May 2023 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Robert]

During the end of April we experienced several days with record to near record daily high temperatures. Now, in the first part of May, temperatures have turned much below average. There has even been some rain.

The early season flowering species have generally finished blooming and now the second secession of flowering plants is now in bloom. The ambience of the garden is difficult for me to capture with a camera, but the garden is still looking good. The coming challenge is the hot summer season. I am still not satisfied with my selection of flowering plants for the summer months. There is always something new to explore and improve in our garden.



I have grown Drymocallis lactea var. austiniae in our Sacramento, California garden for a number of years now. They seem quite happy in our garden and have started to seed around the garden. This high elevation species from the Sierra Nevada Mountains has bright yellow flowers that retain their bright coloration in our hot valley garden. This is not always the case when high elevation plants are cultivated in hot, low elevation gardens. The flowers continue to open over an extended period of time during the spring and the pinnately compound leaves are attractive during the growing season. There are additional varieties of Drymocallis lactea native to the Sierra Nevada Mountains with different characteristics.

I also grow our California native Drymocallis glandulosa. To date this species has grown well in our garden, however it has never flowered up to par. It might be a poor specimen or in the wrong location. I will trial this species again in the future with seed gathered from various sites and elevations and see how these perform in our garden.



Penstemon laetus var. laetus has grown well in our garden for many years. Lavender-blue is the most common color form of this species, however I have found pink flowering forms of this species in the wild. I have always grown this species in an extremely well draining soil mixture. I believe with some breeding effort on my part I can develop a line of plants that will grow well in ordinary garden soil. This would be a great asset to our garden.



Allium unifolium consistently provides a fantastic display of flowers each spring. This species is extremely easy to please in summer-dry portions of our garden. I strongly suspect that this species is tolerant of some summertime moisture, so I will be experimenting with it in summer-irrigated portions of the garden.



Ranunculus occidentalis var. ultramontanus is very tolerant of summertime moisture and irrigation. The flowers are smaller and less showy than other Ranunculus occidentalis type species, however it has proven itself to be an excellent parent in many of the Ranunculus hybrids I have created for our garden.

[Yann]

Some very nice species shown, here.

Paeonia morisii few days ago in central Sardinia

[Mariette]

Yann, P. morisii is very beautiful! I definitely prefer the form of this flower, many species look less open and regular. Thank You for showing!

Robert, You´re able to grow an incredible range of flowers, something we´re missing in Germany at this time of the year.

Meanwhile, we enjoy native and naturalised flowers in Sweden, this unusual greenish and rounded Adonis vernalis we saw on Öland.



Less easy to spot in the meadows is Pulsatilla pratensis, but of architectural charm when seen from close by.



Corydalis cava in white and dark purple.



Ornithogalum nutans is often seen naturalised in Småland and Öland, in this case most likely in a former garden, now common of the village Mönsterås.



Hepatica nobilis are often past their prime, this one looks still perfect.

[Robert]

Hi Mariette,

It is good when we can all celebrate and share our gardens with others. We all garden with different circumstances, constraints, goals and plant preferences. I learn a great deal, and our garden benefits greatly when touring other gardens through this forum. Here in California I garden with plants that I like and that are also readily available. I would not have a garden or get anything done if I waited around to obtain exotic plants from faraway places. I just do the best I can to work with what I have, be creative, and learn from other gardeners.

I definitely have challenging issues with the range of plants I have to work with. The hot summer months are particularly challenging. Many of our California native plant species that bloom in the summer need considerable “taming” to be useful garden plants in our Sacramento garden. My goal is not to have pots full of fussy exotic or rare plants, but a dynamic and vibrant garden full of versatile plants that can be crafted in beautiful and pleasing ways. Maybe this is my version of paradise.



Iris hartwegii ssp. hartwegii extends our Iris blooming season into early May. Here they are blooming with our white flowering native Triteleia hycinthina and common, weedy forget-me-nots. It is a very pleasing scene in our garden.



Collinsia tinctoria has pleasing white spotted foliage and tiers of creamy-white flowers. Here they are looking good with common Foxglove, Digitalis purpurea.



Here a chance seedling of Gilia capitata is blooming among the spotted leaves of Collinsia tinctoria. Many of our annual California native plant species are very much at home in our garden. So many now randomly seed around throughout our garden. It is truly a delight. We garden in California – so why not garden with native species? It certainly is working for us.

[Jasmin]:  Today we had a gentle spring rain.  Temperatures are quite pleasant and mild, 12 C.  There is no arctic chill wind.  I persist at taking photos, to continue the garden tour on the thread “Robert and Jasmin’s Garden”.  I will continue to submit them as I can. 

It is an extremely busy time, not just with the garden, bird care, and writing my bird care guide project.  Some birds are still receiving my medical attention, and I have been summoned to serve for jury service in a few weeks.  As much as possible, I am attempting to instruct Robert in the bird care, so he can tend them and supplement the care I provide if I am indeed selected for a jury. 

This service is particularly important to us, at this time there has been so much factiousness in the country.  Other than voting, jury service is one of the few times we can genuinely make a difference. Democracy is such a fragile construct, particularly when we take these institutions for granted.  In many ways, it is no different than our ecosystem and our gardens.  Without care and regular nurturance, the very things we prize can all too easily vanish.

