August 2012 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Lesley Cox]

What ever happened to all that stock (and the imperialis).

I may be wrong and would have to go down there I think, to find out for sure, but I rather think the whole lot were ploughed in! I'll ask Denis (John's brother) next time I see him which could well be on the 12th Sept. I foolishly committed to an iris talk to the local Rhodo Group.

[Lesley Cox]

I must have missed something. Is WHAT black enough (for Pat)? I love black flowers and am thrilled with a hellebore that is so black I hadn't noticed it against a darkish background, as black as Marcus' Frit obliqua on the last page. I'll take a pic tomorrow. It's a seedling from a dark red, much smaller flowered form I bought at the NZAGS show a few years ago and it must have flowered before because it has 4 flowers now but it's the 1st time I've seen it.

Also a first for me, a single flower on Soldanella pusilla, in a trough. Another pic coming up and I'm also pleased that I haven't lost Sternbergia canida after all. Thought I had but it's just very late.

There was something else interesting too. Oh yes. We've sold our house/garden.

[Paul T]

Lesley,

The message below is a copy of the one Pat posted right before mine.  I've highlighted the relevent info in blue.

Yes the Babiana is highly scented - cloying if you put you nose in it. This is the first year I have flowered it from another kind forum member here in Oz - from Fermi according to my records. Thanks so much Fermi for this gem.
Paul the dark Hellebores have flowered well this year.

And congrats on selling the house.  So how soon do you have to be out, and have you found a new one yet?

[arillady]

I would hate to have to move house. Nearly 40 years in the same place is not good
Lesley I hope that you have a good move that is not too hard.

[Maggi Young]

My capacity to accumulate "stuff" is such that I would find it hard to move after forty weeks!

I cannot think how I would cope.  Good luck Lesley!

[Lesley Cox]

Thank you Paul for the blue bit. I catch on - eventually.

We have a 6 months completion date. (22nd Feb 2013) which will hopefully give us enough time to clean up Roger's cars/tools/and accumulated (I'm not allowed to use the word rubbish) and me to find, lift and pot all I want to re-establish both garden and nursery. The buyers wanted a Christmas date but wanted the place enough to go with our later date. Why anyone would deliberately pack and move house at Christmas I can't imagine.

We'll start looking now for somewhere else but there is no great rush so long as we don't forget about it. Hopefully we'll find somewhere in the general area of Dunedin/Mosgiel.

I know all about "stuff." We still have boxes stored in the rafters of Roger's shed, not unpacked since we moved here in 1997 so there will be a few surprises. I'm also going to dispose of a lot of books too, to the Regent 24 hour book sale (funds go to the Regent Theatre Trust for upgrading etc) but not the garden/cookery books, mostly fiction which I'll not read again or can use the library if I want to.

This will be the 5th time I've moved house/garden/nursery and believe me, the house is the least of it. I intend it to be the last move, until I leave in a box!

[Anthony Darby]

Try moving to the other side of the planet after 23 years in the same house! Certainly turned my world upside down!