Aussie bloom report

From: Dianne Dalla Santa <dalla@apollo.ruralnet.net.au>

Here in the top NW corner of Victoria, (Mildura) the season id off to a
very early start. Not just the gardens but in the vineyards as well giving
us all goosebumps for fear of frosts. We too have had three days of strong
winds tearing linbs off trees and scattering anything not secured to the
four corners.

But in our garden we have dwarf iris ZOUNDS, BLOODSPOT, PAGAN BUTTERFLY as
the first of the dwarf to bloom, CHICKASAW SUE, CALYPSO CLOWN,which looks
great beneath new foliage on roses, and SNEAK PREVIEW, LOVE THE SUN,FULL
TIDE, LUNCHTIME LOVER,WHITE LIGHTNING, RED RULER ALL IN BLOOM AND PLENTY OF
OTHERS BUDDING NOW. spikes are emeging on SPURIAS, FORST, BARBARA'S KISS
and SOCIAL CIRCLE, never been this early for me and not really looking as
robust as in the normal time slot of mid October. Flowerstems forming on
La's planted earlier this year JOIE DE VIVRE, PROFESSOR IKE and plenty more
fattening down lown in the leaf fan.

In the township gardens absolute traffic stopping display on early
varieties of iris donated to council. NEW MOON over five feet tall and an
old blue variety, could even be PIERRE MENARD, similar height with 17
flowers opened or opening as David Ruston from Renmark counted them up.
Some clumps just coming into bloom for the second season have dozens of
spikes. All these iris were planted for the 1998 Sunraysia Iris Convention.
Some other varieties blooming merrily in these beds under the halogen
streetlights are SMOKE RINGS, XMAS FIRES, BANG that I can identify. Names
were not a consideration for the massed display beds and now we have
passersby wanting names so my memory is really going to be tested as many
of these donated irises had been left behind some 17 years ago in my
parents garden. The property was being sold so we dug heaps of rhizomes and
donated them to the council.

Dutch iris, ranunculi, scillas, pretty cape tulips in yellow and orange
(noxious weeds in all states of Australia I believe, carnations, watsonia
aletroides and some lilacs all giving a colourful display.

All this and daffodils still coming in to bloom....strange.

Dianne and Bill Dalla Santa, Red Cliffs, Australia.




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