Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Hoy on January 03, 2017, 09:55:31 PM
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No colourful flowering here but for once a sunny albeit windy day. That was last Sunday. Yesterday we got snow for the first time this winter but it was above 0C so it melted in a day. Today it is a northwesterly storm with hail.
Sunday we made a walk to an abandoned farm. Nothing is left of this farm except a lot of stone walls. A few houses near by are still used - some as cabins.
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A few more pictures. The boat house is still standing by the fjord.
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The moss-covered stone walls are great looking Trond; would be nice to find to buy stones with already established moss on them.
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I was thinking the same Trond. Are these abandoned rocked available to be used elsewhere? I'm sure you could think of various good ways to use them. :)
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We have hundreds, if not thousands, of miles with such stone fences and walls. Most of them are not in use any more except as old boundaries. I do not think anybody trade them. People seem to prefer new stones or concrete blocks for walls and fences. On the other hand, if you ask the owners, I am sure you can buy such rocks!
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Trond,
What beautiful moss rocks!
The only action in our garden at this time is the mess. The first of several major storms came through last night. There was some snow up at the farm too. I will be spending 2 weeks at the farm starting tomorrow, then I will have a better idea what is going on up there. Most likely a stormy mess too. This type of stormy, wet weather is "normal" for the wintertime in our part of California. Good news after too many years of drought conditions. There will be many mossy rocks in our shaded north facing canyons, but nothing that approaches the beauty of the rocks in your countryside.
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Trond, it must be a wet place with so many mosses there. It has been fairly cold here but no wind. Today is my birthday and I have spent it in the house. Too cold to be outside for long. I have not been to the local patch for a couple of weeks. One way to invite mosses into the garden is to "paint" rocks with cold rice pudding or similar.
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Trond,
What beautiful moss rocks!
The only action in our garden at this time is the mess. The first of several major storms came through last night. There was some snow up at the farm too. I will be spending 2 weeks at the farm starting tomorrow, then I will have a better idea what is going on up there. Most likely a stormy mess too. This type of stormy, wet weather is "normal" for the wintertime in our part of California. Good news after too many years of drought conditions. There will be many mossy rocks in our shaded north facing canyons, but nothing that approaches the beauty of the rocks in your countryside.
Robert,
A lot of people dislike moss (and lichen and algae) and strive to remove it :-\
We too had a gale yesterday and also lightening and thunder. A couple of houses were hit and a few trees fell down but no casualities. Nothing happened in my garden.
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Trond, it must be a wet place with so many mosses there. It has been fairly cold here but no wind. Today is my birthday and I have spent it in the house. Too cold to be outside for long. I have not been to the local patch for a couple of weeks. One way to invite mosses into the garden is to "paint" rocks with cold rice pudding or similar.
ian,
Happy birthday :)
Although moss thrives here it is due to high humidity and not very high precipitation (well, not very high compared to the wettest places (more than 3000mm/year) near by).
I think any organic matter you apply to the rocks will do! Furthermore I have no rice pudding ;)
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Ian,
Yes, Happy Birthday! :)
Hopefully the weather will improve and you can get out to the "local patch" soon.
Trond,
I arrived at the farm this morning to a soggy wet mess. It is great! 8) 8) 8) Maybe we will have the end of drought conditions for awhile. So far there has been about 585mm of precipitation here at the farm. This is a little bit above average for this date. The next storm, to arrive this weekend, is expected to drop 250mm of precipitation in our area (the farm, not the Sacramento Valley, there less). Flooding is excepted and a flood warning is being issued. There are two more wet storms expected after this next one. The farm is safe on high ground, except down by a seasonal creek - which is also the only road out! One more reason I have all-wheel-drive. There is a much greater threat of flooding at our Sacramento home. We have to hope the levees do not break. The American and Sacramento Rivers are already running high from this last storm. If 250mm do indeed fall in the Sierra Nevada watershed there will most likely be a level failure and flooding somewhere. The question is where? Stay tuned.
We also had a trace of snow at the farm the other day. It is long gone. A place like Peavine Ridge most likely has 5 feet (approx. 1.6m) of snow now. Just like the "old days". :)
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Always a sign that the year has turned, two of my favourites. N. romieuxii and Hammamelis mollis pallida. Only trouble is now the Hammamelis is getting too tall for me to catch the scent.
