Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Gabriela on November 03, 2016, 05:33:43 PM
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I'll start the thread with few images taken on Nov. 1st.; not much time for taking pictures now.
Colchicum - the waterlily type; a tiny Saxifraga kolenatiana seedling and a Crocus speciosus that wants to look different :)
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Drosera capensis
Late autumn colours
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Love the foliage's colors, we're for sure in deep autumn.
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Nothing too exciting but here are a couple that are surprising me by looking as good as they are despite the cold.
I grow a few Salvia patens from seed every year. Most are given away but I keep one or two to grow on in tomato pots (S.patens is tuberous) as back-up for any that I may lose in the ground over the winter. They usually bloom really well in their first year but I rather overpotted this one and it has only just started to bloom despite being a very strong plant..............
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5471/30697203626_d5eb56d82e_z.jpg)
This Amaranthus germinated in the pot of another unrelated plant that was sent to me by someone on another forum. Not sure of the exact species but it is standing up to the cold far better than I would expect..........
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5573/30617418852_663d59c21e_z.jpg)
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despite the cold and wet weather Satureja spicigera is very healthy this year.
Linaria happily reseed in the garden.
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Salvia elegans beat the frosts and is starting to bloom..................
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5445/30854984755_66ecea7b45_z.jpg)
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She is courageous. :)
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Enkianthus campanulatus, the type, flowers are a bit uinderwhelming but it gives a good autumn show till December most years. The neighbour's plant this morning and luckily we have a great view of it.
john
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A few photographs from the farm today.
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Acer palmatum 'Tsuma beni' - One of my top picks. It has very consistent brilliant scarlet-red foliage every autumn. My understand is that tsuma beni means red nail. In the spring the green leaves are prominently tip red like red finger nails.
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A Hamamelis seedling. It always has beautiful autumn foliage.
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Very nice colours, Robert. Reds are rarer than yellow and orange here.
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A lynx spider (Oxyopes sertatus) on nerine buds :)
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Nothing very unusual, except the weather yesterday - about 18C! So I took a few pictures for my records. Today 2-0C and first snow coming...
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Now here's a very brave soul on 19 November!
Spiranthes odorata.
john
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A hover fly on a Crocus goulimyi flower.
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Camellia season has started with Camellia sasanqua 'Winter's Interlude'. The soft focus was unintentional.
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Nice one, Ralph ;)
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My phone camera simply couldn't catch the fire of Enkianthus perrulatus 'Compactus' at the weekend. Luckily my photographer neighbour came by and worked his magic. Just a week ago I was thinking it's been so mild this one is not going to colour up this year, then presto. Planted 1997 from a 5cm pot from Rarefind.
johnw - high 10c, low 8c, sunny
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Heavy rain here today, just what the bog needs.
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Late autumn weather has certainly arrived! It was foggy all morning, then into the afternoon. Now it is clear and finally getting cold. Not much blooming in the garden, however some plants still provide interest.
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The fern Aspidotis californica is turning out to be a real gem in the garden. The lacy foliage is evergreen, with irrigation, and always looks fresh and nice. A shade lover.
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Acer japonicum 'Green Cascade' has some nice autumn leaves. It has not been cold enough for it to color well.
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Aspidotis densa is another of our California native ferns. It too is evergreen (with irrigation). I cut this one back to the ground as it was looking a bit ragged. It will look great in about 3-4 weeks.
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Polystichum californicum It grows larger than Aspidotis species. Evergreen - take the heat just fine as long as it is in the shade.
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Goodyera oblongifolia - I cleaned up this bed the other day and added this evergreen species. They thrive up at the farm and make attractive colonies. I am hoping for the same here in Sacramento.
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Another plant added to the garden recently - Asarum splendens. It ran about the garden up at the farm. I am hoping it will behave itself here in Sacramento.
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Cyclamen hederiflolium seeds about the garden easily and add interest to the autumn-winter garden.
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Dryopteris arguta - still another California native fern. Evergreen and very easy to please in our garden.
