November 2012 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Hillview croconut]

I have a stash of them in various stage of decay or damage. I used to collect them from a fruit and veg wholesaler every year but find I have enough now to recycle, with a few repares, usually with that very useful material, corflute. BTW while I am talking about nuts and bolts things - do any of you use seramis or appulgate clay-based kitty litter to grow seeds or plants into?

A few things from the rock garden, not rare stuff but things that survive neglect on a dry stoney slope.

Rhodanthemum African Eyes - I love this plant! Rarely out of flower in the spring and summer.
Rhodanthemum ?  - I don't know what it is - got it from my Mum.
Centaurea ? bella - I forgotten, but a beauty from Otto
Achillea clavennae - another little beauty
Dianthus seedling - stunning colour is a standout. From Otto "The Man" Fauser

Cheers, Marcus

[rob krejzl]

Marcus,

The smelly theme prompts me to say that somehow I thought your rockery would spell out Curry, an answer you'd have to be horticulturally Keen to appreciate. My own D. vulgaris seem to be able to flower with only about half a days sun, though still a few weeks away from blooming.

Paul,

You never told me where the D. canariensis you gave me, which is flourishing, came from. Was it a commercial source?

[Paul T]

Rob,

It came from a friend who used to live in Canberra but is now interstate and have more or less lost contact with.  I have no idea where she would have got it from originally.  It could have been traded with someone, or received from some obscure commercial source?  I really don't know.

[Paul T]

Marcus,

Re seramis or appulgate clay-based kitty litter.... not me.  Never tried either of them.

[Hillview croconut]

A CURRY-shaped rockgarden? Now that would spice it up! Though I'm not sure I am keen to cook up something as crazy as that. But it's something we could theoRICE about.

Have you been tempted to try these Paul? What about you Lesley? Or anyone? What about the onco and aril growers?

Paul, I have a box full of baby D. canariensis but if yours sets seed I would appreciate it (or some of it)

Rob, I can give you a few of those if you want? Send me a PM. BTW your seed of Corydalis malkensis has germinated

Cheers, Marcus

[Hillview croconut]

Sorry Paul have you been tempted by seramis or appulgate clay-based kitty litter? Not the curry and rice

Cheers, Marcus

[John Kitt]

Rob, your comment on Curry and Keen will slip past all the otherwise "pun-loving" forumists. Marcus, post a picture from your front window so they understand!!

[Otto Fauser]

Marcus , the dwarf Centaurea is simplicaulis from Armenia ,
 Your Campanula tridentata is very freeflowering , my aucheri/ tridentata  does not flower so freely for me .

[Hillview croconut]

John,

I'll have to go down the road to get that picture but its raining right now! Sorry to be very local and parochial - but do any of you think BOM are a little bit over the top with their current extreme weather warning?? Earthquakes in Italy, floods in Queensland, .... litigation jitters perhaps?

Cheers, Marcus

[Mini bulb lover]

Marcus, the problem with my current camera is that even in macro mode it doesn't always focus on the flower I'm photographing in the foreground. At other times it looks focused on the screen on the back of the camera, but when I look at it on my computer screen it's not in focus at all. The screen on the back of the camera obviously doesn't have a high enough resolution. There's no manual focus on my camera.

I have been shown a really nice new camera at my local camera store which is a mix between a compact camera and digital SLR. It does brilliant macro photography and you can even select a point that you want the camera to focus on (such as  flower) and then move the camera around to set the shot up nicely and the camera will track the focus point that you've selected. The screen on the back has a high resolution so it's easy to see what's in focus. It is, however, the most expensive compact camera in the store. 

I don't want to get a digital SLR because I don't know enough about photography to understand all the settings.

[Paul T]

Marcus,

No, not tempted as yet.  I'm guessing it is for drainage?  I doubt my Drac will set seed, as only a single clone.  Hasn't set seed in the past, but you never know.

Jon,

Which is the new camera you've been looking at?

[rob krejzl]

John,

Marcus doesn't have to venture outside to satisfy anyone's idle curiousity. The wind rain and hail should keep anyone sensible inside today, BOM warnings about downed power lines or not. Instead, sensation seekers merely need go to his profile page and crank up the magnification. Myself, I say NO CABLE CAR.

[Lvandelft]

I enjoy the many pictures of the nice and interesting plants shown in this thread very much while we have during this time of year a majority of only grey days here.

The pictures of the styropor boxes gave me some nostalgic memories of our nursery in the 1970s. We were in the 60s and 70s probably the first perennial plant nursery in Europe which started to grow our square pots in boxes. First in styropor boxes, but later in stronger plastic crates.
I found some scanned dias and hopefully you don't mind I show some here too?

[Maggi Young]

Fascinating, Luit . What a lot of work is represented there!

[Lvandelft]

4 Sax. Harder Zwerg