Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Roma on July 02, 2015, 11:31:32 PM
-
Evening primroses on July 1st
Oenothera 'Sunset Boulevard' , one with an odd coloured flower
Oenothera acaulis with tiny flies
-
What a lovely colour that 'Sunset Boulevard' is - just right for the weather we are having down south!
-
This Watsonia seems very happy here - never had so many flower spikes.
-
It is Geranium-time in my garden now. Most are Geranium x magnificum, the big pink one is 'Patricia' and then there are some different kinds of Geranium pratense, single and fl pl.
Also lactiflora peonies are flowering and one picture of my seed grown quadruple hybrid peonies which flowered now for the first time, I will have to give them more space in the autumn. There are some very nice ones among them, and all have big flowers.
The last picture is of a rose from Norway, called Hurdal after the place where it was found and now it is grown in many places in Scandinavia..
-
Leena, your garden is beautiful. It must make up for having to endure the long winter.
-
Leena, I was thinking the same as Matt - you have such a long and tough winter but it is so lovely to see the lush and healthy growth evident now in your beautiful garden.
-
Thanks Matt and Maggi, the sunny side of the garden is now it's best. :) Winter is too long here, but luckily the last couple of winters have been reasonably mild and I could have enjoyed snowdrops and early spring flowers for a longer time than usually.
The garden is lush, indeed, small plants can't survive in these beds, and sometimes I envy other people's tidy rock gardens, but my soil is not so good for rock garden plants as it is. Someday I want to make a raised sand bed where also smaller plants can grow.
-
Leena thank you for sharing those pictures, your garden is inspirational. I love the different shades of purple and the mounds of varying texture and colour punctuated by those vertical spires of digitalis and verbascum?
-
Leena thank you for sharing those pictures, your garden is inspirational. I love the different shades of purple and the mounds of varying texture and colour punctuated by those vertical spires of digitalis and verbascum?
Indeed! My kind of garden.
-
Yesterday GordT & Martin from Sledding Hill paid a visit so we made the rounds to a few gardens. First stop was Rockburn - Stephen & Sheila, the owners left and Gord & Martin right.
Despite the warm 25c day there was no shortage of Meconopsis about as Stephen has been dividing like mad and spreading them round the garden.
A little scene with Asaum europaeum, why tidy this up?
Sheila inspects her yak Wada.
On to Donna's garden - another lurker - where we spied a nice dark Cypripedium reginae.
Lastly Gord was amazed by this Arisaema hybrid - at least we both presume it's a hybrid given its size & think I suspected the flower was more creamy yellow than the white of camtschatcense - which I had randomly plucked from my own bog and given to Donna as a tiny seedling four or five years ago.
johnw
-
And I was also thinking your garden is so lovely, and tidy too. Does the wind ever blow where you are? ;)
johnw
-
Thanks Jamus and Ralph, I think this is the best part of the garden right now :), and the photos are flattering, you can't see all the weeds, and I don't even want to think about the amount of ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria) and other weeds growing elsewhere in the garden. :-[
John, my garden is quite sheltered by trees so the wind gets here very rarely, the downside of it is that this June we've got a lot of rain and some of the peony buds got mold when there was no wind to dry the plants.
vertical spires of digitalis and verbascum?
Yes, they are ordinary Digitalis grandiflora and Verbascum thapsus, which seed around. I weed some but let some grow because I like them and the vertical and informal effect they give. Later in July and August there are also white form of Verbascum nigrum which is short lived but seeds around.
In the sunny beds most of my plants are very common, later in the summer also phloxes and asters flower, but the woodland beds are my favourite and there I try to grow more special plants. :) Right now there are not so much flowering in them, blue Corydalis, some Meconopsis (I'm trying to grow more of them, but have only a few yet) and Martagon lilies which are starting to flower soon.
-
Very nice pics Leena ;) Very hot days here and all the garden is suffering... :'(
-
Thanks Nicole. :)
I have been keeping eye on Helleborus seed pods, they will be ripe any day now, because the week-end the weather was very hot. Helleborus multifidus which was the earliest to flower opened it's seedpods (one day they were closed and then next day the seeds were gone) and I didn't get those seeds, but at least I will get seedlings when they germinate below the mother plant in the spring. :)
-
Magnolia delavayi.
A large evergreen. Mine is about 10 ft tall and 15 ft across after 7 years. Good on an alkaline soil. The flowers open in the evening, and shed their petals the following morning. They are about 8 inches across and are very fragrant. You can see the caducous stamens (stamens are shed).
-
:o Congratulations Giles. Sounds as if it's growing gang-busters.
john
-
Leena, wonderful to see another northern (or I should say cold-winter) gardener. Finland's climate isn't too different from Minnesota, just a little warmer in winter and cooler in summer. I bet many plants that grow well here will do well there, and vice-versa.
Some July flowers from my garden in Minneapolis.
Here are cyclamen leaves shining with silver in the rain, and this year's crop of new leaves rising up, with their purple backs visible. You can see some seedlings too in the second photo, from last year's seed that escaped my attempts to collect it.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
Several pictures of flowers with bees on them. I've been paying attention to the bees this year, especially in my native plant garden, and getting some good pictures with my little point-and-shoot camera. Appalachian bleeding-heart (Dicentra eximia) with a bumblebee. Bumblebees are the only bees strong enough to break into the flower and get nectar.
[attachimg=3]
Mountain-mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum) is popular with all kinds of bees, from bumblebees to tiny sweat bees, and attracts many interesting wasps. The flowers are small enough to allow short-tongued insects to reach nectar, about the size of thyme flowers and spotted. The bee in the picture is either a carpenter or digger bee, but I'm not sure. I'm still learning.
[attachimg=4]
Prairie-clover (Dalea purpurea) is also very popular. Here's a leafcutter bee collecting bright orange pollen on the hairy spot under her abdomen, and a tiny sweat bee with pollen on her back legs.
