Cyril Lafong's new crevice garden

[Anthony Darby]

Such is the life of the retired. Come on David get on with it!

You talking to yourself David?

[Brian Ellis]

Such is the life of the retired. Come on David get on with it!

You talking to yourself David?

...it's the first sign - take it from one who knows

[gote]

Thank you for the nice words Ian, I do not move the stones, the excavator does and it has some muscle.  I have recommended before that anyone who intends to move sizable stones around should contemplate renting a small excavator. They are perfect cranes.
What I do is that I take two lengths of rope abut 4m long, tie them in the middle with a sheet bend to a cross. Lay out the cross near the stone, roll the stone onto the cross with the excavator (This is the tricky part) I then try to distribute the ends evenly and cow hitch them to the tines. That knot holds very well when loaded but does not jam. If the stone does not hang the way I want, I put it down and rearrange the ropes.
If the stone needs rotating around the vertical axis, this can be done by a helper using a rope or a light bar FROM A DISTANCE. When the stone is in place, it is easy to pull the rope out if the soil is reasonable and it is easy to adjust the stone by pushing with the scoop.
I am more interested in plants than in garden design so I have few pictures showing it in grown up state. Besides overview pictures tend to show green surfaces with small coloured dots. I will try to find something but in the meantime I want to show you the Pteridiophyllum I got from you in 2005. It grows on a kind of ledge in the upper left of my first picture.
Göte

[mark smyth]

Mine is flowering again now but never looks that good

[ian mcenery]

Gote now that is a well grown plant 

Ian

[Anthony Darby]

Crumbs, that's a new one to me. Must look it out.

[Maggi Young]

Crumbs, that's a new one to me. Must look it out.

see old forum....
Posted on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 9:12 pm:   http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/283/2305.html


http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/283/30636.html

and also here... where a plea was made to find it ; 
http://www.srgc.org.uk/discus/messages/147/13878.html

[gote]

Obviously I got my Pteridophyllum from Ian (in 2005). He sent me two of different clones. Both are well, look healthy and increase a little every year but one flowered from year one and the other has refused. Obviously the clone is important and Ian has the right one. Wether he has them in sufficient number is not something I know.
I grow them as all my woodlanders in sandy humusy soil with relatively low pH and some bonemeal. They grow under a canopy of Corylus avellana and the spot where i have the flowering Pteridiophyllum is not pitch dark but there is never any sun. The other one gets a couple of hours of sun but this should not be the reason.
They are indeed very charming and the foliage is also attractive practically all the year.
I enclose a closeup and hope that more will grow them.
Göte

[mark smyth]

green with envy.

[JohnnyD]

Bought one for Clare many years ago (at great cost!) after she admired a super plant from Cecilia Coller.
After a couple of years it was plain the plant simply didn't fancy our garden and so another had to be acquired (at great cost again!)
Clare kindly donated the original 'miffer' to me.
Two years on her new plant was dead. The 'miffer' had miraculously found some vigour and flourishes still. It must be at least eight years now.
I am sure there is a moral there somewhere - but I can't see it. 

This year we saw it in the Botanic Gardens in Gothenburg, so when I pluck up the courage to split the main plant it will get another chance to 'miff' - this time in the garden.
John

[mark smyth]

Mine has never done very well. The leaves look sick and the flower stem never has very many flowers

[ichristie]

Hi all, I have had my Pteridophyllum for around 20 years splitting it occasionally, we do this very soon after flowering with great care. anyway the name means fern-like, which it is, cheers Ian the Christie kind.

[gote]

I did not realise it would be difficult. I just planted it with other woodlanders. I tried to explain what I did above.
A neighbour that grows fairly well is Helleborus Thibetanus. However, again not all clones do well. A darker one planted 40 cm away slowly succumbed.
This plant is visible in my first posting. The fern is Polystichium munitum I believe.
Göte

[gote]

Something that has done well from the beginning as a 8cm seedling from Gothenburg botanical garden is Ranzania japonica. I grow that also in my "woodland rock garden." it is situated in the middle of picture one.
The Sanguinaria is rather close to the Pteridophyllum and the last picture is also close. It is Epimedium acuminatum (introduced by Roy Lancaster) a bi-colour trillium erectum or thereabouts a whit sessile and various things that are only green at the moment.
Göte

[mark smyth]

Gote do you grow your Sanguinarias in full sun?