Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Paul T on October 01, 2012, 11:28:13 PM
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Howdy Folks,
Sorry, I still haven't got around to the Victorian trip pics, but here's some that I took yesterday in my garden....
Camellia 'Nuccio's Gem'
Ledebouria galpinii - a couple of pics showing both the flowers and the lovely pustulate leaves.
One of the first of the dwarf bearded Iris, this one is called 'Stash'
Paeonia ostii
Scadoxus puniceus 'Magnificus'
Don't forget to click on the pics for a larger version!
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Hi Paul,
Really fabulous pictures - excellent studies in accuracy and beauty.
Love the purity and symmetry of the camellia and the exuberance of the scadoxus.
Cheers, Marcus
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Thanks Marcus. 8)
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Lovely way to start October Paul. 8)
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I especially like that little ledebouria, Paul!
Here are a few DBIs in the garden,
Tuscanna, City, Tarheel Elf, Cupid's Cup, Cat's Eye and Fairy Footsteps.
cheers
fermi
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Some others now in flower -
1) a stunning native plant - though it looks better growing in the wild in W.A. - Leschenaultia (Lechenaultia) biloba - growing with a purple flowered Eremophila and 2) in close-up.
3) Another Aussie native - Dampiera rosmarinifolia -but in its pink form - unusual in a predominantly blue/purple flowered genus.
4) Close-up.
5) Dianthus freynii
cheers
fermi
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Very nice, Fermi. Great Iris clumps. :o
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A Tulip vvedenskyi flowering for the first time - I think it was Monocot seed. Very bright but not a good photo.
This may be another Iris lutescens which I crossed and this is the result - again on the driveway.
And a closeup.
I love the boursault group of roses for their simplicity, their red no prickle stems, and their autumn colours. This is 'Mme de Sancy de Parabere' 1871
Aril species cross PT0425
An older lilac.
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Pat,
That Aril is absolutely stunning!!!! The other pics you posted are good as well, but the Aril........ :o
Thanks.
;D
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A quick couple more things, to add to the other bits and pieces I've just posted about the place.....
Asarum delaveyi
Rhododendron 'Taurus', which is in reality almost blood red. Always comes out wrong in the photos, but it is still so beautiful I had to post a pic. 8)
Click on the pics for a larger version!
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Paul - Taurus seems to be flowering terribly late for you. Here it would flower asbout a week after the start of Spring. has it been cold there?
These reds are nasty to capture correctly....
We spent an enjoyable evening with Pam Eveleigh last night and looking forward to her talk tonight.
johnw - +22c at 17:00, sun!
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Please give dear Pam our very best wishes, John - she's a very popular lady here, as you might guess.
We were delighted to see her again when she visited Aberdeen as part of her spring lecture tour this year.
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Hi Paul,
love the photos of Camellia 'Nuccio's Gem' and Paeonia ostii, so clean and fresh in appearance.
Susan
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Paul that Asarum is pretty special. Needed to see it closeup.
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I totally agree. 8)
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John,
I think this is about normal for it here. It's definitely earlier than the majority of others that I grow, but there are a lot of Rhodos around the city already well and truly in flower before now.
Pat and Anthony,
Not sure whether you're saying that this was closeup or that you were wanting a closeup picture? I'll try to get a closer pic for you this morning, to make sure I'm covered either way. ;) It was originally thought to be an aroid, was even in the aroid family, but they eventually realised it wasn't even close.
I'm glad everyone is enjoying the pics. Thanks for the comments.
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I'm saying it's a fabulous plant.
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Paul and I had to click on the photo to enlarge it to see that is was not a mangled huge butterfly sitting on the plant ;) ;)
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Hi Folks,
Lots of lovely pictures to enjoy.
God you have some DBIs Fermi and I like that, native Dampiera rosmarinifolia, such a flurry of snowflake flowers, its almost buried the bush!
Did you raise the asarum from seed Paul?
I have a couple of iris pictures I managed to take before the wind whipped up. Such a shame for these beauties to be battered from pillar to post by constant gales. If I were them I'd just give up.
Iris Shebas Jewel - complex hybrid originally imported from Janis.
Iris stolonifera - what an intricate weave of patterns - who says there isn't a God :P? Or a mighty fine Mandelbrot set. Sets you thinking why evolution would produce such incredibly complex stimuli - sheer waste or genius :-\?
Iris ? complex hybrid - Originally from Pat with label data that resembled a runaway piece of string. Shamefully I am not across all of the crosses :-[. Super Moon I recall featured. Can you help Pat?
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
Sheba's Jewel is glorious. :o
I reckon you made that last one up. You took the standards off a white one, and after emasculating the poor yellow one you glued them on. That is an amazingly crisp colour differentiation, isn't it?
I just love all 3 of them. They're beauties.
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I replied to Marcus privately re the cross of that Super Yellow arilbred. It was seed from Pete McGrath in 1994.
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Just such an amazing colour combination, never seen anything quite like it anywhere in the irises before. And of course the contrast on Shebas Jewel.
Marcus,
Just realised I forgot to answer your question.... no, I didn't raise the Asarum from seed, it was given to me as a plant.
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Marcus has his new seedlist available!
If you'd like a copy please send me a PM with your e-mail address (don't worry, Paul, you'd be getting it regardless! ;D ) - see here : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9633.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9633.0)
Here are a few more pics from the garden this morning:
Narcissus obesus ex JJA from AGS Seedex 2008
Pelargonium triste x2
Iris from SRGC Seedex 2009 as I. schaachtii - but is it? There's no stem to speak of - and I like it whatever it is!
cheers
fermi
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Hi Paul,
You think I've created the "Platypus Iris" just to confuse the folks back home? ;D
Does look a bit that way though I can't claim any hand in it. I have never seen another one like it.
Currently the wind here is horrendous so fingers crossed on any more flowers surviving. I have "Peresh" within an inch of blooming.
That iris looks like I. taochia Fermi. Though I am far from an expert.
Cheers, Marcus
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Hello again,
Rough day to attempt photos but mad dogs and gardeners will go out in a blasting gale ...
Some raggedy pics:
Gynandriris sisyrinchium - collected as seed at the Kedros plateau in Crete alongside Iris unguicularis
Iris paradoxa - I think this came originally from Pat. One year it set 3 seeds and I now have another pot.
Ranunculus asiaticus - from JJA seed - from memory it was supposed to be white (which I haven't got and which apparently grows in sheets around Phaistos in Crete.
Sorry for the quality.
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus has his new seedlist available! If you'd like a copy please send me a PM with your e-mail address (don't worry, Paul, you'd be getting it regardless! ;D )
No need for that. ...... see here : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9633.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9633.0)
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No need for that. ...... see here : http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9633.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9633.0)
Thanks, Maggi,
the work e-mail seems to be playing up at present and I've had to re-send to most people via my hotmail account!
cheers
fermi
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Uhm I wonder what I grew years ago as Pelargonium triste as it had more red in it I thought.
Love it Fermi.
SRGC comes up really fast even with a slowed connection - go slow till the 10th. No way would facebook come up for me.
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uMarcus , you posted some beautyful images of wondrous Irises - like you I wonder why evolution would produce such incredibly beautyful flowers for us to marvel at and not believe in a higher life force .
also your Ranunculus asiaticus 'Picotee' is to dye for .
