Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Leucogenes on August 05, 2018, 11:36:13 AM
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Eriogonum kennedyi, California, Ventura Co. 2645 m
The current heat and drought seems to be very good for this plant...😊
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Most of my Commelina Coelestis did not survive the cold frozen winter, but 4 did survive and they are now in full colour display.
[attachimg=1]
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Eriogonum kennedyi, California, Ventura Co. 2645 m
The current heat and drought seems to be very good for this plant...😊
Could this possibly be a different eriogonum? I've never seen E.kennedyi bloom on long stems. The ones I've grown have always had the flowers with very short stems right on the plant. Just asking.
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Could this possibly be a different eriogonum? I've never seen E.kennedyi bloom on long stems. The ones I've grown have always had the flowers with very short stems right on the plant. Just asking.
Eriogonum kennedyi seems to have several varieties. When I worked at Wisley we grew two forms, one labelled E. kennedyi var. kennedyi and the other E. kennedyi var. alpigenum. The former had long flowering stems and the latter had very short ones, as pictured below.
Paul
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Not exactly a rock garden plant, but it is definitely photogenic (Steve Garvie, I could use your expertise!). Nelumbo nucifera var komarovii, grown from seed. It bloomed for the first time last year- (one, possibly two flowers in 2017). So far this year it has produced at least 14 buds, five are already spent, and more show up every few days. It is fun to watch the flowers change colour and shape during their three day lifespan. At the rate it is growing, I'll have an endless supply of blooms next summer... and a full pond!
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Five years from seed this Albizia julibrissin f. rosea ex Dresden, Ontario seed is at last flowering heavily due to the hot summer, the hottest since 1876. Only 2 out of 10 seedlings were hardy. It receives no water, no fertilizer and gets full sun against a south-facing wall. The soil is very poor, shallow and still it grows like a fiend.
The Eucalyptus to the left did not fare so well after last winter's snowless spell. It got to 17ft and valiantly sprouted from the base in 2017 but the winter of 2018 delivered the coup de grâce.
The first bud has opened on Rhododendron auriculatum, this shrub - one of about a dozen from a Guizhou collection - is the latest of all and covered in buds, many are multiples. The smallest leaves of the lot. Highly fragrant, barely auriculate leaves.
john
feeling cool at 24c.
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Eriogonum kennedyi seems to have several varieties. When I worked at Wisley we grew two forms, one labelled E. kennedyi var. kennedyi and the other E. kennedyi var. alpigenum. The former had long flowering stems and the latter had very short ones, as pictured below.
Paul
Hi Paul
I was very pleased with your detailed information about the Eriogonum kennedyi. I've only had the common name so far. Now I know a little more about it. Your two pictures are wonderful. I think the low version is even nicer. Maybe I'll get these someday.
With the current development of the climate we will probably establish more such starvation artists here in Europe in the future...
Thanks and greetings
Thomas
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Lovely Nelumbos Gordon. I assume they are planted in the pond but would like to know how deep the water is where they're planted. And how on earth did you plant them? Scuba gear?
john
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John, yes, they are planted in our lower pond. During the winter they are under at least 2 feet of water. The water level drops during the summer, partly due to evaporation and largely because inflow from the upper pond dries up, unless we have a lot of rain. At the moment they are under about a foot and a half of water.
I am hoping I'll have some seed set this year... a tricky business with Lotus since they are programmed to avoid self pollination (pollen ripening and stigmatic surface receptivity in a flower occur at separate times).
The seedlings were originally in a pot, which I moved to deeper water each autumn, until it got too heavy to move (chest waders come in handy). Two years ago, I finally liberated them from the pot, so now they are free to roam the pond. What is shocking is how quickly they are growing! If these were to escape into the wild (in a suitable environment) they would gallop across any pond or lakeshore!
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The Nelumbo nucifera looks great Grodon!
I'm not surprised it spreads fast, after all our native N. lutea can cover an entire lake fast.
John - what a treat to have Albizzia julibrissin flowering. Most beautiful tree for late summer if climate allows. Used extensively in some European regions.
