Zephyranthes drummondii

 Zephyranthes drummondii 

A bit of a 'lone star' in more ways than one. I have waited four years for this to flower, or maybe I have just missed it last time as the flowers are said to come out in the evening. One flower and one leaf...no wonder this is not a common plant in cultivation. However it must love it in south east Queensland as it appears on the 'Atlas of Living Australia' growing in a few locations as a 'garden escapee'. This bulb is native to Texas, New Mexico and Mexico and like others in its genus it is stimulated to flower after rain and not just by the occasional watering. The flower is strongly perfumed and I suspect that this is to attract moths which may be flitting about at night. It could be given a place in the garden beside a path or in a rockery with well drained average soil, and, preferably in a spot where it is not likely to be overtaken by neighbouring plants which may out-compete it for light. I suspect that it is slow to increase by division of bulbs for off-sets and that saving seed is an option for increasing this little gem.

 Zephyranthes drummondii | Atlas of Living Australia

Verbena x hybrida

Verbena x hybrida 'Flagship' (Verbenaceae)

During the 'hottest October on record' I thought it best to choose and plant out summer annuals which are better able to cope with dry and hot conditions. One of the most adapted to these conditions is Verbena. I am nostalgic for the old spreading kind with the highly perfumed flowers which I used to grow in my youth but the best on offer these days is the compact growing sort such as this variety 'Flagship'.The disappearance of the spreading kind once sold as bedding plants in punnets may have more to do with economics and fashion than anything else. Verbena can be slow and difficult to grow from seed and as they are susceptible to mildew if they stay congested in a container for too long, they have been perhaps passed over in favour of the more reliable Petunia. 

It is the flower colour range of Verbena which holds a lot of appeal for me. Most of the blooms have a white contrasting eye which makes the surrounding colour stand out even more and included in the range is a navy blue, though this deep dark blue is probably closer in reality to a dark purple. 

Variegated Oleander, Nerium oleander 'Splendens Variegatum'

Variegated Oleander growing in front of Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta'

Plants with yellow variegation in their leaves really stand out in a garden and when combined with pink flowers they are even more striking with the clash of colours  not for the feint hearted. These two plants work well together because they have similar sword shaped leaves and both are hardy and dry tolerant. The variegated Oleander is slower growing than the plain green leaf varieties and will occasionally throw out a stem with pure yellow leaves, these entirely lacking in chlorophyll. Likewise it may send out green leaved shoots especially when grown in some shade and these are best trimmed off to retain the distinctive variegation. A cream and green leaf cultivar called 'Mrs Runge' is often pictured in books but as far as I know this variety is unavailable in Australia.

For more details on the variegated Oleander go to this website:Variegated Oleander (Nerium oleander 'Splendens Variegatum') (Department of Natural Resources and Mines)

Dianthus x 'Supra' TM F1

 Dianthus x 'Supra' TM F1

(Dianthus interspecific hybrid from D. chinensis D. barbatus D. superbum)

The Supra series of Dianthus were bred by Hem Genetics in The Netherlands and released about 7 years ago. They are a short lived perennial but better as a spring or summer annual.The purple form won an All American Selection Award AAS in 2006.

This Dianthus has the strongest perfume of any that have been bred so far. You don't need to put your nose into the flowers as they perfume the air around if you are close by. It has been bred with a bushy compact habit and grows to about 30 cm high by 20 cm wide so is a perfect size for use as a container decoration indoors. Flowers are large and shaggy with a deeply cut fringe, with a colour range including red, pink, purple and white. Flowers are also long lasting and weather resistant. The warmer the day the more fragrance that is released, making this a ten out of ten plant for the home and garden.

Cooking with Michael Pollan

This is the time of year when all the new books hit the shelves in time for the Christmas market and when you start to think about the relaxing days of summer ahead with reading or dozing in the shade of a tree during the hottest time of the day high on the list of the day's agenda. Earlier this year the thought proving American author Michael Pollan released a book called 'Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation' It is on my must read list having sampled the PDF introduction available online. The quote I always remember from Pollan  is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.", and in this new book he deals with the philosophy behind four elements which have shaped culture through cooking and food, namely fire, water, air and earth. In fire he writes about cooking whole animals over an open fire. In water he deals with cooking in a vessel by boiling or braising. Air is about baking and earth is about fermenting, the process used for cheese making and brewing.

So my humble poached chicken from the other night has taken on a whole new meaning when it is described thus :"The pot dish, lidded and turbid has none of the Apollonian clarity of a recognizable animal on a spit but is a primordial Dionysian soup" as the "marriage of plant and animal foods in a liquid medium is preferable to cooking either food over direct fire" with the added "onions, garlic and herbs containing powerful antimicrobial components  which are able to survive the cooking process" and which are therefore very beneficial to health and well being. While I am on the right track here and enjoy cooking I am also an eater of the microwavable frozen convenience meal, the very thing Pollan rallies against in his books, because they have been made by a huge corporation and you have absolutely no idea what is in them and where those ingredients come from, for, in the long run "You are what you eat eats".

Lavatera trimestris 'Mont Blanc'

Lavatera trimestris 'Mont Blanc' (Malvaceae)

'Nice day for a white wedding'......In flower now and easy to grow from seed sown in autumn or winter, this 'mallow' or annual Hibiscus family member is native to the Mediterranean, Morocco and Syria. It is pink or mauve in its wild form and grows in sandy soil near the coast. In Spain it is known as Malva and in France as 'Mauve royale'. This pure white form 'Mont Blanc' grows to about 100cm tall, likes full sun and a position where the soil is well drained and not too rich. Adapted to a dry and variable climate it does the curious thing of conserving energy before flowering by shedding lower leaves just when the buds start to form. This can be a bit disconcerting as you think the plant is going to die when these leaves turn yellow and drop off. The upper leaves are delightful as they appear neatly folded over the buds like a piece of Japanese Origami.

Lavatera is named for the 16th century Swiss Doctor and naturalist J R Lavater.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Powder Puff'

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Powder Puff'

Pink, soft and delicate, this Hibiscus is of unknown origin but I suspect it has as a parent 'Mrs George Davis' which is one of the old fashioned prolific flowering varieties. 'Powder Puff' grows as a bushy shrub to an average height of around 2 metres and would be suitable to grow as a hedge or clipped specimen.