Fermi here is a pic of Iris schachtii - just going over in my garden -a large patch of it
I grew this Iris (Juno ) albomarginata from seed - would someone know for certain if it is correctly named ?
Paul ,your Camellia 'NucciosGem ' is beautyful , must try to get it as well as some other hybrids raised by Nuccio .I am enjoying Cam. 'Peggy Burton' at the moment -raised in New Zealand
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Hi Folks,
At the risk of boring the pants off forumists - can anyone please provide names for these DBI?
Cheers, Marcus
PS Fermi I think you previously gave a name to the blue stitch variety.
Cheers, Marcus
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At the risk of boring the pants off forumists - can anyone please provide names for these DBI?
PS Fermi I think you previously gave a name to the blue stitch variety.
Hi Marcus,
yes, the last one looks like what we have as "Knick Knack"; we also have the first 2 - but from friends who didn't have the correct names either!
Uhm I wonder what I grew years ago as Pelargonium triste as it had more red in it I thought.
Pat,
I also have another Pelargonium triste which has more red in the flower - it came from Lyle at Roraima Nsy at Lara - but it flowers a bit later. This one was grown from seed from Silverhills,
cheers
fermi
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Hi Marcus,
Pretty sure I have that second iris from you - strange blue colour that it is and must be a named variety.
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Marcus,
Number 3 is 'Making Eyes'. In flower here too.
Lovely photos from everyone. The Irises (paradoxa for example) are fascinating to see. So "strange" iris-wise. ;D
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3 plants flowering ina cool,shady spot in my garden at the moment- all pink:
the Trillium is from the Edinburg Bot anic Garden
I find Cypripedium formosanum the easiest ,apart from the Frosch Hybrids,
if only Sanguinaria would'nt be so fleeting in flower - there are also large patches of the fl.pl. in flower .
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sorry , forgot to resize the Trillium
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Beautiful, Otto. Now I want to come back down for another visit. I so want to see a real live Cypripedium in flower. ;D
I didn't realise until now that there were pink Sanguinarias, but the double white form that you sent me a few years back is open here at present as well. Not been enough sun today to open them today (it was raining on and off today) and the last couple of days I've been at work. Wednesday they were just starting to open, but not quite. ::) I do hope that the petals don't drop off before I actually see them open. :o
And congratulations on doing so well with grandiflorum, let alone a pink one. 8)
So many things opening so quickly right now, particularly as we had 26'C twice late this week.
Thank you for your lovely pictures.
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Our Internet has been day for a few days and so I've been frustrated when wanting to post a few pictures. I'll try now.
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As you see, everything is going into pots and boxes against the big move - when it happens. I'm not sure that the ?'Orange Surprise' is right. Seems too yellow to me but a good little iris all the same.
We had a big daffodil show here last weekend, Wed night setting up tables etc, Thurs day and night setting out entries and Fri, Sat and Sun of show itself. Utterly exhausted at the end, with a relatively easy market session on Sat morning for variety. We (Otago Alpine Garden Group) always have our spring show in conjunction with the Hort Soc's daff show, an international one this year, and for the first time were allowed to have a sales table. Those who wished, sold their own plants and gave a commission to the Group. I came home with a useful $500. There were only NZ entries in the daff show but many international visitors, including a lot of very charming American gentlemen. :D I have been asked by North Islanders to make a list of any bulbs I may have available in the summer. Will do.
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Narcissus bulbocodium 'Billy Bunter' is a selected seedling from b. obesus, distributed by Stuart Murray of Chch. It's a good doer.
Then what I grew from seed as N. b. tenuifolius
Then Primula aureata, the only one which germinated from SRGC seed in 2010 and finally for now, Oh Glory - the true Hylomecon japonicum, 3 plants ordered from Southwell Plants, their last retail list. I also have 2 Norwegian seeds which, if they germinate grow and flower, I hope to cross with the local plants.
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Lovely, Lesley!
Great irises. Maybe the "Orange Surprise" is called that because the surprise is that it is yellow? ;D ;D
The tenuifolius looks very much like serotinus to me, but that may not mean anything. ::)
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Hi Folks,
I love Sanguinaria canadensis but alas it doesn't like me. Its too dry for too long here. And the pink Trillium grandiflorum, and the Cypripedium and serious beautiful trio of plants Otto.
Just a couple of iris before they get battered out of existence here.
The first is Peresh
The second is has the same label as the white standards aril I posted a short while ago :-\. Pat provided me with the plant(s) and the breeding data - something is up because I definitely have two different plants. But who's complaining ;D.
Cheers, Marcus
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...I'm not sure that the ?'Orange Surprise' is right. Seems too yellow to me but a good little iris all the same.....
Lesley,
I know an 'Orange Surprise', but that's a tall bearded and it's really orange...yours looks nice too, but it's no 'Orange surprise'.
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Marcus I will have to do a search of the neighbouring irises to that Super Yellow to work out what I included by mistake. Uhm... ::)
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Hi Pat - I am not complaining - they both are fantastic. But it is a bit of a puzzle.
Maybe Paul was right afterall!
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus it is Rebekah of Aram OGB- (E. S. Fankhauser, R. 1989). Sdlg. ABM 21-67-19. AB, 15” (38 cm), E. Light yellow; deep brown signal; yellow beard. Green Spot X Imam Salah. Tempo Two, 1989/1990. [APTT]
I tried to attach the photo without success but I do have it flowering now too.
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Marcus and Pat,
those oncos are stunning!
This little beauty caught my eye in the rock garden yesterday evening - the dwarf form of "Scilla natalensis" which I think might be now be called Merwilla dracomontana.
I got it in 2004 and nearly lost it to rot in its pot! In desperation I released it into the wild - well the raised bed in the Upper Rock Garden where it has slowly been recovering and finally flowered this year!
cheers
fermi
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;D
Lesley
Your bulbocodium is certainly not what we grow as N. tenuifolius. Yours looks far too big, the form is wrong and the foliage far to large and vigorous.
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Thanks for the notes about N. tenuifolius. I had my doubt but..... I have so many bulbocodium forms all hybridizing and seeding about that it's hard to be really sure of anything now. I'll relabel it just as bulbocodium form I suppose. What I have as straight bulbocodium ranges in height from 6 cms to 35 cms, all with straight up stems but this year there have been some super seedlings appear from the later clump, half the height and with flat leaves (at the base) and a green stripe on the sepals, like b. citrinus, but in the very strong yellow shade, and with very large flowers. ::)
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Hi Folks,
The bulbocodium section is such a dog's breakfast. Conflicting classifications, wide variation within single populations, and then, as Lesley points to, hybridization amongst groups in hort. Hardly a clear picture. Some of the names need two labels to fit it all on.
Couple of arils from Pat for which I have lost the labels :-[.
And this little DBI - I don't know if it is Knick Knack Fermi. Does Ann Elizabeth or Dublin raise any thoughts?
Cheers, Marcus
PS Seeds from my list going quickly so if anyone is interested please get in soon ;D
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Good to see them flowering Marcus.
Iris korolkowii
First Sergeant = (camillae x paradoxa) x acutiloba
This seed was from 1994. It flowered quite a few years ago then declined a bit but seems to be back again ok.
