| Author |
Message |
SandyLeven (Sleven)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 2:42 pm: |    |
MONTH 4 OF THE YEAR ALREADY
In Scotland we have had weeks of dry sunny weather. Last night we had the first rain for weeks and I was pleased to see it. The ground is dry and newly transplanted shrubs and alpines need rain. |
SandyLeven (Sleven)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 2:53 pm: | |
Rhododendron leucapsis
Dunblane
1st April 2003
This may be a foolish plant since it flowers very early. In many years the flowers are frosted but it lights up the garden when it is not so cold. I think the name is correct, if not will someone correct me?
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J.I. Young (Iyoung)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 6:55 pm: | |
WE have grown this South American cushion forming plant for years, it is similar to an Azorella but nobody is sure. We have always enjoyed it as a foliage plant with its deep green hummocks. Imagine our surprise when after the sunniest March for many years it suddenly produced a few pure white flowers.
We will long remember April 1st 2003 as the day this plant first flowered for us. |
Fred Carrie (Fcarrie)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2003 - 7:47 pm: | |
Ian, is the above plant the recently discovered Azorella allfoolsdahlia by any chance? |
SandyLeven (Sleven)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 12:31 pm: | |
Ian i believe your plant is native to Mexico and grows in pumice slopes on the sides of Mount Popocatopetala [or however is is spelt]and its name is Azorella notaproperflooryon but I might be wrong.
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Ian Christie (Ichristie)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 6:52 pm: | |
Hi Sandy and Ian thank god we do not have to write the name of your plant by hand on lable. I send photo of good Callianthemum kernerianum ( nearly as long )
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Anonymous
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 6:58 pm: | |
Hello, All, I cannot comment on the name of Ian's "poisson d'avril" azorella, all I can say is that one of my Dad's indoor white hyacinths is missing several flowers!!
Signed,
An Aberdeen Housewife
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Anonymous
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 11:58 am: | |
If you could get a white hyacinth with flat 'azorella foliage', then you would have a good plant. When breeding this, aim for spikes 10cm tall, flowering all round. A tinge of blue on the ruffles and red in the throat would make it a patriotic plant here, in the USA,in NZ, in Australia, in Holland and in France. You might be guaranteed good sales, if you get it to flower on National Holidays! |
Luit VanDelft (Lvandelft)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 6:43 pm: | |
Hi everyone, here is a plant with a shorter name!
Looking at Ian’s white Aprilia premieriflora I saw this white reality in my garden:
MUKDENIA rossii is a very good early flowering plant,which should be seen more often in gardens. It starts flowering in March before the leaves appear.
In some years when nightfrosts are too heavy the flowers get damaged.
M.rossii, flowers almost fading.
The old name was Aceriphyllum, for me still a better and understandable name, looking at the leaves.
Leaf of Mukdenia rossii(spring)
In autumn the green leaves get beautiful coloured if situated in a sheltered, half shaded position.
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Luit VanDelft (Lvandelft)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 03, 2003 - 6:48 pm: | |
About this “foolish” Rhododendron:
Sandy, would not sound ‘leucaspis‘ better?
(if red-flowered I would also prefer leucapsi (cum’)
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J.I. Young (Iyoung)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 3:05 pm: | |
I found this Fragaria vesca, wild strawberry, growing in the wall above the carpark outside the Albert Hall in Stirling where we had a Show yesterday.
I thought that it was good that we were all in the hall with our alpines that we try so hard to grow 'in character' while out side was a wee plant doing it all by itself. It could have won the native to Scotland class if we had ushered the Judges out for a look. |
Luit VanDelft (Lvandelft)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 6:51 pm: | |
Here are some pictures of easy, early-flowering
Iris. The main problem for nurserymen is how to
give their plants the right names, as these are changing so often, so that people know what they are buying.
Every country has his own botanical anabaptists!
The first pict. is of an iris, which I grow under the name of Iris mellita…(or is it I. mell. rubromarginata?)
The second is of Iris mellita ‘Yellow Form ‘ or
might this be I. suaveolens ??
The last picture is of a plant about which there are probably no nomenclatoric problems, but I am not sure what it is.
I think it is Iris attica, it flowered already a week ago!
Is there anybody reading and looking at the Forum who is able to tell me how the proper names should be??
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SandyLeven (Sleven)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 9:10 pm: | |
I admired the strawberry up in the wall as well. Another plant which grows on walls in stirling is a very white flowered form of cranesbill. Is this unusual? I had always thought of it as bright pink. Should I collect seed of the white one? I admire it during the summer when I park my car. I never take it for granted. |
SandyLeven (Sleven)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 9:13 pm: | |
Luite,
I am not much good on the names of Iris but I love them as plants. Whether they be the reticulata, the pumilas, the impossibles or the large border Iris, I like them all. |
SandyLeven (Sleven)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 06, 2003 - 9:17 pm: | |
Saxifraga apiculata yellow form
Dunblane
6th April 2003
This is one of the first alpines which I ever grew. I had the white form sooner but the yellow one flowers better for some reason. It must be one of the easiest of alpines tp grow.
 |
Ian Christie (Ichristie)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 07, 2003 - 9:11 pm: | |
Hi, here are some pictures for Ian Erythronium Young, I can arrange a visit to this site if any interest.
