January 2010 in the Southern Hemisphere

[Stephen Vella]

Paul and Diane this is a mounatian climate and yes very differant from living on a mountain by the sea.

Diane interesting you say that your west coast natives dont freeze, explains why T chloropetalum and albidium show a lot of leaf damage here when emerging but they do wait and make a dash of growth at the last minute. They do perform better with some cover by evergreen trees.

Paul I cant say Ive dug into the ground in these shaded cold areas as I never plant anything at this time of year just bad practice and hate having cold hands.

Im also in a sink and you can feel the cold air coming down at night. Parts of the exposed garden can be frosted at night for 5 months. Its amazing to see what does brush off the cold/frost, perking back up in the sunshine.

Just to note that a compost of fresh leaf litter would blanket the ground and stop any freezing happening beneath it. Natures way of preventing deep freezes especially in deciduous woodlands. If the same ground was exposed it would freeze up. Same with pots in this location, i tend to cover these with leaf litter as it doesnt freeze them so much.

[galahad]

The dark pink (wind bashed) Tigridia

[Paul T]

Wow,

Cracker of a pink!! 

Stephen,

The sink effect can make such a big difference.  We're on a bit of a slope, and it helps immensely.  I know down lower than us get much worse frost, and I'm only talking a block or two away (well equivalent thereof anyway).  You mustn't get the day temps that we do here.  What altitude are you, just out of interest?  I have no idea at all for the blue mountains.

[Sinchets]

simon, you are recalling the lovely alpine house ( as WAS    ) in the Victoria Park.... now a sad ghost of things past. 

I am sorry to hear that- it did seem to be relict of more pleasant times, when these things were appreciated rather than vandalised.

[cohan]

rogan, sounds like a great project--any pictures of the property?
stephen v--interesting to know there is such a chilly climate there..

[Lesley Cox]

That slope effect Paul, is called catabatic drift. It's a term I use whenever possible, to give the impression I know what I'm talking about and am possibly quite erudite, even though people know I'm nothing of the sort. We have it here too, I'm pleased to say. Basically it means the slope always has moving air which keeps the temperature a good bit higher than in the places (Stephen's sink) where it is trapped and lies still.

Stephen, how do your own garden temperatures at Blackheath in winter compare with say, Mt Tomah or Mt Wilson/Irvine?

[Diane Whitehead]

What I'd like to know, Stephen, is what the Blue Mountains
are like in midsummer.  Masses of wildflowers?  Moderate
temperatures?  Sunshine?

A worthwhile place to visit for someone who considers 28 hot, and
who would spend her days in a walk-in refrigerator if the
outside temp reached 32?

[Tecophilaea King]

Another interesting, fascinating bulb is the South African Cybistetes longifolia, now known as Ammocharis longifolia.
The inflorescence of the first plant pictured is an umbel of of trumpet-shaped, sweetly fragrant flowers and on opening they are cream-coloured but shade to deep pink as they mature, while the the second ivory coloured species pictured remains the same colour.
Flowers are normally born from December to April and produce a strong and pleasant frangipani-like scent.
The grey-green, strap-shaped leaves, which have a cut off appearance at the tips appear from May and die back from October when the plants normally come into flower. 
The plants are deciduous and grow in winter, and occurs exclusively in the winter rainfall ares of the Cape.
The rootstock is a very large, thickly tunicated bulb, often with a long neck.
They prefer a well drained sandy soil with the bulb neck planted at soil surface, with dry summers.
Ammocharis longifolia.

[angie]

WOW, love the second one
Angie

[Tecophilaea King]

Things seem to to be a bit quiet at the moment, everyone must be busy, or running out of plants and flowers to show this time of the season.  
Lycoris are splendid late summer, autumn-flowering bulbs when their requirements are met.
The large number of species and hybrids make excellent garden subjects and provide a good supply of cut flowers.
They also perform well when grown in containers, they resemble Nerines with heads of 5-10 flowers carried on strong stems.
Flower colour ranges through shades of yellow, cream, pink, violet, blue and red.
They are dormant in summer, flower in autumn, and then grow in autumn, winter and spring.
The first two species to flower are the Lycoris aurea and Lycoris chinensis.
Lycoris aurea, the golden spider lily, originates from limestone areas from China, and can often be a difficult species to get into flower.
As with all Lycoris, it requires a hot dry resting period during summer to promote flowering.
Lycoris chinensis known as the Golden Surprise Lily has medium yellow to golden-orange spidery flowers with curved and ruffled petal edges.
Come on guys in the Southern Hemisphere, you must have something in flower in your garden or the wild at the moment??

[Tecophilaea King]

This excellent Crinum × powellii 'Album' flowering at the moment is a selection of Crinum × powellii (C. bulbispermum × C. moorei)
Depending upon the parent plants various colors have been produced ranging from pure white through various shades of pink Up to 15 trumpet shaped, fragrant white flowers often flower twice during the summer months.

[ranunculus]

Absolutely stunning bloom, Bill ... many thanks for posting.

[Stephen Vella]

Paul im at 1016m. Yes it does get warm during the summer but there is allways relief with a cool night to 13-16c. If it ever blows east or south off the ocean it will be a cool and wet day.

Lesley Blackheath known by the locals as bleakheath is colder and a little drier with more sunshine than Mt Wilson, Irvine and Tomah. Mt Wilson, Irvine and Tomah at 900m on basalt soil recieve hardly no frost and less snow and for some reason attract more rain maybe because its exposed more to the moist easterly winds. Theses 3 mountain tops all have cool temperate rainforets, they just seem to attract the clouds.I can be at work at Tomah and be in mist (in the clouds) and it will be sunny in Blackheath which is 30 min away as the crow flys south

Diane the Blue Mountains are very much worth a visit. Best to come in late spring October, November when most of the wildflowers are out and the gardens are at their best. Summer especially in Jan/Feb can be so hot, lots of sunshine,can be very harsh that everything seems to be in a dormant state but since we are having a wet summer everything is sooo green and taking advantage of this extra moisture.
 Its also amazing in autumn, on a good day where the sky is sooo blue I dont think you will ever see it bluer anywhere else and the sunlight is just gentle. Temps can be to your liking..best in April.

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks Stephen. We're attracting clouds at the moment too, but they are an abberation for this time of year and I wish they'd go away now, even though the summer rain has been very welcome. Some summer sun would be welcome too.

That's why there's nothing much here Bill, worth taking pictures of. The whole place is miserable and dank. Your Crinums are lovely though.

[fermi de Sousa]

Come on guys in the Southern Hemisphere, you must have something in flower in your garden or the wild at the moment??

You're way ahead of us with Lycoris, Bill! Ours won't start for another 2 months!
Summer flowers here include the "evening primroses" - one of my favourites is Oenothera acaulis with its sparkling white discs,


And O. missouriensis has even larger blooms in yellow which fade to orange by late morning


I've already posted pics of Zephyranthes flavissima to the "Amaryllid"Thread,


cheers
fermi