March 2007

[Lesley Cox]

A nice batch John. I grow D. aretioides outside all the time and it has become quite tough always flowering well but never looking so svelte and pristine as the alpine house ones of course. Likewise with C. pseudibericum.

[John Forrest]

Lesley, I've tried both outside but the combination of winter wet and cold sees them off.

[derekb]

 
 This my first try at posting a photo, if it is OK its down to Mark if not its Me.
 The first time of flowering Pleione Alishan Mothers Day.
Not a good photo but a nice pale lavender and fragrant

[Maggi Young]

Hi, Derek, welcome! You managed that okay then?  Good to have a pleione with a scent, so many of them don't seem to have one. Just makes a pretty flower all the nicer, in my opinion.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Beautiful Pleione Derek - not very common colour either !
Nice to see somebody new posting some Pleione - there's more of them in the Pleione thread in the Bulbs section - Hope to see you there, maybe with more of the same

[John Forrest]

A bright sunny day again  today and a few more things have opened to share.

The first of my Trilliums to open is T.pusillum georgianum

Frit pudica a tiny but lovely thing with twin flowers this year

Ipheion sellowiana which used to be Beauvardia sellowiana

Tecophilea cyanocrocus, this solitary one seems to be way ahead of all the rest

[TC]

Probably the last of the Snowdrops now.  There is still a nice display at Dawyck Gardens although they are starting to go over. We visited Logan Gardens in the S.W. a few days ago checking up on the huge Magnolia Sprengeri.  It will be a couple of weeks before it is in full flower.  The Camellias were looking particularly nice and should be at their best in about a week's time.  Threave Gardens had a good display of crocus and a few early Narcissus.  After one of the wettest winters on record, there are signs that Spring is not too far away.

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks for this little taste of wild Scotland Tom, such beautiful places and what magnificent daffs and snowdrops. A real treat. I guess Dawyck is where the beech of that name comes from?

[Lesley Cox]

And John such a lovely batch of bulby things. Isn't that frit just the cutest thing as my American friend would say.

Good to see the first trilliums of the northern year. At the moment I have a box full of beautifully cleaned trilliums sitting on my dining room table, awaiting transport to Australia. They're for Tim but the poor guy doesn't know I'm going to plant the lot here and have them "disappear" somewhere over the Tasman sea.

[ian mcenery]

Here is my Cyclamen Pseudibericum which is growing outside and seems to doing well. It is in a raised and sunny part of the scree which seems to suit it. Only problenm is whatever white balance settting I choose I can't seem to get the true colour which is a very bright cyclamen pink. Any hints on capturing this accurately would be appreciated l

[tonyg]

Some nice flowers from a sunny day - mine was Tuesday though (JoF, yours was Wed?)

Dionysia aretioides - tough, it must be if its still alive in my careless hands.  I used to grow a lot of Dionysias but that was BC.

Iris suaveloens - purple form, surprised its this early in flower

Tulipa pulchella - great dwarf tulip

And a mystery cyclamen for Mark to decode ... no paintshop tricks used here Mark, just the natural light

[annew]

Sneaky, Tony!

[Anthony Darby]

Mmm. Cyclamen mystericum looks like leaves of purpurascens and flowers of coum?

[TC]

Yes Lesley,
The Dawyck beech was found locally and planted in the garden in the mid 1800's.  It is now over 90 feet high.  I find it refreshing to look up at plants instead of having to get down to look at miniature alpines and, worse still, trying to get back up.  It's amazing how, as you get older, the ground gets further away from you !

[Tim Murphy]

Not purpurascens, Anthony... think further south, or southeast in distribution than that. I won't say any more... I don't want to spoil it for whom the photo was intended.