You can see I need to mow all this kangaroo (?) grass pretty soon but it did look lovely with the sun behind it this evening
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I love that korolkowii, Pat.
And Marcus' second unknown. Great colours.
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Hi Pat,
like Paul I love your 2 Irises and also The second one from Marcus -a gorgeous mellow colour .
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Hi Pat,
Intriguing markings on the acutiloba cross. I don't have any I. korolkowii deigning to flower (yet). Its very chilly here STILL! Just heard snow is falling in the high country here and in ACT.
I have switched to another genus:
Anemone nemorosa Bracteata F.P.
Anemone nemorosa Blue Queen
Anemone nemorosa Winterwood Pink - From Aussie grower and good friend, Don Schofield
Anemone nemorosa Vestal
Anemone x seemanii
Cheers, Marcus
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Sorry!
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Thought I'd lost my `Winterwood Pink' as it was swamped with grass over this last year but when I drove in yesterday saw a patch of rich deep pink lurking among the green. As soon as the b....y rain stops I'll be out to lift it, while visible.
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Looks like quite a nice pink. Good to know that real pinks now exist, rather than pinks that are whites with a flush of pink that you can only really see if you squint just right. ;D
Yes, Snow around this region too, Marcus. Not sure how much has settled about the place. Definitely within half an hour to an hour east of here, but I would be thinking up on the mountains west of here as well.
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Brutally cold here - just when you think its OK to start wearing Tshirts :-\.
This from Mat Murray at Blackheath, "Hi Marcus….. PHEW we have had a foot of snow fall here…. Its still coming down… CRAZY spring weather!
Mathew Murray
Senior Horticulturist
Bells Line of Road Mount Tomah NSW 2758 Australia"
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Hi Paul,
Winterwood Pink ages to a very dark pinks, as shown here:
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Sorry! Talk about being all thumbs - I'll put it down to the waether and my rate of shivering!!
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Nice!
A foot of snow in the blue mountains eh? That'll be a bit of a shock to the gardens up there. :o
I hope it isn't too much for tree branches etc. Good luck Matt!!
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Marcus and Paul,
it is bitterly cold here too- and had a light dusting of snow here this morning ,thankfully it only lasted for ten minutes .
took photos of a few lateflowering Frits in my garden yesterday. Must take a photo of my clump of Anemone nem. 'Winterwood Pink' tomorrow , I think it is even a darker shade than yours Marcus .
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Hey Otto, make sure its a good photo so I can use it for my catalogue (with your permission of course ;D).
Would you PLEASE pollinate the Fritillaria whittalli?? All my were whipped by that storm 2 weeks ago - every bud burnt to a shrivel :(.
I only have Fritillaria pontica, affinis and stribryny left now. F. camschatcensis might come good but its a miffy thing here. Will you have it to flower Otto?
Cheers, Marcus
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PT0425 (53) Tira Nurseries Seed Mixture x (62) (Hila x Iris samariae) x sibling (yellow with orange brown signal)
this sounds like the No 2 iris Marcus - sent in 2008
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Lovely, Pat.
Great Frits everyone. Not many still out here, although camschatcensis is not far off opening.
Marcus, I saw a small clump of 'Winterwood Pink' at a friend's place this afternoon. Spectacular colour. Really good, deep pink. Wow. :o I thought it was such excellent timing..... given our current comments about it. 8)
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Have alot of Frits out here at the moment and still some in bud! I thought I'd attach a few photos of them. I have one that has no name and I am unsure what it is called, it is a cutie!
I always love this time of year!
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Have alot of Frits out here at the moment and still some in bud! I thought I'd attach a few photos of them. I have one that has no name and I am unsure what it is called, it is a cutie!
I always love this time of year!
Superbly grown Frits kaydale. 8) 8)
Your 'unknown' one is F.biflora.
Does your F.liliacea have any scent? Some do, some seem not to.
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Have alot of Frits out here at the moment and still some in bud! I thought I'd attach a few photos of them. I have one that has no name and I am unsure what it is called, it is a cutie!
I always love this time of year!
I have to agree with Ron super american frits,that grey gravel really makes the shine!!!!Very nice
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Lovely Frits posted.
A few photos from today
Iris imbricata
2nd flower on Iris korolkowii (right name now but not on photo)
PT0579 - this received a champion at a iris society show one year
and a lucky closeup of a visitor
Calochortus amabilis - a lot smaller this year after the lack of rain
A strange fall on this cross PT9829
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Pat what a stunning Iris PT9829 is 8) :o
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I will double check tomorrow afternoon that it is that particular cross as some tags have faded over the years but thank goodness I have a paper plan. Yes I had another iris do something like this last year but it was actually half and half last year..
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Pat,
I love that clump of PT0579. Wonderful.
Kaydale (Lesley?),
Gorgeous Frits. Thanks for showing us. Great to see you here. 8)
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Hi Ron,
Thanks for naming it, I thought it was bu
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As I was saying before Silver (my cat) decided to jump on the keyboard
. . . . but I was expecting it to be bigger than that.
I actually haven't taken any notice of liliacea having a scent but I'm hoping to pollinate it tomorrow (if it gets warm enough) so will have a look. I have seed of it flowering from the Frit Group, Ron Ratko and AGS so it will be interesting if it varies.
It's been almost three years since I posted here (yes Paul it's Lesley), I couldn't believe it but time has been passing way to fast for my liking.
I have been lurking a bit and enjoying all the comments though,
Lesley
A few other things that are flowering now in the garden:
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Good to have some posts from you again, Lesley. It's been too long.
Good to hear you and your sister are planning a trip to NZ - I hope you can met up with lots of forum pals and have a marvelous time.
The Kaydale Gardens are looking fantastic, it's a treat to see these shots, thanks!
Ian sends his best wishes, too!
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You girls do this to make "us northeners" jealous, don't you ;) ;)
Pat, PT0579 and PT9829 are stunning. :o :o
Lesley, those Frits look wonderful but that field of Trilliums is simply mouthwatering...... :o :o :o :o
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Lesley,
The trilliums!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o And that lovely red Pulsatilla. I am so jealous. ;D
Friends of mine from here in Canberra raved about your place when they visited (and Yes, they passed on the Hello from you). I was really irritated that I only found out after the Bilpin fair when it rained all day, that you'd been there in the Tas tent (or so I was told). I was not happy to have missed meeting you in person finally. :'(
Really good to see you back here, and hopefully it'll be regular now. Please show us some more pics of your lovely gardens. I so wish I could get down there to see them.
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Lesley , so nice to hear from you again after 3years . I still have fond memories of 'Kayedale' and its beautiful plants when we visited you many years ago - it must have been in mid October too. Please give my kind regards to your sister and parents ,
Your beautiful Frit .stenanthera is flowering much later than mine here , mine flowered 2 months ago .
Are you attending the NZ. Study Weekend at Lincoln Uni. in February ? If so , I'mlooking forward to meet up with you . There are at least 4 of us from Melbourne attending .
Pat , as always wonderful Irises - but are you sure that the second one is really I. paradoxa ?
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Uhhhh Pat. Otto is right, that's not paradoxa but it's korolkowii.
