by maggi : I think quite a lot of us would be ecstatic to be able to have the exquisite Linnaea borealis in our gardens. The only people I know with that pleasure are those with gardens very close to, and so benefitting from, its natural habitat and I think that isthe secret.
I would love to be proved wrong by tales of others growing it well in cultivation.
Two thriving plants of Linnaea borealis
The first was in Evelyn Stevens' garden near Dunblane in 2008
The other two photos in the garden of Lena Thuresson near Varburg 75k south of Gothenburg
Very nice Maggi - thanks. Interesting to see a dark leaved variant like some of the nemorosa forms and the association with other plants such as Panax (some botanists put the Araliaceae and Apiaceae together in one family - they are very close but different enough to make it much more convenient to view them separately). Wouldn't it be lovely to establish Linnaea borealis in the garden? Probably not for us in the dry south-east! A little more research in order :)
I think quite a lot of us would be ecstatic to be able to have the exquisite Linnaea borealis in our gardens. The only people I know with that pleasure are those with gardens very close to, and so benefitting from, its natural habitat and I think that isthe secret.
I would love to be proved wrong by tales of others growing it well in cultivation.
Thank you to the link to Houstonia caerulea thread! There are so many wonderful plants around the world, Houstonia is very very beautiful. :) Is it or its seeds ever available in Europe?
picture from Mt Rainier Washington State,there was yards of it along every path in the woods
Leena, I have a few patches of it in my garden. If they survive the winter I can send you some cuttings in the spring or look for seeds later.
After seeing these marvellous pictures of Linnaea (or presumably more correctly Linnea) I had to look for Lincoln Foster's descriptions of it in 'Cuttings from A Rock Garden'. He writes an informative short essay on it and elsewhere recommends planting it with Phlox adsurgens. That would be lovely pairing, the epitome of woodland beauty. We must try to establish it in the garden and the American form sounds to be the one to go for.
Hoy, I was once told that to produce seed you need two plants from different clones. It would be interesting to see if your plant produces seed.
Linnaea borealis running around in one of my frames.You lucky dog!
My own Linnaea (and I think it is the var americana) is coming into full flower now. I'll try for a photo tomorrow though not sure how my camera will handle the tiny flowers. It flowers each year but this year's is best I've seen. It has grown to about a metre across in less than two years and threatens to overtake Asteranthera while engulfing a flat Cotoneaster, itself very vigorous. Mine is in mostly sun but some afternoon shade (about 3 hours in summer) from a smallish Magnolia.