Trillium Weekend at Methven, 2007

[fermi de Sousa]

Thanks for the great pics from the weekend, Lesley, and that DBI"Forest Glade" does look suspiciously like my unnamed one! I'll write out a label when I get home!
I hope this frit & Tril "seminar" goes ahead next September and that we can get a few of the NZ crowd over here for it. I think Otto already has his spare room booked out for you!
cheers
fermi

[t00lie]

Susan and Lesley --after reading your earlier barbs on this thread ,my only response is that "you two will keep " !!!!!!!.

Methven is a small service town for the surrounding farms and the Mt Hutt ski field --about 1.5 hours travel south from Christchurch ,(South Islands main city) and situated on the Canterbury plains.

I was too busy,(official business),to take any pictures during the actual event as Lesley mentioned,however i did manage a few Trillium pics from private gardens visited on our 6 hour travel to and from the weekend.

The first couple taken on the way up are not that great ,(the pics that is --not the plants--smile).I can only put that down to the pre weekend nerves i was experiencing.

[t00lie]

A few more that took my fancy---

[t00lie]

Final batch--

Cheers dave.

[Lesley Cox]

Not hard to guess where you took these Dave. The yellows are especially good.

[Rob]

Is the yellow in Dave's second post Trillium chloropetalum Val Mulvihill?

It is a stunning plant

[Paul T]

Lesley,

Glorious pictures.  Beautiful!!  I am jealous as anything.  Oh those big clumps of Trilliums!

Dave,

That yellow is an absolute corker isn't it?  Serious lusting after it going on here at my house at the moment!! 

[t00lie]

Hello Rob-- Unfortunately i have forgotten the name given to the plant you refer to,(duh!!!!!).

Trillium Val mulvihill is shown in my middle pic of what i posted as the last batch --ie behind and to the left of T. angustipetalum.

If look closely you will see quite a difference in the leaf markings and length of the red flare of the respective plants.

Hate to tease you Paul --they look even more impressive in the flesh so to speak.

Cheers Dave.

[Paul T]

Dave,

Methinks you don't hate to tease me at all.... in fact I think you darn well enjoyed it!!   

Yeah, it's the jealousy talking!! 

[Lesley Cox]

The super foliage of the upper yellow (with red flare) suggests that naming may be redundant so early in the breeding programme of these stunning yellows. The upper plant is, to my mind, much better than `Val Mulvihill,' having that extra quality of fine leaves. Hopefully Val will go on with this programme and be able to distribute good yellows more widely, within a few years. They are very special.

[Lesley Cox]

At the risk of boring everyone, here are some more pics from the weekend.


Three rhododendrons to start, named but names not known by me. All in lovely condition.




Like all the other things we saw, rhododendrons just LOVE rotted pea straw.


This young horse chestnut had been rescued from the paddock and was chumming up to the rhubarb in a vegetable patch until a place was found for it. I thought the new leaves were beautiful.


A different view of the camellia fence with gentians. It was just a wooden fence totally covered with camellias and many clematis in other places so that the whole garden, quite small, seems to be in a leafy/flowery box.




I though this one could be `Guernsey Cream' but can't confirm.


The good old "japonicas" or flowering quinces give great value and this one is especially nice. I think it is called `Cameo.'


All the gardens seemed to have flowering cherries of different kinds. This one was very fine, and a lovely umbrella shape.


And in the same garden, there were several groups of very tall Lombardy poplars, just coming into leaf. In spite of their living on the Canterbury Plain where every tree gets a distinct lean to the south east, these soared to 50 ft or more, absolutely straight and vertical.

[Lesley Cox]

More little plants.


Euphorbia epithymoides is a favourite of mine. I love the harsh, lime green colour. It looks amazingly good with both blue and yellow flowers.


This may be included in Lathyrus nowadays but I've always known it as Orobus vernus.


Another whose name I am "difficult" about. Now it is Vitaliana primuliflora but used to be Douglasia vitaliana praetutiana. We saw outstanding plants like this one whereas I'm lucky to get 3 flowers on mine. Why is that?




Many little irises came in many different colours. No names immediately available but the blue/white/lemon combination is very pretty.


Incredible colour in this small Heuchera plant.


And 4 blues to finish this last-but-one batch. A Brunnera species, welcome change from the ubiquitous little forget-me-not that was seeding everywhere we looked.


Even better, Omphalodes capadoccica.


Easy, inclined to be invasive, but very lovely, Corydalis flexuosa.


And Mertensia virginica, a classy and beautiful American which has withstood the nor'west winds incredibly well. At my place it is smashed almost as soon as it starts to flower.

[Lesley Cox]

And finally -


Anemonella thalictroides in a pretty pink form.


I'm just beginning to appreciate epimediums and have only a couple. I like this yellow species and I was able to get a couple from the many plants for sale on Saturday night.


From eastern Asia comes the white "skunk cabbage," horrid name for a beautiful aroid, Lysichiton camschatcense. It loves moisture and I have a Japanese book with pictures of this plant growing as far as the eye can see, in sheets of shallow water.


This Arisaema sikokianum had interesting speckling over its brown and white stripes. It looked like spray residue but wasn't.


These little flower stems are on what we thought was a beech tree though it didn't look like a native Nothofagus; maybe a South American species. The tree was huge and quite old as branches had twisted to odd angles. The flowers were a delight, these at eye level.

Well, this was a Trillium weekend so 5 trilliums to finish.


A creamy T. chloropetalum


Good foliage and a flower of rich pea green


A pedicillate hybrid whose parents I wouldn't care to guess at. The inside of the flower


and the spotted outside.


Something nice to finish with, Trillium luteum.
Thanks everyone, for your patience.

[Gerdk]

Lesley,
Wonderful pics of so many spring flowers. Maybe I was somewhat simple minded but until I met this Forum I indeed never expected such an abundance of northern hemisphere species in NZ.
Or is it possible that your garden is situated at one of the Channel Islands near the French coast?

Gerd

[Staale]

Oh, please keep on sending pictures, Lesley. I am having a great time looking at them - (but my employer may not share that same enthusiasm)