Czech Alpine Conference and Tours May 2007

[Diane Clement]

A few from here, trying not to duplicate Mark's

 primula juliae
 dianthus microleppis
 salix reticulata
 vitaliana
 gentiana angustifolia
 gentiana acaulis white

[Diane Clement]

And our last garden on day 1, Zdenek Rehacek's.  This was in a lovely setting with attractive scenery all round. 

orange poppy
 trollius

[Diane Clement]

A couple of things that I found fantastic in many of the Czech gardens, firstly the quality of the gentians and secondly the amazing ancient cushions, that we in soggy British climate can only dream about growing outside of an alpine house.  The cushion here is Minuartia stellata (previously A parnassica)


gentians
 gentians
 minuartia stellata

[Diane Clement]

And as shown in a previous thread "did Lionel Clarkson behave himself" 
Well, I have to admit that we did indulge in one or two cups of Earl Grey tea in the bar ...
But here is Lionel in action in the field
 

[Diane Clement]

And here is what he was photographing.  (SORRY, it wasn't fully out, but I've never seen it growing in the open in a garden and it was the best I've seen it in cultivation at all)
It was growing in a scree with vertical drainpipes sunk above the plants to deliver water, moraine-style below the scree.  Certainly beats growing it in a bucket-and-2-gallons-of-water-a-day approach that I believe is practised in East Lancs. 
Ranunculus glacialis

[ranunculus]

Just dashed out in the rain (at 10pm in the Whitworth darkness) to take a quick image of the smallest of my three 'elderly' Ranunculus glacialis (the only one actually in bloom at the moment but, unfortunately, with nibbled petals and rain sodden flowers). It is in an 175mm wide clay long-tom but the foliage is very small and extremely tight. The form was collected by Lionel Bacon in France many, many moons ago.
This does (as Diane states) get two gallons or so of water nearly every day....but not, unfortunately, from underground pipes. The things we do for this forum. I will brave the rain again now and take the pot back out into the darkness.

[Maggi Young]

'Tis a lot of work... and a lot of water.... but it is a pretty little thing... for a buttercup!

[Diane Clement]

going back to avatars if you think mine needs changed Diane's looks nothing like her. She is much younger in reality

This is either amazing flattery (what do you want Mark??) or a typo.  I think it should read She is much younger in the picture 

 

[Paddy Tobin]

Mark,

You would have enjoyed the scene when this trough was made. I made it up at the compost heaps - maybe 30 yards from where it is now. After taking off the formwork I went to move it with the help of my son - it nearly killed the two of us to get it down the garden and into position. Subsequent troughs made on site.

Paddy

[mark smyth]

Seeing Salix reticulata growing on the ground gives me the idea to propogate mine and plant a couple in the gravel. My plant in creeping down a trough hugging it tightly. A few stems growing the wrong direction can soon be cuttings in water

[Anthony Darby]

Paddy, if you lifted one of Ian's fake troughs, empty, you'd float away. 

[johanneshoeller]

A mountain in Praha. Rocks from the Austrian Alps, Kaukasus,...
Mark, do you know this garden?

Hans

[mark smyth]

ah, the mountain ranges in Vojtech's garden

[Jozef Lemmens]

Hi Hans,

It is a pity that you didn’t attend the conference. I had expected more people from Austria, and also a few people from Eastern Europe (Poland – Romania etc. ).
Ewelina, Razvan where were you?
It was an unique opportunity to meet each other.

Jozef

[razvan chisu]

Hello
I did not attend the conference. Just went for the exhibition in Prague.
It would have been great to attent but it did not work out. Maybe next time.
Jozef, where in Belgium do you live? I plan to go to Bruxelles in June for a few days. Do you have any recomandation for good gardens, nurseries close by?
Razvan