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J.I. Young (Iyoung)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 08, 2003 - 6:30 pm: | |
Wow that is some spread of Erythronium revolutum.
Is there a pale one and a dark one or is it the same group showing differently in the pictures.
Thanks for the post.
Erythronium Ian |
Luit VanDelft (Lvandelft)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2003 - 10:13 pm: | |
Sandy, about this white cranesbill: Maybe
you found the “famous” Geranium White Celtic.
I am not sure about the word ‘celtic’ is it scottish or welsh? Anyway, the eventual seedlings of this plant you found will probably flower normal and not white.
Why don’t you give it a try?
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Ian Christie (Ichristie)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 11, 2003 - 7:30 pm: | |
Hi again, the Erythroniums are very mixed colours Ian and are either single flowered stalks or up to 5 flowers on a stem, very few white ones but quite wonderful just to walk oround around with several thousands everywhere over in Fife so about one and a half hours from here, cheers the Christie Ian. |
Margaret Young (Myoung)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 12, 2003 - 12:28 pm: | |
I was tickled last month by a good colour of Primula denticulata. I'm taking a leaf out of Sandy's book here, by showing you it now it has extended somewhat....
Another Primula given to us by friends is also looking well....
This was grown by Margaret and Henry Taylor from collected seed. It is Primula albenensis. We keep this plant under glass to preserve the farina on the foliage. I'm threatening to repot it, but I can't bear to spoil the leaves by handling it!! one day.... |
J.I. Young (Iyoung)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 7:31 pm: | |
I thought that I would show that we do grow some plants that are not bulbs.
This is a hybrid clematis between two New Zealand species Cc. marmoraria and paniculata. The first cross arose many years ago for the Taylors in seed raised plants and was called Clematis x cartmanii 'Joe' after Joe Cartman who sent them the seed. We took C. 'Joe' and back crossed it to C. marmoraria, selected the best seedlings and then back crossed that back to marmoraria again and then again. From that lot of seedlings we selected ten to trial and have short listed three.
'Craigton Comet' is one of those.
'Craigton Meteor' is another with fewer, larger flowers. The reason we did the crosses was to get a compact plant as near as we could to C.marmoraria which would flower as well as "Joe".
There is a lot of plant snobbery about these plants on the Show benches but in time I think people will recognise these flower covered, dwarf (near cushion like) Clematis for the excellent plants that they are. |
Luit VanDelft (Lvandelft)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 14, 2003 - 9:39 pm: | |
Here are some pics of plants I saw today at the
weekly flowershow in Lisse (NL) .
I do hope I made the right choice and the Forum-
visitors see something new.
Bongardia chrysogonum
Gladiolus huttonii x Glad. tristis var. concolor
Sparaxis grandiflora, this is one of the many (until now) neglected bulbous plants of S. Africa. I think many more will show up in the future!
This Pulsatilla was bought in England under the name of Barton Pink. Looking at the colour I think it is just some seedling of this.I hope I am wrong but if not so, I would like to know why this name was chosen?
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J.I. Young (Iyoung)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 8:14 pm: | |
You have made a good choice Luit, it is good to see plants that we are not familiar with. I do not know Pulsatilla 'Barton Pink' but it may be correct as people have very different ideas as to what is 'pink'.
Part two of my plant snobbery lecture, then I promise to say no more, concerns what I think is an outstanding garden plant.
Taraxacum officinale, yes the dandelion, it covers itself with beautiful large flowers in spring and puts up a progression of flowers until winter. If you select your form it can be a compact plant with excellent foliage very suited to a raised bed as our plant is.
Imagine that this was just introduced from the Himalaya we would all be clambering to get our hands on it. The secret is good management, always remove the flowers as soon as they go over to prevent it from seeding.
I know plenty people who have paid a lot of money for a rare American erigeron or similar compositae that has not got a fraction of the decorative power of this great underrated plant, and it comes for free.
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Luit VanDelft (Lvandelft)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 8:28 pm: | |
Hi Ian, I think you made a good point with the Taraxacum
But it strikes me that you again as with the wallplant in Stirling make a plea for an edible plant …??
But you are right about the good management.
Here I show another beautiful “weed”.
We always let it flower and then remove most of the plant before seeding around.
This plant seeded about 5 years ago in a trough I planted in the year 1972!