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The predicted rain that combines with the frost, gives
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Beautiful ice forms, Fred!
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It is many years since we had such images, nice to see Fred.
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Sorry, can't show icicles. Too "warm" here ;) But I picked the first flowering crocuses in the garden (C. tommasinianus). It is too gloomy outside so I brought them inside but lots more are coming.
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Sorry, can't show icicles. Too "warm" here ;) But I picked the first flowering crocuses in the garden (C. tommasinianus). It is too gloomy outside so I brought them inside but lots more are coming.
Already spring Trond? :D ;D
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The predicted rain that combines with the frost, gives
Beautiful pictures Fred!
As beautiful they are, these ice accumulations can be devastating for shrubs and trees; I hope you don't have damage in the garden.
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I'm really enjoying Hoy's mossy landscapes and Fred's photographs of icicles, amongst others.
Terribly picturesque.
Thanks for sharing them,
Jacqui.
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Beautiful pictures Fred!
As beautiful they are, these ice accumulations can be devastating for shrubs and trees; I hope you don't have damage in the garden.
I think that some stubble of Phyllostachys aureosulcata will not rise again. As for the rest, it should go. I just took the outside temperature. It is 0.4 °C. It's midnight. As we go back to positive, it should go.
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Already spring Trond? :D ;D
Gabriela, as we never have a proper winter here it is questionable whether we still have fall or the spring has begun. Any way we wont have summer until June !
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There are two frogs in the greenhouse seeking shelter, including the yellow one. I have put some leaves in there so they have somewhere to hide.
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Always a sign that the year has turned, two of my favourites. N. romieuxii and Hammamelis mollis pallida. Only trouble is now the Hammamelis is getting too tall for me to catch the scent.
A beautiful potful of daffs, Shelagh!
Maybe you can pick a wee spring of the Hamaemelis to bring into the house and enjoy the scent? Wonderful shrubs for the dark days of winter.
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Matt so many came through they were pushing the soil up with them, Brian had to keep patting it down.
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Hazel has catkins on now and a new leaf seen on a lizard orchid.
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Gabriela, as we never have a proper winter here it is questionable whether we still have fall or the spring has begun. Any way we wont have summer until June !
You have spring for many months! How I wish it was like that here, but no. Ground has been frozen since November, in December the snow melted away for a while, but last week it was -24C one night, now around zero and next week below freezing again. Winter seems so long. At least there isn't very much snow, though it would be good for plants but not for me. I could see some snowdrops peaking from the ground after Christmas, but they will have to wait at least two or three months before they can begin to flower.
Couple of pictures from the garden yesterday.
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Oh, Leena, it's cold all that ... -24 ° C?
I wish you courage. At the same time you can say that you have strong seasons at home. With us it has been years since the return of the rains of the month of October - November, one thinks that the time will be like that until March, at least ... There, it is very long ... ;)
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Thanks Fred :). It was cold all last week, mostly between -10 and -20C, but today it rains, and roads and paths are very slippery.
Waiting for seeds from seed exchange is one good thing in January. :)
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We start the seedex on Thursday, so not long to wait for your seeds, Leena!
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[quote author=Leena link=topic=14995.msg369473#msg369473 date=1484044186
Waiting for seeds from seed exchange is one good thing in January. :)
We start the seedex on Thursday, so not long to wait for your seeds, Leena!
Thanks Fred :). It was cold all last week, mostly between -10 and -20C, but today it rains, and roads and paths are very slippery.
Waiting for seeds from seed exchange is one good thing in January. :)
I am very impatient too. This will be the first time for me that I participate in a seed exchange.
All the pots are already ready in bins stacked in the garage. I made the mixture of soil, leafmould and gravel. They are ready to sow and then cover with gravel. There are only labels that are not made because I do not know if everything will arrive as requested.
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Spotted in the garden this morning ... first signs of nature awakening with snowdrops showing their heads above the soil
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You have spring for many months! How I wish it was like that here, but no. Ground has been frozen since November, in December the snow melted away for a while, but last week it was -24C one night, now around zero and next week below freezing again. Winter seems so long. At least there isn't very much snow, though it would be good for plants but not for me. I could see some snowdrops peaking from the ground after Christmas, but they will have to wait at least two or three months before they can begin to flower.
