Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: fermi de Sousa on October 30, 2015, 11:31:13 AM
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We started our garden visiting in Timaru where we discovered the Botanic Gardens had a small Rock Garden which looked like it had recently been spruced up.
I was impressed by the tall ranunculus but don't know if it's a local one - any suggestions?
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
It is not one of our native ones. It is Ranunculus cortusifolius. Wikipedia tells me it come from the Canary and Azores Islands.
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Thanks, David,
I had a feeling it wasn't a NZ one.
Our next stop was Dunedin and we visited Lanarch Castle on a great day for photography, not too hot and not too sunny!
cheers
fermi
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More at Lanarch Castle - it seems they grow a few Trilliums!
As well as Frits and Erythroniums,
cheers
fermi
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Close to the main buildings was a rock garden as well as an amazing stand of the white Chatham Island Forget-me-not, Myosotidium hortensium "album"
cheers
fermi
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Enjoying these Fermi, many thanks.
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More to come, David, as I get the time to post them!
On the Saturday we got along to the Farmers' Market where Lesley used to work. We met Sue and Mic who ran a plant stall - I wish we had such stalls at our markets!
cheers
fermi
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On Sunday there was a sale at the Dunedin Botanics!
Louise and Peter from Hokonui Alpines Nursery at Gore were there.
This little native Ranunculus enysii was one of theirs.
Another stall was selling meconopis and other choice things.
It was dismaying to see that meconopsis only cost as much as Arisarum!
cheers
fermi
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Lesley Cox always sings the praises of Hokonui Alpines' plants - and that sales table says it all - what a range of beautifully grown plants! Yummy!
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I second that. It's enough to make you want to pack up and move there. Fabulous pictures Fermi, thank you for sharing. The Trilliums at Lanarch Castle are wonderful, and that Myosotis is astounding. Another new one for me.
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We had a walk throughthe Botanics after the sale (yes, we could buy something - but only to give away before we left for home :'( )
Clianthus puniceus x2
What appears to be the true "English" Bluebell - in white- amongst a sea of the "Spanish"
Rhodo
Tall Rhodo
cheers
fermi
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Just for Maggi - more rhodo pics in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens
cheers
fermi
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Even more rhodies x 3
An embankment in a Mediterranean style garden
close up on an Halimium on the embabnkment , possibly H. lasianthum,
cheers
fermi
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My word, some great plants there - and LOVELY rhodos - thanks fermi!
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Thank you very much for posting all your pictures so many happy memories of Dunedin and Hokionui , plus all and every place we visited last year cheers Ian the Christie kind
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You're welcome, Maggi and Ian (the Christie kind),
There are more to come. Here are a few more from Dunedin BG:
Rock Garden, clematis
Lathyrus laxiflorus x 2
Gentiana acaulis
Pieris japonica 'Sarabande'
cheers
fermi
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Last few from Dunedin BG:
Urospermum dalechampii x2
Green-brown Viola - could it be 'Irish Molly'?
Paeonia mlokosewitschii
The walk out,
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi,
Great you enjoyed yourself in the DBG. Interesting to see ourselves through the eyes of others. I was up in the DBG today photographing the flowers of some rare and unusual native shrubs. I had a really successful morning and got some great photos - not rock garden material I'm afraid
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For information : there is no requirement that plants shown in the forum must be rock garden and alpine plants - naturally the majority of plants featured are of that type but the remit of even SRGC shows is wider than that - encompassing plants for the wild, woodland or bog garden, for instance and since the Forum is a place for members to communicate on their plant enthusiasms there is no restriction on the type of plants we discuss. In other threads it is evident that members have an interest in a very wide range of plants - from the downright exotic to the quite huge - not descriptions of the average "alpines" for sure.
I have no doubt that the wide range of plants shown in the forum enable members to learn about plants which they might otherwise know little or nothing about - and that is the joy of this place!
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Hi David,
we really enjoyed the DBG and had enough time to have a good look at some parts of it, but I'm sure you could spend a whole day there and still have more to see. Although I'd been there before, this was earlier in the season than usual so there were different things in flower.
I mentioned that we stayed with Susan and her garden is full of beautiful things:
A large Pachystegia insignis at the front of the house;
part of the Rock Garden;
a close up of a couple of plants: Ranunculus montanus and what I presume is Pulsatilla vulgaris;
Lathyrus vernus forms;
Andromeda polifolia;
cheers
fermi
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After we left Dunedin we headed to Balclutha to catch up with another forumist known only as "Jandals"!
He has an impressive operation raising plants for seed with wooden frames fos which he infills with grit/sand and they do extremely well!
Gentians in planting beds
Jandals inspecting planting beds
Pulsatillas
cheers
fermi
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Jandals is also growing some very interesting NZ Pittosporums:
Pittosporum patulum
Pittosporum crassicaule (syn. P.rigida)
cheers
fermi
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Hi Fermi, Did not know Mr Newall was into filiramulate Pittosporums; there is a group of them some quite rare. Very difficult to identify in the wild. The DBG collection is in flower at present (Pittosporum obcordatum, P.turneri , P patulum). Others are P.divaricatum, P.anomalum and P. rigidum ( this is the preferred name for P. crassicaule).
