Four very excellent things happened this week. For no particular reason at all I will start with Excellent Thing III: Begonia Wanderings.
I bought two relatively scraggly but lovable begonias at the flower markets one morning in January for $1.50 each. The guy didn't know what variety they were. The flowers are white and sometimes come out as singles, sometimes doubles. They look a little like helleborus at times.
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| mystery begonia |
I started trying to find out what variety they were online, this lead me to discover the wonder and genetic diversity of these plants. They cross breed very easily so there are hundreds of varieties. They have such wonderful weird translucence. Often their leaves are more intriguing that their blooms. My internet begonia caper lead me to The NSW Begonia Society {yep.}. They meet monthly and in March hold their Annual Begonia Exhibition and Plant Sales. I went along to Annangrove, a gorgeously green area about a 50 minute drive from Sydney. The exhibition was held at Ross Bolwell's begonia nursery, the president of the society.
I was smitten the instant I arrived. When I arrived through the rain, I was the youngest person there by about 50 years {I could not have been more thrilled}. Everyone was so kind and charming and enthused about their plants. One man there called Alan was particularly sweet and said he saw me going back and forth and smiling at the plants so he invited me to become a member of their lovely coterie. Yes, I do believe I will join.
The breadth of begonia's diversity astounds me. I will stop writing now and post photos. I bought ten different plants. I'll photograph them in situ soon.
What a splendid way to spend a Saturday morning.
Begonias are easily grown from cuttings, so if anyone fancies some do let me know I'd be more than happy to share them.
