April departed, leaving us reeling with a meagre 16mm of
rain (down two thirds) after a hot summer, dry in the latter half. And now - glorious rain.
Despite the dry start to the season, some autumn bulbs are growing well: Cyclamen hederifolium (above)and some crocus (top);
while the nerines (pink, red, white (N.
flexuosa alba, below)) still have that magic touch - from Mum's green
thumb. Nerines have never flowered well here, despite a sunny spot and letting
the bulbs crowd together near the surface - but the ones rescued from her
garden (we left most behind for the new owners) are still, after 2 years,
somehow, doing much better than ones I've grown for a decade or two. I'm not
sure how this is happening, but I'm sure as heck not complaining.
What seems unique this year is the prodigious production
of fat, round seeds on the belladonna lilies (Amaryllis belladonna) and blood lily (Haemanthus coccineus, last pic), both in the Amaryllidaceae family. Has
anyone noticed that deep pink belladonna lilies produce deep pink seeds, darker
than usual?
And yesterday the Mexican tree dahlia flowers started to
peep out.
As we Game of
Thrones tragics like to say: `Winter is Coming'.
Jill Weatherhead is
horticulturist, writer, garden designer and principal at Jill Weatherhead Garden Design
who lives in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, and works throughout Victoria.
(www.jillweatherheaddesign.com.au)
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