Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Alpines => Topic started by: Lori S. on June 01, 2009, 04:16:48 AM
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New today...
Oxalis 'Ute', planted last year (as almost everything was in the then-new rock garden!)
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Zdenek, thanks a lot for showing us your floral gems.
Attached are some pictures from Waiblingen, the Delosperma is a new introduction
from the Drakensberge of Lesotho, made by J.Holzbecher and the Botanic Garden
of Brno, Czech Republic.
Aubrieta Elsa Lancaster.
Centaurea pestalozzae
Delosperma spec. Sani Pass
Edraianthus graminifolius white
Genista cf. carinalis
Helichrysum sessiloides
Ornithogalum spec.
Phlox Olga
Verbascum x Letitia
Viola stojanovii
Thank you Rudi, Centaurea pestalozzae is my favourite.
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Fabulous plants, all! I especially love the ranunculus, Magnar... breath-taking!
Dianthus microlepsis
Astragalus purshii var. lectulus
Pulsatilla turczaninovii - I've already shown it, but showing it again because the colour is so gorgeous!
Pulsatilla aurea
Lori, the Pulsatilla cannot be aurea. It is robust, similar as P. alpina ssp.apiifolia and very difficult to grow. This Pulsatilla could be P. albana var. lutea but I am not quite sure.
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[Lori, the Pulsatilla cannot be aurea. It is robust, similar as P. alpina ssp.apiifolia and very difficult to grow. This Pulsatilla could be P. albana var. lutea but I am not quite sure.
So aurea is diffcult to grow.. didn't know that. I have one starting to flower in the garden right now and I'm pretty sure I have the right thing :)
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I've only seen P. aurea in photographs but it was always a good, golden yellow, not soft yellow and a much larger flower than albana, which I think is Lori's, perhaps the form sometimes called albana lutea.
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While I haven't been able to find detailed descriptions of either P. aurea or P. albana v. lutea, it seems that my plant may very well be P. albana v. lutea... as the densely furry, white-haired stems, sparsely hairy leaves and flower colour seem to match the many pix turned up by googling.
Lesley, I see what you mean by strongly yellow-coloured P. aurea... (though googling seems to bring up the odd presumably-misidentified "P. lutea" with pale yellow flowers too.)
So, on that topic, if no one minds me asking it here, would you say that this plant really is P. lutea? (Unfortunately, it is not in bloom.) It is labelled as "Anetilla Galushko (Pulsatilla aurea)"... which I take to mean Anetilla aurea (Galushko). I got it from Beaver Creek at the local alpine club sale. (I actually bought it because it looked so different - no noticeably hairiness - from my supposed P.aurea, LOL!) Thanks in advance!
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Super Ranunculus, Magnar. Robin, I think the plant you are asking about is Picea mariana 'Nana'.
Thanks for the ID, Anne, Picea mariana 'Nana' looks a lovely little spruce with interesting features that would be perfect for me here - I shall look our for it. Your rock garden looks so full of unusual miniatures and alpines that I would dearly love to visit sometime, someday.....Robin
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Those certainly look more like what I would expect from Pulsatilla aurea though I've not seen a mature plant. I did have a few years ago, 3 seedlings purporting to be P. aurea, from a Russian source but all died before I could do much with them. The foliage was quite fine, much like, I think, P. occidentalis.
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Anytime, Robin...!
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Flowering last week- and still flowering now. Still catching up with pics as we were busy with my mum as a house guest ;)
Scutellaria tournefortii showing the other colour form with the yellow
F1 of the plant I bought as Scutellaria alpina 'Moonbeam'
Acinos alpinus
Ebenus lagurroides
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Dianthus strictus bebius
Dianthus lusitanicus (AGS seed)
Calandrinia colchagensis (AGS seed)
Ipomopsis congesta montana
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Amnother wonderful selection Simon !
Love the Calandrinia and the Ipomopsis in particular !!
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Several pictures which I took in the second half of May:
Aethionema subulata
Centaurea achtarovii
Dianthus alpinus
Edraianthus serpyllifolius
Eriogonum siskiyouense
Eriogonum umbellatum var. polyanthum
Eriogonum umbellatum var. porteri
Oxalis 'Ione Hecker'
Oxalis 'Ute'
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Several pictures which I took in the second half of May:
Aethionema subulata
Centaurea achtarovii
Dianthus alpinus
Edraianthus serpyllifolius
Eriogonum siskiyouense
Eriogonum umbellatum var. polyanthum
Eriogonum umbellatum var. porteri
Oxalis 'Ione Hecker'
Oxalis 'Ute'
What a great selection of plants, Zdenek, I love the two oxalis for leaf and flower and the Centaurea achtarovii is a wonderful blue with silver leaves - all of your plants look so happy :)
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I agree with Robin, Zdenek, some great looking plants- if only we had some more rain just now- things are already starting to die back here.
