Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Alpines => Topic started by: Lori S. on July 02, 2009, 07:05:03 AM
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I built a small tufa garden today... It's about 8' x 6, though I had envisioned it being at least half again as large... but compromises must be made, and it turned out all the tufa was used up anyway. (I'm glad I heeded my husband's advice to buy more tufa at the local rock garden club sale this spring than I had originally intended... he was absolutely right!!)
Well, it's an improvement over the "dog's grave" of fall 2007*, LOL! Now, the question is, will it grow plants?
*First crevice garden, improved and enlarged in spring, 2008 (and made to look much less like Rover's final resting place. ;D)
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I built a small tufa garden today... I had envisioned it being at least half again as large... but compromises must be made, and it turned out all the tufa was used up anyway. Well, it's an improvement over the "dog's grave" of fall 2007*, LOL! Now, the question is, will it grow plants?
*First crevice garden, improved and enlarged in spring, 2008 (and made to look much less like Rover's final resting place. ;D)
congrats! do you already have plants you want to put in there? or is this an excuse to get new stuff? ;)
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Thanks! No, I'm afraid I'm always way ahead with the plants waiting to be planted! It did give me a place to put more of the ones I grew from seed though... I read that Asyneuma limonifolium is supposed to like calcareous substrates so I hope it will be happy! I planted it up this evening, and will map it up tomorrow and pull out the tags.
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Thanks! No, I'm afraid I'm always way ahead with the plants waiting to be planted! It did give me a place to put more of the ones I grew from seed though... I read that Asyneuma limonifolium is supposed to like calcareous substrates so I hope it will be happy! I planted it up this evening, and will map it up tomorrow and pull out the tags.
yep, i know what that's like, i have various things that need planting in beds i havent even begun to dig from the forest...lol
have fun :)
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Lori, you are lucky to be able to get hold of tufa, it's as rare as hens teeth here.
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And lucky to have a husband who suggests you buy MORE!!! than you intend to. Do you have a spare Lori? (husband, I mean ;D)
Any new and empty garden is such a treat to see, and a real invitation to do something really exciting with plants. An artist must feel the same when confronted with blank canvas and new paints. You'll have fun with this one.
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I am cynical enough to think that Lori's husband only suggested she buy more tufa at that time was to save himself the bother of having her complain later she hadn't got enough and would he please go and fetch her more ! (I speak from years of experience asthe wife of the BD. :-X )
I've just uploaded Paul Cumbleton's latest Wisley Log, which is the first of two which will deal with Sand beds.... a subject not a million miles from that of this thread ..... thought you might be interested!
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2009Jul021246568306Log_14_of_2009.pdf
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David, yes, the source of this tufa is private land in British Columbia, where the deposits of springs laden with dissolved calcite are being quarried by the owner. The amount shown in the photo (though much of it is beneath ground level and so not visible) cost $220 in total, including 2 bags of 1/2" tufa gravel and one of calcite sand... largish chunks were individually priced at $20 and $25, though pricing was discounted for larger purchases. We probably could have done a bit better on the cost, but I am no bargainer and I was certainly satisfied with that! (N.B. Sadly, it is probably a very interesting and, in fact, rather special habitat which is being exploited. But, unfortunately, everything one does has impacts, needless to say... the stone I used for my other bed was also quarried somewhere, causing destruction to some other interesting habitat. The cement for our troughs was also blasted from limestone beds, likely in the mountains west of here, and the peat came from ancient bogs in the boreal forest... :-[... drat. Sorry, now I'm all depressed! ;))
Lesley, a spare? (There have been times when I would have auctioned the original off to the highest bidder, LOL! But... I'm sure he'd say the same of me!) He is tremendously handy, smart and very talented at water gardening, to boot! However, in anticipation of that inevitable "next time"... I'm sure he'd love New Zealand but it's only fair to warn you that for prolonged contentment, he does require access to some quite sophisticated (read: "$$$") stereo equipment... just so you know, and can prepare in advance! ;D
Yes, Maggi, cynicism aside, if the suggestion was with forethought, it was a very clever move on his part... I appreciate that it saved face for me, and also saved another trip for him! Well done all 'round! :D
Thanks for the reference.... I have been thinking of a sand bed too... now where to put it?
