Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: fermi de Sousa on November 30, 2015, 11:37:36 PM
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First day of "official" summer here!
A friend in Kyneton suffered a frost last week! We live in interesting times!
In flower in the garden:
Calochortus ? argillosus
Acantholimon hohenackeri x2
cheers
fermi
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Also in flower:
Alstroemeria hookeri x2
Delosperma ?cooperi x 2
cheers
fermi
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nice pictures Fermi. I love Acantholimon hohenackeri. I only recently discovered the genus and am planning to get hold of some seed next year.
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great to see these Fermi
Mel
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Nice plants Fermi
Alstroemeria hookeri doesn't last long here ..probably too shady and wet...
Had a wonderful catch up here yesterday with Carolyn and David of Kirkcudbright who hosted us back in 2010 while we were in Scotland.
Hot for them ,(and for us locals 8) ), with today reaching 25c with 28c forecast for tomorrow --even 'Monty' felt the need for a rest.
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Hello all thanks for showing pictures with flowers pretty dismal here with lots of snow, cheers Ian the Christie kind
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You softies. We have our first heatwave of the season looming with these forecast tops for the week ahead.
Thursday: 29°C
Friday: 35°C
Saturday: 39°C
Sunday: 40°C
Monday: 36°C
Time to say goodbye to spring and embrace the summer scorch.
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Nice plants Fermi
Alstroemeria hookeri doesn't last long here ..probably too shady and wet...
Dave,
if ever there were two diametrically opposed gardens they would have to be ours ;D
Hello all thanks for showing pictures with flowers pretty dismal here with lots of snow, cheers Ian the Christie kind
Glad to cheer up your dreary weather, Ian, with our pics;
here are a few Aussie native plants:
Eremophilas and Banksia foliage
Eremophila hybrid, maybe 'Summertime Blues'
Eremophila bignoniflorax polyclada
Eremophila glabra x E.veneta
cheers
fermi
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Fermi,
I very much enjoyed the photograph of Clay Mariposa, Calochortus argillosus.
This species is native to Contra Costa County, California (and other neighboring counties) near and around Mt. Diablo. Mt. Diablo is certainly a landmark here in our part of California. It can be seen from across the valley near our farm here in El Dorado County. My grandfather farmed near the base of Mt. Diablo near the town of Brentwood. The Clay Mariposas grow in the foothills that start just outside Brentwood. At one time they were more common, however now one generally needs to go out Morgan Territory Road to see them.
There really were Morgans at one time that would come into Brentwood and "raise hell". My father remembers seeing them when he was a little boy. I do not know if there are Morgans around any more, but exploring around Mt. Diablo for plants is fun. There is still some wild space and many different species to see in the spring. Maybe I can get over there and report on what it is like and what I see.
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Had a wonderful catch up here yesterday with Carolyn and David of Kirkcudbright who hosted us back in 2010 while we were in Scotland.
Hot for them ,(and for us locals 8) ), with today reaching 25c with 28c forecast for tomorrow --even 'Monty' felt the need for a rest.
nice to see Carolyn and David looking so nice and warm!!
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A quick question please. Yesterday I received in the post, my new seedlist but nothing so far Online. Is there no online list this year or have I somehow missed it? I want to pay the fee online as a draft is so very expensive, more than the seed fee itself. I haven't seen any feedback from people having received their list and usually there's a feeling of excitement when it arrives and people post about it. My sub is paid (October but not right at the beginning) so I'm wondering what's happening.
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Lesley - the online seed service opened yesterday. There is a notice on the main web page, in two places in the forum, notice board and seed threads, and on the main Seed Exchange page here : http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange (http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/seed-exchange) which is where you need to be!
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nice to see Carolyn and David looking so nice and warm!!
Hottest December day here yesterday at 28.5c since 1962 Maggi .......
However last night was the killer as temps only got down to a sticky 21c ...wet face cloth on the side of the bed ,sheet only ,all windows and curtains open overnight .Thankfully a very wet front has come through and it's a lovely 11c currently .... ::)
Yip Jamus we are softies ...... ;D
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Boy oh boy... 21 and I'd be pulling the quilt on. (not quite) ;D Isn't it interesting how we acclimatise to what we have to live with? Just like our plants.
A couple of ordinary garden plants flowering today
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Alstroemeria psitaccina vriegata is a favourite despite it's bad reputation for being a thug.
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I was given a bucket of Lilium regale bulbs and they are now all over the garden looking lovely.
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;D
Jamus, I wish someone would give me a bucket of liliums!
A few photos of what is flowering now.
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;D
Hi
A few more photos. Mostly plants that will take our hot summer heat.
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;D
Hi
A few more photos.