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Hi everybody! Long time since I posted here, thought it was well overdue ;) so I'll just post a couple of quick shots from one of the rock beds-- Sempervivum marmoreum ssp erythraeum (with Rosularia, other semps, Armeria, Draba etc in the background, then another view of the same bed with that semp to the lower left, some of the big boys behind.. August 07, 2018
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Five years from seed this Albizia julibrissin f. rosea ex Dresden, Ontario seed is at last flowering heavily due to the hot summer, the hottest since 1876. Only 2 out of 10 seedlings were hardy. It receives no water, no fertilizer and gets full sun against a south-facing wall. The soil is very poor, shallow and still it grows like a fiend.
john
feeling cool at 24c.
Very cool, John!
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Hi everybody! Long time since I posted here, thought it was well overdue ;) so I'll just post a couple of quick shots from one of the rock beds-- Sempervivum marmoreum ssp erythraeum (with Rosularia, other semps, Armeria, Draba etc in the background, then another view of the same bed with that semp to the lower left, some of the big boys behind.. August 07, 2018
Lovely light!
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Lovely light!
Thanks-- love those afternoon shadows (even deeper than these)-- and the smoke has been giving us picturesque (if eye and throat and lung bothering!) yellow and orange days -- I think it was just starting when those shots were taken a few days back. Here is Erigeron caespitosus and Heterotheca villosa (mostly spent flowers in this shot) on our second hottest day, around 33C on August 09, with lots of smoke from distant forest fires. And, a shot from the hottest day (in years) Aug 10, we got to just under 35C.. this is a road shot from a trip to town...
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Cooling temps and finally some rain, that's all that was needed for these seedlings of Commelina Coelestis to put up some flowers. Sown this spring and flowering already - almost feels like growing annuals. Looks like after all I will have a nice harvest of seeds this year again.
[attachimg=1]
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Cooling temps and finally some rain, that's all that was needed for these seedlings of Commelina Coelestis to put up some flowers. Sown this spring and flowering already - almost feels like growing annuals. Looks like after all I will have a nice harvest of seeds this year again.
(Attachment Link)
Nice colour! I haven't tried any Commelina here, in Toronto there was some weedy cousin in one place I lived, I liked the colour there too..
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Nice to have you back on here Cohan.
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Nice to have you back on here Cohan.
That's what I thought!
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A few nice Manzanita species:
[attachimg=1]
This is one of several forms of Arctostaphylos myrtifolia that I grow. It is coming along well and I will be able to plant it out soon. This young and small plant has already set flower buds! This species is low growing + or – 40 cm and spreads out over the ground, however I do not consider it mat forming. I enjoy the hairy stems on the current seasons growth.
[attachimg=2]
This is a very distinct form of the common species, Arctostaphylos viscida ssp. viscida. This plant comes from an isolated population where there are unique environmental conditions. The foliage on this form is especially silvery-gray. The plants from this site are also very stunted in there growth. There plants have been isolated for a very long time, so I am hoping that they will retain their dense, compact habit in cultivation.
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That's what I thought!
Thanks Maggi and David!
Here is one of many important plants in my garden that come from private seed trades or gifts from SRGC members-- I think this plant was from wild seed from Johannes Hoeller in Austria, haven't been able to find a confirming note. I have many Cyclamen purpursacens from his seed (as well as some from JohnW in Nova Scotia)
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A few nice Manzanita species:
(Attachment Link)
This is one of several forms of Arctostaphylos myrtifolia that I grow. It is coming along well and I will be able to plant it out soon. This young and small plant has already set flower buds! This species is low growing + or – 40 cm and spreads out over the ground, however I do not consider it mat forming. I enjoy the hairy stems on the current seasons growth.
(Attachment Link)
This is a very distinct form of the common species, Arctostaphylos viscida ssp. viscida. This plant comes from an isolated population where there are unique environmental conditions. The foliage on this form is especially silvery-gray. The plants from this site are also very stunted in there growth. There plants have been isolated for a very long time, so I am hoping that they will retain their dense, compact habit in cultivation.
Both lovely. Only A. uva-ursi here, and Arctous rubra in the mountains (maybe nigra too, I'm a little vague on how to tell them apart, since I think berry colour is not definitive?).
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I have more photographs to share form our Sacramento garden, including Eriogonum hybrids.
Tomorrow is outing day for me so I am very busy getting prepared. :)
I am glad to be following this thread again.
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I have more photographs to share form our Sacramento garden, including Eriogonum hybrids.
Tomorrow is outing day for me so I am very busy getting prepared. :)
I am glad to be following this thread again.
Yay for outings!
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A gift from friends in Thunder Bay, Stenanthium gramineum. This is its first flowering and much appreciated at this time of year.
john
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Cohan
Great to hear you've had some success with the purpurascens seed.