[attachimg=5]
[attachimg=6]
-
A fine series Gabriel 8)
It's fascinating to see these different bee species.
-
So you are growing Hurdalsrose, Leena? I had one once but it got too big!
Here's a rose that I have grown from Chadwell seed. Unfortunately I have no name for it - I thought it was R. banksiae normalis but it doesn't look like that.
It has just started flowering for the season. It has many, rather small flowers in a corymb-like truss and 7-9 leaflets.
Anybody who knows it?
-
Quite taken by this prostrate form of Lonicera villosa that friend Jamie in the Annapolis Valley collected in Newfoundland years ago, growing in his rock garden. It has remained true to form while our native ones are waist high or better. My phone-camera went dead so this the only photo of the day trip.
johnw - +25c here today, far worse in the Valley.
-
Trond, I can't identify your rose, but it reminds me of mockorange (Philadelphus), which was blooming recently in my backyard. Does it have fragrance as well?
-
Trond, I can't identify your rose, but it reminds me of mockorange (Philadelphus), which was blooming recently in my backyard. Does it have fragrance as well?
My mockorange is also almost finished flowering but the rose has just started. And it has a very pleasant fragrance of rose ;D
-
Leena, wonderful to see another northern gardener. Finland's climate isn't too different from Minnesota, just a little warmer in winter and cooler in summer. I bet many plants that grow well here will do well there, and vice-versa.
Yes, you are right, though our cooler and shorter summer may not be as good for many plants as your hot summer. Different Dicentras are also my favourites, which wrote earlier, and they like it here also.
You have nice bee-plants, and your cyclamen is wonderful.
So you are growing Hurdalsrose, Leena? I had one once but it got too big!
Yes, I like it a lot (I like big roses). I got it about ten years ago, and at first I tried to grow it in a different spot where it always died in the winter to the level where there was snow cover, so it never flowered, but then I moved it to a very sheltered and warm place under cherry trees, and here it is not about two meters tall and has flowered well every summer. :)
-
Quite taken by this prostrate form of Lonicera villosa that friend Jamie in the Annapolis Valley collected in Newfoundland years ago, growing in his rock garden. It has remained true to form while ours are waist high or better. My phone-camera went dead so this the only photo of the day trip.
johnw - +25c here today, far worse in the Valley.
Not a plant I know at all - very neat thing.
-
First bloom on an Abutilon hybrid grown from seed sown in January..............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/525/18883481143_1870dc7741_z.jpg)
-
Leena, since you like Dicentras, perhaps you will like my Adlumia fungosa. It's a biennial vine that has come up the last three or four years from seed.
It's messy, but beautiful if it has a shrub to climb up. It grew in our lilac bush (now dead) two years ago, and decorated it with garlands of ferny leaves and pink flowers. This year I've trained it to grow in the railing outside our front door, and in the chain-link fence in the backyard. A bit more work, but I don't mind because I love the plant.
[Edit:] Oops! The forum rotated one of my pictures the wrong way! I don't think I can fix it, because it looks right in the folder on my computer... Happens at times - not to worry, Gabriel, I've fixed it for you. maggi
[attachimg=3]
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
-
Leena, since you like Dicentras, perhaps you will like my Adlumia fungosa. It's a biennial vine that has come up the last three or four years from seed.
Yes, it looks lovely. :) I haven't seen it, but it could grow also here. Most Dicentras do ok, but I've had trouble with some of the hybrids with D.peregrina in them, though it is most likely only a matter of me not finding the right place for them to grow. 'Ivory Hearts' was lovely, but it died in the first winter, when right next to it ordinary white Dicentra formosa thrives. I have 'King of Hearts' and 'Burning Hearts' growing in more dry bed, and they have survived.
-
Romneya coulteri is in flower here in my Berlin garden :)
-
Magnolia chevalieri
A large evergreen plant, collected by the Wynn-Jones's (Crug Farm) in Vietnam.
A couple of mild winters in a row, and it is flowering for the first time.
Not entirely sure it was worth the wait....
-
Polemonium viscosum from Alplains seed sown early 2014. This is a single plant, now on its second flush of flowers. Only 15cm high. Don't be fooled by the background - it is in a pot!
The flowers have a lovely scent, reminiscent of Primula reidii. But brushing the foliage releases an aroma that can only be described as unpleasant. The literature suggests it is hard to get through a winter in cultivation in the UK. I'd agree with that. It germinated well, five seedlings made it to the end of last summer. 3 survived the winter, one of which I gave away in March. The two remaining plants look very healthy so far.
-
Clever tactics really, by this plant - a nice fragrance to attract pollinators but a stink to deter grazing critters! Other Polemonium I have grown have been uniformly stinky.
-
[attachimg=1]
Ornithogalum candicans looking stately.
-
Stunning plant Robert. I haven't seen that one before.
-
Stunning plant Robert. I haven't seen that one before.
Jamus,
I was impress too. This plant stands close to 2 meters tall, others from the same batch of seed are not as tall. The heat does not seem to bother it either, as there is no foliage burn and the flowers last in good condition for a week or more. It does need irrigation during the summer. For me it is certainly worth the effort to give it the extra water.
-
I found them on the catalogues of the bulb nurseries here in Oz. I'd just overlooked them before, thinking I knew Ornithogalum and wasn't interested... my mistake!
-
Romneya coulteri is in flower here in my Berlin garden :)
Irm, what phlox do you have growing behind Romneya?
-
I found them on the catalogues of the bulb nurseries here in Oz. I'd just overlooked them before, thinking I knew Ornithogalum and wasn't interested... my mistake!
Previously known as Galtonia candicans, so that maybe why you've missed them before,
cheers
fermi
-
Jamus,
I was impress too. This plant stands close to 2 meters tall, others from the same batch of seed are not as tall. The heat does not seem to bother it either, as there is no foliage burn and the flowers last in good condition for a week or more. It does need irrigation during the summer. For me it is certainly worth the effort to give it the extra water.
