There's rain a-comin'

We are expecting rain and temperatures are slowly dropping, so I thought I should get some bloom photos in before they pack themselves away for winter. These are some of my treasured & unusual plants at our farm garden.

Stunning Josephine's Lily (

Brunsvigia josephinae

), a rare beauty given to me by a gardening friend. I wrote about the wonder of this bulb when it flowered for the first time last year (see

this post

).

Delicate red spider lilies, bulbs pinched from my Mum's garden when she wasn't looking!

A rose with a long history, 'Monsieur Tillier', being first introduced in France in 1891. It is in its glory in autumn.

My Ox Tongue Lily (

Haemanthus coccineus

) is blooming for the very first time, and was given to me by the same gardening friend as the Josephine Lily. It is the funniest little plant. I thought it was dead, then suddenly it sends up this amazing bloom from nowhere. After flowering, two broad leathery leaves appear, growing opposite each other and flat on the ground, which look like long ox tongues - cool! I love garden oddities!

I hope for those of you emerging from the Northern Hemisphere winter, that there are glimpses of colour appearing in your world as spring approaches. And for us Downunder, we will enjoy our beautiful cool autumn weather and time in the garden.