There are no bulbous species blooming right now in our garden, except one very late Amaryllis belladonna. However, in pots, we have Strumaria picta, from Nieuwoutville. This is a rare species only known from 2 farms and we managed to get seeds a few years ago. This is the first time our plants (2 of them) have flowered. They have large white flowers with red markings onthem, and the spike is about a foot high. Then we also have Polyxena ensifolia flowering. 2 flat leaves and a bunch of white or pink flowers in the middle of the leaves. Very pretty. At the IBSA meeting last Saturday, 2 people brought magnificent pots of Polyxena in flower. THere must have been 50 or 60 plants in each pot, and every one was flowering. Quite spectacular. Also at the IBSA meeting were lots of Nerine sarniensis, various Strumaria and Hessea species, Gladiolus brevifolius, Moraea speciosa, a couple of Oxalis species, a Veltheimia capensis in bud, and some Empodium species (very similar to Spiloxene). Considering how early it is in the season, the IBSA bulb display table was full. So far Cape Town has had some reasonable rain, which on one occasion, went right up north to Namaqualand. East of Cape Town is dry still, so let's hope for rain. Regards Rachel Saunders Cape Town Please note our new telephone & fax numbers: Tel: (021) 705 0295 Fax: (021) 706 7987 International Tel: +27 21 705 0295 International Fax: +27 21 706 7987 ----- Original Message ----- From: Mary Sue Ittner <msittner@mcn.org> To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org> Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 4:46 PM Subject: [pbs] What's Blooming Now--TOW > Dear All, > > The topic I am suggesting for this week is one that happens naturally from > time to time. I'd like all of you who are willing, to tell us about the > bulbs that are flowering now in your garden, in pots, in your greenhouse, > indoors. There should be some fall bulbs blooming in the Southern > Hemisphere by now and hopefully some of you who live in colder climates are > at last joining some of us in warmer climates who have been experiencing > spring for awhile. There is a lot in bloom in my garden and I'll write > about it tomorrow. You don't have to be an expert to participate in this > discussion, just willing to share with all of us. > > Mary Sue > PBS List Administrator, Wiki Worker, TOW Coordinator (Whew!) > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php