Couple of pictures from the garden yesterday.
Leena, it isn't much spring-like today! More like fall. The rain is pouring down (again) and although some shrubs and crocuses are in flower it isn't any pleasure to take a walk in the garden. It is difficult to walk on the lawn also as it is almost more crocus and snowdrop leaves than grass. The mean temperature for all December was +6.6C.
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Spotted in the garden this morning ... first signs of nature awakening with snowdrops showing their heads above the soil
Hopeful signs, François. We even have a few snowdrops out in the garden here - they're looking rather lonely at the moment!
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You have spring for many months! How I wish it was like that here, but no. Ground has been frozen since November, in December the snow melted away for a while, but last week it was -24C one night, now around zero and next week below freezing again. Winter seems so long. At least there isn't very much snow, though it would be good for plants but not for me. I could see some snowdrops peaking from the ground after Christmas, but they will have to wait at least two or three months before they can begin to flower.
Couple of pictures from the garden yesterday.
Hang on Leena! Just the same here, plus occasional rains on top of the snow piles, so it seems 'icebergs' are starting to take shape ???
Eventually we'll have the same difficulty like Trond - "It is difficult to walk on the lawn also as it is almost more crocus and snowdrop leaves than grass. The mean temperature for all December was +6.6C." ;D
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I know Gabriela :). Here in the south coast of Finland the mean temperature in December was -1°C.
We start the seedex on Thursday, so not long to wait for your seeds, Leena!
I'm looking forward to them. :) I have also made a small order in December to Vlastimil Pilous (peonies and something else) and I'm waiting for them also, though I don't have pots yet ready like Frederick. And then there are some Helleborus coming my way, so sowing seeds is the best way to spend January.
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Camelia japonica ‘Tamanoura’, about a month earlier than the usual.
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Blizzard outside, flowers inside.
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On leave today. Wake up from the bedroom window.
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Hannelore, what a cheerful spot of colour to have during the winter months! Is that Pereskia grandiflora?
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Hannelore, what a cheerful spot of colour to have during the winter months! Is that Pereskia grandiflora?
Yes. It refuses to recognize that it lives in the Northern Hemisphere. ;) And it is one of the few indoor plants that like full sun behind the window.
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What beautiful photographs of snow and the winter landscape! :) 8)
The skies have finally cleared here in Northern California. Sadly some of the local levees have now failed and there is some flooding of homes in our area. More heavy rain is forecast starting Tuesday-Wednesday. It is good to have the drought "officially" be declared as ended in Northern California (not Southern California, yet). I personally like the rain and snow, however it is sad to see others flooded.
If time permits I will photograph some of our snow in the Sierra Nevada. The snow levels finally lowered. Snow is right up the road a very short distance. Our wildflowers will most likely be amazing this year! :)
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Cold wind here, no sign of snow yet. Soon be spring though. No snowdrops showing in the garden.
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A little perspective - 3500kms. to our west in southern Manitoba yesterday:
extreme blizzard the day long
winds gusting to 90km/hr
roads described as treacherous
whiteout conditions
mulitple vehicle collisions
wind-chill -50c
A lady of Pakistani decent who has lived in Winnepeg for 16 years said of the weather "back home this would be seen as the end of the world."
Well they don't have any rhodo buds to worry about.....
johnw
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Sounds like the Sierra Nevada a few days ago. Category 5 Hurricane force winds, with wind gusts clocked at 250km/hr. Complete whiteout conditions; Interstate 80 closed to traffic; etc. Most likely what the Donner Party faced!
More benign .........
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Jenkinson Reservoir full of water. :)
This is the main water source for El Dorado County, California. Drought conditions have ended for Northern California. 8) Southern California is still having drought conditions.
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Jenkinson Reservoir is at approximately 3,500 feet (1,067 meters). Here there were traces of snow. At Pollock Pines, elevation 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) there was 3" to 6" of snow. I would love to check on Peavine Ridge. My guess is that there is about 1 meter of snow there. :)
Arctostaphylos viscida ssp. mariposa front and center, with its glandular-hairy stems! 8) The more I study them the more variance I find. The Genus is extremely fascinating. 8)
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Chamaebatia foliolosa, Bear Clover, looking good with the snow. This species is a very common evergreen ground cover at this elevation. Bear Clover is often seen with another evergreen ground huger, Polygala cornuta var. cornuta. I saw plenty of this species while I checked on the Reservoir.
