Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: fermi de Sousa on July 02, 2012, 12:39:00 AM
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It's still winter and bitterly cold at times (for us!) but the hoop petticoat daffs are a cheering sight!
cheers
fermi
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Frankly, fermi, most days here it still feels like winter, too. ;D
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A few more sights in our garden in winter
- Mexican Thorn in fruit
- Acis tingitana
- Iris histrioides hybrid 'George' - the promise of things to come.
cheers
fermi
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That will be a fine clump of 'George' Fermi. My best at present is Narc rom 'Atlas Gold.' I've had some small pots out for nearly two months and the big main pot has over 100 buds, all just beginning to show colour.
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----------------- Iris histrioides hybrid 'George' - the promise of things to come.
cheers
fermi
They don't clump up like that in my garden :(
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They don't clump up like that in my garden :(
They didn't in our previous garden either, David!
The climate in Central Victoria seemed to suit these iris and some like 'George', 'Harmony' and 'Alida' have clumped up nicely.
I'm waiting to see if the McMurtrie hybrids that we got from Janis via Marcus Harvey enjoy these conditions or whether they are better suited to life in Canada!
cheers
fermi
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Mine usually flower once and then disappear. Lack of a dry Summer probably! :(
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Wonderful to see your spring starting, Fermi. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the spring flowers from the S. Hemisphere. :D
Like Maggi remarked earlier, while it should be summer over here, most of the days it feels like autumn... :-\
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Although the middle of winter, Mertensia virginica is in flower. I bought two plants at our Fritillaria day back in October. They weren't in flower but looked well. In time they died down then in April up they came again and one is in flower, the other soon will be. Crazy at this time of year.
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Iris planifolia and I. persica , flowering with me at the moment, the first of the bulbous Irises to do so and a welcome sight .s
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A lovely clump of Nylon, Fermi. Lesley, your Atlas Gold will be a sight to behold later on!
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They are gorgeous Otto. Isn't it a treat to have such things in flower at the most horrid time of year? :)
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It's so long since I posted pictures I've just about forgortten how but will try with these as they're very nice right now. A few days of almost spring and so many crocuses in particular are starting to bloom.
Crocus cvijicii x veluchensis
followed by Crocus x Bornmuelleri and the last flowers of John Watson's collection, Acaulimalva weberbaueri. I've discovered that this propagates well by root cuttings, in the same manner as Morisia monanthos or Carduncellus species. Handy, as I've had no seed over a number of years. The crocus bud is also x Bornmuelleri, unopened, showing the outer colouring.
And I wonder can anyone suggest a name for this double, heavily marked Galanthus. It came to me a few years ago from Christchurch's Marion Saxton, and just as "Marion's double hybrid." It may well be her hybrid - she's grown snowdrops for many many years, or ir could be a named and recognised form. I'll try it on a Galanthus thread as well, just in case. This is the first year it has flowered.
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Very pleased to return from holidays to find these were still in flower - Sternbergia candida
cheers
fermi
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Also in flower, Crocus rujanensis from NZAGS seedex 2008;
Iris planifolia in the Rock garden
cheers
fermi
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There were a few other white things in flower;
Acis tingitana now in full bloom;
Galanthus Cv - ?seedling
Narcissus albidus zaianicus (or whatever!)
cheers
fermi
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Fermi,
Congratulations on the Sternbergia candida. I tried it once and it rotted before it ever did anything. ::) I've never got around to trying it again. Yours looks like it is absolutely thriving. Well done.
And if you're wondering why I have reappeared...... Otto rang me today and told me he was going to send someone around to beat me up if I didn't make an effort to get back up and post here again. :o
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Here's a few things that were flowering earlier this month. All these were taken prior to the 15th of July.
Crocus cyprius, Crocus minimus albus, a good form of Crocus sieberi ssp sieberi (thanks to Otto a few years ago), a large form of Eranthis hyemalis and lastly a somewhat confused Iris histrioides 'Katharine Hodgkin', flowering a tad earlier than it should be.
Click on the pic for a larger version.
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And some Snowies.....
A lovely form of Galanthus elwesii that no longer has a name (was given to me without one, but was originally a named variety). It is always pretty much the earliest elwesii to flower.
Galanthus 'Ketton', which has the most lovely markings.
A clump of Galanthus 'Primrose Warburg' I am coveting in a friend's garden. I've not been successful with any yellows I have tried.... although I have finally got 'Lady Elphinstone' through 18 months which is good. Hopefully I've broken that hoodoo on yellows. I do have a few yellow seedlings surviving from UK seed thankfully, so I have yet to find out whether they will be inheriting the yellow trait from their parents. 8)
And lastly a nice clump of Narcissus bulbocodium 'Galligaskins'.