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I know it is just wishful thinking but I swear I can smell those lilies and roses :) 8)
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Digitalis laevigata, looking great but the hot weather forecast for the weekend is likely to fry it to a crisp. :(
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I just LOVE these Digitalis - well, all digitalis, but these darker coloured species especially.
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The contrast between the rusty flowers and white lip is delicious!
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I just LOVE these Digitalis - well, all digitalis, but these darker coloured species especially.
Yes me to Maggi. I love lanata and ferruginea too, but neither persist. I was lead to believe that lanata was "reliably perennial'', but that hasn't proven to be true. I have seedlings which will flower next year though.
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Podophyllum pleianthum is flowering well this season.
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Podophyllum are so luscious and moreish aren't they? I'm going to wait until we move before giving in to the temptation. Lovely plants t00lie.
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Yesterday while pulling a few little weeds, I found a stem of flowers on Podophyllum delavayi, even though the whole plant has not yet produced more than a single leaf each year and it's the smallest of the 3 plants I have, so well done little plant. The flowers are very like those of 'Spotty Dotty,' not surprisingly.
I had 22 members of Balclutha Garden Club arrive last evening about 7pm. I knew from September that they were coming and had had a reminding phone call just on Friday night, yet still had managed to forget all about it. So had to drop getting tea ready and rush out to be hospitable. Nice ladies though and they left me a long list of what they want next time! Will have to propagate some quite odd things as well as heaps of dianthus, saponarias etc.
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Podophyllum are so luscious and moreish aren't they? I'm going to wait until we move before giving in to the temptation. Lovely plants t00lie.
They sure are Jamus .I just wish there were more species available here in NZ as I'd like to try and grow a number of them for the foliage alone .
Lesleys flowering P. delavayi is a wonderful start .
Currently Dactylorhiza , with variations of foliage spotting and flowering colour are in bloom ... Maybe I need to have another cull..... :-\
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Nice looking wood-landers, Dave :)
Here, we are heading into a summer which would fry those to a crisp! ;D
New in our garden is Indigofera pseudotinctoria which we got from Roy Pavelin.
We planted it at the edge of a new raised bed in the winter and it's only just coming into flower,
cheers
fermi
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They sure are Jamus .I just wish there were more species available here in NZ as I'd like to try and grow a number of them for the foliage alone .
Lesleys flowering P. delavayi is a wonderful start .
Currently Dactylorhiza , with variations of foliage spotting and flowering colour are in bloom ... Maybe I need to have another cull..... :-\
Beautiful garden Dave!
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Nice looking wood-landers, Dave :)
Beautiful garden Dave!
Thank's Fermi and Herman for those kind words ---You know it's just my little 'play pen' ;D
Here's a devils claw ,(Physoplexis comosa), not as tight in growth as I would like it however yummy all the same ...and a close up showing pollen along the style .I've been told that once the sigmas reflex into quite a spiral shape then they will become more receptive to selfing .There appears to be that much pollen on each I'm not waiting and going to experiment and use a blade of grass to transfer pollen onto some of the more advanced stigmas ........
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Mine's in bloom too Dave but I can't claim much credit as it was in bud as soon as it emerged from the pot surface, I having just very recently bought it from Hokonui.
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Does my heart good to see you Southerners getting these flowers as we fade into winter!
You might prefer your plant to be tighter, t00lie, but you've no complaints as to the fine chunky flower heads - I've seen plenty of these plants with rather sparse flowers.
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I just had a lovely electronic card from a Forumist, Santa being helped by elves to fill the sleigh before setting off on the long journey south (we being the first to have Christmas Day :)) I can't help thinking how wonderful it would be if only Christmas shopping were so simple. I did quite a lot of shopping yesterday and was feeling happy with that but then had to ask two separate lots of shop people how to get out of the mall I was in. (I don't go there very often) after wandering about like an idiot, up and down escalators, round in circles and generally getting lost, though I found a couple of places I didn't know were in Dunedin and may go back there later. The shop assistants were very nice and really didn't let me see that they thought I wasn't fit to be out on my own.
I also did the thing I swore I would never do, and bought a smart phone, so no doubt will be spending some time with Susan for private coaching!
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Last time I spent any time in an Aberdeen mall was with Hilda Toole! Not today nor yesterday! There's a big "new" mall, that I have no idea about at all - must get there one of these years.....