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Got a couple cm of snow (sleet and hail actually) yesterday. It lingers still and the cold weather will last until Monday they say.
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Chamaebatia foliolosa, Bear Clover, looking good with the snow.
Very pretty - do bears actually eat it?
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Very pretty - do bears actually eat it?
Hi Gail,
As far as I know bears do not eat Bear Clover. Another common name for this plant is "Mountain Misery". This species has very aromatic foliage, especially during warm - hot weather. Some find the fragrance / odor objectionable. When I was very young I would get sick to my stomach from its odor - but only when in an automobile. Funny thing happened, when cars were required to reduce pollutants I never got sick any more! Was it the car exhaust or the plant that made me sick? ???
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A few more photographs from the other day.
The South Fork of the American River near Riverton, California. The river is running high, cold, and clear! :)
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Snow on distant mountains as seen from "Apple Hill" near Camino, California. I was hoping for a view of the Crystal Range, however trees were blocking the view. There is close to 4 meters and perhaps more at the highest elevations in the Sierra Nevada right now. A good view can be very pretty. It is a holiday in the U.S.A. - crowds everywhere - very difficult to find "room" to take a good photograph of the mountains. :-\
Trond,
Nice pictures with the snow, or what we locally call "corn snow". Both of our gardens are "sleepy" - Sacramento and Placerville. No signs of flowers on the Witchhazels yet.
I am pleased to finally have some "winter" weather in California. It has been clear and frosty every night for the last few days in Placerville and dense fog in the Valley i.e. Sacramento etc. :)
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Walk in the woods near us today. We have several tree species that make up the landscape. I do not like too much Pinus. I find these places too dark. Worse still are the woods composed of Abies. On the other hand, I like the woods composed of Fagus, Carpinus, Larix, ...
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Hello Fred, can you turn the photos the other way up?
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No, but I can!
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I do not know why it is necessary to make a torticollis to look at the photos. Here are others with cones of Larix and acenes of Carpinus.
Thank you Maggi
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It is a problem with how the pictures are saved originally from the machine, I think Fred.
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After years with an old GSM, Santa brought me a smart phone. I do not yet master well.
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Walk in the woods near us today. We have several tree species that make up the landscape.
Here we had a bad storm last week and the foresters recommend not to walk in the woods because there are too many instable trees.
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It is actually more cautious in the event of a storm. At home it was quiet. The most annoying were the pieces of snow that fell into our necks. It looked as if the trees were saying, "Go home ..." And they threw snowballs at us all along the promenade. ;D
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Robert,
We say the same about the coarse grained snow but usually it is old transformed snow, this is frozen hail and sleet.
Cfred,
you have more snow than I have ;D Here, pine woods are considered open and sunny. Beech woods are dense and shady - in summer at least. Spruce and fir woods are also very dense and dark.
No storm here for some days but we still have cold weather. Seems to change tomorrow.
Polystichum munitum in winter habit.
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Trond,
Nice pictures of Polystichum minutum. It is not very often I see this species encrusted in ice and snow. 8)
Walk in the woods near us today. We have several tree species that make up the landscape. I do not like too much Pinus. I find these places too dark. Worse still are the woods composed of Abies. On the other hand, I like the woods composed of Fagus, Carpinus, Larix, ...
Fred,
I liked the pictures of the forest with snow. The trees appear to be planted in rows. Is this the case? From your description it sounds like the trees are planted in blocks - all of one type together. Is is possible to learn more?
I feel embarrassed :-[ I do not understand French. :'( My wife is good at Spanish and German. This can work if English will not work.
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I liked the pictures of the forest with snow. The trees appear to be planted in rows. Is this the case? From your description it sounds like the trees are planted in blocks - all of one type together. Is is possible to learn more?
Both is true. All woods in central Europe are plantations. The trees are planted in rows, formerly the same species in blocks of 3-10 acres depending on the landscape. As this method of forestry has proved to be not very good - the monocultures attract pests, the diversity of plants is waning and so on, nowadays the newly planted forests are of mixed type, conifers and deciduous trees in a harmonic composition. But this is only the habit since +-20 years, so it will take another 50 years to see the change.