Some more from the last few days
another Onosma species
Dianthus carthusianorum
Dianthus "subacaulis" AGS seed
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Several pictures which I took in the second half of May:
Aethionema subulata
Centaurea achtarovii
Dianthus alpinus
Edraianthus serpyllifolius
Eriogonum siskiyouense
Eriogonum umbellatum var. polyanthum
Eriogonum umbellatum var. porteri
Oxalis 'Ione Hecker'
Oxalis 'Ute'
An extraordinary selection of true Alpines Zdenek !
The Eriogonums look smashing ! :o
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Zdenek and Simon, thanks for showing us these goodies, the Eriogonum are my
favourites. The attached pictures are from the last weeks. My Eriogonum umbellatum
is a rather lax form, collected near Denver.We like it for its free-flowering habit, it
is also useful for dry flower arrangements. The 2 flowers at the left side of the
Cypripedium reginae group are from the hybrid Ulla Silkens, the malformed flower
on the other picture was on the same stem together with a normal one.
The heavy rainfalls of the last days were not so good for the flowers of
Asperula daphneola.
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Rudi,
that Asperula daphneola is anyway beautiful. Is it too large for a (not too large) trough?
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Fascinating malformation on the Cp.reginae, Rudi.
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Excellent pics, everyone.
Simon,
Again I have to comment on one of your Fabaceae... Ebenus lagurroides is just amazing. I don't think I have ever seen a pea with globular flowerheads like that before. :o
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Paul, I read about the genus Ebenus a long time ago in Will Ingwerson's 'Manual of Alpine Plants'. He recommends growing them in a hot, dry position or alpine house. As I had neither for a long time I never have tried them in Britain, mainly out of fear of them rotting. The two species I have, have both done well here, even in wet weather. So I think they may be more adaptable than they are given credit for.
Flowering just now:
Delphinium sp. (Sajan Mts Siberia)
Penstemon palmeri
Penstemon grandiflorus
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Also flowering just now in the xeric rock garden:
Delphinium hansenii hansenii
Ipomopsis aggregata
Penstemon pinifolius
Penstemon rostriflorus
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Kata, Asperula daphneola comes from sunny screes of Western Turkey and is
ideal for a good drained trough in a sunny position. I think, that it will enjoy
your climate. Good luck with it!
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Your Penstemon grandiflorus is a lovely delicate pink/lilac colour, Simon, and your Penstemon rostriflorus looks wonderful with the white Dianthus - Penstemon palmeri looks as if it has raspberry coulis dripping from each flower on the stem :D
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Robin, I hadn't realised just how much 'extra' colour there was in the Penstemon flowers until I did the close up shots. They have a whole 'Mr Kiplings Fondant Fancy' thing going on in there. ;)
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Yes, the P. palmeri is a stunner. Is it hardy?
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Yes, the P. palmeri is a stunner. Is it hardy?
It was rated as Zone 4 and was outside all winter in a welll drained soil, Anne.
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Penstemon palmeri is hardy here too... lovely fat flowers and fragrant, too - most unusual for a penstemon. It won't be in bloom for a long time yet here though!
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Simon,
The Penstemon palmeri is amazing. Such thick flowers for a penstemon species. Will have to look out for that one.
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Paul, I'm pretty much smitten with the whole genus but Penstemon palmeri is a beaut- even the leaves made an attractive mound before it flowered.
Flowering now:
what I have been growing as Penstemon whippleanus for a long time
Dainthus oschtenicus
Edraianthus graminifolius
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Simon,
Your Penstemon palmeri has a very tidy arrangement of flowers, very beautiful.
Paddy
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I agree, Paddy. The size of the flowers makes for a very densely packed flower spike.
Flowering just now:
Lallemantia canescens- not quite as compact as Loris's!
Monardella cinerea- a mere 'film' on the rock surface
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Fabulous plants, Simon!
I wonder why is it so hard to get a well-coloured P. whippleanus, i.e. the dark maroon/purple that one covets? Or for that matter, to even get seeds from which the resulting plants actually key out to P. whippleanus? (This species has been a source of frustration for me! ???)
Simon, it appears your L. canescens is actually a lot more compact than mine, which have been buxom, sprawling things.
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Lori, so your Lallemantia was being coy last year and this year has let itself go! ;)
Thanks for the info on P.whippleanus- when they opened u this year as F2 from the orginal plants I was surprised by the colour as I was sure they had been darker in the parent. I bought seeds of the dark form last year- so it will be interesting to see if they are.