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December is proving to be the month in which all the irises which were supposed to be out for NZIS Convention a month ago, are actually flowering. Still, it's good to have them leading up to Christmas. These few seedlings are first, a sibirica x forrestii hybrid, a metre tall and really beautiful. The next are seedlings from x Chrysofor (chrysographes x forrestii) or rather, seedlings from seedlings of the clone called 'Roy Elliott,' a long time Editor of the AGS Bulletin and whom, many years ago I corresponded with (from the age of 17) so was a humble student at the feet of a great master. He sent me many small plants in those far off days, among them Corydalis cashmiriana and from that tiny scrap the size of my little finger nail, all the plants in NZ originated. It was part of a parcel of what he called my wedding present so must have arrived in late 1965! Happily it is well established here now
x Chrysofor varies in shading, the amounts of yellow and purple and in the spotting and veining so it's good to have quite a group. All are interesting to my mind and I could pick a good bunch right now but am wanting the seed so will leave them. One flower tends to come out before the last is collapsed so they tops look a bit dishevilled sometimes.
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A mixed bag from here on, two fillers among bearded irises but both proving to be good, showy plants for early summer, Helianthemum tuberaria (called something else now I think) and an ochre coloured osteospermum, badly frosted in the winter but has come away nicely.
Then the first of my two big old washtubs, both very successful so far. In the first picture are Silene acaulis alba, Anchusa caespitosa, Saponaria lutea in seed and Campanula zoysii x pulla, all threatening to swamp each other. The Saponaria is covered in a good crop. Crocus leaves too, of the 'Chocolate Soldier.'
Silene acaulis alba, then Aquilegia discolor, also seeding well.
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Two of Senecio candicans, which I absolutely love for its snow white felted leaves and golden flowers. Imagine it with a rocky background and South Atlantic waves crashing on the shore and around the plants.
One of my favourite plants for its scent, Philadelphus 'Belle Etoile.' Then the old Rosa 'Alberic Barbier' and Dianthus 'Pretty.'
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Lovely plants there Lesley, all looking very happy.
I think that first x Chrysofor is particularly nice.
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Last time I spent any time in an Aberdeen mall was with Hilda Toole! Not today nor yesterday! There's a big "new" mall, that I have no idea about at all - must get there one of these years.....
I mentioned your comment to Hilda earlier Maggi as she was going out the door to walk 'Monty' and she grinned and replied 'I still remember our little 'rootle' around the shops'.......and a big bag each of pic and mix lollies ......... ;D
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My offering at the moment isn't as colourful as Lesleys latest posting .... :)
I call this view ' hostage in the garden '.
Sort of an annual battle between Arisaema ciliatum verse Codonopsis forrestii ........ Nobody wins,they both end up flowering and return to do it all over again next season and the next , the next , the next ...... ;D
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Some more irises now.
Iris sibirica 'Moonsilk' x 2
Iris sibirica 'Penny Whistle'
Iris tectorum, Burma Form x 2. The flowers on this form are quite a lot large than on my "ordinary" blue, and deeper, richer blue with a wonderfully lacy crest, snow-white and all of a centimetre high, a lovely iris, lurking here among glaucidiums.
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Clematis recta 'Purpurea' had wonderfully purple foliage earlier in the spring but as the flowers developed, the leaves turned to green. It needs a rigid hoop to hold it upright but the fluffy flowers are pretty.
Nomocharis species, from the ACE expedition. It is the spottiest one I have and I think the seed came from JW in NS.
This little Polygonatum species came from a local garden centre but to them from a local small nursery. No-one here knows what it is so I'll post it on the Poly thread and hope for a result. The flowers are just a centimetre long and less than half that wide, the whole plant about 30 cms high and very airy. It looks as if it should be scented, but isn't.
And I would like to know what this little bearded iris is. It came to me (where from?) as a dwarf bearded called 'Silken Blue' but is neither silken nor blue, quite definitely purple. And though it IS a dwarf bearded iris, it flowers so much later than they do, late Nov through Dec instead of Sept/Oct
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Lesley, thanks for sharing with us. Wonderful selection, I too love the Iris x Chrysofor, and the Nomocharis... :P~~
T00lie I like your Arisaema battling with the Codonopsis. Two beautiful plants battling it out.. like mud wrestling for plant people. :o
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Sombre things now. In spite of their almost sinister colours, I like these dark flowers very much. The closer to black, the more I like them. :)
Papaver somniferum in a very dark purple form. This year, I suppose because we've had so much rain through October and November, it is flowering at 6 feet high! I almost need to climb on a chair for a picture. But the winds of recent days are thrashing the tall stems about so that they get caught in my hair when I walk up the garden path.
I have several almost black tall bearded irises, this one is 'Anvil of Darkness.'
A gorgeous clematis called 'Romantica' which seems an odd name for so dark a flower. x 2
Another black tall bearded iris, 'Old Black Magic.'
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Those Iris chrysofor crosses really are the business Leslie. Beautiful|
The polygonatum could possibly be P. cirrhifolium - Lynn McGough was offering an orange-flowered variety at one time. The leaves are also akin to P. curvistylum, but in that case the flowers would be pink. Just a thought...
