October 2025 in the Southern Hemisphere

[fermi de Sousa]

It's mid-spring and here's something splendid to start this month's thread:
Geissorhiza splendidissima
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

More flowers now:
1) Moraea bipartita
2 & 3) One of the 2 species of Petunia we grow - Petunia exerta
4) Moraea villosa
5) Scilla vincentina
cheers
fermi

[Maggi Young]

It's mid-spring and here's something splendid to start this month's thread:
Geissorhiza splendidissima
cheers
fermi

What a fab colour! I love it!

[fermi de Sousa]

What a fab colour! I love it!

Hi Maggi,
Yes, it certainly lives up to its name.
This is the first of the "Themids" in our garden,  Dichelostemma capitatum, syn Dipterostemon capitatus.
I'm still amazed that Robert finds these flower relatively early compared to here where most of the daffodils have already finished,
cheers
fermi

[Robert]

Hi Fermi,

Dipterostemon capitatus ssp. capitatus is found from Northern Mexico to Oregon. With this sort of range, in a diverse set of habitats, one can expect a good degree of genetic variability within the species. Even within El Dorado County, California and neighboring Sacramento County (where we are located) blooming time can vary, February at the lower elevations to June at the high elevation limit of the species. So, depending on where your accession came from most likely is governing its bloom time.

I am back farming full time these days, however things are getting well organized again. Hopefully there will be time for me to visit a population of Dipterostemon capitatus ssp. capitatus near its high elevation limit in El Dorado County. These will certainly bloom later in the season, even in our Sacramento garden, if the pattern with other Themidaceae species is followed. I am also aware of an extremely high elevation population of Brodiaea elegans ssp. elegans. This site is high in my list of priorities to visit. I finally had a major breeding breakthrough with some of our native Viola species. If everything goes well, I will show a progress report this spring starting with Viola sheltonii.

[fermi de Sousa]

Hi Robert,
Looking forward to more of your posts about these projects.
Here is a recent purchase - a few months ago a past member was "downsizing" and gave us a lot of her potted cyclamen which were sold to members at very reasonable prices.
We picked up this unlabelled pot which appears to be full of Cyclamen balearicum!
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

Serapias neglecta has opened another flower,
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

DBI Wanganui Gem, raised in NZ by Jean Stevens
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

A week or so ago we visited our friend Cathy in Macedon - only 45 minutes away but a completely different climate!
A few things from her garden:
1) A moraea, possibly Moraea loubseri
2) Another one, possibly Moraea neopavonia
3) Moraea marlothii
4) Gladiolus lilicaceus
5) Epimedium 'Amber Queen'
cheers
fermi

[fermi de Sousa]

1) Gagea graeca
2) Moraea setifolia - which can become weedy for us.
3 & 4) Hesperantha bachmannii
5) Allium cowanii
cheers
fermi