Here's a self sown seedling in the garden. They're all much happier after a few rains in the past week.
john
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Cohan
Great to hear you've had some success with the purpurascens seed.
Here's a self sown seedling in the garden. They're all much happier after a few rains in the past week.
john
Thanks, yes, John, they have done well. The ones from the silver/white leaf I still have in pots, sunk over winter, since I didn't want to plant them beside the wild seed plants, and I keep not getting around to finding a spot in the garden...lol.. I have not got any really silver ones, though they are lighter than the wild ones. I'm hoping once I have them settled in properly they may seed more and variations may turn up.
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A gift from friends in Thunder Bay, Stenanthium gramineum. This is its first flowering and much appreciated at this time of year.
john
Interesting-- not a plant I know, cousin to Zigadenus/Anticlea, I see... looks very large and impressive?
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[attachimg=1]
Eriogonum ovalifolium var. nivale
The seed was from one of my outings to the Sonora Pass region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As the flowers age they turn from white to pink.
[attachimg=2]
On the right are two Eriogonum incanum x marifolium hybrids. Variation in the foliage is quite apparent.
To the left is one of a number of Eriogonum elatum seedlings from the Monitor Pass region, Alpine County, California. I am hoping for flowers next spring.
The Monitor Pass region is very beautiful. The eastern Sierra flora is also very different from the west side.
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Physaria alpina Park County, Colorado. On alpine screes at 12100ft, 3689m.
Silver, offsetting rosettes surround themselves with deep yellow blossoms shading to almost orange in the throat.
Grown from ALPLAINS seed in 2016. I planted out a trio of seedlings, about 9 centimetres apart, thinking; that I might stand a chance of one of them surviving. All three have survived and put on good growth, and it did put out a few flowers last year.
Where are the flowers this year? There appear to be tiny clusters of buds in the centre of a number of rosettes. But if I remember correctly (from last year) the flowers appeared much earlier. But it doesn't look as if it will flower this year! If you Google Physaria alpine you will be rewarded with many lovely images.
Anyway, I think it has very attractive foliage. Has anyone else here succeeded with this plant and got it to flower?
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(Attachment Link)
Eriogonum ovalifolium var. nivale
The seed was from one of my outings to the Sonora Pass region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As the flowers age they turn from white to pink.
Nice bunch of Erios.. I grow E oval. v. depressum, growing in a very tough spot in my garden!
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Physaria alpina Park County, Colorado. On alpine screes at 12100ft, 3689m.
Silver, offsetting rosettes surround themselves with deep yellow blossoms shading to almost orange in the throat.
Grown from ALPLAINS seed in 2016. I planted out a trio of seedlings, about 9 centimetres apart, thinking; that I might stand a chance of one of them surviving. All three have survived and put on good growth, and it did put out a few flowers last year.
Where are the flowers this year? There appear to be tiny clusters of buds in the centre of a number of rosettes. But if I remember correctly (from last year) the flowers appeared much earlier. But it doesn't look as if it will flower this year! If you Google Physaria alpine you will be rewarded with many lovely images.
Anyway, I think it has very attractive foliage. Has anyone else here succeeded with this plant and got it to flower?
Looking good- P didyma is one of my faves in the montane west of here..
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The unusual weather has made my two Dryas plants start to flower again. Most plants in the garden flowered early this year and the garden is looking tired.
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Newly acquired plants (from Aberconwy Nursery a few weeks ago)
Fuchsia magellanica v. pumila
Potentilla x 'Tonguei'
Scutellaria laeteviolacea
Scutellaria suffrutescens 'Texas Rose’
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Nice pink "Scoot", John - my favourite is the potentilla - love that colour.
I always think I should be grateful that I cannot visit Aberconwy - the lack of temptation there is keeping me in chocolate here!
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Just like last year, Pulsatilla tatewakii only blooms at this late time...
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Nice pink "Scoot", John - my favourite is the potentilla - love that colour.
I always think I should be grateful that I cannot visit Aberconwy - the lack of temptation there is keeping me in chocolate here!
Hi Maggi,
Yes, that P. x. ‘Tonguei’ is a gem isn’t it, always looks best if it is tumbling over a raised wall or the corner of a trough eh?