John B
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Sorry all, my head and fingers not working together sometimes. Yes Of course korolkowii. Uhm downloaded and labelled at the end of the day.
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Same comment as from the others, Lesley, it's great to have you back here posting and with such beautifully grown plants, especially well done the F. pluriflora. Please keep posting.
From the other one.
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Otto it's wonderful that you and at least three others are coming over for the Study Weekend. I've been out this morning looking to see what might be possible for the plant sales. (I've already paid for that space but have still to register for the weekend itself.) Everything at present is so slow as we've hardly had a gleam of sun all October and today is typical, half raining and bitter southerly wind.
I had hoped my potted Daphne petraea 'Persabee (the other's in a large trough) might have cleaned up our show two weekends ago but it was in tight bud still. Now I'm hoping it may be out for next Thursday night's OAGG meeting. It will be worth a picture, whenever.
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Hello Everyone,
Gosh what a parade of beautiful and well-grown plants!!
Thanks for the heads up with the aril Pat and I love that clump of Calochortus amabilis - bet there'd be some northern forumist green with envy at seeing that being grown out in the open ground.
Just when most of us are packing up the frits for the year along comes Kaydale Lesley to blow it away with some stunning pictures - very jealous of your Fritillaria pluriflora. I have two unflowered F. striata left - how are yours going?
I concur with Otto's comments and to make the point here is my:
Fritillaria stenanthera setting seed
Fritillaria aurea in seed - when I posted this in flower it was prostrate now its rising to the sky!
And two Paeonies - according to the latest reclassification:
Paeonia daurica ssp mlokosewitschii (P. mlokosewitschii)
Paeonia daurica ssp macrophylla (P. witmanniana ssp macrophylla
What an exquisite time of the year for us southerners - fingers crossed the wind takes a holiday.
Cheers, Marcus
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Thanks for the comments!! F stenanthera finished flowering for me last week, which I did think was late because last year if was flowering in September. Things have been a little mucked up here because of the all the rain and snow we had, I still have alot of Frits still in bud. Although this warm spell will bring them out.
Amarlie and I are heading to NZ on Tuesday! Going North and South Islands over 21 days. Doing alot of gardens but some tourist things as well, including first day Nevis Bungy Jump!
Just for you Otto here is a photo of the double Sanguinaria, first flower for the year taken last Tuesday. Heaps of buds still coming on.
Well I'm off to pollinate the Frits and take more photos!
Lesley
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I'm with Paul on that wonderful Trillium display. 8)
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Great to see all these spring flowers now when we here in the high north are entering the darkest time of the year. Thanks to everyone for posting.
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There's a Crocus thread extant but I've mislaid it so will put here, a note that I picked 7 full pods of Crocus vallicola yesterday, beginning to open this morning. Anyone who'd like some, PM with address. Fresh is best. ;D
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Well I went out a took some more photos yesterday, and pollinated F liliacea so am able to answer Rons question that mine don't have a scent.
I'm sorry I missed you at Bilpin Paul, it was a fly in fly out visit with the Blooming Tasmania stand and I hardly got to see anyone or do anything!
I have attached a few more photos for you all from yesterday.
Lesley
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Great pics, Lesley,
we'll have to get down to Tassie again one of these days!
A few more things in our garden,
Moltkia doerfleri
- a close up
Geranium 'Biokova'
Geranium harveyi
Narcissus 'La Belle' - one of the last to flower
cheers
fermi
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Lesley,
That purdyi is stunning. It was one of the first Frits I ever grew, and I had it for years and years, rarely ever multiplying. I bought one a few years ago from Marcus to try cross pollinating them to get seed, and then lost them both in the wet summers we've had the last few years. :o Your pic has just reminded me how nice they were. Although yours are SO much bigger and more floriferous than mine were. My original plant I had for over 15 years, which is why it is so upsetting to have lost it in the wet. Usually we struggle here with it being too DRY. ;D
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My word those are stunning frits Lesley, great clumps instead of sparse singles. The hybrid is especially exciting and you do pallidiflora much better than I do. It's a treat to see such species in the garden instead of in pots too.
Hope your flights today are OK. They may be a bit bumpy at this end. ::)
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I am beginning to feel scratchetty now because our house offer went to the vendors' lawyer on Friday and as yet we've heard nothing. Of course he may only have contacted them yesterday or if by mail, maybe only today so it still could be several days before we know. We're pretty sure they've had no other offers - can't be quite certain - so we are hopeful but the waiting is getting to me.
However, the packing, lifting, potting etc have to go on regardless of where we eventually end up and yesterday I tackled a block of about 60 trays of old bulbs that had been put under trees a few years ago and virtually abandoned. A lot of things have died but lilies, Narcissus, various anemones and some others, including variegated Solomon's seal, falcata I think, have flourished along with Cyclamen and to my surprise, Dactylorhiza maculata. I don't recall that there was any of this potted up so I think all these are seedlings from the ones I have in a nearby raised bed. They in turn are seedlings from other places. So I separated out 144 pots with strong dacts in and will repot these and in time, plant them out and have them make a naturalized colony. That's the plan anyway. Some are lightly spotted, some strongly spotted and some have huge tiger marks, round and dark but green in the middles. Some are narrow-leaved and some are up to 5cms across the centre of the blades. I'll select out a small group of good ones and pot them for next year's show, a foliage class. :)
Being orchids, their seed is so fine and light and we are very wind prone here so that I find occasional seedlings in the veg garden where it's not cultivated too much, in the grass and even in cracks in the concrete paths. I love them all and feel privileged to have "wild" orchids in the garden. Of course I also have the blasted "onion orchid," Microtis uniflora, a native, which seeds into cushions and mats, the tiny onion-like pseudobulbs delving very deep down so they are difficult to remove without digging out the whole thing. The miniscule grass-green flowers have nothing to recommend them from an ornamental point-of-view.
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Wow. Sounds like you have your work cut out but are finding some interesting plants you didn't know you had. 144 Dacts! :o Must look out for the onion orchid. I like these little green jobs. 8)
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Not this one you wouldn't. The flowers are arranged up the stem, maybe up to 20, and are about .4 of a cm in height, same colour as the stem. Green geckos, wonderful, (these) green orchids, a pain in the proverbial.
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I'll second that. I was so excited when I got my first volunteer orchid.... now I just pull them out as soon as I identify the leaf. I do still keep a couple in a pot, just so that I can see them flower each year, but they tend to appear in lots of pots now, in all parts of the garden, and I never had one to start with so the seeds are blowing in from somewhere anyway. ::)
Now, if I could just get my Dacts to seed about, that would be wonderful. ;D Congratulations, Lesley.
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I've only ever had a couple of D. foliosa seedlings appear and none at all of D. elata but the spotted maculatas are very prolific - and welcome. :)
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Lesley,
I have fuchsii (trying again this year, thanks to Otto) and elata, plus 'Harold Esselmont'. I don't think any of them have spotted leaves unfortunately. I don't think I've ever seen maculata in Aus, although I am guessing it would be here.
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Paul, D fuchsii should be spotted, smallish spots and maybe not a great number. Generally it is thought to be - or grown as - D. maculata ssp. fuchsii. My original plants imported in the early 90s were smaller and slimmer and of a paler shade of the same cerise colour, as maculata.