My goodness - nearly 2m tall!! Surely this must be something of a record? Does anyone know of a taller example of this plant, Ornithogalum candicans /Galtonia candicans ?
-
Irm, what phlox do you have growing behind Romneya?
I wondered the same thing,Leena. Irm, the combination of the Romneya with the Phlox and its dark foliage is very pleasing.
-
(Attachment Link)
Ornithogalum candicans looking stately.
I grow these and the flower seen inside is beautiful too. Mine have only reached around 1m. I bought them as bulbs. This photo taken in 2011.
-
My goodness - nearly 2m tall!! Surely this must be something of a record? Does anyone know of a taller example of this plant, Ornithogalum candicans /Galtonia candicans ?
I grew the Ornithogalum candicans from a seed exchange seed list. So maybe they are hybrids? Perhaps mislabeled seed? I know that I had misgivings about ordering the seed. Why did I want this? They turned out much better than I expected (understatement!). Who ever they are they are keepers. They certainly thrive with our climatic conditions and look great. :)
-
The show on the Cornus kousa trees about the city is quite amazing this year. Here the pink-flowered 'Satomi' at one of Ken's clients & note the vigour, those grafted on C. florida seem to lack that and go into a decline.
johnw
-
Rather impressive display there, John.
-
I can't help posting about my cyclamens again. The seeds are ripening, and I've been collecting them every morning and evening as they open. Looking forward to raising hundreds of seedlings this fall and winter, and creating huge cyclamen carpets at Gardens of Rice Creek.
The blazing stars (Liatris pycnostachya) in our rain garden have been growing upwards, preparing for their autumn bloom. Their stems covered in narrow leaves look like rockets with green plumes of smoke shooting up from the ground. In autumn, the stems are 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall and the upper half is covered in closely spaced small red-purple flowers. Very spectacular, although they tend to fall over (probably from lack of potassium).
At Gardens of Rice Creek, Betty Ann Addison's Carpathian bellflowers (Campanula carpatica and Campanula carpatica turbinata) are in full bloom. They have self-seeded, so there are many different colors, from deep blue-purple to icy blue, and some of the flowers are flat (the turbinata form).
The twinflowers (Linnaea borealis) are sending out long purple stems with bright shiny round leaves. They're just as pretty in leaf as in flower.
[Edit:] Oops. Maggi, would you rotate the twinflower picture clockwise?
{ Maggi ----Yup! }
-
(Attachment Link)
Ornithogalum candicans looking stately.
That is one of my favourite hardy bulbs of the summer. Quite a prolific self seeder here.
Digitalis ferruginea.................
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/315/19595541535_58b7230a6a_z.jpg)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3758/18974618083_06b8019a14_z.jpg)
-
My goodness - nearly 2m tall!! Surely this must be something of a record? Does anyone know of a taller example of this plant, Ornithogalum candicans /Galtonia candicans ?
I can get close but I assumed that it was because they grow in the shadow of the Taxodium.
-
That is one of my favourite hardy bulbs of the summer. Quite a prolific self seeder here.
meanie,
This is the first year the Ornithogalum have bloomed from seed. I will keep an eye out for self seeding. Ornithogalum candicans is certainly beautiful here, however I am not interested in having it become weedy. Thank you for the insight!
-
meanie,
This is the first year the Ornithogalum have bloomed from seed. I will keep an eye out for self seeding. Ornithogalum candicans is certainly beautiful here, however I am not interested in having it become weedy. Thank you for the insight!
Whilst the seed here will survive a mild to average winter the resulting bulbs will not get through their first winter unless it is exceptionally mild or I lift them.
That said the seed is slow to ripen so you should be able to harvest them and sow in pots if you prefer. One seed pod is more than enough seed.
-
First blooms on this seed grown Salvia radula.........
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/302/18982248973_385880abf6_z.jpg)
-
Lovely Salvia meanie but maybe a little tall for my windy garden.
-
Lovely Salvia meanie but maybe a little tall for my windy garden.
It does have strong stems. I have seed for it (the seed is five years old but Salvia seed remains viable for several years as a rule) if you want to try.
I'll also toss in seed for this (taken last week)...................
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/265/18531448614_faa2d3e4ab_z.jpg)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3903/14729159119_d87891193e_z.jpg)
It's S.greggii (orS.x jamensis) "Raspberry Royale". Low growing shrubby Salvia, hardy. May not come true but the seed germinates freely.
-
Whilst the seed here will survive a mild to average winter the resulting bulbs will not get through their first winter unless it is exceptionally mild or I lift them.
That said the seed is slow to ripen so you should be able to harvest them and sow in pots if you prefer. One seed pod is more than enough seed.
meanie,
This past winter I protected the seedling bulbs of Ornithogalum candicans. I was uncertain how cold hardy they might be at the farm in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I am sure they would over-winter easily at our Sacramento Valley bungalow. So far no sign of any seed, however for the most part the plants are still blooming. I have a number of blooming plants so I may get some cross pollination.
Beautiful Salvias!
-
Meanie,
I like the red blooming salvia (or do you call it pink - I once had a discussion with Lori about colours ;D). It looks nice.
-
It does have strong stems. I have seed for it (the seed is five years old but Salvia seed remains viable for several years as a rule) if you want to try.
I'll also toss in seed for this
It's S.greggii (orS.x jamensis) "Raspberry Royale". Low growing shrubby Salvia, hardy. May not come true but the seed germinates freely.
Meanie, I will PM you.
-
Meanie,
I like the red blooming salvia (or do you call it pink - I once had a discussion with Lori about colours ;D). It looks nice.
I'm the last person to get colour names correct ;D I would call it scarlet.
A couple more Salvia;
Salvia glutinosa................