My eldest daughter Gail and her partner booked a holiday cottage in North Wales. I asked her to call in at the Nursery on her way back and gave her a short list of plants to get for me. I didn’t know at the time that Dr. Keith Lever had sadly passed away. It was Tim who served Gail. I do hope the Nursery will keep going as they have many plants which you just can’t get elsewhere. :)
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Nice bunch of Erios.. I grow E oval. v. depressum, growing in a very tough spot in my garden!
Hi Cohan,
Over the years I have had a pleasing amount of success with Eriogonum – E. caespitosum, E. ovalifolium, E. flavum and E. umbellatum to name a few.
I just love the wild plants of the High Plains of America and Canada.
I had many seeds in the past from Rocky Mountain Rare Plants.
When you say. . . “growing in a very tough spot in my garden!” Is that by choice or design?. . . Please explain. ???
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(Attachment Link)
Eriogonum ovalifolium var. nivale
The seed was from one of my outings to the Sonora Pass region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As the flowers age they turn from white to pink.
(Attachment Link)
On the right are two Eriogonum incanum x marifolium hybrids. Variation in the foliage is quite apparent.
To the left is one of a number of Eriogonum elatum seedlings from the Monitor Pass region, Alpine County, California. I am hoping for flowers next spring.
The Monitor Pass region is very beautiful. The eastern Sierra flora is also very different from the west side.
I'm very impressed with your collection of Eriogonum, Robert. I am more and more fascinated by this genus . Your plants look very good and healthy.
The variety of this genus seems to be boundless.
I also have two newcomers...E. heracleoides (perhaps not the most attractive form...but bred from wild seeds from British Columbia)😊
And since today E. umbellatum var. dumosum...Perhaps you know the exact occurrence of this subspecies?
Thomas
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It seems,that you did not spend all your money in Italy. These plants are only rarely offered at plantsales in Germany and
the Erfurter Raitätenbörse still seems to be a paradise for plantlovers.
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I'm very impressed with your collection of Eriogonum, Robert. I am more and more fascinated by this genus . Your plants look very good and healthy.
The variety of this genus seems to be boundless.
I also have two newcomers...E. heracleoides (perhaps not the most attractive form...but bred from wild seeds from British Columbia)😊
And since today E. umbellatum var. dumosum...Perhaps you know the exact occurrence of this subspecies?
Thomas
Hi Thomas,
Eriogonum umbellatum var. dumosum is found in Northern California. It ranges from the Northern Coastal Mountains, the Klammath Range, and then southward into the Northern Sierra Nevada. The subspecies is listed in El Dorado County, however I have never seen it in this area. Variety polyanthum is the most common subspecies in El Dorado County. The two varieties can not be confused with each other, unless a mistake is made, or there is carelessness in identification.
Yes, we have many fine Eriogonum species and varieties here in California. I have found most of them very easy to grow in our Sacramento garden, providing certain conditions are met (generally easy to do). I have found that there is a degree of variance in the various species and improved horticultural selections can be made if one is willing to be patient and put in the effort.
Good luck with your new selections! :) 8)
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Hi Robert
Thank you for the proof of origin. Perfect.
As already mentioned several times, the flora of the North American mountains will occupy me a little more in the future. My friend from British Columbia hikes almost weekly in the mountains of BC, Washington State (wenatchee mountains) etc....so north of you. Also in the coming year I will be able to try out many alpine species of this spectacular region. There are other species of Eriogonum...E. douglasii, E. niveum and some E. umbellatum in different colours.
As this year's harvest in the mountains will be, one must wait...there are big forest fires in BC...says my friend.
Thomas
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Mutisia decurrens
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1837/44214640691_daba6003a9_o_d.jpg)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1882/44214641061_fa1b97a891_o_d.jpg)
Courtesy of Martin Sheader who kindly sent me some seed last summer.
I think Martin carefully selected the seed as I got over 70% germination. Unfortunately I lost about 2/3rds of the seedlings due to dampening off. The seeds were separated with some in my standard potting seed mix and some on a sand/fine pumice/perlite mix -it was the latter seedlings which survived.
I eventually got 3 young plants -two of which were very intertwined and had to be potted on together. They are now grown in a very large pot in a mix of pumice, lava stone, perlite and a small amount of leafmould having been over-wintered in a smaller pot under glass. This twin plant has romped off and has now produced about 8 flowers. The flowers seem to open sequentially though there has been some overlap. I have tried to pollinate between the flowers in the hope of gettting seed set but unfortunately it has been monsoon weather here for the last couple of weeks and the seedheads are prone to developing botrytis. The third seedling has been much slower and has shown no signs of flowering. If I can over-winter these plants successfully I have hope of getting seed next year -weather permitting (probably signed their death warrant now!).