I remember that when I came to bare-root and pack my plants to come home from the UK, it was June and the dacts, a dozen in total, were all in flower as from the nursery (can't remember which, could have been Potterton's but not sure.) Anyway, for ease of packing I cut the flower stems and the last night at my host's house we had a jar of Dactylorhiza stems on the dinner table, very sumptuous.
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Hi Everyone,
I obtained my stock of D. fuchsii from Ken Gillanders and I am sure Otto would have the same. They are more slender with a scattering of reddish spots. I honestly can't tell the difference beween D. foliosus and D. "Harold Esselmont".
I am not aware of any other species or forms in Australia. Now its just too expensive to import them. I recently checked with my Dutch agent and I was looking at a CITES permit for each item at $60 a shot.
I attach here a picture of D. sambucina in both colour forms at Mt Falakron and Mt Chelmos in Greece. I'd love to bring these here.
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
All seed of Orchidaceae is now permitted, providing it is in dry form not in pods, or at least they were last time I checked. Is it worthwhile trying to bring some of the seed in and scatter it around? Do your fuchsii and 'Harold Esselmont' seed successfully?
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Hi Paul,
I'd like to know if anyone in Australia has had any luck raising seedlings by this method. I didnt find any seed last time we were there - maybe I didn't look. I think its going to be the only way we get anything new here in Australia.
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
I got seed on Harold last year, and got some seed from a friend here in Canberra of fuchsii. I've sprinkled them around my elata and still living in hope. Not expecting much though. The Harold will possibly have seeded into other pots in the vicinity, and I'm wondering whether that is more likely to be successful than in the ground. Like I said, everything crossed. Apparently I've heard that Spiranthes is a good host for germinating orchid seed, but I don't know whether that is for Mycorrhizal associations for Aussie natives, or whether for foreign ones or not?
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Thanks Lesley, the flights weren't too bad. Just hoping the weather clears for tomorrows bungy. My F purdyi wasn't in flower when I left but have told mum to take photos, purdyi x grayana is a good two to three times bigger than straight purdyi. I love the cross, the first one I did had alot more grayana come through but this second cross has alot of purdyi.
F pyrenica still wasn't out and about four or five others, hopefully mum will take photos.
Lesley
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Hi Everyone,
I obtained my stock of D. fuchsii from Ken Gillanders and I am sure Otto would have the same. They are more slender with a scattering of reddish spots. I honestly can't tell the difference beween D. foliosus and D. "Harold Esselmont".
I am not aware of any other species or forms in Australia. Now its just too expensive to import them. I recently checked with my Dutch agent and I was looking at a CITES permit for each item at $60 a shot.
I attach here a picture of D. sambucina in both colour forms at Mt Falakron and Mt Chelmos in Greece. I'd love to bring these here.
Cheers, Marcus
I have a pod of seed from the purple form if you want it.
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Hi Marcus and Paul,
I have sown Dact seed into a bark fines potting mix with sand and was successful!..No real care with these as i didnt have much hope but to my surprise something like grass came up and still didnt think much of them until the second year when the typical dact like leaves with spots appeared.. So i was very excited .. But i only had 5% germination. These are 5 yrs old now.
I had another batch of seed last year and I was keen to see how these germinate under regular irrigation with the same mix and it dosent look to be so successful as the moss had taken over or the seed had rotted or the seed wasnt the best?? So many variables to consider. I had also tried sowing under mature dacts and nothing. I think it's the fine bark mix that they like.
Cheers
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Interesting, Stephen. Good to know. What sort of bark fines potting mix did you use? And did it contain the sand, or did you add it? I think I'd like to give it a try. How long did it take for the "grass" to appear? I've always wondered how long it would take for orchid seedlings to appear.
Thanks for the info.
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So you did that cross yourself Lesley? Not a wild one. Very well done. It seems that may be the only way we are to get new plants in Australia and New Zealand, i.e. make them ourselves from what is already here. The only reason I wish I were 40 years younger. Well, perhaps there are a couple of other reasons too, like arthritis yet to come instead of being well established. ???
You won't be enjoying today's weather I guess. I've gone back to thermal shirt and longjohns under everything else.
Last night at OAGG we had an excellent talk from Otago University botanist Janice Lord, about a trip she and 3 others took in the early summer of 2010 to Campbell Island. It was an excellent talk with brilliant images and I went to sleep later dreaming of Bulbinella rossii, Pleurophyllum speciosum and the other fabulous megaherbs. Janice and her colleagues discovered much new information about several aspects of these plants but especially of their pollination characteristics. It seems the plants conserve the little heat there is from the sun, to ripen their pollen at just the right moment for the pollinators and the flowers remain warm after the leaves and stems have cooled. It was all quite complicated and I haven't explained it well but was easily seen from the use of thermal imaging cameras alongside their digital models. Janice's own special interest was in Stilbocarpa and she had several stouches with the true Lords of the Island, the great bull sea elephants who were, it seemed, determined to keep her away from her target plants. We (the Group) are wondering how we can wangle a field trip to Campbell Island. ;D
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Hi Folks,
Just a quick post of some Australian natives flowering where I was working yesterday.
Telopea truncata - The Tasmanian waratah in bud
Telopea hybrid - I think its a hybrid between T. speciosissima and T. oreades but I'm no expert.
Banksia marginata - Virtually our only native banksia here, except for one population of B. serrata in the north.
Cheers, Marcus
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Hi Folks,
Thanks for the heads up on orchid growing Stephen. It would be great if you followed up with answers to Paul's excellent questions. I will be reading them for sure ;D.
Just a few more pics for today:
3 forms of Fritillaria meleagris.
Bellevalia pycnantha - I LOVE this plant! (so do the slugs)
Cheers, Marcus
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This morning I wasn't the only one to enjoy this seedling Peony!
And I'm afraid that there's been some "vulgarising" of the Aquilegia fragrans - nevermind, it's still alovely thing.
cheers
fermi
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Really like those Telopea 8)
Angie :)
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Hi Paul and Marcus.... About the dact seed raising mix.. It's a mix that I make for raising seedlings in general. 1 part fine quarts sand ,4 parts bark fines, 1/2 parts coco peat and a little perlite and pasturize. the bark fines are like the ones found in general potting mix for indoor plants and not cymbidium orchid mixes which are too big.. Terrestrial orchids like general gritty mixed with a little coco fibre.
The seed is sown straight away in spring when it arrives from os and the first " grass" like leaves appear late September a year later after a cold winter. I place my pots in the shade and keep cool with a few hours of morning sun and fert at 1/4 strength a few times. I've seen these pots dry out and no harm was done, they are tough little things and their roots hold plenty of reserves.
Hope this helps
Cheers
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These few are in flower (or good colour) now, everything struggling against almost constant rain and frequent high winds. I don't think I've ever known an October like this one. Usually it's a beautiful month in the south.
Two pics of one of my most favourite things, Rubus x Tridel 'Benendon.'
Cytisus x Kewensis, a weeping shrublet but for now potted and sprawling over others in a tray. The white is Ranunculus amplexicaulis
Hosta 'Kabitan,' a real dwarf of brilliant colour and a recent gift from a friend when I mentioned I lost mine a few years back.
