Hello everyone, Its been a dreadful year in the garden, I went through a warm wet winter to a hot dry summer, its getting dryer every year, even if the rain fall keeps up.... So I got very few flowers on anything & almost no seeds of anything... Even the biggest crinums are struggling with the dry & many have gone semi dormant to survive ... The hippeastrums decided to surprise me though & the soaking winter didn't stop them budding & now there is beautiful hybred pastel pinks, a couple of reds, some cute miniatures & a lemon in flower so far.. They are a beautiful treasure... Despite the weather giving me some trials, I started to experiment with small Silla this year & have successfully grown & flowered a few species from central Turkey, I don't have their names handy but I purchased them from Hillview nursery in freezy Tasmania & was told I would have absolutely no chance of growing them up here, but I have been very successful so far & I love their very small bunches of gorgeous blue flowers, they were so cute, even got a few seeds.... I gave them no special attention, just straight into very poor shallow soil in a very dry rocky garden bed where oodles of leaf mulch drops & I occasionally water them if I think of it.... Amazing !!!! Any Aussies who like them, I think it was worth the experiment & I will update if they survive & flower next season... -- Steven : ) Esk Queensland Australia Summer Zone 5 Winter Zone 10