The only remaining plants after all the years are Primula auricula,Sedum cyaneum Sakhalin and Thymus. Saxifaga and Sempervivum died long ago!
We only weeded and sometimes when it was really too dry gave some water. I know this is not really good management but for us it is interesting to follow the development of artificial nature.
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Ian Christie (Ichristie)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 8:35 pm: | |
Hi Ian and others just to let you know that I have been out spraying my forms of Dandelionus Kirriemuirius with weedkiller sorry but I find no sales for either select forms or otherwise but yes it is a very nice plant which grows in profusion all along the roadside, cheers Ian. |
Margaret Young (Myoung)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 3:38 pm: | |
Hello, Everyone, here is a pic of one of Margaret and Henry Taylor's three pan show entries in Perth yesterday. There is a Fritillaria meleagris 'Aphrodite' at the back, a Lewisia as bright as anyone might wish in the centre and, my favourite, Tropaeolum azureum, raised from SRGC seed, at the front.
 |
Luit VanDelft (Lvandelft)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 20, 2003 - 7:13 pm: | |
Today I saw this attractive blue Pulsatilla
in the garden of a good friend.
Might this be P. turczaninovii? |
J.I. Young (Iyoung)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 6:27 pm: | |
In full flower today is Bessia ritterana(?).
A rare plant from North America and I believe that it is now a protected species. We have grown it for about 10 years now and it never puts up more than 3 flowering spikes. As you can see it also has quite big leaves, I prefer my not endangered (as long as we keep Ian Christie and his weed killer at bay)easy plant in the back ground. |
SandyLeven (Sleven)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 25, 2003 - 7:44 pm: | |
All this talk of dandeloins [ should that be dandelions? maybe Ian indeed has dandy loins?]while I have been on holiday fills me with trepidation. Our local council cultivates the dandy things, does that allow them to join the SRGC? The are also experts with Giant Hogweed. This also may be a rock garden plant. [and often is.] I grew seeds of a pink dandelion given to me Douglas Tryk when he visited Scotland from Alaska. My better half weeded them so I don't know if they were really pink or not.
Near Lanselbourg in the South Eastern French Alps, dandelions were cultivated during the war for their sap which was used as a rubber substitute. I well remember a whole mountainside covered in yellow flowers. Imagine my disappointment or Ians joy, when I realised they were dandelions! |
Anonymous
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 25, 2003 - 8:18 pm: | |
I could not possibly comment
Aberdeen Housewife |
Margaret Young (Myoung)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 25, 2003 - 8:46 pm: | |
Some weeks ago, Ian showed a pic in his BulbLog of his hardworking wife unloading a truck full of gravel. Lots of people have expressed surprise at this... Some thought I had never done a days' work in my life and cited my comfortable curves as evidence of this.. others opined that they thought that I was sure to make Ian do all the heavy work, as a good manager should... well, here is another link in this tale..
Today he snuck out and brought back a load of local stones to use in re-furbishing a couple of the raised beds ( the ones made of paving slabs)You will see that I was soon at work unloading the boulders. I post this to show just how useful a little, tubby woman with a dodgy heartvalve can be! Every gardener should have one!
Maggi
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Luit VanDelft (Lvandelft)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 8:50 pm: | |
Just two views out of our windows
Narcissus already green again, tulips still in colour.
Migration of the nations.
Every year so many people travel from many
countries to see these beautyful but short-lasting colourful fields.
P.S. Looking at the picture of unloading the
truck, I would believe the raised beds being
in Semiramis?
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J.I. Young (Iyoung)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 28, 2003 - 6:53 pm: | |
What a lovely view to have from your window, I have only seen the bulb fields from the air going in and out of Amsterdam Airport, one year we will go and see them.
I have to admit to not knowing what Semiramis is Luit, you will have to explain. I will show more of the reconstructed raised slab beds but here is one under way.
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Ian Christie (Ichristie)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 28, 2003 - 8:07 pm: | |
Hi again, lots of input about the M word well here is the M plant,
Also here is a very nice pulsatilla I have as Puls albana but do not think this is correct.
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Luit VanDelft (Lvandelft)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 28, 2003 - 10:19 pm: | |
Well Ian, (or is it Margaret?), with Semiramis I meant the famous hanging gardens (On the truck Margaret is lifting the stones so high)
I am a very bad historian, but as a future gardener, in my younger days at school the legend about the 7th Wonder of the Ancient World stayed with me.
So Semiramis was the wife of King Nebukadnezar of who is told he built these gardens at Babylon for his wife who came from the mountains in Assyria, what is now the Northern part of Iraq.
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Susan Band
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2003 - 6:52 pm: | |
Hi Ian, That's what I grow as Pulsatilla albana along with Pulsatilla albana lutea, a lovely one with yellow and grey flowers.Doesn't mean to say its right though! |
Flowers and Foliage Now