Flowering now September 2007

[Lesley Cox]

Not often the upper classes thrive on neglect, is it?

Oh I don't know Maggi. I'm thriving and I've been neglected for years.

[Gerdk]

Mark:
No, in my garden (under a Gingko) Helianthus divaricatus  is not invasive. I would like it will do better. Only this year with sufficient rain the plant was in good condition.

Gerd

[John Forrest]

Maggi, the Busy Lizzies do throw a few seedlings up each year, particularly in a soakaway covered by a metal grating. Soil debris from the path runs down into the grating onto a layer of gravel. When I remove the soil layer each year at about july there are usually about 6 or 7 seedlings which I just stick into the border where they start to flower after 2-3 weeks.  Nothing better than free (must be the Scottish ancestry  )

[Brian Ellis]

Well I couldn't just nip out and take a photo of Hisbiscus trionum so here are two more Eucomis taken in a rush as I want to stone the damsons before they get cold and I have to plunge my hands into it!
Firstly Eucomis Swazi Prince and then Eucomis pallidiflora.  Not quite up to my usual standard as I am in a rush and should not (!) be sitting at the computer

[Maggi Young]

John, Free has to be one on my favourite four letter words, second favourite, perhaps, after food!

Lovely Eucomis varieties, Brian. I must look out for more of these.
Damsons... stoning.... are you stoning them after boiling them up, before the sugar is added? Do you seive them or guddle away with fingers? I only made plum jam for the first time on Monday ( only ever stuffed ourselves with the fresh fruit before) when we collected some lovely Mirabelle-type red and yellow plums from an old hedgerow..Ha, jam, i thought, then realised I had no expereince of stoning the damn things... before or after, was the question... decided before was best idea, though ian disagreed, so sat for ages stoning the blighters... stained fingers dark henna colour  but got lovely result for jam. It has set a  treat, too, which I always find very satisfying.

[Brian Ellis]

Maggi we had 74 lbs of Damsons, sold a lot at the gate and gave a lot away to friends.  This is the tail end, I always stone them to Radio 4 after they've been boiled so the stones come out easily and I don't get unduly bored.  If you do it while the damsons are still whole (and warm) you seem to get most of them out quite easily, but as you say I "guddle" them, very satisfying to squeeze them so the stone shoots out   Then the sugar gets added.  However, this year we still have damson jam left from last year so it's Spiced Damson Chutney - which is awesome   Next year won't be quite so good as, despite propping the branches up to support the weight, the main branch has split the trunk.  We've finished making courgette chutney and the way things are going it'll soon be time for runner bean pickle.  Sadly we then have to eat it.  Ah well, life can be a trial.

[mark smyth]

ummm Damsons but to my mouth you cant beat a Victoria plum

For our world wide friends Damsons are the fruit of Prunus domestica var. insititia aka Plum of Damascus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damson

[Brian Ellis]

I think that as you age gracefully Mark you will appreciate a tarter flavour more!

[Maggi Young]

Sadly, I'll eat anything but I am particularly fond of Victoria plums but fat Greengages are my favourite... not that I have seen any for at least five years up here.

[John Forrest]

Talking about self seeders the Nigella have come up again after last season's sowing. I love the architectural quality.

Second is a possible invader from my neighbour, which I would gladly embrace butit is in the wrong position. I wish I had a bit more room to give it a home but I can admire it as borrowed landscape.

[Lesley Cox]

Maggi, greengages seemed to go out of fashion years ago here and you couldn't get one for love nor money. I think many people who had a tree chopped it out. But the old, Central Otago orchards still have them and since my Farmers' Market started in 2003, we've had  superb greengages every summer. I'll buy some specially for you, when the stone fruit starts again before Christmas. The greengages will be a bit after I would think.

[Brian Ellis]

Ah, Greengages, now you're talking.  Excellent jam but you just never see them for sale.

[David Nicholson]

Here's a couple of pictures of my Tigridia pavonia. I bought the bulbs late last Spring from our local supermarket (knocked down from £3.99 to 50p) Planted them out and waited, .....and waited, ...and waited. I thought all our very wet Summer weather had affected the flowers although the leaves looked in pretty good condition. Mid August saw one flower and I had given up on them, until this morning.

I had intended to leave the bulbs in the garden over Winter with, perhaps a covering of peat, bearing in mind that severe frosts usually don't happen here-any advice??

[Lesley Cox]

Can't give you any advice David except not to let them be too wet over winter or while dormant. I (try to) grow the related Orthantha rigidipla (?) but it gets frosted here though Dave grows it successfully at the bottom of the South Island. I like your colours; different from the old orange that my mother had many years ago. (She would have been 99 yesterday, if, as I believe the Scots and Irish sometimes say, she had not passed from the sight of men.)

[Lesley Cox]

Brian and Maggi, if you wish I could courier off a box each of greengages in our summer. But even though ripe here, would they be quite so good in a UK winter? Somehow with greengages it's the essence of summer scent that grabs one. Mightn't work so well in winter.