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That could probably be arranged Lori, provided it was the big Bs he wanted to play on it. :)
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Hmmm, if "the big B's" stands for Beethoven, Brahms and... errr... Bach (to a lesser extent and at appropriate times... calm Sunday mornings, say)... you're playing his tunes, LOL!
If it's big bands, it's me who should come and visit instead, LOL! I must admit I'm nowhere near so useful though. ;D
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No Lori, you'd better stay home. Just send the other half. Bach (at ALL times), Beethoven, Brahms and some Bartok too.
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Oh, I'm crushed! :( Guess I can just go sit out in my new rock garden and eat worms... :-X
But substitute the Bartok for Shostakovich and Prokofiev and you've got his number! (Otherwise, I see irreconcilable differences ahead. ;D)
(You know, I realize I'm really stating my preferences here, LOL! I am not as fond of Bach as he is... )
Hmm, tomorrow, if I am not totally exhausted from hiking, I hope to find out here whether I've made any really heinous boo-boos in the plants I've stuck in the tufa garden... anything that really despises lime, I mean.
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I built a small tufa garden today... It's about 8' x 6, though I had envisioned it being at least half again as large... but compromises must be made, and it turned out all the tufa was used up anyway. (I'm glad I heeded my husband's advice to buy more tufa at the local rock garden club sale this spring than I had originally intended... he was absolutely right!!)
Well, it's an improvement over the "dog's grave" of fall 2007*, LOL! Now, the question is, will it grow plants?
*First crevice garden, improved and enlarged in spring, 2008 (and made to look much less like Rover's final resting place. ;D)
Looks very neat Lori !
I'm sure you'll enjoy it and be sure to show us how it gets along !
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Yes, Maggi, cynicism aside, if the suggestion was with forethought, it was a very clever move on his part... I appreciate that it saved face for me, and also saved another trip for him! Well done all 'round!
Yup, the proverbial win-win situation..... can't be beaten for a success!
I think that many "new" gardeners will be inspired to see these projects documented in these pages and look forward to seeing how things progress.
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I'm very happy with S and P too Lori. ;D However, in view of my advanced years, I could be accused of cradle-snatching, so....
I too, am looking forward to hearing how the tufa garden progresses.
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Oh, piffle, Lesley! ;)
So, then, here I am boldly showing you the unsuspecting victims I've installed in the new tufa bed. (Yikes!) Anyway, any drastic errors re. lime tolerance?
(I'm sure not all of the purchased ones, particularly, will be hardy but one must try... pity the poor innocents! :()
From seed:
Arenaria hookeri ssp. desertorum, Draba ramosissima (grown by a friend)
Asyneuma limonifolium
Inula rhizocephala
Besseya alpina
Chionophila jamesii
Saussurea nepalensis
Penstemon pumilus, virens
Stanleya pinnata, at the back
Purchased:
Lupinus excubitus austromontanus
Onosma aff. nemoricolum
Erinacea anthyllis... a long shot, I'm sure!
Phlox multifida
Astragalus coccineus
Anetilla aurea 'Galushko'
Calandrinia ranunculina
Convolvulus lineatus v. angustifolius
Caloscordum neriniflorum
Pinus mugho 'Valley Cushion'
And a smattering of experimental small bulbs
1) Planted up.
2) Asyneuma limonifolium
3) Besseya alpina
4) Inula and Convolvulus
I realize I'm not really using the tufa itself at this stage (instead, just plugging things in between the rocks) but that will come later. (The goal at this point was to reduce the backlog of seedlings and purchases waiting to be planted... and I'm now down to one and a half trays! :D)
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You were able to purchase Astragalus coccineus? Wow. (I'm thinking religious thoughts here.)
