September 2014 in the Northern Hemisphere

[fixpix]

Chris, I have known it as Tweedia (much easier to remember).
I think it is a name change - same plant.

[Maggi Young]

Chris, I have known it as Tweedia (much easier to remember).
I think it is a name change - same plant.

Yes, The Kew Plant List says :

Oxypetalum coeruleum (D. Don ex Sweet) Decne. is an accepted name

This name is the accepted name of a species in the genus Oxypetalum (family Apocynaceae).

The record derives from Tropicos (data supplied on 2012-04-18) which reports it as an accepted name (record 2601961) with original publication details: Prodr. 8: 585 1844.

Full publication details for this name can be found in IPNI: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:100033-1.
Synonyms:
Tweedia coerulea D. Don ex Sweet    Synonym    M    TRO    2012-04-18
Tweedia versicolor Hook.    Synonym    M    TRO    2012-04-18

[Jupiter]

I'm loving the photos in this thread and it's giving me lots of ideas... I have always liked Tricyrtis but haven't seen some of the species posted by meanie here. I'm going to start seeking them out.

[meanie]

I'm loving the photos in this thread and it's giving me lots of ideas... I have always liked Tricyrtis but haven't seen some of the species posted by meanie here. I'm going to start seeking them out.

Here's a starter for you.................

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tricyrtis-Latifolia-Rare-x-Fresh-Seed-/380988706351?

[Robert]

I was greeted this evening with a huge plume of smoke as I drove back from the farmers' market. Fortunately not too close to the farm! 39c yesterday and now the forest is burning. 

Yes, Tricyrtis is an interesting group of plants. They are long gone from the garden now.    I especially liked some of the yellow flowering species. T. flava - flavum? (This was 20+ years ago!) was one I liked that I wouldn't mind growing again.

Thanks for all the photos!

[Robert]

Today was an adventure shopping for autumn bulbs at our local nurseries. Around here we are way, way, way, at the end of the supply chain - so the adventure is not the shopping but what the little bulbs turn out to be. Colchicum 'Waterlily'  - might be true to name. The others are a real lottery.



Potentilla gracilis still blooming and looking good mixed around the Nepeta. It has been 32 to 39c for the past few weeks. Not bad for this native plant. Sure wish it would cool down!



Abutilon 'Little Imp' has been around here for quite a while. It is said to be dwarf or compact, but it still gets 2 meters, maybe more.
The Abutilon pictured is one of my own hybrids - hopefully a 'Little Imp' that stays small - 1 meter or less - only time will tell.

[Tony Willis]

Eucharis amazonica in flower now

[johnstephen29]

Thunbergia alata known as Black Eyed Susan in flower, it's not done as well as it usually does this year for some reason.


Untitled by johnstephen29, on Flickr

Here are some sweet peas growing on a trellis they have really took off & the scent from the flowers really fill the air with there perfume.


Untitled by johnstephen29, on Flickr

[ranunculus]

Not alpine, but possibly of interest?

There are many areas of northern England that have suffered decades of poverty, urban blight, depression, neglect and demolition. The grand 'plan' was to sweep away the endless grid of (supposedly) out-of-date two-up, two-down terraced houses and replace them with tree-lined boulevards of semi-detached houses complete with garages, gardens and green open spaces. Fantasy island did not materialise, economics suddenly became relevant and local people found themselves searching for work and food-handouts rather than tree-houses and pools.  The dereliction remained, the apathy grew, the litter and crime increased and the graffiti reflected the despair.  These streets became boarded-up (no-go areas for the police and the public alike), they were the forgotten neighbourhoods of an otherwise surviving, and sometimes thriving, Britain.
These neglected neighbourhoods remain and will stay the same until our impotent politicians can unravel the tangled mess of their own making … but there is light in the darkness … sensitive seeing-eyes that looked at this dereliction and saw space for beauty, saw the potential for a meadow in the mire, realised the opportunity for prairies in these poisoned places. 
We were driving through Burnley yesterday (a typical northern town with quite a number of these neglected streets), through a blighted area that once had few redeeming features, a part of town that we would normally skirt or drive through as quickly as possible.  Yesterday was different, yesterday we stopped the car and got out, yesterday we used our cameras in this unfashionable and undistinguished part of Burnley.  Some of the once derelict blocks had been flattened and the rough ground had been sown/planted with wildflowers … there had been no attempt at landscaping, no crevice gardens, no manicured lawns, no poncey parterres or extravagant extras … this was austerity gardening in austerity Britain and it worked.  It added colour to the greyness, beauty to the barrens and decoration to the dereliction.
In truth the entirety was restricted to an enormous rectangle (limited by financial restrictions, available space, imagination … who knows?), but the inspiration was overwhelming and, more importantly perhaps, the flowers hadn't been desecrated by litter, mowed down by the mindless vandals or driven on by those seeking easy parking - the area was being respected and obviously enjoyed.  Well done to the burghers of Burnley, a small beginning but one of outstanding beauty.  More, much more, please?

[Maggi Young]

What a cheering post, Cliff - and how fantastic to see so much wonderful colour in these flowers in mid- September .

 When, in a city park here in Aberdeen , soeme areas by a pond and on a small island were left uncut to make a safe cover for ducks etc and for wildflowers - the  local paper and Friends of the  Parks got letters of complaint about the "untidy mess"  - it's tough to get through to some folks!

[Robert]

Salvia splendens just getting started. Not the small bedding type - these will get 1-2 meters in a season. They put on a real good show until frost in November!



Easy and cold hardy.



Another Abutilon hybrid I'm fooling around with - 'Orange Pumpkin'.

[Roma]

Roscoea 'Red Gurkha'  has been flowering for a while.
Clematis 'Huldine'  was originally trained up a string on to Betula utilis.  I don't remember it ever flowering.  The peg holding the string rotted away and the clematis was left on the ground because the bottom branches of the birch trees were too high for me to reach.  It is a variety which should be cut back every year so did not get in too much of a tangle.  This year with no shade after the birch trees were cut it has produced flowers.  It's a pity there is nothing for it to climb up apart from a few Lilium martagon stems.

[Robert]

Two Violas that were star performers for us this season.



Viola douglasii



Viola purpurea

Both 100% xeric in summer hot, dry Northern California. Both will tolerate some summer water if given perfect drainage i.e. a sand bed or something similar.

[Maggi Young]

Two Violas that were star performers for us this season.
Viola douglasii
Viola purpurea

Both 100% xeric in summer hot, dry Northern California. Both will tolerate some summer water if given perfect drainage i.e. a sand bed or something similar.

Well,  fancy that!

I hope I'm not the only person surprised to learn that these violas can, contrary to their appearance, cope with such dry conditions - but then again, perhaps I am - my lack of knowledge about such plants is awful   

Charming shots of these photogenic little plants, Robert, thank you.

[Robert]

Well,  fancy that!

I hope I'm not the only person surprised to learn that these violas can, contrary to their appearance, cope with such dry conditions - but then again, perhaps I am - my lack of knowledge about such plants is awful   

Charming shots of these photogenic little plants, Robert, thank you.

Yes, both of these Viola species grow with the most brutal, hot and dry conditions during the summer. Of coarse, during the summer they are dormant, hiding under the ground waiting for cooler weather and the winter rains.

It is Salvia season here.



Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue' tries to bloom off and on all summer, however it only starts to look good in the autumn around here.



Salvia sinaloensis - I'm very happy to get this one blooming well again. It seem to be a heavy feeder and likes a good top dressing of humus ? - compost ? (I think that we use the word differently here in the U.S.A.) each season. Very small and compact for a Salvia with attractive foliage and wonderful flowers each autumn.