Also from today;
Salvia recognita (JJA0847051)
Digitalis ferruginea (collected here near some railway lines)
Digitalis lutea
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Sorry to be so unclear on the size of my L. canescens! If anything, they have reduced a bit in size with time, but in their first blooming year, they were 3' tall and equally wide. (I wondered how it was that this could be a "trough plant", as I'd seen it described. :o)
Timing is all messed up here with the late spring... (not to mention two snowfalls on the weekend, ugghh!)
Penstemon nitidus is finally in bloom, but oddly enough, at the same time as many other penstemons are starting - most unusual.
Another native plant in the garden, Lithospermum ruderale.
My favourite thyme, and the earliest blooming here... Thymus neiceffii.
Penstemon nitidus x2
Lithospermum ruderale x2
Thymus neiceffii
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Yes, a happy Lallematia would certainly need a large trough! Your Lithospermum is stunning, Lori. I have always wanted to grow some of the North American species. There are orange ones too aren't there?
Can't believe you had more snow- we are in a heat wave here- temps hit 40C a few days ago on the Danube.
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I'll certainly collect seeds from the Lithospermum, when the time comes, Simon.
I think one of the most beautiful is Lithospermum canescens, which occurs through Saskatchewan and Manitoba; the photo is from the wild in southern Saskatchewan.
Hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens)
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Wow, now that is a beautiful plant!
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Wow, now that is a beautiful plant!
Certainly is! I never saw it before.... or the previous species, either.... a revelation, Lori, thanks! 8)
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As always, more amazing plants, many unknown to me. I love the colour of Penstemon nitidus, what I would expect but a friend has a seedling from a "normal" batch, which is soft turquoise blue, utterly stunning.
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From the scree bed yesterday: Oxygraphis glacialis
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Cliff will like that one Magnar. So do I. :)
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Lovely Oxygraphis glacialis, Magnar. Is it from seed?
Flowering here:
Aster cf flaccidus (Vojtech Holubec)
Arenaria drypidea
Asyneuma linifolium ssp eximium
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Cliff will like that one Magnar. So do I. :)
Oh how right you are, Lesley! An absolute stunner, Magnar. Congratulations.
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This thread continues to attract some magnificent images of such tremendous plants. Many thanks to ALL the contributors.
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Flowering now:
Asyneuma limonifolium
Convolvulus sabatius
Scutellaria pontica
and not flowers but attractive nonetheless- the 'clocks' on Scorzonera suberosa
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Lovely Oxygraphis glacialis, Magnar. Is it from seed?
Is from seeds, but i didnt grow it myslef,, got it grom a friend. I harvested seeds last year and they have been growing well thsi spring so I have some seedlings now :)
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Excellent, Magnar. Flowering now:
Jurinea cyanoides
Linum hirsutum ssp pseudoanatolicum
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Is from seeds, but i didnt grow it myslef,, got it grom a friend. I harvested seeds last year and they have been growing well thsi spring so I have some seedlings now :)
If you get seeds this year Magnar, perhaps our friend Cliff would like a few? :)
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From the scree bed yesterday: Oxygraphis glacialis
What a star Magnar - 7 stars ******* ;)
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So many nice flowers. :)
Some unknown from me;
Incarvillea sp.
?
Sedum sp.
From seeds marked Rhodiola sp.
Corydalis ochroleuca
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A contribution to the thistle-fest... 1) Centaurea epirote.
2) Iris timofejewii
3) Physaria didymocarpa - a native of the lower montane region and plains. So far, I haven't managed to be around when the flowers are fully open! (The sacrifices I make to hold down a job! >:( ;))
And adding a few...
4) A tiny Lesquerella arizonica.
5) And, moving from the merely tiny to the truly insignificant... Aethionema lepidioides. Well, in the coming years, I'm sure it will become more noteworthy! :)
6) Calylophus serrulatus, blooming in the first year from seed... nice to see, as I have no idea whether it will be hardy here!
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Lori et all, I see so many interesting plants on these pages which I never grew.
I assume this happened, because I as a nurseryman had to grow what people were asking for and plants had to be visually attractive when we wanted to sell them. I am glad to see them here at least .
So many nice flowers. :)
Some unknown from me;
Incarvillea sp.
?
Sedum sp.
From seeds marked Rhodiola sp.
Corydalis ochroleuca
Anne Karin, the ? is Sempervivum ciliosum Borisii and I assume the Sedum is S. oreganum, which is often flowering itself almost to death.
When buds are showing better cut some away, to force the plant to make some new sprouts.
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Anne Karin, the Rhodiola sp. ? is Sedum rhodanthum.
I always read about it in Praegers Account of the Genus Sedum, but never saw it.
It's so remarkable because of its pink flowers.
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Not Sedum (Rhodiola) roseum?
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A lovely Incarvillea species Anne, and a great Iris Lori.
Flowering here:
Teucrium rotundifolium
Stachys scardica
Sphaeralcea coccinea
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Anne Karin, the Rhodiola sp. ? is Sedum rhodanthum.