And a cut-leaved elder which I have as Sambucus racemosa aurea, from a stall at the market.
Daphne 'Persabee,' one of two bought at the last NZAGS Study Weekend. I hope the coming event yields as good plants.
Everything here is in pots and trays, awaiting a major move in February 2013.
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Two pics of one of my most favourite things, Rubus x Tridel 'Benendon.'
One of my favorites too, but tried it many years ago. Planted two times and lost it as many times. Though near the coast but probably too cold here ?
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That's a shame Luit as it is a real beauty and so well behaved considering it's a blackberry. :D But for unknown reasons I'm now finding it very hard to propagate. For years (I had it first in 1981) I did many cuttings each year, mostly of soft wood after flowering and had every one root. For the last 3 years, I've lost every cutting I've taken, at the same time and later ones when the wood has ripened a little, say early autumn. Why is this? It's important now too as I want a lot of little plants - or at least one - to move in February. I'm continually asked for it but can oblige recently.
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Lesley,
Have you tried layering it? Knicking the stem underside and pegging down and covering it (you can even put a bit of hormone onto the knick if you want) may get you a piece or two in time?
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No I haven't tried that Paul. It would be worth a go, but I can't understand why it was so easy and now it is so difficult.
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There is an article in the March 2011 edition of The Plantsman "Plant ageing and its effect on stem cuttings", which says in general terms that the ability of a woody plant to produce roots from it's stems declines with the chronological/physiological age of the cultivar (each generation of cuttings shares the age of their ultimate parent). If the cuttings taken include the basal swelling at the bottom of a shoot they will have greater vigour than those taken from the upper part of a shoot, and therefore a greater chance of success.
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That is a wonderful plant of Daphne Lesley. I have a form of this on my sand bed which grows well but just won't flower, and I think many people find they flower better when grafted or grown in tufa. I have found the same with D. arbuscula which is now probably 2ft across in a gritty bed but only flowers sparsely, and yet plants in pots in a greenhouse have flowered really well in the past. Plants can test your patience!
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One of my favorites too, but tried it many years ago. Planted two times and lost it as many times. Though near the coast but probably too cold here ?
Should be hardy at your place, as Phillips & Rix report it hardy down to -20C. I grew it for several years but had to move it and it died of neglect :-[
According to P & R the name is 'Tridel Benenden' from Benenden in Kent.
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and it died of neglect :-[
Thanks for the information. Don't remember exactly because too many years ago. Thought it was hardy enough, so thinking of "just a bramble"
I am afraid that I have lost it by neglect?
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There is an article in the March 2011 edition of The Plantsman "Plant ageing and its effect on stem cuttings", which says in general terms that the ability of a woody plant to produce roots from it's stems declines with the chronological/physiological age of the cultivar
as long as long as it's the age of the plant we're talking about and not the cultivator! ;D - that's usually supposed to help the success rate!
cheers
fermi
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A few new things in the Aussie native section of the garden
Eremophila densifolia, a nice matting plant with deep coloured foliage
Ajuga australis - nicely felted
Pelargonium "Malle Magic" (actually this one is in a pot)
Lachie with Leschenaultia biloba and Senna artemisioides
cheers
fermi
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Scottish pronunciation of Lachie or Antipodean?
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Scottish pronunciation of Lachie or Antipodean?
I think it should be Lackie (as in "Lachie Jnr" on 'Hamish Mcbeth') but unfortunately he was brought up on the antipodean/Irish pronunciation (Lochie)! Doesn't matter - he doesn't respond to either when he doesn't want to!
cheers
fermi
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Doesn't matter - he doesn't respond to either when he doesn't want to!
cheers
fermi
;D ;D ;D The 'a' is pronounced as in 'hat' in Scotland.
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Fermi,
Great to see Lachie again. And I love that Pelargonium Mallee Magic. Very, very nice. I seem to recall commenting that when seeing it in person at your place a couple of years ago? Beautiful little thing.
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I would have thought Lockie (or somewhere between both spellings, but with that German throaty sound, as in J S Bach (not Bark).
I remember years ago when my nursery was in the grounds of a rhododendron nursery near Geraldine in South Canterbury that the proprietor of that, said cuttings were always best from young as possible plants and he outraged many of his customers by supplying plants which had been denuded of new, cutting-type growth. It never occurred to me that the principle may apply to many or all woody plants.
My two little Daphnes are flowering equally well, the other in a Hokonui trough but will have to be moved out with everything else to relocate unless I can get a lorry with a hi-ab or whatever it's called, to lift the troughs from their present well-stuck-in positions. Not sure that I'll be able to afford that though. The potted one was in my tunnel for best part of a year and the tunnel now being heavily shaded by grown gums and pines has become very dark. The daphne made 30-something new growths but they were rather etoliated and soft so I trimmed off all but two and made them into cuttings. Gradually all died except one which still continues slowly. So the trough plant is bigger not having had a year's growth trimmed off but both are flowering really well. D. arbuscula, also in a trough has flowered superbly as always. I find it easy from cuttings provided they have bottom heat for a couple of months. That's something I haven't had here but will arrange for, when we move.
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Yesterday afternoon at the Botanic Gardens I had the great pleasure of meeting the Crowden sisters Amarlie and Lesley, as they holiday in New Zealand. I was so impressed with them, especially their zest for life and for their enjoyment of everything they do or experience.
They left with me, a book about Kaydale Lodge, their home and garden and its development from their father's original purchase of a farm to the present day, almost 50 years, and fully illustrated to show the progress over that time. The garden pictures are very exciting and whatever we in New Zealand feel we can do with fritillarias and trilliums in particular, is minor in comparison. The sisters have built rock walls, laid out well designed gardens for all kinds of choice plants and even the stone paths are their own work. Over 160 tonnes of rock were brought in from the farm to turn a sloping paddock into a rockery, plans drawn up by the girls ("It looked smaller on graph paper" said their father, Robert).
The garden now includes homestay, restaurant and gift shop, all run by the family. In their early 30s, these sisters have an exciting future ahead and I am stunned by their knowledge and experience and skills in such young women. I hope when they return to north west Tasmania in a few weeks that they will post more pictures here to give an idea of the extent of their projects and how wonderfully well they grow their plants. I'll certainly be planning a trip to their part of the world as soon as possible.
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Sounds like a must-see garden in NW Tasmania.
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Sounds like a must-see garden in NW Tasmania.
I think that's true!
I think Lesley's photos of the garden must have got lost when the first forum was lost.
Whet your appetite: http://www.kaydalelodge.com.au/TheGarden.html (http://www.kaydalelodge.com.au/TheGarden.html)
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This has to be the worst-ever October we've had, usually a lovely month. Typing away I heard a strong noise like stones falling on an iron roof. It's hail crashing into the window!
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Ever since we arrived in New Zealand we have had the 'worst.............' as far as weather in concerned.
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There you go Lesley. It's Anthony's fault for the aweful weather. ;D
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We must hope it improves then. My un-gardening operations are being disrupted considerably.
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Lesley,
Now don't you go bumping Anthony off, just so that you get some better weather. :o That wouldn't be neighbourly. ;D
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I'm not really into bumping people off Paul, either literally or verbally.