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/302/19011176244_2ac398dbf6_z.jpg)
It grows to a good size............
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3780/19645518231_c81ac344ec_z.jpg)
And my favourite hardy Salvia - S.dolichantha............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/295/19012814903_799bde3899_z.jpg)
-
The first of the Isoplexis canariensis to start flowering. I trhought they'd be massive plants. Reckon you need a dozen or more plants massed for a good show.
johnw
-
Eriogonum grande var. rubescens looking good in the garden.
Native to the Northern Channel Islands (San Miguel, Santa Cruz, and Santa Rosa Islands), California. An easy xeric species with colorful flowers. Selection of the best seedlings pays-off.
-
The first of the Isoplexis canariensis to start flowering. I trhought they'd be massive plants. Reckon you need a dozen or more plants massed for a good show.
johnw
Well done John, I wouldn't have thought they would be easy for you to grow, presumably they are overwintered ;D
-
Two great colours there from John and Robert on the Isoplexis canariensis and Eriogonum grande var. rubescens - the weather is very grey again here and these colours are just what the doctor ordered!
-
What do you call those colours, I have a limited vocabulary for colours (in Norwegian too ;D ): Red, yellow, blue; green, orange; brown - and of course black, white and grey ;)
It is grey here also. We have had a couple of rainy days now.
-
Isoplexis canariensis - burnt apricot and Eriogonum grande var. rubescens - rosy red !! 8)
VERY hard to define most colours - I guess that's why the RHS colour charts have hundreds and hundreds of possibilities. Artist's colours offer a huge range too - and that's before we get into personal opinions of colour
perceptions, colour blindness etc! :-\ :)
Nearly mid-day and barely 12 degrees C - at least it is not YET raining here today :(
-
........................... - at least it is not YET raining here today :(
It is here........again! :(
-
Brian - We got the seeds as a bonus from RarePlants when I ordered the Aeonium seed. Ken started the seed under lights last November and by February they were 6"+. In fact they grew like wildfire. We had warnings that they would not tolerate temps over 25c so feared they would collapse in summer. However yesterday was near 28c and they did not bat an eyelast, I think our cool nights are to their likening. I must say I thought it would take several years to see a flower and so was shocked to see bud formation last month. No predeliction for snow & ice I'm afraid, a friend who tried it outdoors in Victoria lost it and doubt it went much below -2 or -3c there. Would you like seed?
Someone has crossed it with Digitalis and that is in a few garden centres here as Digiplexis 'Illumination Falme'.
Hmm burnt apricot sounds like a splendid ice cream or chocolate. They barbeque peaches so why not apricots. You may well be on to something Maggi.
john
-
25 degrees?! Pfffff.. I grow isoplexis canariensis here and it copes just fine with 40C in the shade. A tough plant and a favourite of mine.
-
No prediction for snow & ice I'm afraid, a friend who tried it outdoors in Victoria lost it and doubt it went much below -2 or -3c there.
I think the prediction would be extinction ;) We have grown Digitalis 'Illumination Pink' which lasted well for the last two years being overwintered in the glasshouse but has dwindled away this year sadly.
-
Campanula and more 1
Campanula incurva, got as Campanula peshmenii, Campanula choruhensis, Byblis rorida and Cyclamen purpurascens.
-
Campanula and more 2
Campanula morettiana, Campanula fragilis, Helichrysum frigidum, Roscoea scillifolia and Petrocosmea kerrii.
-
I think the prediction would be extinction ;) We have grown Digitalis 'Illumination Pink' which lasted well for the last two years being overwintered in the glasshouse but has dwindled away this year sadly.
Isn't the colour lovely? Wish I was hearing it was as tough as old boots.
-
Your Petrocosmea is doing well, KD. ( and so are the other plants!)
-
Isn't the colour lovely? Wish I was hearing it was as tough as old boots.
Survived -8°c here. Two large firs to the north and a shed to the NE are the sum total of winter protection. The firs do keep it pretty dry all year and it is also too close to the Iochroma which is getting large and is mugging it now. The biggest problem is that with typical T&M guile it is completely sterile.
-
Sterile? It gets worse!
-
Isoplexis canariensis - burnt apricot and Eriogonum grande var. rubescens - rosy red !! 8)
VERY hard to define most colours - I guess that's why the RHS colour charts have hundreds and hundreds of possibilities.
. . . .
Thanks. That's why I only have 6 ;D
. . . .
Hmm burnt apricot sounds like a splendid ice cream or chocolate. They barbeque peaches so why not apricots. You may well be on to something Maggi.
john
Ice cream is not tempting now so let's have chocolate! I think I have a brand in mind though ;) - with apricot ;D ;D
-
Sterile? It gets worse!
On the plus side it is a shrubby plant that is largely evergreen so far. So one plant goes a long way.....................
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3841/14150338090_d0c6d7451f_z.jpg)
They are expensive unless you can get them out of the bargain bin as I did.
Here is Illumination Gold which I was sent last year..............
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3890/14582853011_46fd175cdd_z.jpg)
Continuing the Digitalis theme here is D.parviflora which is in bloom now...............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/481/19643246435_636d2caa5e_z.jpg)
-
25 degrees?! Pfffff.. I grow isoplexis canariensis here and it copes just fine with 40C in the shade. A tough plant and a favourite of mine.
I witnessed 40c in Chicago once and care not to have a repeat. I never realized I could move so slowly.....
-
We've had temperatures of 43-44°C here in Adelaide on rare occasions, made worse by the fact that they usually occur in the middle of a heawave, 4 or 5 days above 40 in a row. It gets dangerous when it's that extreme. Every summer I really wonder why I live here, and then we have sunny days in the low 20's in June and July (winter) and I remember.
-
Some of the blue flowers in the garden this week.
-
That's a really nice, dark Roscoea!