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Heuchera micrantha - one of our native species. Grown from seed gathered in El Dorado county. Attractive foliage all year.
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Pentagramma triangularis This species can be evergreen with irrigation. I like to cut them back every few years to keep them looking fresh. Easy in the garden. :)
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Beautiful evergreen foliage Robert, it is so important for the winter garden, although we are talking about different winters ;)
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My phone camera simply couldn't catch the fire of Enkianthus perrulatus 'Compactus' at the weekend. Luckily my photographer neighbour came by and worked his magic. Just a week ago I was thinking it's been so mild this one is not going to colour up this year, then presto. Planted 1997 from a 5cm pot from Rarefind.
johnw - high 10c, low 8c, sunny
I hope you propagate this Enkianthus John, almost a 'moral' obligation I would say :)
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Beautiful evergreen foliage Robert, it is so important for the winter garden, although we are talking about different winters ;)
Gabriela,
I would not mind having winter weather that was a bit colder. I do have to work with what I have and make the best of it. :) Years ago it would snow every year at the farm. Not only did I like the change in the seasons but the snow was beautiful and the cold temperatures were adequate to break the dormancy of many seeds. Our garden here in Sacramento is sub-tropical. I look out the window and see a lemon tree and an orange tree. I do enjoy the fruit! For many of the species that I enjoy growing, cooler weather during the winter (summer too) would please them. Oh well.... I guess I do the best I can and take the initiative to make the best of what I have. :)
I am very pleased at how our Sacramento garden is coming along. A lot (too much for me :P ) is still an ocean of Oxalis with some nice herbaceous species buried under the Oxalis mess. Yesterday I worked at cleaning up and moving some plants around in our front border. 6-7 years ago it was beautiful and now it will be again. It would be interesting to have a "movie camera" to share our garden with everyone. We spent a bunch (we are cash and carry only - no debt slavery for us!) on our new and much needed new auto. Can't do everything at one time. :)
As usual, thank you for your comments! I look forward to seeing what the new season brings for you and everyone else. :)
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Robert,
You are right, in the garden as well, we have to work with what we have :) I like the snow actually and wouldn't be without; only that sometimes is a bit too much of it ;)
Anyway, I am trying to add more evergreens in the garden (main reason I love the evergreen Epimediums and Hepatica); even if at some point everything gets covered in snow there is the time 'in between' when they look wonderful together.
Your garden already looks very well from your pictures; redoing an old garden takes time, and money of course like you mentioned. I also garden at a new place and can only take it one spot at a time :)
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Gabriela,
Thank you for sharing a few photographs of your plants with snow. I actually find such scenes very beautiful and well worth sharing! 8) How our plants interact with ice and snow can be magical. Even wilted brown leaves covered with hoarfrost can be quite amazing.
Today I worked much of the day preparing our front border. It had been neglected for 6-7 years. Now there is much bare open space and I can start planting. The loam in this area has more clay than in other parts of the garden so I will have to be careful working the area during wet winter weather.
Ah yes things come with time. I will be so glad when my wife and I can remove part of our house and have more garden space. We already have a rock garden designed in our heads..... but then we still have to wait. Oh well, there is plenty to keep me busy right now and the garden is looking good in my eyes where I have removed the Oxalis. I have much to share on the forum, especially as I continue to work the garden.
I will be out-of-town for the next 3 weeks. :'( I will miss our Sacramento garden. I do have a some botanical outings to keep me busy in the next 3 weeks. :)
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With us, not yet snow. I get for the first time in three years the flowering of Tropaeolum tuberosum.
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There's a bit of a tale to the first flower of the year on my Ceropegia woodii............
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5572/30833601170_89492beecf.jpg)
It was one of the plants in my greenhouse last year when a pane of glass broke and exposed everything to -5°c. One of the tubers survived however and it has spent the summer growing away so any bloom this year is a bonus.
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With us, not yet snow. I get for the first time in three years the flowering of Tropaeolum tuberosum.
