White Heron Visitor

Willowbank Wildlife Reserve is 1 kilometer from home and we visited there on Saturday. This White Heron or Kotuku has taken up residence. 

Going fishing for food

Been fishing!

Sorry no video as I only had a little point and shoot camera.

The Kotuku is famous as a rare bird in New Zealand. It lives naturally at Okarito on the West Coast in a special reserve area. Single birds or pairs occasionally cross the high mountain range to the East Coast areas (where I live) to go fishing and have a holiday before heading back home.

Links for more information

Department of Conservation - Okarito Lagoon

Wikipedia

Growing out of the Recession.

2008 and 2009 were years many people would like to forget and fortunately 2010 looks like it will be better. Things are still tough and it will take some time to be really bright again.

We may be able to help others this year. Some of the things we can do individually, as small groups or as a large group may be to

• Take a bunch of Garden flowers to someone you know needs a lift.
• Give away some surplus vegetables grown in your garden to someone not as well off as ourselves.
• Help someone establish a new vegetable garden
• Give away some surplus plants to help brighten up another person’s garden
• Take a bottle of homemade jam, chutney or other produce to a neighbour
• Give a one year membership to a garden club or similar to a deserving person or family
• Introduce them to Blotanical and the internet

All these acts of kindness, and others I have not thought about, will show we live in a community that cares. The community can lead the way in brightening up peoples lives by sharing our gardens with them.

There is a great little saying “Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day, teach him to fish and he can feed himself forever” maybe we should have one that says “Give a person food and they can eat today, teach them to garden and they can feed themselves and others forever.”

In this respect bloggers can lead the way us sharing our knowledge and teaching others how to garden, groups of gardeners can get together and learn more 

Let us start this year in such a way that we can and will make a difference in peoples lives.

Toadstool Visitor

This toadstool is growing in the lawn on my next door neighbours property. Or at least it was until he removed it to mow the lawn!

It grew rapidly and 250mm across (10 inches) at the time of photographs.

Thought you might like to see it.

Lilium lancifolium Tiger Lily

Lilium lancifolium (L. tigrinum) Tiger Lily, Devil Lily, Kenten.

Lilium lancifolium Tiger Lily

L. lancifolium ‘Flore Pleno’

The botanists are still fighting over its correct name but I think this name Lilium lanciflorum is winning. However many people will know this plant a Lilium tigrinum or Tiger lily. It has also had an earlier name L.sinense (Nois ex Stead).

It is also believed to be a very old and ancient hybrid between Lilium maculatum and L. leichtlinii. It has been described as lily in cultivation in the world. This botanical investigation is backed up by modern science as its chromosome numbers identify it as a triploid. This makes it a vigorous plant and because of its triploid nature it does not produce seed.

A native of China, Japan and Korea it is found growing in a number of locations and soil types but it does not like lime or limestone areas. In the wild the flowers vary in colour from a dark yellow to a dark orange with purple or black spots on the petals. In these countries the bulbs were consumed as food up to 1000 years ago.

Its does not like lime soils and in ideal soils and poor soils without lime it will quickly naturalise large areas quite quickly. In Britain it is heavily infected with a virus but still manages to naturalise large areas. It is recommended not to grow this lily in close proximity to other lilies as the virus will spread to them as well.

It is easy to grow and forms a large bulb and the new stems grow rapidly each year up to abut 1.5 metres tall. Long narrow lanceolate leaves protrude from the stem. Depending on location and parentage of the clone they can be quite hairy with lots or a little of white cobwebby long hairs on the stem and leaves. Set at the base of the leaves is a small bulbil which can be planted in the ground to rapidly increase this plant.

It is widely grown and depending upon size can produce up to 25 flowers in a head born on black stems. The most common colour is deep bright orange petals and sepals heavily marked with dark purple spots. The pollen is purple brown in colour. Some clones will be a little softer in colour.

This bold display of flowers appears in NZ in January. They hang from stems and have reflexed petals (and sepals) creating a nodding Turks Cap flower.

There are a few cultivars grown in gardens

L. lancifolium ‘Flore Pleno’ (l.l. Florabunda) which has large double flowers.

L. lancifolium ‘Giganteum’ a larger growing form

L. lancifolium ‘Splendens’  with large glossy flowers of a rich salmon red colour.

L. lancifolium var flaviflorum a yellow purple spotted form which does set seed.

L. lancifolium var. fortunei with densely woolly stems

L. lancifolium var. simplex a single flowered form

L. lancifolium var. plenescens which has six series of petals and sepals.

This easy to grow lily makes a fine show in mid summer in any garden. It will increase and naturalise quickly.

Leeks

Leeks, some people like them some people don’t. There seems to be a constant debate about the likes and dislikes of leeks. Strange that as leeks belong to the onion family and there is a lot less discussion about the likes and dislikes of onions.

Leeks are hardy and very easy to grow but require a long growing season to achieve a good size. Seed is sown in spring and seedlings either pricked out into containers to grow on a little more or if sown thinly in the ground allow them to grow to about 150mm high.