One from Jiajinshan below:
-
That's a really nice, dark Roscoea!
I am very pleased with this Roscoea. It is darker than shown. This is its first year in the garden and it has produced three flowers so far. Your photo is lovely showing the stunning scenery in the back ground. Are the flowers dianthus and saxifrage?
-
Wonderful photo of a stunning plant.
-
Lovely blue flowers of Commelina Coelestis. Two year ago I had just a few plants miraculously preserved as (wild) seedlings somewhere in the garden. I collected seeds from these to increase my stock again. I experienced that these plants are very easy from seed, germination rate is almost 100%, flowered last year as tiny 1 year old seedlings and this year all plants have made thick strong stems.
-
Diascia 'Ruby Field' in two different situations in the garden.
Diascias have been hybridised extensively recently and many hybrids are to be seen in the garden centres for use in hanging baskets but I have yet to see one better than 'Ruby Field'
-
One of the hottest and driest summers we have had in Kent for a long time - very different to last year - and parts of the lawn have turned brown. These are a few of the 'silvers' which revel in the heat and drought:
Sideritis syraica (seed raised form Mojmir Pavelka, Euroseeds)
Lotus (Dorycnium) pentaphyllos (a marvellous bee plant - from Cally Gardens)
Eryngium giganteum 'Silver Ghost' (Martyn Rix's introduction of this familiar garden plant)
Centaurea cineraria 'Colchester White' (the name dates back to Mrs Desmond Underwood and Ramparts Nursery in Colchester, Essex, close to Beth Chatto's, but now long closed)
-
The pea looks like an Astragalus alpinus to me.
Tim, although I would like a bit warmer weather I am not sure I would like something like your drought :-\
We had a very warm and dry summer last year but not now.
-
Not alpines but another part of my garden, the border garden. Is in full flower now ;D
-
A few things in the garden;
Salvia miltiorrhiza is something of a gem in my opinion................
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3705/19877747655_a35039800f_z.jpg)
Salvia stolonifera.............
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3785/19689727548_a46873f6cc_z.jpg)
Another Abutilon hybrid from this years January sowings.............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/441/19852340216_5a3189f06b_z.jpg)
Aloe striatula.............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/410/19851534676_f32d14267e_z.jpg)
-
Not alpines but another part of my garden, the border garden. Is in full flower now ;D
Very nice Ruben, looks like an "English" garden.
-
A few things in the garden;
Love the Aloe, Meanie. What conditions do you give it?
-
Love the Aloe, Meanie. What conditions do you give it?
Soil ;D
Seriously though, nothing special. The soil is well drained but it's not in a sheltered spot or dry in the winter. The only bugbear is that slugs love it.
Planted two years ago it quickly grows and throws up side shoots.
-
Soil ;D
Seriously though, nothing special. The soil is well drained but it's not in a sheltered spot or dry in the winter. The only bugbear is that slugs love it.
Planted two years ago it quickly grows and throws up side shoots.
Thanks Meanie.
I don't normally consider such exotic-looking plants for up here but I might just try this one.
-
Thanks Meanie.
I don't normally consider such exotic-looking plants for up here but I might just try this one.
I'm not sure how cold you get but maybe best against a south facing wall. As they grow quite tall the wind may be more of an issue up there?
Main thing for me is that they see as much sun in the winter as early as they can when it does come out.
-
I'm not sure how cold you get but maybe best against a south facing wall. As they grow quite tall the wind may be more of an issue up there?
Main thing for me is that they see as much sun in the winter as early as they can when it does come out.
We rarely get much frost up here and certainly no low temperatures in most years. Wind is the main issue but these Aloes look as if they have the stature of Kniphofias which do well in our conditions. The issue with maximizing sun (when it bothers to show) is the south aspect, which gets the brunt of the prevailing winds.
-
We rarely get much frost up here and certainly no low temperatures in most years. Wind is the main issue but these Aloes look as if they have the stature of Kniphofias which do well in our conditions. The issue with maximizing sun (when it bothers to show) is the south aspect, which gets the brunt of the prevailing winds.
Here's a photo of the whole plant................
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3671/19926824861_916c207896_z.jpg)
-
Salvia dolichantha grown from the same batch of seed as my other one but this is more blue.............
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3742/19921729875_2d1ca0d13d_z.jpg)
Impatiens balsamina..............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/557/19300763753_a79f164f85_z.jpg)
Digitalis ferruguinea..............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/429/19921734525_c9d5f7caee_z.jpg)
Lobelia tupa is looking so good now...............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/308/19735067519_53efd4a3f4_z.jpg)
-
Maggi, would it be possible to split Anne's Dolomite pictures into their own thread so they are not mixed up with other pictures in the July Northern Hemisphere thread?
-
Maggi, would it be possible to split Anne's Dolomite pictures into their own thread so they are not mixed up with other pictures in the July Northern Hemisphere thread?
Excellent idea, Roma - I have done that - so that new thread of Anne's ("astragalus") photos from her beloved Dolomites this summer are here http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=13394.0 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=13394.0)
-
Here's a photo of the whole plant................
Gosh, that's tall, much taller than other images I've seen. Is it drawn to the light or cramped for space?
-
Gosh, that's tall, much taller than other images I've seen. Is it drawn to the light or cramped for space?
Not the tallest that I've seen. Maybe it looks tall because it hasn't formed a large clump yet? If you want I can send you an offshoot from the bottom.
Todays offering is my Hoya which is happy to spend its summer under the ornamental cherry..............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/348/19929433092_4cf4fc9e46_z.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/343/19929430252_532c16ed97_z.jpg)
-
Not the tallest that I've seen. Maybe it looks tall because it hasn't formed a large clump yet? If you want I can send you an offshoot from the bottom.
How kind and - yes please. I'll send you a PM.
-
Gosh, that's tall, much taller than other images I've seen. Is it drawn to the light or cramped for space?