A few offerings.
1. Lilium davidii. These were much taller lilies last year - little short of 1 m high, whereas these are only 40 cm tall with a mound of fine foliage. Possibly too crowded? They came from Marcus Harvey. He said that he was at one time selling them to Rockpool in Sydney, where they ATE the bulbs. At least that is how i recall it.
2. The morning sunlight setting off the green tinged mophead clusters of Hydrangea arborescens
'Annabelle"
3. A dark arisaema from Don Teese. Unfortunately I am not sure of the species. It looks a little like Dave's A ciliatum, but perhaps a little lighter in colour?
4. I may have shown this before? Hydrangea macrophylla 'sumida no hanabi' fades to pale pink.
jacqui.
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Thanks for note about the Polygonatum Jacquie. I mean to post in that thread but have become diverted by falling and braking my left little finger in two places. It was x-rayed this morning and is now strapped to the next one for at least 6 weeks, then an assessment to see if the pieces have gone back to their proper places. If not, surgery. :(
I think A. ciliatum and A. consanguineum hybridise readily as from my original two, I now have many that seem intermediate in colour, striping and height as well as leaf conformation. Perhaps yours could be a hybrid?
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Sorry to hear about your injury Lesley, that must be very painful. I've had an infection in my gum behind my wisdom tooth which required a trip to the GP and antibiotics to get over. Very painful.
It's all over here for another year. Early heat and drying winds have fried most things to a crisp. It's like an oven outside right now and the next four days are forecast to be worse. I'll need to come here for my fix of virtual gardening, so feel free to post from your cooler wetter, greener locales.
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Ouch Lesley. Not good at any time of year, but especially at Christmas. Time to let others take the strain. Hope it heals quickly and correctly.
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......and braking my left little finger in two places........
Hope it wasn't a bit a urgent braking that did the breaking Lesley :P Still after that, it might not be possible to wave me the usual two fingered salute ;D
Have a nice Christmas Lesley.
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Oh Lesley, what a bit of bad luck. Hope it heals well and is not too awkward to cope with meantime. :-* :-*
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.... but have become diverted by falling and braking my left little finger in two places. It was x-rayed this morning and is now strapped to the next one for at least 6 weeks,
Sorry to hear about your break, Lesley,
But at least you should be okay to continue greeting people with the Vulcan "Live Long and Prosper" hand sign
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;D
cheers
fermi
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In flower in the garden before the heatwave!
Calochortus clavatus ex NARGS Seedex ex Cyril La Fong
cheers
fermi
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Thanks everyone. Finding it a bit difficult typing with left hand. Fortunately I have just bought a smart phone (swore I never would) and can do emails on that with just one finger on the right hand.
While at an OAGG committee meeting yesterday lunchtime, I had a call from my doctor telling me to go to A and E at Dunedin public hospital where an orthopaedic surgeon wanted to see me in a hurry. Bit worried about that but I went and now find myself plastered (don't say it, Fermi/David) from fingertips to half way between hand and elbow. The surgeon was very nice and held my finger tips while the plaster man worked. The hand looks a bit like a green mamba or something with forked tongue making an appropriate slightly rude gesture. Told surgeon he'd wrecked my career as an international concert pianist. (I see him sometimes at concerts). I may draw a snake's head on the hand and name it as Simonius McMahonensis.
Most worried though about the cuttings not being taken and seed not sown for a while. I have an appt for next Wednesday and Simon may change the plaster for something lighter and less restricting. I hope so as I have to drive up to Timaru on Thursday for my son John's wedding (about 300 kms from here) and at the moment I can't drive at all!
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My goodness Lesley. You don't do things by halves do you? Make a to do list and then get bossy.
Here's what is flowering in the garden now: Disa uniflora, which I bought in a Farro food shop about a year ago. Pot sits in the white container with water in it in dapple shade all year. Epidendron ibaguense. A red form I picked up on a trip up to 90 mile beach in 2011. Hibiscus trionum, a native which I grew from bought seed.
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Love that Hibiscus, Anthony.
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Mercy, Lesley! How the blazes did you get home? Seems things were much worse with the break than first thought.
Not good, especially with the imminent wedding. Hope it all works out. :-* :-*
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A few photos I took this morning before the temperature climbed to 41 C. Too trying for most alpine plants and myself .The 2 Lily species are to embellish my warmest good wishes to all FORUMISTS for a Happy Christmas .
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and 4 more
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Merry Christmas, Otto! Hard to imagine how any of these plants could enjoy such high temperatures - they'll be following you indoors to some cool shade!
