ARS Tasmania – October Newsletter 2019

• Date: 6th October 2019
• author: Jenny Skinner

IN MY (ADOPTED) GARDEN

The few days of warm weather that we had a few weeks ago brought all the magnolias out into full bloom. Although I must have discovered and mapped them all over the past two years, until they are all
in bloom at the same time, you don’t realise their impact on the garden. The trees stand out like beacons of pink and white in which ever direction you look. Although this is a great spectacle I think I still prefer the flowers in bud. This month was also the time for bulbs of many species to make their appearance. My particular favourites are the Fritillaria species, F. crassifolia and F. meleagris, the Snakes Head Fritillaria, being the only two I’m confident (?) about identifying. The interior of the flower is just as beautiful as the exterior. I’ve included a photo of my own purple form of the Akebia quinata (the flower I brought to the last meeting) to compare it with the white form, growing at Woodbank. You can clearly see that each raceme of blooms has separate male and female flowers.

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