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Apologies for my attempt at humour, Lesley. :-[
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Hey Paul, we need more laughs. ;D
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Hi Folks,
Thanks Stephen for your suggestions regarding orchid raising mix, etc.
Lesley, who imported the Daphne petraea forms into NZ in the first place? I have lost my one and only one :'( and my one and only D. jasminea :'(. Read the signs too late - desperately tried to graft and root cuttings but the b ... ers were already on the way out. On the upside I do now have 3 plants of D. blagyana from layerings ;D.
A bit of a ragbag to post:
Paeonia peregrina - I've seen this in northern Greece. Big tomato sauce red for me but I like the celery-like leaves
Calochortus albus - easy here as is rubellus and I have just flowered C. amoenus which is a star!
Ornithogalum ? - Found in the middle of the Peleponnese just east of Tripolis. I like it but does anyone have a name?
Cheers, Marcus
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Hello again,
I saw that Lesley was complaining about her horrible October. We have had very cool and clammy conditions throughout this month and botrytis is starting to rear its ugly head. Seen here in the first picture of Tulipa vvedenskyi/crosses. Little pitted marks on the leaves and flowers.
The next is a good old stalwart that never bats an eye at the dreaded bot. Only wish it was a little bit more spectacular - Tulipa urumiensis.
One more straggling corydalis - Corydalis allenii. All the leaves on C. solida ssp transsylvanica eaten off by rabbits!!
Cheers, Marcus
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Marcus,
you might need to move to a drier climate ;D - nice place up the street for sale!
I'm thrilled to see this little "grass" burst into bloom! Of course, it is Aphyllanthes monspeliensis, but when out of bloom could be mistalen for blue fescue!
cheers
fermi
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Marcus,
I like the Tulip..... I think I'd be happy with that little burst of sunshine in my garden in spring, particularly if it was cold and clammy. ;D Definitely not the case here at the moment.... wild and windy, with 27'C and things wilting in the garden from the warmth and the wind stripping moisture out of everything. Horticultural Society Show this weekend, so this will wreck a lot of potential entries in gardens around Canberra. :'(
Fermi,
I love that Aphyllanthes monspeliensis? I love the flower and such a good colour. Is it something you grew from seed, or is it available somewhere? I'm guessing that looks are deceptive and that it isn't a bulb or as grassy as it looks at first glance. Are the green bits actually stems, because they look like they've got the potential for flowers at the end of each stem? How big are the flowers?
Thanks for the excellent pics folks.
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Glad to see you have the Aphyllanthes Fermi. It's rare, here at any rate. So far as I know it belongs to Liliaceae Paul and comes from Spain and thereabouts znd the flower is perhaps 1.5 to 2cms across. An English guest speaker showed a poor wild picture of it here some years ago, saying "here's a very rare plant you will never have seen before." A member of the audience stood and said she and her sister-in-law had bought plants of it that very morning from me. ;D
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An interesting intergeneric hybrid flowering for me at the moment, Celmisia's starting to flower also.
A first flower on my Ranunculus lyallii from seed - not the best bloom, but I'm stoked to have it!
My multi talented wife cleaning up our new driveway.
The new planting, watch this space.........
Anaphaloides bellidioides × Helichrysum lanceolatum.1.JPG
Anaphaloides bellidioides × Helichrysum lanceolatum.2.JPG
Celmisia hectori.JPG
Celmisia hieracifolia.JPG
pittosporum divaricatum.JPG
Ranunculus lyallii.JPG
DSC_4654.JPG
DSC_4655.JPG
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Lots happening there, Doug - plant wise and in hard landscaping too. Good to see how you are getting on. Congratulations, by the way, to your Lady Wife for her sterling efforts in the project! ;)
P.S. I've added the photo file names to your post to allow the search facility to find the pix.
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Here's a couple of things in flower at present.
Geissorhiza monanthos has a wonderful satiny sheen to the flowers.
Camellia 'Dahlonega' is flowering for me for the first time now. I don't think it is quite as yellow as in the pic, but it is definitely the yellowest formal double I've seen. It is gorgeous.
Please click on the pic for a larger version.
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Maggi, that was a really nice idea to use photos of various Forumists in the latest IRG issue. I feel greatly honoured that a few of mine are used and yes, you certainly have permission to use anything you want. :)
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Got to love Celmisia. :)
Celmisia allanii, C. dallii, C. X hybrid, and C. bellidioides.
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A few more NZ natives Ranunculus insignis, R. ensyii, R. multiscapus.
Leucogenes leontopodium.
The last shot is my first ever buds on Meconopsis horridula, I can't wait.....
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Excellent pic's, Doug ... especially the buttercups, of course!!!
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Here's a couple of things in flower at present.
Geissorhiza monanthos has a wonderful satiny sheen to the flowers.
Camellia 'Dahlonega' is flowering for me for the first time now. I don't think it is quite as yellow as in the pic, but it is definitely the yellowest formal double I've seen. It is gorgeous.
Please click on the pic for a larger version.
Paul,
Your Camellia is just lovely!! Thank you for posting.
Koko
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You're most welcome. 8)
Great pics, Doug.
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Doug, if I once get a chance to travel to NZ, to visit in particular the south island mountains, you will have to be there to let me visit your garden too :o !
Super pics of your flowering plants.
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Philippe, just a quick note rather than go back and find the Rheum thread. You asked about my nobile plants. Of the original 12 (actually there were 13, one a small and I thought infertile seed, but it did germinate, a little scrunched-up sdlg) just one remains. I've kept them moist but well drained through the winter and all came through to start with but they have gradually died away. The one has produced a second leaf though and the whole plant is a whopping .5 of a cm in diameter now. I have a second batch of seed, from a different source though perhaps ultimately from the same, and that is sown but not yet germinated.
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On Sunday about a dozen members of Otago Alpine Garden Group visited some gardens on the Otago Peninsula. We had a perfect, deep blue sky day, bright sun and no wind with the temp around 21C. I took few pictures as my camera is still in its "blue" period and I won't after today, post any more until I have replaced it.
First we went to Glenfalloch, a woodland garden with nice bush walks and the rhodos were good but the plantings now are very old and undistinguished. It's a place where people have their weddings and parties and seems to concentrate on pottery, giftware, souvenirs and catering rather more than the garden itself nowadays.
Then to a private garden whose owner negotiates her steep slopes very well, albeit with a stick. Most Peninsula gardens are steep at least in part and we were lucky rain had not made the grassy slopes slippery. In her garden these few were taken.
Agave americana after blooming. It seemed not to have seed but small, nut-like plantlets. We were invited to pocket them from the ground and presumably they'll grow on.
A Banksia species which an Australian member will identify for me, followed by it's opening seed cone
And the Agave and Beschorceria yuccoides from the top side, with a view through to a wonderfully blue and calm Otago Harbour. Many gardens on the Peninsula have a lush, almost tropical flavour (or perhaps Mediterranean is a better word) the whole area a series of microclimates so that plants can be grown there that can't, further back into the city.