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Really beautiful Otto, a pleasure to see. My garden is very badly burnt, which happens every year but it's earlier than usual this year. Yesterday was the worst, the hottest of 4 days above 40 degrees. It's amazing to see the African and Mediterranean natives burnt and singed. They won't die, but there's nothing attractive about it!
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Hi Otto,
your place will still look a lot greener than ours after 40oC!
Even before yesterday our liliums have been suffering the heat and this Asiatic, 'Red Velvet' was looking very tired.
In the morning we still had some late flowers on Rosa 'Frühlingsmorgen' (should that be 'Sommermorgen'? ::) ) which off course were frizzled by evening,
cheers
fermi
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Love that Hibiscus, Anthony.
I'll save seed for the seed ex. Flowers in a 6" pot.
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My fellow Australian's will know how damaging heatwave conditions can be to gardens, but this one we've just lived through has had some really amazing effects on plants that I've never seen before. The radiation at the peak of the heat was unbelievably intense, especially on Saturday when it hit 44. Our mature Acer negundo has started dropping leaves like autumn time in response to the heat, which happened last year as well but not until Jan-February. We watered very thoroughly throughout the heatwave; a good soaking in the morning and a lighter refresher each evening. Have a look at the following images, all of plants which had ample water at all times, mulched and in good garden soil.
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We had 35C throughout the Day here, or rather, in Dunedin today, an all time record apparent;y. coupled with a very strong nor'west gale, and it's still blowing now, well after 8pm. The temp in my garden reached 39C after lunch. I started watering about 5pm and have just come in now at 8.15 having given life support so far as possible. As yet we have no hosing restrictions but soon, I guess.
Most things are OK as we've had a little rain over many recent nights. The worst sufferers are my little stand of 9 plants of Meconopsis grandis, their leaves wilted and crisped, the stems crashed over in the wind but the seed is still in tact and will continue to ripen I hope. The remaining flowers are a loss though. The tallest stems of Dactylorhiza are fallen over but may recover with the hosing.
In the process of watering I found that the second of my three Pod. delavayi has a flower, quite white, with just a little pink near the centre. Is this usual? The first one was deep red.
My injured hand is aching tonight, more than it has done even on the day I did it.
And there are 4, maybe 5 full pods of seed on Oxalis 'Ione Hecker.' I've put the little seed (jewellery) bags on them. The mesh is small enough to have caught Soldanella pusilla so should work with the oxalis too.
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My goodness. You are getting it hot. Just muggy here, but only about 25ºC in the afternoon. 19ºC just now.
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Lesley you have my sympathies, I know exactly how you feel (the heat not the hand, I've never broken a bone thank goodness!). You must be crushed at the loss of your meconopsis... :(
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Hello all,
Lesley I hope your arm is starting to feel better. Aching is no fun. I do hope you take decent painkillers rather than tough it out.
Like Otto and Jamus, i feel the weather has been far too awful to cope with much of late. In Eltham we peaked at 44 deg on Saturday and 42 on Sunday. But it was the winds that wreaked havoc. Hot northerlies throughout. I watched the scorching in real time - little one could do. Even the citrus and succulents burned. Couple of fatalities :'( but really not too awful, yet. Heating up again now for christmas.
Your lilies are magnificent Otto, I really don't know how you do it. Very pretty Roscoea.
Amongst the nice things, the weather brought with it an army of hoverflies. Literally thousands for a couple of days. Irritatingly buzzy little wasplike critters, but very good predators of garden pests.
Hydrangeas crispy. Not to mention japanese maples - toasted on top. The roses in the perennial bed suffered badly scorched leaves and blooms, but are now flowering better than before. The oreganums and thymes seem to love the heat.
Just a few - all too depressing
1. David Austin rose 'peach blossom'
2. Marcus's own oreganum, 'bellissimo' is colouring up beautifully
3. On the back of a scorched citrus leaf - a lacewing is laying - or is that wishful thinking. I bring in the eggs each year to keep aphids and thrips at bay. they seem to keep the cherry/pear slug down as well. Nice to know they are staying around to breed.
Commiserations with you all,
Jacqui.
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Nice little lacewing Jacqui! We had one here in the house the other day and Isabel was charmed by its delicate wings.
We had the hoverflies too! They must seek out cooler (relatively) spots. I think they are beautiful, they don't creep me out at all. I love watching them fly, just hanging in the air absolutely stationary as if suspended by an invisible line. I should have had a shot at taking some photos, but I was too busy feeling depressed about the heat. I usually watch wildlife documentaries when I'm too depressed to garden. This time it was David Attenborough's new 7 part series, The Hunt. Absolutely beautiful cinematography. The best, clearest, most intimate film of wildlife I've ever seen. Absolutely incredible stuff and I highly recommend it.
