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Re: Hey...out there!!!

Dear fellow gardeners,
Things start to quieten down here, we are
in our holiday period, ie for all but the very
good gardeners.   In Tassie, the summer has 
first been extra wet and lately wonderful 
weather - sunshine and temps. of c25-30+.
Consequence, enormous growth in everything,
trees, shrubs, plants and weeds. 
Soon it will be time to try and put the garden
to sleep but like an over-active child, our
gardens at the bottom of the world, never rest
for long.  I look forward to the joyful colours
of Autumn, the gold, scarlet, apricot and russet brown of the Japanese
maples, Nyssas, Liquid
Amber, scarlet oaks, biches, elms and Uncle Tom
Cobleys and all [I'm such a greedy gardener!]
Some are hinting at their coming glory already.
      In the garden the Jap. anemomes have spread
delightfully, they are so easy to grow - I think the single white is my
favourite, somehow the
doubles lack the purity. The hydrangeas have
relished in the wet, then warm weather and
again I have a second bush carrying both pink
and blue flowers.   Usually the bluer the bloom,
the more acid the soil and this is the second
bush to behave in such a capricious fashion.
Grown from a cutting, I know it is only one
bush so there must be a change of soil only
a foot apart.   Must buy some iron chelates
as I have it amongst several sp. Rhododendrons
and also I prefer the blue colouring.
Lobelia Tupa, a group grown from seed I shoved
into the soil, are well above my head and have
multiplied their canes so much that a small
stone path is inpassable.    My red alstroemerias
are still flowering at that must be more than
two 1/2 years that they have been in bloom.  Maybe
I will be able to send it to the Guiness Book
of Records!  The swamp salvia [uliginosa] shows
its sky blue flowers but I do wish it wasn't
so invasive, tall and untidy.   Not many
flowers have that clear blue colour.
The Meconopsis, the Hymalayan Poppy, did well 
this year but I am sad that there are too many
of the pale cream yellow ones.   I guess the
blue ones are more monocarpic than the yellow,
the seeds are a mixture we purchased in Scotland,
Nepalense, regia and grandis.
Dahlias, Agapanthus, Asters, Nepeta "Six Hills
Giant" [cat mint] Verbascums, var. Euphorbias,
the late roses, especially the David Austin
Heritage roses, and so much more are all at
their peak.   I made a new year's resolution
to shorten my letters to you but I have to write
about the New Zealand Lacebark tree, Hoheria
[glabrata and lyallii] which have covered
themselves in 1 inch across flowers that have a large central boss of
stamens carried in clusters.
They are completely covered with their sweet
flowers, as if a plague of white butterflies have
taken up residence.
The Tasmanian and Chilean Eucryphias [from
which our famous Leatherwood honey comes, via
the bees, of course] are only teasing me at
the moment but the few flowers that are out  
seem to be large this year [the summer rain?]
We have quite a collection of these small trees
or large shrubs including the very delicate
pink one, a sport that was found in the Tas.
bush only a few years ago.   This is a very delicate pink  with dark red
colouring inside
and crimson stamens.[ A little like Philadelphus  "Belle Etoile"]  The type
has white flowers
with yellow stamens.   They are very handy in the
border with both the time of flowering and
economical in space that they use.   And 
Eucryphia lucida, the Tasmanian sp. has a wonderfully delicate perfume.
There, I have already broken my New Year's
resolution. I should be spending more time
deadheading, shifting, cutting down and pruning.  

Gay Klok, 2 Red Chapel Ave, Hobart, Tasmania - "Kibbenjelok", Middleton,
Tasmania
http://members.tripod.com/~klok/WRINKLY_.HTM 
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