Hannelore
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Hello Robert.
There really is no need to be bothered to speak "only" English. Personally, I speak only French and a little Dutch. I understand a little English reading.
This is the magic of this forum. One writes thanks to an automatic translator in English.on copy-paste the message on the forum for those who do not speak English. We choose the language in which we want to read. Everything is translated into the desired language.
As for our woods ... As said Hannelore, these are a lot of mono cultures. This causes many problems for biodiversity. In fact, the plants are placed in rows of onions in order to allow better management of maintenance, cutting, etc. This also makes it possible to have trunks of trees which grow homogeneously and are therefore calibrated for The wood industry.
We return a little, however, because we have found that these forests are poor and poorly resistant to disease and bad weather. During big storms, it is not uncommon to see the trees fall like dominoes.
Now, they have a tendency, in our country, to cut wood by plots leaving some standing specimens to reseed. This allows for a dominance of the desired species. This also makes it possible, thanks to the birds in particular, to have other species that add up and produce more beautiful forests.
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Hi Gail,
As far as I know bears do not eat Bear Clover. Another common name for this plant is "Mountain Misery". This species has very aromatic foliage, especially during warm - hot weather. Some find the fragrance / odor objectionable. When I was very young I would get sick to my stomach from its odor - but only when in an automobile. Funny thing happened, when cars were required to reduce pollutants I never got sick any more! Was it the car exhaust or the plant that made me sick? ???
I was intrigued by your mountain misery and so have been googling - fascinated to find that it is a member of the Rosaceae as I had assumed from your picture it was a fern... (and like that "The Miwok tribe's name for the plant was kit-kit-dizze."
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Hello Robert.
There really is no need to be bothered to speak "only" English. Personally, I speak only French and a little Dutch. I understand a little English reading.
This is the magic of this forum. One writes thanks to an automatic translator in English.on copy-paste the message on the forum for those who do not speak English. We choose the language in which we want to read. Everything is translated into the desired language.
As for our woods ... As said Hannelore, these are a lot of mono cultures. This causes many problems for biodiversity. In fact, the plants are placed in rows of onions in order to allow better management of maintenance, cutting, etc. This also makes it possible to have trunks of trees which grow homogeneously and are therefore calibrated for The wood industry.
We return a little, however, because we have found that these forests are poor and poorly resistant to disease and bad weather. During big storms, it is not uncommon to see the trees fall like dominoes.
Now, they have a tendency, in our country, to cut wood by plots leaving some standing specimens to reseed. This allows for a dominance of the desired species. This also makes it possible, thanks to the birds in particular, to have other species that add up and produce more beautiful forests.
Fred,
This is all very fascinating. Thank you for taking the time to explain.
Computer programs for language translation have clearly made large advances. It seems that it was not that long ago such programs were not very satisfactory.
Here in the western U.S.A. there is both private and public forest land. Much of the private forest land is owned by large timber corporations. Too often the land is used to produce mono-cultures of pine or fir. From a perspective of biodiversity the mono-cultures can be somewhat lifeless. From my observations, the "crop", trees to produce lumber or pulp, is often very unhealthy. Routinely I have seen all the undergrowth sprayed with herbicides leaving nothing but bare earth. Often the "crop" is harvested by clear cutting.
Our western public land is generally managed by the U.S. Forest Service or other government agencies. They have the difficult task of trying to balance the wants and needs of a wide diversity of interests that are too often in conflict with each other. In general, the forest under the management of the Forest Service are much more diverse and healthier that those managed by private interests. I certainly hope that it remains this way or the situation even improves. I keep hearing repeatedly, from various sources, that there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done to understand the many facets of our botanical heritage here in the western U.S.A. Some facets of field work are grossly under funded and neglected. Relatively recently, new plant species have been discovered here in California. The range of known species continues to expand. From my perspective, the field study of plants in California is just as interesting and exciting as it is in China or the "Stans".
Is my understand correct that there is little or no public forest land in Europe? I just do not know! The U.S.A. has large national parks, a relatively recent development in the history of humans on this planet. Many other countries around the world have created, or at least have attempted to create, national parks. There are also organizations such as the Nature Conservancy. What is it like in Europe?