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There's no doubt Jamus, Sir David Attenborough seems to get better and better the older he gets! Of course the camera people and all the others do the technical bits and the equipment is second to none, but all in all, the finished products are utterly superb, quite fascinating as well as beautiful. Just as well because nothing else is worth watching on TV at this time of the year. (Except the cricket of course but we don't have Sky, so it's radio for me which means I can garden at the same time.)
Jacqui, I've had a mass of hover flies here too. We usually have a few in the summer but recently they are here in clouds. Hundreds last evening on the Senecio candicans so I'm hoping for some seed. I had a few one year maybe 10 years ago but none since. It has been so good this year because the white felted foliage is untouched by woolly bear caterpillars.
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Just had to chime in........
My wife and I completely enjoy David Attenborough's BBC nature programs. We do not have a TV, but we can get the DVDs at our public library and watch them on our computer. As Lesley says, he seems to get better and better the older he gets! 8) 8) 8)
Ooouuch! 44 C and windy (dry wind I presume) too! :o
I remember July of 1987 or maybe it was 1988 we had heat like that. I went on for most of the month of July, 40 C or more every day. Something for the record books that I never want to see again. Even the conifers and some of the native plants burned on the sunny side. It took years for the damage to disappear.
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I'm really happy that my kids are seeing (or more hearing now days) Attenborough in these documentaries, I grew up with him, my parents love his work so he's really spanning generations and enthusing young people with his infectious passion for nature. I hope that he chooses to do some more plant focused productions before he "retires".
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I grew up watching Peter Scott and David Attenborough. Met the former in 1970 when he was the special guest at the tenth anniversary of Worldwide Butterflies Ltd. (founded and still run by my friend Robert Goodden). I met David Attenborough when got him to sign two copies of Life on Earth when it came out in March 1979. Queued round the block at a book shop in Glasgow, yet he had time to ask what I was doing.
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How extraordinary. Hoverflies must be swarming everywhere this year. As you say Jamus, they seem to like cooler, or even freshly watered, spots. Sounds like they are good pollinators too Lesley?
I am enjoying the conversation about david attenborough. Such a treasure. He embodies almost everything I admire. I haven't seen that latest series, which seems like a pleasurable treat for the Christmas holidays. How lovely to have met him Anthony.
And yes, very drying winds Robert. It is a relief the garden toll wasn't much higher.
Happy gardening
Jacqui
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Anthony, my late brother (he died in 1956 aged just 21, of pneumonia I think but caused by muscular dystrophy, Duchennes' syndrome) even though he was young, collected Peter Scott's paintings. All prints of course but I'll never forget the wonderful depictions of birds, especially sea birds and the British marshes and wetlands. It was probably those which first introduced me to the world of natural history. I wonder what happened to them all, about a dozen i suppose. I was just 13 when he died.
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One could be forgiven for thinking we were in the opposite season.
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Jacui,
Such high temperatures so early in your summer! Is this typical weather in "your neck of the woods"?
Around here extreme temperatures have a cumulative effect on the plants and garden. By autumn many plants (and the garden) can look very washed-out and tired. I have gardened under these conditions my whole life , so finally I more or less accept the climate for what it is. It has taken me awhile to finally wake up and growing mostly species that enjoy these conditions (it seems there is an unlimited number to choose from too). :-[
I very much appreciated the photographs from your garden (and everyone else too). I enjoy seeing the plant choices that folks make, especially when the climatic conditions are somewhat similar to ours here in California. ... many new ideas! and sometimes even with "common" plants. :)
I certainly hope that cooler and perhaps more "normal" weather returns soon.
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Hi Robert,
Normally the hottest weather here is in January and February.
44 degrees in December is definitely a few standard deviations above the mean. Even for the later months We do usually get runs of hot days in the high 30s in December though.
The hottest I recall here was 47 degrees in early February 5 or 6 years ago, when Kinglake and areas only a few km from here burned to a cinder.
The winds we have had last few years seem more intense than any I recall from childhood..
Like you, I feel everything looks very tired in Autumn and once the leaves fall in a short lived blaze of glory can't wait to tidy all the beds, prune and rake, and set the stage for next season. As the plants establish they seem more resistant to the extremes. The maples only singed superficially this year. Two years ago under slightly less extreme conditions all the leaves browned and crisped.
I have not yet learnt that excellent lesson. It's all too new and exciting to not try ones heart's desire.
It will come with experience, and after many disappointments, :'( I'm sure.
You are very kind, thank you for noticing our Southern Hemisphere plants.
Jacqui.
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Anthony, my late brother (he died in 1956 aged just 21, of pneumonia I think but caused by muscular dystrophy, Duchennes' syndrome) even though he was young, collected Peter Scott's paintings. All prints of course but I'll never forget the wonderful depictions of birds, especially sea birds and the British marshes and wetlands. It was probably those which first introduced me to the world of natural history. I wonder what happened to them all, about a dozen i suppose. I was just 13 when he died.
