seed before it pings away.

[Lesley Cox]

Lathyrus nervosus is another favourite with me, known as Lord Anson's Blue Pea. My originals were from seed given to me by a Canterbury artist and photographer, Heather Hill who had the seed from Graham Stuart Thomas with whom she corresponded. It flourished in my previous garden, seeding into the gravel driveway and as we had a layby at our gate where stock trucks, milk tankers and such stopped to have their lunch, we had a succession of big, brawny men coming to the door asking what was that marvellous plant spilling out through the fence? Many took plants away with them.

Oddly, it has struggled in this garden and was eventually overtaken by a blackberry patch about 6 or 8 years ago. Then just a year ago I found a small seedling in new soil which had been bought in a couple of years ago. There was no way the seed could have been in that soil, so yet another little mystery but I'm so pleased to have it again. no seed as yet though.

[fermi de Sousa]

We all know about the hoonish tendencies of males when they congregate and here we have proof!

Here we see 4 otherwise sensible forumists lounging around a "hoon-mobile" known as "GD" - gardener's delight!
[left to right: Fermi, John Grimshaw, Otto, Paul T]
cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

Nice to see that bunch of hoons though.

[David Nicholson]

"hoon" ?

[Anthony Darby]

I recognise those wheels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoon

[Gerry Webster]

"hoon" ?

A former  Defence Minister who later attempted to sell his services to the highest bidder (allegedly).

[David Nicholson]

A former  Defence Minister who later attempted to sell his services to the highest bidder (allegedly).

    par for the course these days!

[annew]

Crumbs! Lesley showing a double daffodil!!!    That one is an exception though, isn't it? Smelly too?