My garden has a number of plantings that are of exceptional beauty as
I write. The details may interest the urgling community.

First, a rather scatter brained, sunny, double-sided border that
features lots of seed-grown "species" peonies (now over) and big
spuria irises (not in flower yet). Right now, one side of this border
has in flower:

Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve'
Tulipa sprengeri in brilliant red
Papaver atlanticum 'Flore Pleno' in soft orange
Homeria collina, in soft orange and yellow

plus lots of green foliage.


Second, a small bed at the SE corner of my house, on the S side, a
very sheltered location. Under a large Cytisus batandierii (not yet in
flower) is a tangle of Convolvulus cneorum and Teurcrium fruticans.
That little dusty pink convolvulus with much-cut foliage weaves in and
out of the tangle -- not yet in flower, only leaves right now. In the
foreground is a patch of Scilla litardieri (and one S. peruviana),
with contrast provided by a small patch of the yellow Homeria collina.
Nearby are clumps of Elymus magellanica, the blue foliage of which
echoes the foliage & flowers of the teucrium, the foliage of the
convolvuluses, and the flowers of the scillas.

I'm not sure that the S. peruviana isn't a jarring note, but the
jury's still out on it.


Third, a large border containing another tangle, this one of the
double white form of Rosa banksia and Clematis montana wilsonii and C.
m. odorata. The roses 'Goldfinch' and 'Buff Beauty' are just starting
to show some color in their buds.


I won't claim credit for any of these plantings. Like everything else
in my garden, they are fortuitously handsome juxtapositions of plants
that "just happened."

But they give me intense pleasure, as well as some surprise: *I*
created that?


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, BC, Canada
to send email, change atlantic to pacific
and invalid to net

"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in message
...
My garden has a number of plantings that are of exceptional beauty as
I write. The details may interest the urgling community.

First, a rather scatter brained, sunny, double-sided border that
features lots of seed-grown "species" peonies (now over) and big
spuria irises (not in flower yet). Right now, one side of this border
has in flower:

Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve'
Tulipa sprengeri in brilliant red
Papaver atlanticum 'Flore Pleno' in soft orange
Homeria collina, in soft orange and yellow

plus lots of green foliage.


Second, a small bed at the SE corner of my house, on the S side, a
very sheltered location. Under a large Cytisus batandierii (not yet in
flower) is a tangle of Convolvulus cneorum and Teurcrium fruticans.
That little dusty pink convolvulus with much-cut foliage weaves in and
out of the tangle -- not yet in flower, only leaves right now. In the
foreground is a patch of Scilla litardieri (and one S. peruviana),
with contrast provided by a small patch of the yellow Homeria collina.
Nearby are clumps of Elymus magellanica, the blue foliage of which
echoes the foliage & flowers of the teucrium, the foliage of the
convolvuluses, and the flowers of the scillas.

I'm not sure that the S. peruviana isn't a jarring note, but the
jury's still out on it.


Third, a large border containing another tangle, this one of the
double white form of Rosa banksia and Clematis montana wilsonii and C.
m. odorata. The roses 'Goldfinch' and 'Buff Beauty' are just starting
to show some color in their buds.


I won't claim credit for any of these plantings. Like everything else
in my garden, they are fortuitously handsome juxtapositions of plants
that "just happened."

But they give me intense pleasure, as well as some surprise: *I*
created that?


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, BC, Canada
to send email, change atlantic to pacific
and invalid to net

I visited Victoria once and was most impressed with its beauitful
gardens.....even better than the average UK ones...more than anything else I
remember was an imported Englishman's garden....the likes of which I had
never seen before....tomata plants etc. every bit the equal of the Chelsea
Flower Show...you weather must help a little...H

Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message
from lid (Rodger Whitlock) contains
these
words:

My garden has a number of plantings that are of exceptional beauty
as
I write. The details may interest the urgling community.

Thanks Rodger, it did. [...]

Cerrtainly did. Janet: congratulations on a first. The first time
I've ever had to put on my sunglasses to read a Usenet message. Geoff
Hamilton would have approved, and so do I.

--
Mike.

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
Just round the corner, is an olearia bush ..dunno name...smothered in
tiny white daisies, ~~~~ Try O.x scilloniensis if genuinely white and
abundant. A lovely account.
Best Wishes Brian.

On Sat, 21 May 2005 11:50:36 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

Thanks Rodger, it did. I hadn't heard of homeria collina ...checked
google images, mmmmm...looked up cultivation and found explanation by
yourself on pbs...then, eek, next website I looked at was

www.biosecurity.govt.nz/ pests-diseases/plants/cape-tulip/ which gave
me the following glad tidings

"This toxic native of South Africa has been most commonly found in
Canterbury, though it occurs elsewhere in the South and North Islands,
often in urban areas.

It's slightly tender and when we have a good stiff arctic cold snap,
as happens every so many years, they are either killed outright or set
back pretty badly.

Such cold snaps suffice to make Homeria collina unsuitable for
long-term planting: it has to be renewed every few years.

Was aware that Australia has it on their no-grow list, and NZ's
reaction is equally understandable.

Didn't know it was toxic, though, which, combined with its prolific
growth in the Antipodes, makes its presence on ng lists perfectly
sane.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, BC, Canada
to send email, change atlantic to pacific
and invalid to net