Once they have reached this size prepare the ground for planting out. Fork the ground deeply and level. Remove the leeks from their growing position and separate the leeks and tease the roots out. Use a large fat dibber and plant them in a row quite deeply so that the base of the leek plant is several centimetres underground. This will blanch the base of the leek plant making it tender and mellow in flavour.

Keep the leeks well watered and weed free through the summer. If you would like longer, blanched leeks mound up a little soil against the stems.

One of the problems with transplanted leeks it that they occasionally go to seed. Proper teasing out of the roots at planting time will usually prevent that happening.

Once they are of a reasonable size they can be harvested when needed direct from the garden. It is usually used as a winter vegetable.

Leeks are used in casseroles, stir fry’s, or other combination meals. They can be chopped and fried in butter or olive oil as a vegetable. Leeks were cooked and served with a white sauce but this seems to be less common now.

Lilium auratum - Photo essay

Lilium auratum lily is coming out

More pictures to come soon

Garden Visitor - White Faced Heron

Short video of the White Faced Heron which visited our garden today.

This video is on You tube just click the link below.

Maybe you might like to see my other garden videos as well.

Garden Visitor - White Faced Heron

In response to requests here are a few photos of the heron. Taken on Fuji S6500 with optical and digital lens hence not quite the quality I wanted.

Littonia modesta. Climbing Lily, Climbing Bell.

If you are looking for a neat bulb that is different then Littonia might be for you. A native of Natal, South Africa, this is a genus of seven species closely related to Gloriosa and belongs to the Colchiaceae a division of the former large family Liliaceae.

Beautiful foliage of a fresh soft green colour adorns the green stems and the leaves are arranged alternately, opposite and whorled all on the same stem.

Unlike lilies the stems keep growing after the flowers have finished and may reach up to 1.8metres high. It climbs by tendrils attached to the end of the leaves and they will wrap around most plants or climbing frames.

Flowers are a true golden yellow colour bell shaped about 5 cm across solitary in leaf axils, the six hanging petals are pointed. Usually there are five flowers per stem and they are good for picking.

After flowering large green seed pods appear which eventually split to produce large red brown, pea sized, seeds. Sow the seed normally but be aware it can stay dormant for a few years as it has adapted to the variable South African climate. The new tubers will take 2 -3 years to flower.

It was named after Dr Litton a Professor of Botany at the University of Dublin Ireland and introduced to England in 1853.

Easily grown in normal garden conditions with drained soil for its unusual forked bulbs to grow in, but if the ground is not well drained lift and store the bulbs in winter.

In South Africa the cultivar Littonia modesta ‘Keitii’ produces large and more flowers per stem and is a stronger plant.

In New Zealand it has been crossed with Sandersonia to create a bigeneric cross XSantoina ‘Golden Lights’ which is being evaluated for  the cut flower market.

Platycodon grandiflorus Balloon Flower

A botanical lesson first. Platycodon is a monotypic genus which means there is only one species in the genus. However it can come in various forms or cultivars including white and various shades of blue flowers and occasionally double flowers. There are a few cultivars that grow to different heights including dwarf ones.

It gets its common name from the shape of the unopened flower buds that look like inflated balloons. When open the flowers measure up to 7.5cm across and have beautifully and prominently veined flowers.

It is a native of all the islands of Japan and Korea, Northern China and Eastern Siberia growing on grassy slopes in hills and mountains. It is very hardy for all New Zealand conditions.

In the garden they are very hardy but resent wet feet. The large fleshy rootstock enables it to survive in dryer conditions. One advantage is that the rootstock increases in size slowly which means it does not need high levels of maintenance like some other perennials. In the garden it can produce seeds and a few will germinate to slowly increase plant numbers.

Cultivars include

‘Snowflake’ a white semi double flower.

‘Mother of Pearl’ light pink

‘Apoyama’ deep blue

Festival of Flowers is coming soon

www.festivalofflowers.co.nz

Thinking of visiting Christchurch during the festival then please make contact with the festival office.

For my blogging friends let me know if you are coming and we can meet.

PS I am the Chair of the Festival Trust.

Plant spotting

Sandersonia aurantiaca Gold Lily of the Valley

A neat summer flowering bulb which has a slight tendency to naturalise in the garden. I would not be without it. While its common name is Gold Lily of the Valley it is nothing like the traditional Lily of the Valley of spring.

Growing from a very odd shaped bulb this is the only species of this genus. It naturally occurs in South Africa and is allied to Gloriosa and Littonia. It has been known to hybridise with these two plants and they all belong to the lily family.

It requires a loose, free soil ands a sunny sheltered spot and freedom from heavy frosts. (In Christchurch NZ we get ground frosts of -8C and there is not effect).

The stems grow vertically about 300 -450mm high each bearing up to 7 individual lantern shaped orange/yellow flowers branching out on single pendant stems from the axil of the leaf and stem. It quickly sets viable seed which grows very well.

It is commonly grown commercially fro cut flowers in NZ for both the domestic and export market.