Sad to hear about your brother Lesley. I have a signed print of Peter Scott's - ducks, of course. He signed many prints for sale, so they are not too expensive. I also have a collection of his books, some of which are signed. His war record was amazing. He was a motor torpedo boat commander, but twice hitched a lift in a Halifax bomber as a passenger on his days off!
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Jacqui,
I very much appreciate the additional weather information. I have kept detailed weather records since I was in the 7th grade i.e. 50 years, or more. Personally, I find the weather very fascinating and for me it keys into gardening perfectly.
Your summertime weather seems a bit more extreme than at our farm here in the Sierra Nevada foothills. 43 C is the all time high temperature that I have recorded here at the farm. The all time high temperature for Placerville, a nearby town, is also 43 C. Their weather records go back to the 1880's.
It is warmer in the nearby Sacramento Valley than here at the farm, especially the northern Sacramento Valley. The cities of Redding and Red Bluff are notorious for their summertime heat. Redding, especially, is surrounded on 3 sides by high mountains (Mt Shasta, 14,000+ feet (4,267 meters) towers not far to the north). Down slope northerly winds heat by compression creating ungodly hot conditions, similar to the conditions you have described. In the Redding area 44 C is not unusual most summers. I do not know what the all time high temperature is, however I am sure that it is close to 49 C. I have been in Redding when it was 48 C and that was not the all time record.
Getting back to your garden.......
I am very impressed at the variety of plants that you grow in your garden under that I consider as extreme conditions. I will certainly pay attention to your postings and those of others that have similar weather conditions. When winter arrives in your area I am sure that I will have questions as to your weather at that time.
Thank you so very much for offering the weather information and all the photographs from your garden. :)
It warmed to 54 F (12 C) yesterday, however snow is expected Thursday. Also, we have had 75mm of rain the last two days and are back to average precipitation to-date. Maybe our drought will end. :)
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Dear all,
Its settling in to be a long hot summer here. A lightning strike in the hot windy conditions over Christmas was responsible for devastating fires in the Otway Ranges along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria; over a hundred houses lost - thankful no lives so far. The area is a favourite for summer holidays and retirees. The fires are expected to continue to throw out hot spots over the summer, leading to a fraught season. We are all very grateful to the firemen and state emergency services for their dedication.
Lovely cooling rain yesterday - quite a lot of it - but temperature expected to climb back to 40 here by Thursday.
As a consequence the garden is singed and scorched - a quick reconnaissance yesterday after the heat left me rather dejected. A contrast to some of the beautiful photos showing in the Northern hemisphere. And snowstorms!
A few offerings - little flowering now.
1. An agapanthus hybrid bred locally "Queen Mum". The fat leaves form a much more compact rosette than is common, the flower stems can be well over a metre high and the base of each white floret is splashed with blue. Looking onto the street - this part of the garden is known as "Sahara".
2. Close up of a large flower head.
3. The tall feathery flower stems of Artemisia "Guihzo" add a delicacy to the shade beds
4. Underneath, alyssium and fragraria (thank you Otto) add a splash of colour.
5. Kirengsholmia palmata is surviving the heat better than expected. Quite small plants as yet.
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Two flowering completely out of season. Acis autumnalis, which started a few weeks ago, and Crocus serotinus I spotted today.
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Hi Anthony,
we sometimes get a few precocious flowers on the acis before the late summer heat burns them off and then it flowers again when it cools off!
Currently we have a few liliums and rain-lilies in flower (posted elsewhere as well).
Orient-Pet Hybrid Lilium 'Gluhwein'
Habranthus tubispathus in its yellow/orange and its "Salmon pink" forms
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi, your south american bulbs seem just the thing in the summer heat
Another warm one - 35 deg and not yet levelled out.
Not, thank goodness, a scorcher.
Very little in bloom here, other than a few roses, salvias and various agapanthus. Small pools of blue and white dotted around the garden like Chinese porcelain. The more delicate of the hydrangeas are very burnt, although the quercifolias seem to be thriving.
Just a couple I'm pleased with - both originally supplied by Lynn McGough.
1. The near black form of Roscoea scillifolia - really needs to be moved out of its too-tiny pot.
2. Delicate green branching and white florets characterise the flowerheads of Aralia racemosa in the shade garden.
Jacqui.
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That's a VERY dark roscoea Jacqui. Someone in the UK sent me some seed recently under that name and as black form. I hope it's like yours. He also sent 12 plump seeds (well they are after an overnight soak) of the white form of Jeffersonia dubia. ;D ;D ;D
I've had a few days away (wedding, a wonderful event, in the event.) ;D but came home to find rabbits have taken over entirely. There were 4 or 5 when I went including a pitch black one, but 8 on the back lawn when I pulled up my car, including 3 pitch blacks, and some huge browns. I think the surrounding populations have moved in for the holidays.