Isn't this species called climbing aloe? Should expect it to get tall then!
-
Isn't this species called climbing aloe? Should expect it to get tall then!
I've only seen it referred to as Hardy Aloe, Trond. Google images show it as broad-based which would tend to make it look less tall.
-
Chris,
maybe it is the group it belongs to that is called climbing aloes.
If it is considered hardy I must try it at home if I can get seed!
-
Isn't this species called climbing aloe? Should expect it to get tall then!
That is A.siliaris (spelling?) I think.
-
Some very bizarre leaves on Magnolia grandiflora 'Trautmann's Hardy' this year. In the last photo a tiny stem emantes from the centre of the small leaf just where you see a kink.
john - +15c & showers
-
We lost Aloe striatula in a particularly cold winter but I've seen it growing outside in the 'desert' garden at East Ruston on the Norfolk coast. Must try it again. Aloe aristata has been totally hardy with us in deep sand - with no protection - to well below -10°C, and associates well with dryland alpines.
A diminutive Acanthus from Turkey and into Iran and Iraq - A. dioscoridis - about a foot high and spreading slowly at the root. This form has smooth, uncut, leaves but var. perringii is more typical of the genus with spiny greyish leaves. We grow it with sedums and eryngiums in a bed full of small bulbs through late autumn to spring.
-
Visited a friend's garden in Mahone Bay, NS on Thursday. He's particularly keen on dwarf conifers and trees. Here's Taxodium distichum 'Peve's Minaret', a very dwarf fastigiate form of the towering Bald Cypress. The other photos are developing pneumatophores or knees on his large Taxodium distichum; we know of no other instances of knees developing in Nova Scotia so there was a lot of excitement. This tree is on the edge of a lae but the water rises in the autumn and submerges the root sytems till early summmer, seems to be a sure-fire recipe.
john
-
The Acers are well represented in Dave's collection in Mahone Bay, NS. Here are a few that caught my eye.
Acer campestre 'Carnival' - ready to be be planted & withstands full sun without burning.
Acer palmatum 'Geisha' - I'm not a great fan of red or purple-leafed ones.
Acer palmatum - I much prefer green ones and especially viewed against the sky.
Acer platanoides, simply marked "dwarf" from the late & great Dennis Dodge - the dreaded Norway maple in its only acceptable form..
Acer triflorum - I was really taken with this supremely elegant large tree.
john
-
Visited a friend's garden in Mahone Bay, NS on Thursday. He's particularly keen on dwarf conifers and trees. Here's Taxodium distichum 'Peve's Minaret', a very dwarf fastigiate form of the towering Bald Cypress. The other photos are developing pneumatophores or knees on his large Taxodium distichum; we know of no other instances of knees developing in Nova Scotia so there was a lot of excitement. This tree is on the edge of a lae but the water rises in the autumn and submerges the root sytems till early summmer, seems to be a sure-fire recipe.
john
John,
Do you have a picture of the whole tree? How big is it? My Taxodium shows no sign of producing pneumatophores.
-
Trond - I would guess the base of the tree is about 25cm in diameter. It was imposssible to get a long shot of the tree without a boat and a shot toward land. Dave is gradually clearing around the tree now that it firmly anchored in the ground. Next time down I'll get a shot of at least the base.
I may have knees on mine in Lunenburg. I planted it in about 1988 in a bog through which water runs so it constantly sits in water. Last I saw it was about 6 years ago so I must launch an expedition out of mosquito season.
john
-
Taxodium knees / pneumatophores : "An enduring enigma"
http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/2000-60-4-cypress-knees-an-enduring-enigma.pdf (http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/2000-60-4-cypress-knees-an-enduring-enigma.pdf)
-
Bomarea edulis..............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/320/19966636336_e248d26109_z.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/495/19985150572_3447d0ea15_z.jpg)
Eucomis punctata............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/434/19998095551_2be1c957bc_z.jpg)
Digitalis ferruguinea and Lobelia tupa are at their best at the moment...........
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/275/19804891990_ccba40b8a3_z.jpg)
-
That's interesting meanie, I have Lobelia tupa planted adjacent Digitalis lanata, almost the same combination! I hope mine look half as good as yours do when summer comes.
-
That's an inspired mix with the crocosmia too! Must try to copy it.
-
That's interesting meanie, I have Lobelia tupa planted adjacent Digitalis lanata, almost the same combination! I hope mine look half as good as yours do when summer comes.
Two plants that are so trouble free and undemanding will always look good.
That's an inspired mix with the crocosmia too! Must try to copy it.
I wish that I was inspired but the truth is I chuck plants in where I think that they'll do best. It's only later when they bloom that I think (more often than not) "yeuch, nasty mix"! Which is why I tend not to do general shots of my garden.
I must admit that I am rather pleased with this combination though.
-
Bomarea edulis..............
Eucomis punctata............
Digitalis ferruguinea and Lobelia tupa are at their best at the moment...........
West Oxon where it gets cold!
Meanie,
You grow a lot of plants I would love to try :)
Exactly how cold does it get where you live? And what is the normal summer temperature?
-
Meanie,
You grow a lot of plants I would love to try :)
Exactly how cold does it get where you live? And what is the normal summer temperature?
Being as far inland as I am we get pretty much as cold as it gets in the UK (the local airbase frequently records the national overnight low). The last winter saw -8°c three or four nights. In the summer we rarely see over 20°c as a rule except for in periods of prolonged high pressure Saharan weather.
So stuff like Eucomis I start off in the greenhouse and then sink the pots for the summer. Without the early start they will not bloom. Same for Canna.
Bomarea is hardy if planted deep enough.
Plants that some regard as exotic such as Brugmansia sanguinea and Cantua buxifolia have taken -15°c. The problem with that is that they get damaged so badly that it takes the entire season to recover.
So my theory is that if it can be grown from seed then I try it.