(Attachment Link)
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Fred,
The Tropaeolum tuberosum is hardy to cold? and can withstand the snow if it arrives? I have been wanting to give some of the tuberous Tropaeolum species a try in our garden, however I have not gotten around to it yet.
Well done! It looks great.
There's a bit of a tale to the first flower of the year on my Ceropegia woodii............
It was one of the plants in my greenhouse last year when a pane of glass broke and exposed everything to -5°c. One of the tubers survived however and it has spent the summer growing away so any bloom this year is a bonus.
Meanie,
It is often amazing what survives during such disasters!
I finally moved all of our "tender" species under the patio covering for the winter. I cover everything with row cover if frost threatens. Last year this scheme worked very well, but then the coldest temperature was only 27 F. ::)
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Hello Robert,
At this point in the garden, the plant thrives for three years. The soil is improved in drainage aggregates. It is a mixture of crushed Argex and lava.
The foliage disappears completely with negative temperatures. It appears again in the spring.
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Fred,
Our garden soil in Sacramento is Class I loam - the best for agriculture. Our soil is not very good for alpine plants, so I grow them in containers of various sorts right now. We use 9 mm lava rock for our alpines and they love it.
It certainly looks like you have open space for your garden and it sounds like you are certainly making progress. What a creative pleasure! :)
Below is a photograph of one of our front borders that I finally rearranged this week.
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A few days ago this border was an overgrown mess. Now there is a considerable amount of space to plant in the foreground. Since this border will grow bulbs, perennials, and annuals the first step will be to spade and dig out the spruce roots, then sheet compost the open area. Then planting..... ;D
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I kept the Acer palmatum 'Shaina'. It is very dwarf - about 1 meter after 10 years. The leaves are burgundy-red during the summer. This is its attempt at autumn color. ::) Not so good this year. :(
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Salvia semiatrata is putting on a great show this autumn.
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It is absolutely loaded with flowers this year. Generally I prune this plant during the summer to keep it smaller. I did not get around to it so it flopped over this year. I will prune and straighten it in the spring.
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Not much is going on in the rest of the garden. I kept this chance seedling of Salvia coccinea 'Lady-in-Red'. It has been blooming since mid-summer. Even though it is in an awkward location, I am glad that I have kept it.
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I have not composted the Salvia chiapenisis yet, however they have still been blooming well all autumn. Depending on the winter weather they might bloom all winter.
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Robert, I would not have the heart to compost a salvia (or any other plant) still in flower!
Not much to see in the garden today but as the weather was very nice (except a cold breeze from north) we went for a walk to Ådnafjell, the nearest "mountain" 126m asl!
The path was very wet due to the rain the last month.
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Where cattle and sheep once grazed - The pastures are little used today and birch wood has established itself. Birch is a pioneer tree and very quick to invade any empty space.
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Small lakes, tarns and bogs dot the landscape and hundred, if not thousands of small waterways connect them.
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In drier places pines have started to establish. A foreign conifer, sitka spruce, is planted and spread a lot here.
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Different kind of small shrubs cover the landscape where trees are still lacking. The soil here is a very shallow mineral soil as it was a big wildfire 60 years ago. The fire consumed the turf completely.
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A waterfall - to small to use for electricity. Trouts spawn in this creek.
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The commonest "grass" is Trichophorum cespitosum.
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It is the middle of the day but the sun is so low in the sky that it is more like evening.
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The hills in west prevent us from seeing the ocean.
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At the summit. The view to east is unhindered for several kilometers. No snow except on one mountain top a long way to the east.
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Erica cinerea. A common sight here and very nice when in flower. The honey from this shrub is excellent! (I know,I had bees for 20+ years).
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Erica tetralix. Also common but on moister sites. Makes also a nice honey (usually mixed with the first one).
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Narthesium ossifrgum. Typical on poor moist acidic soil.
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Spent strobili of Lycopodium clavatum.
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Potamogeton polygonifolius (and P. alpina) are common in the waterways.
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The common juniper (Juniperus communis) dominates the landscape. It is a very variable species, with any shape from low ground hugging to treelike. Here is a selection.