Click on the pic for a larger version.
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..............And if you're wondering why I have reappeared...... Otto rang me today and told me he was going to send someone around to beat me up if I didn't make an effort to get back up and post here again. :o
and quite right too Paul, I was planning a similar fate for you.
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Oops, I forgot one that I meant to post.... Clematis napaulensis. Was flowering last month, is flowering this month, and will be flowering next month too. Such a great plant. And don't the honeyeaters just love them!!
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Oops, I forgot one that I meant to post.... Clematis napaulensis. Was flowering last month, is flowering this month, and will be flowering next month too. Such a great plant. And don't the honeyeaters just love them!!
Wow i can't wait until my babies flower(thank you Lesley).
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Davey,
I think it one of the best Clematis, for sheer number of flowers over period of time. If conditions are just right there is a "hint" of daphne perfume, but I've rarely captured more than an elusive breath of it. ::) The biggest scare is the first time you grow it and it goes dormant in summer..... you initially think it has died if you aren't prepared for it, "summer deciduous" is just so wrong when compared to everything ele in the family. ;D
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Paul that Clematis is lovely, something special I would say 8)
Good man that Otto is, I was missing you Paul and was wandering where you had got to. Well done Otto.
Angie :)
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And if you're wondering why I have reappeared...... Otto rang me today and told me he was going to send someone around to beat me up if I didn't make an effort to get back up and post here again. :o
That's the trouble with Otto, a very violent man. ;D ;D
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I have Sternbergia candida and it flowered beautifully (and with a delicious perfume) the season after it came from Marcus but hasn't flowered since. I think we may not have sufficient heat in summer to ripen the bulbs.
For reasons unknown, nor is Clem. napaulensis flowering this year either, after doing so well and giving me a lot of seed last year. Has yours germinated Davey? I sowed some myself and it's coming through now, 15 so far. Just as well as lifting the main plant would be almost impossible, and while I haven't said much about it yet, we now have our place on the market and the list of plants I have to retrieve from the garden is looking quite daunting. I wake in the night and add a few more to the notebook I take to bed with me! I hope we DON'T sell quickly or at least can arrange a long completion date.
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Some beautiful flowers above, that's for sure.
I've only been growing iris reticulata for about 8 years and during that time I've never encountered a problem. But this week one of the flowers (Harmony) has come up deformed. All the rest that have flowered so far have been fine. Could anyone suggest what may have happened to this one? Has anyone else ever had this issue?
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Jon,
Hopefully it is just something environmental and won't happen again. It doesn't look good, does it!! :o
Lesley,
Moving eh? Are you moving far? You don't have to leave NZ just because Anthony has moved there you know. ;)
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Lesley if you are selling up can I have your place. I could easy leave this wet weather. Maybe I am to old to be allowed into your country. I hope you have somewhere nice to go. It's my garden that keeps me here. I could easy leave the house, I would love to move to a more sheltered garden as 60% of the time it is windy here but when you put a lot of effort in its hard to leave but it will happen one day.
Angie :)
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That's the trouble with Otto, a very violent man. ;D ;D
Very true, I've seen him attack his supper....... :o ;)
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I've only been growing iris reticulata for about 8 years and during that time I've never encountered a problem. But this week one of the flowers (Harmony) has come up deformed. All the rest that have flowered so far have been fine. Could anyone suggest what may have happened to this one? Has anyone else ever had this issue?
Hello Jon, welcome to the Forum.
I'm with Paul, .... I would hope it is something environmental that is a one-off happening. Keep an eye on the foliage of that one as it extends.... if it looks very streaky then it perhaps may be a virus that has manifested in the deformed flower. For me, I think its better to discard one dud from a healthy patch than risk them all.
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I agree with Maggi's comments re the 'Harmony' bulb. I've never seen anything like this before. Better safe than sorry maybe and discard and destroy this one now.