-
Thalictrum kiusianum
Notholiron macrophyllum
Cosmos peucedanifolius
Campanula scheuzeri subsp scheuzeri
Callistemon citrinus-from seed
-
Bomarea edulis..............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/320/19966636336_e248d26109_z.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/495/19985150572_3447d0ea15_z.jpg)
Eucomis punctata............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/434/19998095551_2be1c957bc_z.jpg)
Digitalis ferruguinea and Lobelia tupa are at their best at the moment...........
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/275/19804891990_ccba40b8a3_z.jpg)
Interesting that these photos are not visible in I Explorer but are with Firefox. First time I have found an advantage in using the latter, which generally I find awkward.
-
Weird. They have now appeared in both the original and my post; using I Explorer.
-
Weird. They have now appeared in both the original and my post; using I Explorer.
I'm an avowed G.Chrome user now. Firefox is my back up but like you I find it clunky to use.
-
Lilium Lankongense - A pleasant surprise with the tag long since gone gratis Stellar's Jays.[attachimg=1]
Not sure I have the picture sizing worked out - picture isn't showing in the preview...
-
And a most pleasant surprise, Gladiolus sp? from seed. Cast at my lawn border years ago when it didn't germinate in a pot, and hidden in the grass grew to blooming size - narrowly missed being mowed on thursday, to catch my eye amongst the border grass today...[attachimg=1]
-
Trond - I was going to mention bomareas in my 'blog' but my writing disappeared into the ether for some reason (we lost connection to the Web). In the area we have been clearing that has been overrun with weeds for the past few years a couple of Bomarea species (what I know as caldasii and hirtella, but now have become multiflora and edulis - one has to become a botanical linguist these days) have reappeared and are growing away strongly this summer. They must have been planted ten or more years ago when this part of the garden was under more control. So if the tuberous roots go deep and get established they will certainly be hardy to -10°C and probably a good bit below. Several Alstroemeria species I planted around the same time have not persisted. Lobelia tupa - a form that grew to well over 2 metres high, grown from seed from Jim Archibald - also grew down here for many years and was spectacular. Generally we have found Eucomis pretty hardy too in the garden, but rather like crocosmia they don't take heavy frost in pots that freeze through, and they want summer moisture. There are so many plants that are relatively rarely grown by gardeners, and so many gardeners are relatively conservative, and gardens can be so individual in climate, and the provenance of plants can be so varied even for ostensibly the same species, that a lot of tales of hardiness are best taken with a pinch of salt, until you find out for yourself and advise everyone else ;) - and anyway its pretty exciting when a mild winter or two allow more tender plants to flourish for a while. (Cantua is something I've always wanted to grow, but have had the same experience as Meanie - but in a warm coastal garden [eg: Inverewe? in NW. Scotland, warmed by the Gulfstream] it would probably succeed).
-
Not sure I have the picture sizing worked out - picture isn't showing in the preview...
Hi Clay! Not to worry, automatic resizing in effect on the Forum now so all you need to do is make sure the original is not HUGE!
Lovely lily, by the way!
-
Maggi, can you please define "not huge"?
-
"not huge" is NOT 24MB, Anne - if you've got pix around 2 to 4 MB that's fine.
My technical understanding of these things is limited - I just bring he news, basically! But I think that feeding in enormous files of 15MB and the like will take more processing than the system is built for- and perhaps more than the average internet connection will "enjoy" - I hope to get Ian to learn more about all this stuff from Fred so I can find out how things work so I can give a clearer answer. Certainly the system seems to have no trouble resizing pix which are around 2MB.
I do know that big files take ages to be sent via email so cannot think that they are not liable to clog up the resizing system rather - I stand to be corrected on this, of course - I'm working on instinct meantime.
I imagine that those with very large files will be tech savvy enough to find it reasonably easy to re-size initially to a batch re-size that might be convenient then use the automatic system to allow a sure "fit" for the forum.
-
My technical advisors tell me that it will likely be a pain to members to have to post huge picture files as the uploading of them will take ages. So, if you do have very large photo files you might be better off reducing them somewhat BEFORE you enter them into the automatic resizing system :)
-
Taxodium knees / pneumatophores : "An enduring enigma"
http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/2000-60-4-cypress-knees-an-enduring-enigma.pdf (http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/2000-60-4-cypress-knees-an-enduring-enigma.pdf)
Thanks Maggi.
Interesting reading. Seems it is best to say knees until the case is settled ;)
-
Trond - I would guess the base of the tree is about 25cm in diameter. It was imposssible to get a long shot of the tree without a boat and a shot toward land. Dave is gradually clearing around the tree now that it firmly anchored in the ground. Next time down I'll get a shot of at least the base.
I may have knees on mine in Lunenburg. I planted it in about 1988 in a bog through which water runs so it constantly sits in water. Last I saw it was about 6 years ago so I must launch an expedition out of mosquito season.
john
Thanks John.
Seems I have to wait some year anyway - my specimen is maybe 15 cm in diameter. It is not boggy either.
How come you haven't visited your tree in 6 years? I look at mine at least once a year ;D
-
Maggie
I use a program called TinyPic, http://tinypic.en.softonic.com/ (http://tinypic.en.softonic.com/) for resizing for your site.
Could not be easier, drag & drop file in & resized file is put back to original folder prefixed with a K so keeping the original file intact.
You can choose between 4 diferent file sizes. Program is free to download. Its brilliant.
Mike
-
Thanks, Sounds very good, Mike - I'll add this to the photo thread.
-
Tim,
My biggest problem is usually not winter cold although some winters can be cold (-5 - -8C) for weeks in a row but lack of summer heat. Many plant do not develop enough to take a long winter. The fluctuation between cool and wet and dry and cold also is a problem. That said I am not afraid of trying "tender" plants and some do survive :) But the worst problem is slugs. And that problem has increased the last year. Some of my friends have given up gardening and just have a lawn and some shrubs.