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Hi Robert
Thank you for the proof of origin. Perfect.
As already mentioned several times, the flora of the North American mountains will occupy me a little more in the future. My friend from British Columbia hikes almost weekly in the mountains of BC, Washington State (wenatchee mountains) etc....so north of you. Also in the coming year I will be able to try out many alpine species of this spectacular region. There are other species of Eriogonum...E. douglasii, E. niveum and some E. umbellatum in different colours.
As this year's harvest in the mountains will be, one must wait...there are big forest fires in BC...says my friend.
Thomas
Thomas,
I will be very curious to see what you come up with. I have to admit that our local flora keeps me extremely busy and that I have little time to experiment with anything else. Maybe this will change for me some day. :-\ The details of our local flora and ecosystems seem endless.
The wildfires are terrible this year. The Mendocino Complex Fire and Carr Fire are still burning here in Northern California. It is extremely smoky at times. There are other wildfires burning too within our area. It is all very tragic, however I make the best of the situation by studying the aftermath in the burn areas (such as the King Fire burn area here in El Dorado County, California). With climate change, who knows how the environment will respond. Commercial logging in combination with climate change is also having a large impact on our local ecosystems. Indirectly this impacts us as gardeners in a number of ways. One direct impact is that some species are disappearing from our region. I have been observing this on going saga for getting close to 50 years now. I think that there is a Christian Bible verse that reading something like "...and they took no note". This certainly appears to be the case in our area. I am glad that there are some interested in growing our native plant species.
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I've been looking for Globularia stygia for a long time...I finally got her. 😆
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Two Gentians in flower
Gentiana asclepiada - a nice pale blue form I bought at Cambo a few years ago
Gentiana loderi
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Newly acquired plants (from Aberconwy Nursery a few weeks ago)
Fuchsia magellanica v. pumila
Potentilla x 'Tonguei'
Scutellaria laeteviolacea
Scutellaria suffrutescens 'Texas Rose’
Nice bunch! Like Maggie, love the colour of the Potentilla..
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Hi Cohan,
Over the years I have had a pleasing amount of success with Eriogonum – E. caespitosum, E. ovalifolium, E. flavum and E. umbellatum to name a few.
I just love the wild plants of the High Plains of America and Canada.
I had many seeds in the past from Rocky Mountain Rare Plants.
When you say. . . “growing in a very tough spot in my garden!” Is that by choice or design?. . . Please explain. ???
The spot was by design, with a bit of ignorance ;) It was a few years back, and I had built some new rock garden areas, at the slightly higher end of the acreage which is generally drier, and also in front of some large spruce trees which makes it drier. Further, the erios are at the very top of a (built) raised narrow ridge-- rock and gravel and native clayey loam. So, they are quite exposed ( not super windy on the acreage due to trees all around, this spot is protected from 3 sides, though can get some southeast winter winds which are only occasional here, but brutal), high and rather dry and get only slight snow cover for part of winter, compared to many other parts of the acreage! I didn't quite realise when building it just how exposed it would be, but they have done well (some years better than others, like anything else). This year while weeding, I rebuilt the back 'wall' of that ridge, which should make life just slightly easier for those erios...
here are a couple of shots of the re-work in progress--you can see it was very weedy and in need of the work! Don't seem to have got shots of the finished view from the back (north side, more or less straight up). The front also needs more plants-- a couple of things were too vigorous, so removed, and a couple of others didn't make it! It is just the erios at top and a nice -small- Pediocactus coming along slowly in front... recent shot of one of the Eriogonum ovalifolium var depressum from Alplains seed, with a bit more support/shelter from behind, and front slope shored up a bit , more rocks to protect soil/ condense moisture etc.
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Just like last year, Pulsatilla tatewakii only blooms at this late time...
Maybe it wants all the attention!
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Two Gentians in flower
Gentiana asclepiada - a nice pale blue form I bought at Cambo a few years ago
Gentiana loderi
Love that pale one :)
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The spot was by design, with a bit of ignorance ;) It was a few years back, and I had built some new rock garden areas, at the slightly higher end of the acreage which is generally drier, and also in front of some large spruce trees which makes it drier. Further, the erios are at the very top of a (built) raised narrow ridge-- rock and gravel and native clayey loam...................