Lovely to hear from Otto last night.
A happy New Year to everyone on this thread and the whole Forum too. Some rain would be good (but only for us in the south), and some sun and drying out for those poor souls in Yorkshire and elsewhere in the UK. Truly the climate around the world has gone haywire. How can anyone possibly deny climate change?
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So pleased to here you managed, even with your broken fingers, to make it to the wedding, Lesley- that's been really good news - the bunny explosion is not so good at all. Hope you get some respite from that soon.
Weather here dark wet and windy - quite horrible - but a fine lunch has been enjoyed - which always helps - and now we're having a cuppa - with chocs!! Thanks!!
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Yes Maggi, the wedding was wonderful all round, weather was warm and perfect, the wedding breakfast was superb (actually Christmas dinner, everything supplied and or cooked by Barbara's family and other guests. and though there were about 60 children there, not a word out of place or a single squabble all the very long day. The members of John's (my) family numbered 12 and all the rest were Barbara's aunts, uncles, cousins and friends of both of course. Barbara wore a beautiful, long and strapless gown, white with black detailing, and also black Doc Marten boots with hand painted roses on their sides. A "different" lady in some respects but I love her dearly. ;D
My daughter Susan, down from Tauranga and with her partner and two grown up boys, is into tattoos in a big way, which I don't like but in her early 40s, I can't do much about that. However, in the spring when I told her about the little daffodil which I am having registered as 'Susan Cox,' she wanted both bulbs (later in the summer) and some photos. so I sent those and lo and behold, on her arm, entwined in something of a climbing nature, there was a new one, green and yellow, of Narcissus 'Susan Cox.' She said no-one could understand why she'd have a daffodil on her arm! It was beautifully done, perfectly proportioned and the petals all at the exact angle.
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...in the spring when I told her about the little daffodil which I am having registered as 'Susan Cox,' she wanted both bulbs (later in the summer) and some photos. so I sent those and lo and behold, on her arm, entwined in something of a climbing nature, there was a new one, green and yellow, of Narcissus 'Susan Cox.' She said no-one could understand why she'd have a daffodil on her arm! It was beautifully done, perfectly proportioned and the petals all at the exact angle.
Hi Lesley,
I hope you got a pic you can share!
Glad to know you wouldn't let something like a fractured bone stop you from getting to the wedding!
Despite the heat, there are a few things worth photographing this morning before leaving for work:
O-T hybrid Lilium 'Mr Cas'
Habranthus robustus seedling ex 'Russell Manning'
Lobelia triconocaulis - such a lovely name that just trips off the tongue....then stumbles into a doorjamb and lands flat on its back! (this "forest lobelia" was an impulse purchase last year which did not survive long, even in our shadehouse, but a single seedling sprouted recently and is now in flower!)
cheers
fermi
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Lesley it would be lovely to see a photo of Narcissus 'Susan Cox' if you have one to hand.
I was interested that some of your ferrel bunnies are black. Ours are all mud coloured, and voracious feeders. I both empathise and sympathise with you. Do you think they have interbred with pet rabbits, or was it always so in nz?
While I have fenced off the back (although a nasty wee critter is still getting in of late), the front is fair game and one is limited in what one can plant there. Sahara is perfect for crocuses (according to Marcus) and freesias thrive (very little else will grow there), but they are chewed off in no time. Thank goodness they show little interest in narcissus and bluebells.
And yes, the Roscoea really is that black. I hope yours is also, as it's such a pretty one.
Most envious of the Jeffersonia.
Jacqui.
May I ask, do you soak the seeds outright or use damp paper? I haven't quite got the hang of the best way to do things.
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Re Narcissus 'Susan Cox' - see photos from Lesley, and from Anne Wright, here:
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9980.msg264015#msg264015 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9980.msg264015#msg264015) - for some details about the plant.
Lesley's pic repeated here :
[attachimg=1]
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11474.msg296176#msg296176 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11474.msg296176#msg296176)
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12889.msg326567#msg326567 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12889.msg326567#msg326567)
:)
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Re Narcissus 'Susan Cox' - see photos from Lesley, and from Anne Wright, here:
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9980.msg264015#msg264015 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9980.msg264015#msg264015) - for some details about the plant.
Lesley's pic repeated here :
(Attachment Link)
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11474.msg296176#msg296176 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11474.msg296176#msg296176)
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12889.msg326567#msg326567 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=12889.msg326567#msg326567)
:)
What a beautiful narcissus. :)