I have one Alstroemeria aurea outside and it has survived many years. I also had a Bomarea for several years but lost it in the very bad winter some years ago. I will try it again!
Seeds are OK, but sometimes very slow and many species are difficult to get in Norway (and difficult to import too :().
-
................................... Bomarea species (what I know as caldasii and hirtella, but now have become multiflora and edulis - one has to become a botanical linguist these days) have reappeared and are growing away strongly this summer. They must have been planted ten or more years ago when this part of the garden was under more control. So if the tuberous roots go deep and get established they will certainly be hardy to -10°C and probably a good bit below. ................................ Generally we have found Eucomis pretty hardy too in the garden, but rather like crocosmia they don't take heavy frost in pots that freeze through, and they want summer moisture. There are so many plants that are relatively rarely grown by gardeners, and so many gardeners are relatively conservative, and gardens can be so individual in climate, and the provenance of plants can be so varied even for ostensibly the same species, that a lot of tales of hardiness are best taken with a pinch of salt, until you find out for yourself and advise everyone else ;) - and anyway its pretty exciting when a mild winter or two allow more tender plants to flourish for a while. (Cantua is something I've always wanted to grow, but have had the same experience as Meanie - but in a warm coastal garden [eg: Inverewe? in NW. Scotland, warmed by the Gulfstream] it would probably succeed).
It's good to hear that B.multiflora has a chance of hardiness as I've just been promised some fresh seed.
Eucomis - I just find that starting them in the greenhouse and then sinking the pots guarantees blooming. The biggest problem I have with them is that my leaf cutting venture has produced so many that winter space in the shed is getting limited.
I agree about the hardiness thing. I'm also a firm believer that some plants grown really well during the season will be hardier though. Take L.tupa - I hear of people losing it in milder parts of the country but these are the people who insist on keeping it moist and will cut the stems down in the autumn. Half of the fun for me is finding out what is myth - Iochroma australis is a terrific hardy plant even here but you do need to pick your spot. And I've finally got Tradescantia pallida through the winter in two sites.
Cantua. As long as you can give it space under cover that keeps it no lower than a degree or two of frost it will do well. In bloom the photos do not do it justice. Mine bloomed despite the power failure that allowed the greenhouse to drop to -5°c but the outer extremities were badly damaged. It's right up there with my Tacca as the plant that I've been most pleased with.
-
Seeds are OK, but sometimes very slow and many species are difficult to get in Norway (and difficult to import too :().
That's a downer. I'm now buying from the southern hemisphere more and more, as much for freshness as anything else.
Anyway, today saw the first bloom on the Lobelia laxiflora that I was sent a small root division of this spring................
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/519/19906095489_15fc0d21e9_z.jpg)
It's a bit of a bonus as I was just looking for it to fill the pot out this year.
-
Two codonopsis flowering this morning.
C. Grey-Wilsonii top right of photo. Lower left with very dark purple centre is the plant I have no name for, can anyone help.
Dark centre of this plant is not hairy as in C. Grey-Wilsonii.
Leaves on dark centred plant are 8" long & very narrow.
-
That's an interesting Codonopsis, Mike - not the foggiest idea what it might be! The very dark eye is really lovely and the length of the leaves is a surprise.
-
To close July in my garden;
Eucomis punctata is staying much more upright this year (it has a tendency to be a bit floppy)..............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/316/20151154876_824e630136_z.jpg)
Canna brasiliensis from seed this year...............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/341/19556393593_0dae23e85a_z.jpg)
An unknown Agapanthus..............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/406/19989246508_ac117bf6a4_z.jpg)
And Datura wrightii.............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/346/20150776766_a82f392b72_z.jpg)
It was left in the ground again last winter so I now know that it is hardy to -8°c or thereabouts............
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/319/19556074643_79abe85f5f_z.jpg)
-
Love the Canna - I had no idea they would flower so fast from seed.
Bumble bee heading for the Datura flower is great, love that! I'm somewhat put in mind of a Thunderbird landing at Tracy Island !!! ;D
-
The old camera I was using died two weeks ago. I finally got a new camera yesterday, so I can take pictures again.
This European cyclamen has a very nice leaf pattern: silver edged with little green pebbles. It's a lot like Jan Bravenboer's cultivar 'Green Ice', but the pebbles are special. Hopefully its offspring will be similar.
[attachimg=1]
The cyclamen in a pot on Betty Ann's inviting porch. It draws some attention from visitors. It's a rather nice form of Cyclamen purpurascens: small, tidy, bright flowers and small neatly patterned leaves. Almost as nice as one of the smaller cultivars of Cyclamen persicum.
[attachimg=3]
[attachimg=4]
This is a Minnesota native, spotted horsemint (Monarda punctata). It's bizarre and striking, with pink and green bracts and orange brown-spotted petals. It likes dry soil, and is very fast-growing; this plant grew from seed this spring. As you can see, the wasps like it.
[attachimg=2]
-
Love the Canna - I had no idea they would flower so fast from seed.
By far my favourite Canna. I've already harvested the seeds from the first plant to flower! The thing with Canna is to feed them, feed them some more and then when you think they've had enough feed them a double helping!!! I grow them in a fairly hefty mix of horse manure.
Bumble bee heading for the Datura flower is great, love that! I'm somewhat put in mind of a Thunderbird landing at Tracy Island !!! ;D
That'll be Thunderbird 2 then ;)
-
This is a Minnesota native, spotted horsemint (Monarda punctata). It's bizarre and striking, with pink and green bracts and orange brown-spotted petals. It likes dry soil, and is very fast-growing; this plant grew from seed this spring. As you can see, the wasps like it.
(Attachment Link)
I like it too.
-
A couple of plants in flower in the garden in July. 351 is ivy broomrape grown from exchange seed. 355 is marsh helleborine.