Thanks for your reply Cohan.
You have given me - “much food for thought.” I really love how you have used those various size stones and boulders. . . And that tree branch!
My crevice garden isn't working to good for me. I'm going for your design! I think it looks more natural. Its like a scene on the Laramie Plans or South Pass Wyoming. I notice Leucogenes and others have used stones and boulders in a hap-hazard array, and it all looks so real.
Click on these two links, . . . I'm going for that effect!
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/Rare_Plants/profiles/TEP/eriogonum_ovalifolium_vineum/images/eriogonum_ovalifolium_vineum_hab_lg.jpg (https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/Rare_Plants/profiles/TEP/eriogonum_ovalifolium_vineum/images/eriogonum_ovalifolium_vineum_hab_lg.jpg)
http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/basin/3petal/buck/eriogonum/ovalifolium/depressum/depressum12a.jpg (http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/basin/3petal/buck/eriogonum/ovalifolium/depressum/depressum12a.jpg)
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Thanks for your reply Cohan.
You have given me - “much food for thought.” I really love how you have used those various size stones and boulders. . . And that tree branch!
My crevice garden isn't working to good for me. I'm going for your design! I think it looks more natural. Its like a scene on the Laramie Plans or South Pass Wyoming. I notice Leucogenes and others have used stones and boulders in a hap-hazard array, and it all looks so real.
Click on these two links, . . . I'm going for that effect!
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/Rare_Plants/profiles/TEP/eriogonum_ovalifolium_vineum/images/eriogonum_ovalifolium_vineum_hab_lg.jpg (https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/Rare_Plants/profiles/TEP/eriogonum_ovalifolium_vineum/images/eriogonum_ovalifolium_vineum_hab_lg.jpg)
http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/basin/3petal/buck/eriogonum/ovalifolium/depressum/depressum12a.jpg (http://science.halleyhosting.com/nature/basin/3petal/buck/eriogonum/ovalifolium/depressum/depressum12a.jpg)
Beautiful plants and shots.... I think crevice gardens can be natural looking, but it is tricky, I certainly don't like all that I've seen but there are some lovely ones... It wasn't an option for me in any case, since I was using local stones -- from piles and gardens we had here from years back, which were collected from cultivated fields, and supplemented with more that roll down from the gravel roads, especially after road work a few years ago. There is no visible bedrock in my immediate area, all of our stones and gravel are glacial deposits, highly varied and mostly smooth, so my aim is more like moraines rather than high alpine crevices, which require more of one kind of stone, and generally more angular pieces-- I don't have those...lol. I do select stones of loosely matching type/colour for small groupings for effect-- then walk along the gravel road selecting small stones/gravel that matches for those areas!. I'll dig for a few more pictures that show some more of my rock use, and a few views of beautiful moraines I see in the mountains.
As for the piece(s) of wood, there are a couple of factors there. As I've built more beds, my supply of stones has been spread thin, so I've used pieces of wood in many places to help give structure, hold in soil etc-- especially around outer edges of beds. Of course below treeline in the mountains one also sees branches and logs among the plants and rocks, so I wanted to emulate that in places just because I like wood, and pieces of wood can also be used to shade roots, block wind, hold heat etc (for plants from hot summer locales, I sometimes make the whole bed a heat sink via shape, angle stone and wood placement and colour etc). For plants from lower meadow or woodland/edge habitats, I often use elements of hugelkultur-- typically used more for vegetable gardens, it is roughly the practise of making raised plantings with soil mounded over organic matter, such as wood. I generally use partly rotted wood so the bed is not too 'active', and besides helping raise the bed, the wood aids in building vital fungal soils, retains moisture while aiding aeration, etc. Of course I do not do that in sections for plants native to very mineral soils.
1- a small native Erigeron or similar (annual? weed? which gently pops up here and there in the garden and pots, originally from a wetland site... I like the texture.. here with a Sedum cultivar; August 09, 2018
2- Papaver popovii with Cyclamen purpurascens in the background; August 12, 2018
3-Rhodiola rosea; wild seed Nfld, CA; first seedling planted out last year to flower; August 09, 2018
4-Sempervivum marmoreum var erythraeum with Rosularia, Armeria etc behind; August 07, 2018
5-Sempervivum zeleborii; wild seed, Bulgaria