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What a pleasing thought the idea of sunny garden visits conjures up :)
That Agave flower stem looks like a fabulous outdoor candelabra 8) Dare I mention, as we are still in October, that it might look rather fetching with some tinsel for Christmas? ;) ;D
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From there we went up to the top of the Peninsula to Larnach Castle, the folie de grandeurof William Larnach, an early Dunedin Member of Parliament. His family and its history are of great interest, among other things, his son having had an affair with his stepmother, William's second, younger wife. Larnach eventually shot himself in the chamber of the House of Representatives. (I think I have my details right here. I'll no doubt be corrected, if not.)
The castle was abandoned for a long time and virtually derelict until rescued by the present chatilaine, Margaret Barker, a plantswoman extraordinaire (sorry for plunging into the French), whose vision for the project and commitment to that vision, have re-created the original castle and gardens to an extremely high standard. In fact, I imagine the gardens now are much finer than originally and the castle has been restored using much original material, gathered from many different sources.
Margaret (a member of OAGG) took us round and then we lunched in the restaurant, previously the ballroom and in fact this is cleared out a few times during the year and balls are still held there, complete with pipes, piping in and addressing of the haggis and the whole Scottish shebang, true to Larnach's and Dunedin's origins.
There is a very good rock garden which I didn't take pictures of but will remember for the future, a lovely combination of Erysimum 'Orange Flame,' not the easiest plant to place, yellow Lewisias which tend toward apricot as they age and Aurinia saxatile 'Dudley Neville.' I saw some plants too that had come from my own small nursery, always a nice feeling.
While known perhaps primarily as a rhodo garden, Margaret has replaced some of these below the lookout with a series of Nikau palms and with just those few plants, transformed cool rainforest to lush tropical forest reminiscent of Hawaii or New Caledonia. It fits incredibly well with the harbour setting.
Gordonia yunnanensis, tender but artfully placed where it is sheltered by larger trees. This glossy-leaved species has beautiful light bronze new growth.
Rhododentron chamaethompsonii (?) in gravel and full sun (right on top of the Peninsula, Larnach Garden gets a lot of sea mist).
Larnach Castle, a side view with the ballroom
The laburnum walk with colchicums, reflecting pool at the end and a sculpture. The (very pale hill across the harbour is Saddle Hill, and I live just on the other side of it. Roger laid the lawn here, when we had a "Readylawn" franchise years ago.)
"More rocks for the walls please." The photographer is our Treasurer, also Pres of the local Photographic Soc.
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Two forms of Cantua buxifolia, the white which is creamy and apricot at the base and the "usual" form, bright cerise with orangey colour at the base. Both are lovely things but rather untidy.
A group of Pseudopanax crassifolium, a native tree whose downward, sword-like leaves change to a rounded ball with age. The trunks are very attractive and a group is a very nice feature in a garden, taking little room but adding much interest.
From the Lookout, a view down to the harbour entrance, Aramoana on the left where a ghastly massacre took place in November 1990, a mentally ill man shooting 13 people including several children and himself being shot and killed by police. On the right of the entrance is the Royal Albatross Colony, the only populated place in the world where these magnificent birds nest.
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The old stables
A stained glass cupola, an original feature rescued from somewhere and installed on the lawn
Underneath the cupola
Larnach Castle
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To smaller, private gardens and I took very few pix but wondered about the name of theis super rhodo, because I have a daughter called Susan and have been meaning to buy Rh. 'Susan.' Is this it? (allowing for the fact my camera is overlaying everything with a blue tinge).
The climing rata, Metrosideros carmineus. This was quite a small plant. I've had it climb on a concrete water tank to about 2 metres and never had a single flower. Probably too cold where I was.
I didn't join the others at the last garden. My poor arthritic knees had had enough and it was getting late anyway. A great day altogether, with lovely weather and good company.
Cyclamen repandum in my friend Rosemary's garden. Why can't I grow it while she has it blooming freely and seeding in a stream down her rock garden, many flowers appearing among the other plants?
And finally from our tour, because it's been discussed recently in another thread, also at Rosemary's and Laurie's garden, Geranium maderense, in bud and flower.
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Finally, 3 from home. Can anyone name this Babiana for me please? From the garden of the late Gwen Bell of Nelson.
Two recent purchases, Primula muscarioides and P. gemmifera zambalensis. This last is apparently white then you notice it has a very subtly wash of lilac especially round the edges. It is quite lovely, about 15cms high.
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I'm beginning to think Geranium maderense has more in common with a bus than just it's large size.... seems that we've been waiting for ages to see one then all of a sudden they are everywhere! ;)
I see what you mean about your camera giving some things a very blue cast, Lesley, but we can still enjoy the pix. I think the rhodo is perhaps 'Blue Peter' rather than 'Susan'. The colour is pretty similar between the two but 'Susan' has a lightly spotted throat rather than the heavy purple blotch that is characteristic of 'Blue Peter', and which we can see in your photo.
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Excellent pics, Lesley. Oh to have the space for that sort of scale (that wonderful laburnum walk!! :o).
Would your Babiana be Babiana villosa, or a hybrid thereof?
Thanks for showing us.
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Thanks for the Rhodo ID Maggi. I thought 'Blue Peter' was smaller. This was about 6-8 ft tall, hard to be sure as it was on a bank above where we stood, but I'm happy to go along.
I've no idea Paul re the Babiana. It was a gift whose donor had no idea either. I'll Google and see. PBS probably.
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Lesley,
Here is a link to a closeup of 'Susan'..... http://www.rhododendrons.co.uk/Product/16485/rhododendron-susan-agm.aspx (http://www.rhododendrons.co.uk/Product/16485/rhododendron-susan-agm.aspx)
And here is the 'Blue Peter' that Maggi suggested, from the same site..... http://www.rhododendrons.co.uk/Product/16286/rhododendron-blue-peter-agm.aspx (http://www.rhododendrons.co.uk/Product/16286/rhododendron-blue-peter-agm.aspx)
As Maggi says, 'Susan' does not have the dark blotch like your pic does.
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I see weevil damage to some leaves and Blue Peter is a weevil magnet.
johnw
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Thanks for the links Paul. It seems Maggi is right - not that I would ever doubt her. ;D Even if BP is a weevil magnet, I'd really like it, as well as 'Susan.' All my (few) blues are very small growing, such as impeditum, 'Blue Cushion,' thymifolia etc. It was blue Paul, but perhaps just not QUITE as blue as that. But none is REALLY blue anyway. We saw stunning plants of different forms of augustinii at Larnach Castle.
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I miss Blue Peter. :'(
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I miss Blue Peter. :'(
Don't fret, Anthony, it's nothing like as good as it was in the "old days" - so bad, in fact, I gave up watching years ago. Their use of sticky-backed plastic had all but stopped....... :P
(Note to puzzled readers: "Blue Peter" is the name of a UK childrens' TV programme which used to be famous for the models they made, the adventurous exploits of the presenters, and an imaginative the yearly charity campaign. ) :D
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And there was I about to tell him it should be easy enough to find and buy a plant. :D
I've yet to try it out but yesterday I went into a camera shop in town and with tears in my eyes, asked if they could fix the blue cast my camera was doing. I fully expected to be told I needed a new camera. The young man fiddled for about 10 seconds then said I just had the white balance on manual instead of auto and it would be fine now. Thanked him and departed. So I'm very pleased.
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I thought it would have disappeared without a trace long ago. ;)