Mariette,

The native and naturalized flowers in Sweden are so very beautiful. What great plants you have to work with right in your general vicinity! They would likely be very unhappy in our scorching Sacramento garden, however I appreciate that you are sharing these photographs. I learn a great deal from these naturalistic scenes. They remind me of scenes of our California native species in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Thank you again for sharing!

[MarcR]

Robert,

I garden with native species. They comprise about 30-35% of my plantings.

There are 3 families I want to explore in depth; particularly Iridaceae; but, but also Ericaceae and Ranunculaceae. There are 9 genera of Ericaceae native to the mid Willamette valley.
However, much of the family is native to Europe, South Africa, and the Eastern U.S.
Likewise, much of Ranunculaceae is native; but much is found elsewhere.
Most of Iridaceae is native to South Africa; and most of what is not, is native to South and Central America. Very few genera are native to the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

[Robert]

Your project seems very ambitious. You’re covering a lot of bases, but then these are topics and plants that many are likely very interested. Will you have any preliminary report for the Forum in the near future?

[MarcR]

Robert,

It is too late for a preliminary repport.  I have been persuing this for 8 years.

In Iridaceae I grow 174 species in 62 genera, and have 11 additional species and 3 additional genera planted but not yet germinated.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XwyixlvDf8pOi_98dXx8Q4oqlr-cl05LVluNpTYvQJw/edit?usp=sharing

In Ranunculaceae i grow  150 species in 31 genera, and have 15 additional species and 1 additional genus planted but not yet germinated.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18I3xagP5P8TEas9bhoGkRkOO9eW-Z-mT/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100954530762417840872&rtpof=true&sd=true

In Ericaceae I grow170 species in 65 genera.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bRmBHTsVpT1lFFWe9EI_g93ybD_KPU94/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100954530762417840872&rtpof=true&sd=true

[Leena]

Yann, it is a very beautiful peony and new to me.

Mariette, lovely pictures of interesting plants in Sweden!

Here the past week has been colder than usual, with two nights -6C and rest -2 - -4C, so very cold considering this time of year.
Most plants are fine, but some have suffered though I have covered them with double horticultural fleece for nights. Mainly Epimedium buds are damaged and also Ranzania japonica has suffered even with protection. Even some of double flowering Sanguinaria canadensis flowers are damaged, but mostly it is ok.
Our native Anemone nemorosa doesn't mind cold nights and its flowering has been prolonged, it has now flowered almost three weeks. There isn't much variation in its flowers.

[Leena]

My corydalis are fine with cold nights, and they have put a good show also this year.
In the second picture Corydalis 'Drops of Claret' with Scilla rosenii.

[Robert]

Hi Leena,

I enjoyed your latest posting immensely. It was extremely informative and it is always a pleasure to “tour” your garden. I agree, your Corydalis species are putting on a fine show this year. I enjoyed both garden scenes featuring the Corydalis with other plants.

Thank you for providing information regarding the magnitude and duration of the cold weather event you have been experiencing. How the various species preformed and the steps you took to help ameliorate the situation was very informative. Late season frosty weather is not an issue in our Sacramento, California garden, however it is an issue at our Placerville property.

We certainly have to build resiliency in our gardens. Climatic changes are increasing both the frequency and magnitude of anomalous weather events. We need more information regarding the performance of species and specific clones to various extremes in weather including drought, excessive heat, unseasonable cold snaps, and other extreme weather events.

I cannot thank you enough for this information.           

[Leena]

We certainly have to build resiliency in our gardens. Climatic changes are increasing both the frequency and magnitude of anomalous weather events. We need more information regarding the performance of species and specific clones to various extremes in weather including drought, excessive heat, unseasonable cold snaps, and other extreme weather events.

Thank you Robert.
You are so right about what you wrote above.
Weather in mid April was unusually warm, so many plants were very advanced when the cold spell hit again. Of course native plants were fine with it, but there are other plants also which are fine. I like to grow peonies, and it is interesting to see how P.veitchii always comes up late, no matter the weather, and still it flowers in early June, the same time as many peonies from Caucasus, which come up much earlier. It is trial and error to find the plants which grow well and suit my garden. But very often I succumb to something new..

About the weather, I forgot to write that the past week when night temperatures were so low, also days were below +10C. Yesterday it was +14C, and now it should get warmer. In fact warmer than average, so it is from one extreme to the other.

[johnw]

One wonders why the Ranzania fiowers are 2 to 3 times larger this year.  Could it have been the more than ample rainfal last summer & autumn despite 2 cold almost snowless days in early February?  Or is it simply maturing?

johnw

[Mariette]

That may well be - on the other hand I wonder whether this Ranunculus bulbosus on Öland grows so short due to the long- lasting drought.



Most of these plants we´ve seen today and yesterday average 5-7 cm. This one was definitely the extreme version.



A woodland-scene on Öland: Lathyrus vernus, Anemone nemorosa + ranunculoides and violets.



A double Anemone ranunculoides.



Adonis vernalis with Orchis mascula.

[Andre Schuiteman]

Rhododendron lowndesii, first flowering of a nine-year-old cutting. Some plants really test our patience.

[Robert]

Mariette,

I have not heard of the prolonged drought in Sweden. Where might I find more detailed science based information in English?

BTW – I am keenly interested in your use of California native annual species in your garden, such as Phacelia campanularia. I hope that you can keep us all posted on your results.