I say "my place", because not everything thing I have growing is in the garden. If you are a regular reader of my articles, you will have observed that most of my species are growing in pots.
Because I specialise in growing South African species, especially those from the Iridaceae family, I am not always able to provide specific growing conditions in my garden, so I have to protect my pots of seeds and seedlings.
For this reason, I have constructed two different buildings to house my special plants and these were designed to give optimum growing conditions to my plants. One is a completely open sided construction which consists of shelves covered with a fibre glass roof. It provides enough light and air movement but protection from the wind and the rain. The second is similar but has shade cloth sides two thirds of the way down to provide protection from the frosts. These are adequate for my needs - the rest of my species go into the open garden to provide beautiful growth and wonderful flowers.
Mainly I grow from seed as this is often the cheapest (and sometimes only) way to get stock. This of course, builds up your patience as often it takes many years to see flowers from seed. Most of my seed comes from suppliers in South Africa but often I am able to pick up seed from other sources including seed lists from various plant groups I belong to. One of the most important one for me for years was from the International Bulb Society but sadly this organisation has had a formal change of structure a few years ago and does not provide such a convenient service these days. However, you may be surprised to hear that your local specialist group such as your lilium Society will also include other species of seed sent in for distribution by their members. It is always worthwhile to check these out if you are requiring seed.
So, this spring, I have been amazed at the beautiful species of Ixia that I grow, flowering now to provide me with wonderment and glorious flowers.
Some of these include:
Ixia bellendenii
Ixia capillaris
Ixia curta
Ixia marginifolia
Ixia rapunculoides - 3 different varieties
Ixia flexuosa
Ixia trifolia
Ixia scillaris
Many other species are flowering as well, which include: Spiloxene, Massonia, Romulea, Chasmanthe, Gladiolus, Wachendorfia. Oh, the list just goes on and on.....
 |
 |
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Bill Richardson's Bulbs & Plants topic, please visit the Discussions page.