Everything looking good so far. :)
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Oh, piffle, Lesley! ;)
So, then, here I am boldly showing you the unsuspecting victims I've installed in the new tufa bed. (Yikes!) Anyway, any drastic errors re. lime tolerance?
(I'm sure not all of the purchased ones, particularly, will be hardy but one must try... pity the poor innocents! :()
From seed:
Arenaria hookeri ssp. desertorum, Draba ramosissima (grown by a friend)
Asyneuma limonifolium
Inula rhizocephala
Besseya alpina
Chionophila jamesii
Saussurea nepalensis
Penstemon pumilus, virens
Stanleya pinnata, at the back
Purchased:
Lupinus excubitus austromontanus
Onosma aff. nemoricolum
Erinacea anthyllis... a long shot, I'm sure!
Phlox multifida
Astragalus coccineus
Anetilla aurea 'Galushko'
Calandrinia ranunculina
Convolvulus lineatus v. angustifolius
Caloscordum neriniflorum
Pinus mugho 'Valley Cushion'
And a smattering of experimental small bulbs
1) Planted up.
2) Asyneuma limonifolium
3) Besseya alpina
4) Inula and Convolvulus
I realize I'm not really using the tufa itself at this stage (instead, just plugging things in between the rocks) but that will come later. (The goal at this point was to reduce the backlog of seedlings and purchases waiting to be planted... and I'm now down to one and a half trays! :D)
i'm really eager to hear how you fare with the Calandrinia.... have you overwintered any species yet?
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Mmmmm, I'd be interested to know if you can winter Calandrinia ranunculina outdoors?
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What a fantastic beginning to your tufa garden, Lori, the plants look settled in already and the tufa colour and roughness looks so natural...how long did it take to create the site?
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No, I have not grown any other calandrinia outdoors... It is very likely doomed... but on the other hand, I have next to no belief in published zone/temperature ratings (with reference to the cold end of the scale, I mean), as I have found that the only way to know whether an unfamiliar plant is hardy is to test it myself.
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well let us know how it goes, for sure...
i have seen a couple species (wrightman's or beavercreek?) that sounded at least 'possible'...dont think i have seen this species...
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Yes, it was from Beaver Creek; here's the write-up from the Beaver Creek catalogue site:
10424 Calandrinia ranunculina F&W A018 $6.00
2" x 4" Patagonia Zone 5
A new Calandrinia from Patagonia with the typical fleshy small strap-shaped leaves forming a low rosette; bright yellow blooms appear in late spring & continue on into summer; these Lewisia relatives from South America display some of the most vividly colored blooms to be found in rock garden plants & deserve much wider trial to establish their full winter hardiness; all share a common requirement for excellent drainage especially around their rubbery root crowns.
"Deserving much wider trial"... hey, I'm on it, LOL!
Thanks, Robin! It actually only took 2-3 hours (as it is quite small) and much of that was me standing around and pondering! In a very wet climate, I'm sure a great deal more substrate preparation would likely have been advisable...? However, I no doubt took many shortcuts that I hope are justified by this dry climate. The test will be, as I mentioned, whether it grows plants! My other very small tufa planting developed a rather picturesque growth of mosses on it with time, so I'm looking forward to that.
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we should get discounts for doing winter trials ;)
i thought the calandrinia probably wouldnt be typical pink with that name...
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I have four two year old plants plants of Calandrinia ranunculina grown from seed and have put two of them outside in a little rock garden I have just built (mainly to be used for summer flowering plants) to see how they go on. I intend to leave them there through the winter to see how hardy they are in my climate.
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"...we should get discounts for doing winter trials"
Yeah, I'd have been retired long ago if my plant costs had been subsidized that way, LOL!
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I intend to leave them there through the winter to see how hardy they are in my climate.
But DO take note of that gravel round the collar part David, as in your climate winter wet may be the killer rather than cold. Now, DO feel free to tell me to teach my granny. ;D