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Robert, there is probably nowhere in England or Scotland that is really untouched by humans. There are plenty of wild landscapes but they have been altered by interference. Even in remote areas the woodland that appeared following the warm period after the last ice age has been cleared.
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In Germany about 43% of the woods are in private possession, but every owner of a forest has to follow the forest law. It is not allowed to close forests for wanderers except while harvesting trees or chasing.
The owners of forests (private, villages, towns, states, organizations) are obliged to follow the rules of environmentally sustainable forms of foresting. Herbicides are not allowed.
Usually someone who goes on a walk in the woods isn't aware if this is private or not.
There are clubs who care for the trail blazes which are marked everywhere. If some private forest owner would do something against the rules of environment they'd cry havoc at once.
Hannelore
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Is my understand correct that there is little or no public forest land in Europe? I just do not know! The U.S.A. has large national parks, a relatively recent development in the history of humans on this planet. Many other countries around the world have created, or at least have attempted to create, national parks. There are also organizations such as the Nature Conservancy. What is it like in Europe?
In Norway 77% (the highest percent in any European country as far as I know) of the productive forests are privately owned. This is usually not big companies but farmers and other private individuals. 7.5% are owned by companies, 7% by one big public enterprise (which is the biggest landowner if you count all kind of land) and 8.5% by municipalities and private individuals in common.
But it doesn't matter who owns the land, the same rules apply everywhere. In short I, and everybody else, can walk wherever we want without asking anybody. We can also pick berries and fruit, make campfire (except in summer), put up a tent for 2 days (if it is not too close to buildings) and do a lot more. Of course, we have to behave and not damage anything and we can't dig plants etc without asking the owner. This is called "allemannsrett" ("the right of all men", public right).
Only 2.9% of the productive forests are protected. Although large areas of the forests look like wilderness it has been exploited for thousands of years. Only 44% are covered by forests and this include montane birch woods and other marginal forests as well as productive coniferous forests. Plantations are also included. Clear-cuttings are the major method but small patches have to be left here and there to break up the monotony or to protect rivers, lakes etc.
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Hannelore,
Ah! Europe has such a noble and progressive way of managing open forest land that is owned by private parties. 8) 8) 8)
Sadly, in the U.S.A. it is very, very different (at least in California). Most owners of private forest land enforce the boundaries of their property as though it was their own sovereign country! One sees "Private Property - No Trespassing" signs everywhere. In the worst cases the signs read "Lead Flies Past this Point" or other threatening phases. The sign are not to be disregarded! I have been harassed by land owners even when I have been on a public easement near their property. I some ways I can understand their position. There is too much abuse, criminal activity, and disregard for most property (public and private) in California. Graffiti, trash, marijuana growers, and thieves of all sort disrespect private property. At our farm we get trespassers far too frequently. There is an Indian Casino down the road from our farm and the gamblers and other riff-raff come around all too often. A few times I have had to threaten trespassers by calling the Sheriff to remove them! I do not own a gun, but I think, sadly, this is the only thing these people seem to understand. Many of my farmer friends are constantly dealing with thieves stealing there produce, tractors, and any other thing they can get their hands on. I wish I could be optimistic like Mr. Obama! :'( Yes, there are many wonderful people on this planet, but as Mr. Obama said today there is evil too.
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Trond,
I very much appreciate how private property is handled in Europe. 8) It says much, in a very positive way, about the character of the people and the progressive attitude of the governments.
In the case of "The Cedars" in Sonoma County, California, it is a blessing that this area is surrounded by private property. Arctostaphylos baker ssp. sublaevis, Calochortus raichei, Epipactis gigantea f. rubrifolia, Erigeron serpentinus, and Eriogonum cedrorum are just some of the species endemic to this site. I am not sure that these plants would survive on public lands.
It is also interesting how Native Americans managed the lands in California for thousands of years. Some native grasses were harvested for grain - Glyceria sp. - Manna Grass for one, but not the only one. Many other native plants were used and "farmed" for food. Other plants were used as medicines, building materials, tool and weapon making, as well as sacred plants for Ceremony. I am getting a first hand education on this from our house guest. More on this later.