Prostrate -
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columnar -
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mat formed -
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What do you call this forms?
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or these?
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Very nice Trond :) Your pictures show extremely well the variability in J. communis.
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Robert, I would not have the heart to compost a Salvia (or any other plant) still in flower!
Trond,
No composting of the Salvia! :o ;D
What I intend to do is sheet compost the open ground that I spaded and will be planting. I will cover the ground with home made compost.
I have to admit that I grow ornamental annuals and perennials like an agricultural crop. Every winter I dig the perennials and move them to the side temporarily. Then I shade the planting area, apply home made compost, greensand, kelp meal, and phosphate rock. After that I work the above ingredients into top surface of the soil - and reset the perennials that I put to the side. I know, it sounds like a lot of work! What can I say..... I was a farmer (in some ways I guess I still am a farmer), I just like doing such things. ;D At least everything grows well.
Trond,
I am always impressed with the beauty of Norway! 8) I think that it is great that you share photographs from what might be an unassuming walk for you. The photographs always give me something good to ponder.
The Sitka Spruce brought up memories of when I traveled frequently along the Oregon coast. This is prime native habitat for Stika Spruce and they grow huge. I was in my late 20's - early 30's at this time. I gathered seed, brought it home and planted it. It is hard to believe but a few of the little seedlings have grown into small trees and survive at the farm.
Trout in the Creeks reminds me of the Salmon in Deer Creek north of Chico, California. There are no dams on Deer Creek and the Salmon still run well into the mountains in Deer Creek. Ishi, the last of the Yahi, could dive into the water and catch them with his bare hands! Actually this is nothing.... our Native American friends (Concow Maidu - just south of the Yahi) are guest in our home now and they have fascinating stories!
My best friend George was a bee keeper - George RIP :'( .
Do some Juniperus communis grow columnar naturally in the wild? or have the columnar ones naturalized from cultivated plants?
Anyway, I enjoyed the photographs immensely! Thank you. 8)
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Very nice Trond :) Your pictures show extremely well the variability in J. communis.
Thanks Gabriela :)
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Robert,
Regarding compost I usually use composted leaves etc as potting soil mixed with recycled soil but I compost very little of the fallen leaves. I mulch my plantings with it in stead. (The downside is that the mulch also is perfect for hatching snails.)
Glad you like the pictures although the flora and landscape around here are not the most exciting for me. I know from my own experience though that what seems to be boring and common for the locals may well be interesting for others.
Sitka spruce is much used in plantations here at the west coast. It is a faster grower than the native Picea abies but the wood of the sitka spruce has been considered inferior to the other. Now sitka spruce is black listed. Too late, it seeds itself everywhere.
The native juniper (J. communis) is used very little as an ornamental in the garden. A few selected cultivars have been for sale without great success. Other kinds of foreign conifers are preferred. So all the columnar and other forms are natural and you find them many places. In the 19th century huge quantities of fence posts made of juniper wood were exported, especially to Denmark.
Not suitable as fence pole:
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Very nice Trond! I could take a surprisingly similar series of photos here, though we don't have so many mountains or much juniper left. Sitka spruce is a problem here too. That looks like quite an acid area, has acidification been a problem in those parts?
Best, Tristan
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Thanks Tristan :)
It is naturally very acidic here except near the sea shore and a few places with other kind of bedrock than the predominate gneiss and granite. The acidification from industrial smoke was much worse at the south coast. Now the problem is not as big as it was though.
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End of November with a ray of sunshine and Crocus ochroleucus still going strong 8) over the past 2 weeks it’s been through days with -10C, snow, strong winds and freezing rain. Deserves a mention.
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End of November with a ray of sunshine and Crocus ochroleucus still going strong 8) over the past 2 weeks it’s been through days with -10C, snow, strong winds and freezing rain. Deserves a mention.
I'll say that deserves a mention! 8)
That is one tough plant! Freezing rain? I did not think any flowers could withstand freezing rain!
