Aztec lily - another chance to see

I posted about this last year, at the end of September, when it first flowered after planting that Spring. Mathilde, who gave me the bulbs, calls it Fleur de Lys and Titania in Australia supplied the botanical name - Sprekelia Formosissima. It's a glowing clear red and this photo doesn't do it justice.

I read that they're native plants of Mexico, love the full sun in well-drained soil and will flower twice a year. When the bulbs have multiplied I'm going to add more around the inner garden.

Paulownia Tomentosa - The Dragon Tree

These are our seedlings being nurtured in the "semillero", which we planted 18 months ago and now have 6 of about 5'6" in height.

Also known as the foxglove tree. Such intricate beautiful blooms to be found on this tree.

Here is a fully grown one which is to be found in Kew Gardens, West London.

We bought the seeds from California. It's a great company, which sells bamboo fountains as well, and provides lots of information for the care of your purchases. Here they are

Datura

This little hairy ball a bit like a horse chestnut is the seed pod, some of which were given to us last autumn. It has grown into this. (Not a good picture I'm sorry, due to the light inside the seed/seedling house and the fabric cladding the structure.
This flower is erect, which apparently makes it a Datura, whereas the pendulous ones are Brugmansia. Both are originally from South America. The Datura is herbaceous and the Brugmansia perennial and woody.

Datura has been used by the Shamans for its hallucinogenic properties and is referred to in his books by Carlos Castenada.

I was apparently incorrect in calling the vivid magenta, yellow and red ones I first saw in Greece Datura - they were all Brugmansia as the flowers hung down. Like these delicate apricot-coloured ones.
And how about this exotic-looking one.

We have about six of the upright white ones, "Angel's Trumpet" and now have the problem of where to put them, especially as the Paulownia have gone mad in their growth and will need planting.

July.....already

It seems like only yesterday I did my last post on figs. Since then we've survived a brutal heatwave with Levante winds, where the bare minimum got done, and filled up the freezers with apricots and plums. It was lovely to go to friends for dinner last night and get served a stupendous Crumble with the apricots I'd given them a few weeks back.

It's now the turn of green peppers, the bell and cylindrical type, aubergines and tomatoes. I've started harvesting, chopping and frying with garlic and onion for use later in cheese lasagnes and any other recipes I can find.