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Eranthis pinnatifida -pot-grown as unfortunately it is slug-fodder in the open garden here and I still only have a few tubers/corms (what do you call Eranthis "bulbs"?).
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/331/31590571463_b47d282969_o_d.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/392/32251455102_4976772d05_o_d.jpg)
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One of our most favourite plants , Steve. It's diminutive size is so charming - but can you imagine the excitement that would be engendered if the flowers were the actual size of your photos rather than the 1.5 cms across that they are? Widespread fainting and hysteria, I bet!
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I love them too.
I was hoping to find it on the seed exchange list this year. Unfortunately, there were none. :-\
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I have heard very good reports about plants sent by the Japanese nursery, Yuzawa Engei which is one of the nurseries in the SRGC List of suggested specialist nurseries which you can find here http://files.srgc.net/journals/NurseryListSRGC.pdf (http://files.srgc.net/journals/NurseryListSRGC.pdf)
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I have heard very good reports about plants sent by the Japanese nursery, Yuzawa Engei which is one of the nurseries in the SRGC List of suggested specialist nurseries which you can find here http://files.srgc.net/journals/NurseryListSRGC.pdf (http://files.srgc.net/journals/NurseryListSRGC.pdf)
.... and a regular advertiser in The Rock Garden
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Thank you for information. ;)
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Robert, with regard to land in the UK, there are very different laws in England compared to Scotland. In Scotland the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 was introduced. This gives public access to most land in Scotland providing that the public act responsibly. In England most land is private and the Medieval Feudal system still prevents public access to private land. There are a wide network of public rights of way across private land but these must be strictly adhered to. Some forestry is owned by the Forestry Commission, a public government agency, and access to this woodland is usually open. England is fairly backwards when it comes to accessing our countryside.
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Ian,
Thank you for the information. In some respects it appears that the U.S.A. still operates under some aspects of the Medieval Feudal system. Solving our private land issues would be very difficult and perplexing. At this time these issues are low on the priority list of problems that need to be solved in the U.S.A. We are fortunate to have a great deal of public land in the U.S.A. especially in the west. Clearly in the case of "The Cedars" private ownership has help save an irreplaceable site with many locally endemic species. In other cases public ownership has provided excellent protection of rare plants and/or habitats. An then there is the Nature Conservancy, an organization dedicated to preserving threatened habitats and species.
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The right to roam is taken very seriously in Scotland being backed by land access legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament. Scotland now has some of the best access rights in the world -as befits the birthplace of John Muir.
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In Norway the right to roam has been a customary law since time immemorial. We did not lose it during the Middle Ages either as the feudal system never was established here. The right to roam was formally enacted in 1957.
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The right to roam laws in Norway and Scotland are absolutely wonderful.
Canada follows USA of course, and all that Robert said applies here as well. Especially camping is strongly regulated. Fortunatelly there is plenty of public lands to roam about, but one has to keep in mind that any fence, however small, means 'no trespassing'.
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The first snowdrops in full flower.
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No help available last fall so the chicken wire protection never was placed over the rock garden. It is definitely a 2 person job. Here is one of the results of pruning from the antlered rats.
1. Daphne 'Aurora'
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oh my word, Anne - that IS a sorry sight. Is it quite unusual for you to have no snow cover by now? I thought these horros would not yet be revealed to you.
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Maggi, in recent years our snow cover has been unreliable. But this winter has so far been a non-event. It has only been below 0F maybe 3 times and the lowest was -8F, not too cold. Temperatures have gone up and down. Everyone seems to be suffering from allergies and colds or something and the ticks are still active. So much better when it gets cold, snows, and you see the ground again maybe the end of March. The daphne is not the only victim - they have even pawed acantholimons apart and not being able to eat them, leave them strewn about. They started attacking the garden about three days after the hunting season ended
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Spring is far away :-(
Bernd
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Spring is far away :-(
Bernd
Yes Bernd but the blue sky over the snow capped mountains looks very nice 8) I don't remember when was last that I've seen the sun...
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There are hints of Spring here.
Dionysia curviflora -This clone is a pin. I have another clone which is thrum though it is not as floriferous.
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/351/32313517952_433d1d7c64_o_d.jpg)
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Stunning plant and Photo, Steve!