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Whew - fantastic tour of gardens Fermi! That stand of Gentiana acaulis is as striking or even more so than one in the Czech Gardens in May 2013, and Steve Newell's pulsatilla bed like nothing I've seen. Trilliums...! :). No wonder NZ is something of a horticultural wonderland - and not only for its native flora. Many thanks for all those pictures as we head into snowdrop time here.
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Hi Tim,
There's more to come!
NZ really is a wonderland and one of the most impressive private gardens we saw was Maple Glen.
Initial view from the carpark
A golden pheasant in the garden
Fritillaria imperialis
Trilliums
More Trilliums
cheers
fermi
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More from Maple Glen
Fritllaria pyrenaica ?
Pink Rhodo
Rh. williamsianum (or hybrid?)
Specimen trees in lawn
Mixed planting - early bulbs have "gone over"
cheers
fermi
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We got to have a short walk with Muriel, the owner, who said that she wanted a bluebell wood and has done her best with these! 2 pics.
A glimpse of the house through the trees,
cheers
fermi
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Enjoying the tour Fermi .
The bluebell wood is just as impressive in late winter where the garden beds are a sea of white with tens of thousands of Galanthus in full bloom .
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Getting back to NZ! Sorry for the interruption to the service ;D We continue with Maple Glen; I think it's a garden I could visit over and over again - seeing all those galanthus in bloom would be impressive and travelling to NZ in winter would probably be more feasible for us than going to the UK for "drop season" - it'll depend on the prognosis of my case of "white fever" ;D
Muriel in tha garden;
Daffodils;
Rhodo bed;
Yellow Rhodo;
Golden Pheasant and view of house;
cheers
fermi
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The pond
- well planted edges!
cheers
fermi
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Perhaps someone would be able to provide a name for this purple ("blue") rhododendron,
(JohnW has written "the rhodo is most likely the old British hybrid or grex 'Russatinii' (russatum x augustinii)" -thanks!)
cheers
fermi
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Some of the sweeping lawns (we would never be able to have grass like this at home!)
and more beds of Rhodies,
cheers
fermi
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A large clump of Smilacina racemosa (syn Maianthemum racemosum);
A small tree that is possibly Azara serrata
cheers
fermi
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More Bluebells!
Mainly Trilliums (paeonies yet to flower);
A fine stand of Polygonatum;
A "Parson Bird" or Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae)
cheers
fermi
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More rhodies!
This time one of the large leaf types,
cheers
fermi
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A lovely pink Pulsatilla (?P. vulgaris)
A view across;
a closer view;
a view down;
a mixed border;
cheers
fermi
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Fermi,
What lovely and lush gardens!
We have nothing like that here in our dry part of California.
Even the Maianthemum racemosum is so lush. I never see anything like that in the wild around here. They are not even that lush in our garden here at the farm.
Thank you for sharing your photographs with all of us.
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Hi Robert,
yes they were very lush and green and nothing like what we have here!
Some more pics:
Trillum with a Vancouveria "living mulch"!
A sales area to make us weep as we couldn't take anything home :'(
cheers
fermi
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There was an aviary in the sales area and Muriel has a fascinating range of exotic birds including Indian Ringneck parrots!
They love walnuts and Muriel always has a pocketful to share with them,
cheers
fermi
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Our next stop was "Trillium Haven" - AKA the home of Hilda and Dave Toole:
front and back gardens
cheers
fermi
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More from Dave's:
It seems he likes trilliums! ;D Most of these he'll have posted himself and I won't hazard a guess to their full names!
-reflexed trillium
-yellow one
-clump of stemless types
-white one (might be T.grandiflorum)
-frog and friends
cheers
fermi
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A double white trillium
White trillium in the shade
Maroon trillium
Nodding white and nodding purple trilliums
cheers
fermi
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In case you thought trillums were all Dave grows:
Paris sp
3WW daffodil
Paraquilegia in bud
Soldanella sp
Iris cultivar
cheers
fermi
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Here are a few more from Dave's:
Pleione in a trough
Clintonia andrewsiana in bud
Dicentra and other shade-lovers
Rhodies
cheers
fermi
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More from Dave's:
Could this be Fritillaria pyrenaica?
Nice 2-WP daffodil
Dwarf Daffodil in trough
10WW daffodil
cheers
fermi
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Some of Dave's troughs
cheers
fermi
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Dave had mentioned on the Forum that he was making new beds where a grassy/mossy "lawn" had been; here are a few pics:
I wonder if this parking space out front will be there on our next visit?
cheers
fermi
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Could this be Fritillaria pyrenaica?
Yes, it is.
I wonder if this parking space out front will be there on our next visit
I doubt it! ;D
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Hi Maggi,
Thanks for your confirmation ;)
Just a few more from Dave's:
Another view of the new beds;
Cherry & white Rhododendron
Picotee trillium
Nice PC Iris
A last look out front!
cheers
fermi
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Nice garden at Chez Toole.