What a lovely display, 2 week and they still look like they are going strong. I missed my autumn Crocus this year. :'( They did bloom and are still alive - I was just out of town when they bloomed. :'(
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I was just feeling a bit sorry for myself with the weather here when I read Gabriela's note. I take it all back!
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End of November with a ray of sunshine and Crocus ochroleucus still going strong 8) over the past 2 weeks it’s been through days with -10C, snow, strong winds and freezing rain. Deserves a mention.
Very nice, Gabriela! It surely deserves a mention!
I have never dared to plant late flowering crocuses as we lack sun in November. Maybe I should give it a try!
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Nice ochroleucus there Gabriela. A local tried to find it here to no avail but got some at Botanus and now the experts say it's cartwrightianus 'Alba'.
Driving home this morning I passed a bed of Begonias in full flower, I was so dazed by the sight it took a minute to realize they weren't trash. Next block a bed of blue campanulas. Bizarre, even the frost-sensitive succulents and Eucalyptus are untouched.
Tuesday night the airport - 40km inland - got 20cm of wet snow and many still without power, we were lucky to get rain instead. Now another storm haas struck and it's blowing a gale out there, raining horizontal stair rods.
john
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aren't all stair rods horizontal ??? ;D
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aren't all stair rods horizontal ??? ;D
Not necessarily. Do realize Escher's relatives lived not too far from Halifax.......I kid you not.
His son in Mahone Bay, NS gave this to the Nat. Gallery in Ottawa.
M.C. Escher – Relativity (http://www.mcescher.com/gallery/back-in-holland/relativity/)
David - you lay the carpet runners and I'll take care of the stair rods.
john
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Robert -
It wasn't too bad and in any case there is also Scabiosa caucasica still in flower, it has become a sort of curiosity at this point....
Trond - you should try at least C. speciosus, it's very easy-going :)
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Nice ochroleucus there Gabriela. A local tried to find it here to no avail but got some at Botanus and now the experts say it's cartwrightianus 'Alba'.
Driving home this morning I passed a bed of Begonias in full flower, I was so dazed by the sight it took a minute to realize they weren't trash. Next block a bed of blue campanulas. Bizarre, even the frost-sensitive succulents and Eucalyptus are untouched.
Tuesday night the airport - 40km inland - got 20cm of wet snow and many still without power, we were lucky to get rain instead. Now another storm haas struck and it's blowing a gale out there, raining horizontal stair rods.
john
All is relative regarding plants and weather, isn't it? ;)
Two kind and energetic women from ORGS are organizing group orders from a wholesaler (Van Noort) and this way sometimes you can get things that don't show up at the garden centers.
Now that you mentioned C. cartwrightianus 'Alba', I may also have it although I don't remember buying such thing. Took a picture yesterday and was wondering - it's this one?
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Gabriela - Here is the Crocus someone bought at Botanus as C. ochroleucus. I sent the poicture to Wim who replied "Hi John, not really sure what she has there, but not ochroleucus. If I had to guess, I’d say that one is Crocus cartwrightianus ‘Albus’. C. ochroleucus has a yellow throat, white stamens and yellow pistils." I very much doubt anyone in Canada sells seed-grown crocus spp., true or otherwise, everything comes from Vanhof & Blokker, Ruigrok and Van Noort (and occasionally a nursery on Long Island, NY) all of which have been plagued with mis-labelling for the decades I was in the business.
john
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Thanks John. You are very right, must be lucky to get what it says on the label, not to mention the quality sometimes...With Iris reticulata cv. I had good experience from Vanhof & Blokker.
I looked on my list and I asked for C. carcartwrightianus, but not 'Alba'; I like it, not a problem just that it would be good to get what you pay for. At least I got the ochroleucus. I will put some labels not to cut through them in the summer, as per my usual habit (so I can send you a couple of bulbs :)
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Funny but not so funny we bought some C. cartwrightianus this past August and got a big blowsy cartwrighianus hybrid. The garden centre's only suppliers are Ruigrok and Vanhof but pretty sure they came from the latter as the shipment was early.
john