December 2014 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

A couple of Americans in the Rock garden:
Brodiaea californica
Aster spathulatus

and one in a seedpot- Gilia capitata from seed from NZAGS
cheers
fermi

[Jupiter]

Thank you Otto for your kind words and encouragement.I appreciate it more than you know. I have been meaning to call you as I have some questions I'd like to talk with you about, but we've had a run of sick kids, sick mums, sleepless nights, dramas and even a minor car accident just to top it off, as if everything else wasn't enough! So if I seem a little bit doom and gloom it's nothing but a temporary symptom of a run of bad luck.

Here's an incredibly rare Apiaceae of exquisite grace and beauty. Can anyone ID it?   

[Maggi Young]

Selinum wallichianum 

[Matt T]

Have you been sowing from the spice cupboard? Is it caraway, Carum carvi?

[Robert]

A couple of Americans in the Rock garden:
Brodiaea californica
Aster spathulatus

and one in a seedpot- Gilia capitata from seed from NZAGS
cheers
fermi

Fermi,

Nice to see our California Natives doing so well. I hope that the Gilia reseeds itself in your garden. They are nice to have around and look good reseeding with Eschscholzia and annual Lupinus, as they do in their natural habitat.

Cheers

[Jupiter]

Parsley!   

[Maggi Young]

Parsley!   

      Well I admit that   Petroselinum crispum sounds much fancier - but there's no denying how pretty the parsley  flowers are!

[Jupiter]

I often wonder whether Petroselinum crispum is a misnomer. I think it ought to be Petroselinum sativum var. crispum, makes sense no? I mean, the one I grow is the "Italian" flat leaf variety and there's nothing crisp about it. I prefer to call it P. sativum.

Matt, spices are a side passion of mine and I've grown many things from the spice cupboard. Caraway, anise, cumin, fenugreek etc. Spices are endlessly fascinating, these products of plants, seeds and bark and fruit and roots and flowers. Most people still have no idea where they come from and what goes into producing them, let alone the incredible history of their trade.

[Maggi Young]

 The venerable history of the use and trade  in herbs and spices  is a fascinating one and has had much more impact on world events than many might suppose - a good subject for winter study if one were needed!

 I've seen Italian flat leaved parsley  given as P. crispum var. neapolitanum 
 
There seems to be quite a lot of indecision on  parsley names- just the same as so many other plants!

   http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Petroselinum.html

[Otto Fauser]

Good morning Jamus  , I hope you have a more enjoyable this coming week and all your loved ones have recovered from their sickbeds .

  re Parsley : the flat leaved one is much more popular and available in Italy and Germany . It is also more pronounced in flavour , it is the one I use .
 
   Have you tried a few seeds of Caraway in Sauerkraut ? Good for the digestion .

[Jupiter]

Hi Otto, I've had caraway seeds with cabbage but I confess I've never tried sauerkraut. Is that shameful? I grew up eating fresh food and haven't really explored the world of pickles and preserves.I like gherkins with dill. I love caraway in that really crusty sourdough rye bread which the Germans make. We use a lot of spices in our cooking; heavily influenced by the Indian, Malaysian, Thai traditions of cookery as most Australian's are these days.

[Jupiter]

My Arisaema fargesii is up and growing at a huge rate. The shoot is so interesting I had to take a photo to share with you all. There's something almost animal about these plants...

[Jupiter]

Limonium bellidifolium in the rock garden this morning.

[Matt T]

What a lovely little plant. Would look great in a trough too. Where did you get it, Jamus? Is it from seed?

Sources suggest that the inflorescence of L. bellidifolium has many branches without flowers. How certain is the DI from your source, or is yours a particularly floriferous form? Notwithstanding, it's a very attractive plant.

[Jupiter]

Hi Matt, it's not uncommon here in Australia at all and in fact has even escaped as a weed of roadsides and coastal areas in some places. Very hardy and very adaptable. I'm not at all certain of the ID. I don't have a positive ID for it, bellidifolium is the closest I could find but I have my doubts too. Even Otto called it Limonium sp? .

I'm happy to send you seed. Seed should be ripe in a month or so. I'll make myself a reminder so I don't forget.