Yes we're moving but we don't know where to yet. It's all a bit odd really, as the agent says, nothing like this has come up on their books before. We're selling, hopefully with a long completion date (unless we get a HUGE offer) and when we have a definite sale, we'll look for another place of maybe quarter to half an acre, instead of the two we have here. This place will appeal to someone young and energetic and prepared to work hard to achieve future benefit (I'm beginning to sound like the agent here). Needs lots of TLC but has heaps of potential for the right person/young couple. We will get something reasonably handy, in the general Dunedin area but not further south, and if it takes a year to sell it doesn't really matter. The thing is, with my recent illness and now rib problem, as well as Roger's back which will just not get fully better, we know we can't go on here and the place is losing value the longer we stay so better to make the decision now and stop messing about. I'll keep you up to date no doubt. The only things I'll really regret are Querus cerris and our very nicely shaped copper beech, both replaceable in the long run. But we won't be able to do anything about Woody, Teddy and now Cain, all buried in the garden but with small trees over them so hopefully they won't be disturbed. I do feel very bad about leaving them.
No Paul, the thought of Anthony a mere 1500 kms or so up the road hasn't been bothering me. ;D I am determined to get somewhere eventually where I can ask people to stay which I can't here (need another bedroom/bathroom). Anyone who wishes can help with the packing up and retrieving the plants. Don't forget spade and boxes. I'll provide lunch and cups of tea ad infinitum. ;D
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Lesley,
sorry to hear that you've had to "down-size" but at least you've been able to make the decision yourselves instaed of it being forced on you!
here are a few more flowers in the garden;
the first is Crocus abantensis which came from SRGC seedex in 1993 and which was flowering back in 1997 but didn't take to life in the rock garden as it was but fortunately a single cormlet had been rescued to be built back to flowering size!
The next 2 are Iris 'George'
the last is the first Iris 'Harmony'.
cheers
fermi
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Lesley my friends have downsized from a wonderful landscaped one and a half acre garden. They built this up from nothing and they weren't looking forward to the move but guess what they love their new home, smaller house and much smaller garden but know they aren't running about trying to keep everything the way they liked.
Fermi is right better making the move now. That is exactly what my friends thought. I couldn't understand how they could leave their home but now that they have I can see it was the right move. Hope you find somewhere nice and at least like you said there is no hurry.
Angie :)
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I'm 'downsizing' to seven acres from the half we have now (!) in a year-and-a-half's time :o - I must be mad... ::) :P
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I'm 'downsizing' to seven acres from the half we have now (!) in a year-and-a-half's time :o - I must be mad... ::) :P
Not mad, Rogan, just optimistic - there's no harm in that!
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Thanks Paul, Maggi & Lesley. I think I will have to remove that Iris reticulata "Harmony". There are a few more in the same pot that are yet to flower. It will be interesting to see if they too are affected.
Here are some of the other iris reticulatas that have started to flower in my garden: "Alida", "Purple Gem" and today "Springtime" burst open (in winter). I've also included a picture of Crocus tommasinianus "Yalta" - the first one to flower in the pot. The others seem to be reluctant!
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Hi Jon,
may I suggest that as well as resizing your pics to under 500kb, you also take the pixel size down to around 800 by 600 ? ( and just doing that usually reduces the kb size when I do it here - 760 is a good size for width of pix for the forum)
8)
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Thanks Maggi. I realised after I posted the images that they were enormous when viewed on this forum. I quickly dropped the size down and re-posted them. They still look a little large - I'll have to play around with them.
Good luck with the move Lesley. They say that a change is as good as a holiday. When I find out who "they" are, I'll send Otto's people around to sort them out like they did with Paul - haha. ;D I'd prefer the holiday...
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Cheers, Jon... the handy thing is you are able to edit your post as you wish to be able to resize and repost the pix!
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I have Sternbergia candida and it flowered beautifully (and with a delicious perfume) the season after it came from Marcus but hasn't flowered since. I think we may not have sufficient heat in summer to ripen the bulbs.
Lesley - While most autumn flowering Sternbergias seem to need a very hard bake to promote flowering here, I'm not sure this is the case with S. candida. Mine flowers reliably every year (other Sternbergias are erratic) & did so this Spring depite the previous, miserable Summer. Mine are under glass, therefore dry, & I feed heavily with a high K fertiliser.
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I'm 'downsizing' to seven acres from the half we have now (!) in a year-and-a-half's time :o - I must be mad... ::) :P
You ARE! Unless you have assorted large animals to be accomodated. :D
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Thanks Gerry. Mine is outside and like you, in the UK we had a miserable summer, this time and last so no real drying off of any bulbs. I'll try that and also the high K.
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[attachmini=1]a few Reticulata Irises in flower at the moment - grown in pots as I have lost many inthe open garden in the last 2 summers due to high rainfall ,following 10 years of drought.
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first pic. Iris ret. 'Michael'
second pic . Iris ret. 'Alida'
and I. histrioides 'Lady Beatrix Stanley'