Amaryllis are the stars in my garden these days

After all the fretting and researching the amaryllis have finally come right.  Maybe it was just exactly the weather that they like - a fairly cold winter, and then a very dry spring.  About half of them have had two flower spikes, so I couldn't be happier....
 The torch ginger flower is opening up - it is quite small, but it is my first flower, so hopefully things improve once the rains come too as it is a wet season plant.  Probably looking around and saying "I thought this was the wet season in the tropics - anyone got a drink for me?"
 My chia have started to flower, and I found this very useful information for anyone interested in growing it.  I see you can make a tea from the leaves, so am going to try that.  I doubt I am ever going to grow enough to give me enough seeds to eat, but I will make tea from  the leaves, and maybe put a few flowers into my salads.  I think next dry season I will scatter the seeds around my garden - doesn't the blue look stunning with the yellow cosmos?
http://permaculture.org.au/2009/04/06/chia-crop-potential-and-uses/#comment-202436
I find these begonia flowers quite delightful - I will definitely be looking around for more rex begonias.  They have beautiful leaves, seem to like my garden and now these cute flowers as well.  My kind of plant for sure.

I still haven't got around to finishing off the path, so that is on the job schedule for this weekend although they say it might rain...

Comments

  1. BernieHFri Oct 14, 08:30:00 AM

    I'm so envious of your gorgeous Amaryllis display. They look fantastic. Obviously mine are getting just the right conditions yet.

    Love the Chia and Cosmos combination. The colours do go so well together. You know how much I love the Rex flowers and foliage. They just do so well in shaded areas here too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. GigaFri Oct 14, 08:37:00 AM

    Amarylis jest cudowny. U nas może być tylko w doniczce w domu i mam, ale cały biały.Pozdrawiam

    ReplyDelete
  3. KarenFri Oct 14, 04:25:00 PM

    The amaryllis are so beautiful, we can only grow them here in pots where they bloom indoors. To see them in your garden is a rare treat. Rex begonias are stunning, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Sage ButterflySat Oct 15, 01:19:00 AM

    Your amaryllis is beautiful! It is so interesting to see it come out of the ground where we must have it in pots.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DesireeSat Oct 15, 03:49:00 AM

    That first picture is absolutely beautiful! I think I'll have to send my one lonely amaryllis to you for a holiday! I grow mine in the greenhouse as I'm sure the moles, dogs and snails will annihilate it were I to plant it outdoors.

    ReplyDelete
  6. RoslynSat Oct 15, 09:11:00 AM

    I'm jealous of your torch ginger. I would love to grow it but it hates our Winters and even if it survived, would never flower this far South

    ReplyDelete
  7. Steve AsbellTue Oct 18, 12:40:00 AM

    Amaryllis and torch ginger just go hand in hand! The temperatures get too cold here in NW Florida for me to grow torch ginger, but the amaryllis have been doing well so far. I can't wait til they bloom!

    ReplyDelete
  8. africanaussieTue Oct 18, 08:07:00 AM

    Bernie,
    Did you cut yours back? I really think that helped force the blooms. I am becoming a Rex Begonia fan.
    Giga,
    Yes in most places this is a pot plant - I am so lucky :)
    Karen and Sage Butterfly,
    this has been a good year for them, I think they enjoyed the cooler drier winter. the year before winter was warm and wet and so they didn't bloom! when you grow plants outside you have to take what nature gives you!
    Desiree,
    I would love to take a wander through your greenhouse... I have seen your lovely orchids you grow there.
    Missy,
    this torch ginger is very small but now that it has started to flower I am hoping for more. The rains should make them bigger too!
    Rainforest gardener,
    Wont you have to wait until the beginning of your wet season for your amaryllis to bloom?

    ReplyDelete
  9. JacquelineTue Oct 25, 04:17:00 PM

    Love your stunning Amaryllis, Gillian! We've never had our hippies that good. Probably we should try removing the leaves as you've advised.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Carolyn ♥Wed Oct 26, 02:10:00 AM

    Ah! I thought it might be you... you left a thumbnail link (It's Spring Here!)on my Autumn Walks post that only returned to my post rather than coming here to yours. I figured out how to fix it, hopefully it's not too late to send some traffic your way. I love that when my gardens are winding down, somewhere else in the world, others are just beginning!

    ReplyDelete

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