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Nice garden at Chez Toole.
David,
I can attest the quality of the accomodation as well - book early! ;D
Dave took us to visit his friend Betty who has a suburban block jammed-pack with plants, a fair bit of whimsy and an adorable old Scottie!
Simples!
Pea flower - possibly Lotus tetragonobolus
Magnolia and cherry over spring bulbs;
A large flowered Sophora
cheers
fermi
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Some clematis in Betty's garden;
I think the first 3 are NZ native species or hybrids while the last 2 are of C. alpina
cheers
fermi
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A couple of other climbers :
Tropaeoleum tricolor x2
Eccremocarpus scaber
A shrubby daphne?
Farewell to Betty with Dave and Will
cheers
fermi
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Dave next took us to visit Joy and Stewart who some forumists will have met at the Alpines 2011 and the 2013 Czech RG Conferences.
They had recently moved to this house and are slowly developing the garden.
cheers
fermi
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Gentians & tulips x2
Gentiana verna alba
Gentiana acaulis
Tulipa batalini (red)
cheers
fermi
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Thank you for taking the time to post all these wonderful pictures Fermi. I would have never imagined, as Robert said, such lush gardens in New Zealand.
It is blow minding for me to see these gardens with Trilliums, Paris, Vancouveria and so on, growing together with NZ natives and many other more tender species!
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Perhaps someone would be able to provide a name for this purple ("blue") rhododendron, cheers fermi
Fermi - Sorry for the slow response the computer is back and upgraded so no more annoying internet & browsing snags. From the habit and markings I'd say the rhodo is most likely the old British hybrid or grex 'Russatinii' (russatum x augustinii), a thoroughly dependable and lovely one for spots with cool summers and soils.
A lovely day here circa 42F, sunny and no wind. Did I say no wind?
johnw
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Thank you for taking the time to post all these wonderful pictures Fermi. I would have never imagined, as Robert said, such lush gardens in New Zealand.
It is blow minding for me to see these gardens with Trilliums, Paris, Vancouveria and so on, growing together with NZ natives and many other more tender species!
Thanks, Gabriela,
it is taking a bit of time to get this done - hopefully I can finish before we get away again!
Back to Joy and Stewart's place:
Some fritillaria and other bulbs in the poly-tunnel
Yellow Frit in poly-tunnel
Yellow frit outside
South American Oxalis sp
Lithodora & 'Manuka'
cheers
fermi
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A couple of iris at Joy and Stewart's:
I think this is Iris lacustris
Is this Iris lactea or a short Iris missouriensis or something else?
Finally a Podophyllum - something else I have no hope of growing in the garden here!
cheers
fermi
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Dave next took us to see the local "Botanic Gardens" - Queens Park:
A knock-out display of yellow tulips at the entrance
A welcome sign
On a high pedestal: art or paleontology?
cheers
fermi
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The New Zealand Native Plant Garden, known from 1982 as the Ron Petrie New Zealand Plant Garden, after a former Director, has been in place since at least 1937 (then as the Jaquiery Native Plant Garden).
Sign
Something twiggy
Celmisia sp.
Sophora sp.
Anisotome sp.
cheers
fermi
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Something twiggy
I have plants like that in the garden here! I refer to them by another name....... dead. ;)
Fascinating photos Fermi, with some great plants and planting combinations such as the Leptospermum/Lithodora. It's lovely to see sunshine and remind us in the northern hemisphere that summer is on the way - I hope.
Keep them coming.
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It is blow minding for me to see these gardens with Trilliums, Paris, Vancouveria and so on, growing together with NZ natives and many other more tender species!
How about this combo: Myosotidium hortensia and trilliums!
cheers
fermi
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We've seen a few of those "twiggy" plants over the years from the SA threads - maybe a Melicytus ? (twiggy/spiky)
Agree with Peter though - here in our garden, twiggy tends to mean dead! :-X
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How about this combo: Myosotidium hortensia and trilliums!
cheers
fermi
Like you read my mind :) Myosotidium is the one native that attracted my attention the most, fantastic foliage!
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Fermi, do you think your "something twiggy" could be a Corokia? maybe Corokia cotoneaster?
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Hello Fermi
I've really enjoyed your offerings and viewing such familiar gardens and vistas in a 'different light'.
Quite a bit has changed here since your visit with numerous Hellebores and others being uplifted from garden beds and planted in new areas along the driveway and at long last I can see some definition in those worked over areas ...... Now I wonder how long it will be before I'm tempted to fill in the gaps again ...... ;D
Your 'something twiggy ' is a Coprosma , probably C .acerosa.
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Thanks, Dave,
I was about to suggest we send you back to the scene to check ;D
More NZ plants:
- A clematis growing up into a tree
- Kaka Beak - Clianthus sp (maybe C. puniceus)
cheers
fermi
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Rock Garden and gravelled areas,
cheers
fermi
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More from the Rock Garden at Queens Park,
cheers
fermi
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Pulsatillas
Jonquilla type Narcissus
Trilliums under deciduous azaleas
A very floriferous phlox (possibly P. subulata cultivar)
cheers
fermi