Jack's Frost

17 Aug '07 10:47 pm

Thanks

I must admit that what I most likely love the most about my garden is that it is so VERY seasonal. In the lushness of summer one can't believe the sparseness of winter, and in the neutrals of winter you can't imagine the vivid autumn colours...

And right now I find it difficult to believe that half my plants will ever show signs of life again... which after the cold winter is not impossible Crying or Very sad

18 Aug '07 1:35 am

Your reply to Mark, reminds me of my frustration and my pessimism about "how brown looks my garden", just before , or about visiting for the first time the Arboretum of Kalmthout , here in Anvers , by the end of last February, meaning by the end of Winter....The colourful Hamamelis and other delights there , completely changed .....my Winter blues...

18 Aug '07 6:53 am

We went looking for spring to photograph this afternoon, and found quite a bit - although it tended to be close-up work. And when you stop to investigate a bit of aging orange peel on the driveway, you realise that colour really is limited!

18 Aug '07 8:46 am

I again am getting excited about the many subtle variations on a theme that one finds in Japanese Quinces. Often they are the orangy red of a tasteless tomato, but there are pinkish shades, and some lovely reds. Some are more floriferous, some flowers have spaced petals and open flat whereas others are cup-shaped. I must propogate from my best seed-raised plants and also sow their seed...

19 Aug '07 1:55 am

Aren't succulents show off? Let the cold kill off one flower stalk. Come the first 'warm' spell they'll just throw up another. They're so self-sufficient you just have to admire them.

Looks like quite a project you have going with the flowering quince. I've never seen such a bright, clear red flowering one before. Nicely done. I've never gotten into deliberately concocting my own cultivars from seed. I've tried cultivating "patience" but I just don't seem to have time for it.

19 Aug '07 2:19 am

Jack, you have such a variety of winter blooming plants. Of course, I suppose spring is fast approaching for you. I was especially amused at the tenacity of the Corn Flowers and Nicotiana finding a foothold in a seemingly solid brick wall. They are very persistent plants and can always be counted on to show up in the most unlikely places. I love them! I also love your rosemarys. The blooms seem to be a much more intense blue than the ones I have. Mine are lovely when they bloom, but are a more washed out blue. The insects don't seem to mind what their color is. I have two large ones in pots on either side of my deck stairs. I thought they were the same variety, but one is blooming now and the other blooms in late winter and spring.

26 Aug '07 5:19 pm

Hi, Jack-

You sure have a great variety of late winter-flowering plants! And isn't it exciting to share them with others who actually appreciate them?

I just thought I'd send you the URL for a site about Eucomis that I found; you probably have already seen it, but here it is anyway: http://www.theafricangarden.com/page40.html

Cheers!

gordonf

26 Aug '07 9:58 pm

Yes, Jack!! What an exceptional variety of flowers and Winter blooms!! What a "soft" Winter for a...Winter! It would be un-imaginable to find such a variety of blooms here in Wintertime...except from the lovely Hamamelis (Thank you SO!!)!!

28 Aug '07 6:56 pm

I spoke earlier about an exceptionally large floweredd rosemary. This caused me to look more closely at what I've got. I've come to two conclusions:
1. It was just a very happy plant
2. Rosemary flowers are beautiful and worth investigating. I've always seen them as a blue smudge, rather poorly displayed up against the stem and amongst faded brown flowers.

Although I'm now planting more varieties, most of mine are McConnell's Blue - considered to be the best allrounder for growth form, flavour and flowering in SA. I'm checking on them now as they flower and will keep posting. As you can see - my pink takes a little imagination to see 'pink'! And my white I need to rephotograph, so I've not included it.

28 Aug '07 7:44 pm

The weekend was cool, rather than cold, with the slightest of drizzles for hours on end, bringing 11mm over the two days of beautiful soaking relief - and the sort of delicate drops that only a near-mist can create. So here are a few photographs from the last days - some before or after the rain.

Yesterday was warm and sunny, and suddenly the scent of Buddleja salvifolia filled the air - a sure harbinger of warmer weather, with its typical honey-scent. You can see from the close-up why our local buddleja is called the sage-leaved buddleja!

Jack's Frost

Hi Mark

Hi, Jack!!

Desperately seeking spring

More findings

Ample evidence of Spring!

Winter blossoms

Winter Flowers

Winter flowers...again..

Rosemary flowers

A wet weekend