Winter in Nova Scotia is being decidedly unpredictable, and the gardens are showing it. Yesterday's ice storm didn't amount to much, and the temperature today hit 9C. This was our home a few years ago in January. Since then, we never know what kind of winter we'll get.
Here are a few shots of the gardens today. Rhododendron wiltonii is already showing damage from a sudden drop to -20 C last month, before we had any snow. The rest of the garden looks pretty good. Our two Hebe species: pinguifolia pagei, shown alongside Dianthus Little Boy Blue, and odora, alongside Calluna White Lawn, are both looking great.
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Some photos from my garden today:
Cyclamen coum, enjoying dry conditions under the oak tree
Helleborus ericsmithii
Helleborus Anna's Red, just about to open
Eranthis, suddenly into growth
Hamamelis Pallida
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And a few more:
This is always the first hellebore to flower, often in December.
Iris Katharine Hodgkin.
Eranthis 'Schwefelglanz', which apparently comes true from seed. These were sown fresh in May 2014 and are flowering for the first time. The flower DOES look paler than normal, I will reserve judgment till it opens properly in the sun.
Daphne mezereum album, which has been in flower since Xmas.
Hamamelis Diane.
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Help, Maggi, my photos are all upside down! This always seems to happen when I take photos on the iPad and post them from it. Can anyone offer advice on how to correct this?
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I'll correct them in a wee while Fixed now, Carolyn.
It 's a question of how the pix were first saved I think. Not sure what you can do exactly, since I don't use an i-pad or camera phone. Will try to get Ian to make me some notes later, which I will post in the forum photo help thread in the General Area of the forum HERE (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=65.0)
He says if the pix are flipped in the device or as you resize them, to make them display the right way up as you see them then they will rotate when posted here, back to the original orientation. If you don't flip them they'll be correct here in the first place.
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I'm sorry when that happens. But I do not know why. On my camera, it is not indicated in which direction will be the photo published on the forum ... It bothers me, and I apologize to those who have to twist their neck by my fault.
Carolyn, when I see Iris and Eranthis in bloom ... At home everything is still frozen under the ice and snow. It freezes hard. Have announced 8 and 9 ° C for the weekend.
Cyclamen coum are also in flower with us but under the snow.
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Thank you, Maggi and Ian.
This time I turned my iPad round 180 degrees to take the photo:
Sarcococca confusa, hopefully the right way up!
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[quote author=Cfred72 link=topic=14995.msg370439#msg370439 date
Carolyn, when I see Iris and Eranthis in bloom ... At home everything is still frozen under the ice and snow. It freezes hard. Have announced 8 and 9 ° C for the weekend.
Cyclamen coum are also in flower with us but under the snow.
[/quote]
We have been lucky here in Scotland, not too much snow or frost so far! But still plenty of winter to come. Many plants are starting into growth. The magnolia buds are swelling and ready to open. I hope they will not be damaged by frost.
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We have finally had a number of clear days. No pounding rain or 60 mph winds thrashing the garden. The mornings have been frosty, the days clear and cool.
Nothing special is blooming, however a few plants spread some cheer with open flowers.
[attachimg=1]
The sunny weather has brought out many flowers on this white form of Cyclamen persicum.
[attachimg=2]
Moraea polystachya has been blooming off and on since late autumn. Now that the sun is out it is blooming again.
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Looks good, Robert!
Two days with sun and 0 C during the nights. But January has been very mild. Unfortunately my garden gets only a little sun at this time as trees and the neighbours' houses cast long shadows.
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
Daphne blagayana
[attachimg=4]
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Trond,
Despite some high temperatures of 15.5 C the last few days not much is happening in our garden.....yet. ;D The mornings are frosty 0 C but not much cooler. Many plants are germinating or coming into growth so it will not be long. More stormy weather is to arrive late tomorrow. I hope it holds off as I will be going to Snow Mountain tomorrow. For me a visit to Snow Mountain is very 8) I also have an outing planned to the Red Hills one of California's great wildflower sites. There are a few rare endemic species there too.
We too have to contend with shade from our neighbors trees and even our own (we will be doing some trimming and pruning soon!).
Nice to see some blooming plants from your garden. 8) I did notice a few open Crocus flowers in our garden the last few days with many more to come.
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Hoy, over there it looks like April here. ;D