I always read about it in Praegers Account of the Genus Sedum, but never saw it.
It's so remarkable because of its pink flowers.
Thank you.
I find it whit several names. Sedum rhodanthum, Sedum rhodantha, Rhodiola rhodantha and Clementsia rhodantha.
What to use?
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Not Sedum (Rhodiola) roseum?
And I don't think it is neither Sedum (Rhodiola) roseum or S. oreganum. I have them both.
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Thank you.
I find it whit several names. Sedum rhodanthum, Sedum rhodantha, Rhodiola rhodantha and Clementsia rhodantha.
What to use?
I assume the first name, you find on the net too.
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Not Sedum (Rhodiola) roseum?
And I don't think it is neither Sedum (Rhodiola) roseum or S. oreganum. I have them both.
Anne Karin,
if it's not S. oreganum it might be Sedum spathulifolium Purpureum. This has the same bad behaviour of flowering to death.
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If you get seeds this year Magnar, perhaps our friend Cliff would like a few? :)
Sure I will keep Cliff in mind when the seeds are ready :)
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This is a very interesting thread to follow.. so many nice and interesting plants to see.. known and unknown.. Thanks everybody.
Saxifraga vandellii is flowering now,, after 4 years. The plant's actual size is about 1/4 of what is shown in the pic.
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If you get seeds this year Magnar, perhaps our friend Cliff would like a few? :)
Sure I will keep Cliff in mind when the seeds are ready :)
I am not worthy ... many thanks, Magnar (and Lesley)!
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Not Sedum (Rhodiola) roseum?
And I don't think it is neither Sedum (Rhodiola) roseum or S. oreganum. I have them both.
Anne Karin,
if it's not S. oreganum it might be Sedum spathulifolium Purpureum. This has the same bad behaviour of flowering to death.
Yes it is Sedum spathulifolium. I found the label. I gees it will die as it got flowers on every stem.
Very nice Magnar. A typical Magnar-plant.
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I was talking about a different plant which I'm SURE IS Sedum roseum. Can't find it above now.
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Lesley, are you perhaps thinking of the Rhodiola rosea/Sedum roseum that I posted in the "Troughs" thread? Thank you very much for the info on pulsatillas, by the way! :)
1) Nice colour on Campanula saxifraga, from seed last year.
2) Oxalis 'Ute' - I love the pleated foliage on this!
3) Oxalis enneaphylla 'Minutifolia Rosea' - even lovelier with the pink-edged foliage!
4, 5) Potentilla porphyrantha
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Nice to see another Potentilla porphyrantha, Lori. Such a lovely colour.
Flowering now
Dianthus ferrugineus- eye-achingly red on a sunny day
Dianthus oschtenicus + the buff reverse of the petals- this time from AGS seed
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some pictures from alpinum
Leontopodium alpinum
Saxifraga Karin
Saxifraga longifolia
Dianthus Joan Blood
Oxalis enneaphylla
Oxalis enneaphylla 1
Oxalis Ute
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Wolfgang: your oxalis photos are mixed up. 'Ute' has exceptionally large, near-white flowers, as shown in Simon's photo in the previous posting.
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Hallo Wolfgang, Your Saxifraga Karin is probably S. Southside Seedling.
'Karin' is a white flowered Kabschia, raised by a friend. Otherways I always
enjoy the beautiful pictures of your garden and plants.
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1) Delosperma aff. congestum in almost full bloom - one can still see a bit of the plant! Grown from seed in 2003, and evidently hardy here... or so I have concluded, anyway!
2) Lewisia longipetala
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I've said it before, and I'll likely say it again.... SO many things in this topic that I have never seen or heard of before.
Lori,
That little Iris timofejewii is so elegant. Beautiful. 8)
Thanks everyone.
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Simon, I was reviewing photos and thinking about your comment, "what I have been growing as Penstemon whippleanus for a long time".
I agree with the sense of disbelief your comment conveys.. the plant doesn't seem to be P. whippleanus, from what I can see. This reminds me that I got seeds for what keyed out to be Penstemon hirsutus, a few years ago, under the guise of P. whippleanus!
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Thanks Lori, I'll google some pics of P.hirsutus for comparison.
Some more Penstemon flowering now:
Penstemon ambiguus- starting to put up suckers and spread now
Penstemon PCHA148 (F1 of the original plant grown from Chilterns Seeds- it is mentioned online as being P.leonensis from Mexico)
Lastly a view from upper xeric to upper rock garden
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Simon, the number of species of plants you have is simply astounding! Thank you for showing (some of) them! :)
1) Silene nigrescens
2) Sisyrinchium montanum - a native plant
3) Sisyrinchium septentrionalis - our other native blue-eyed grass
4, 5) Castilleja lutescens miniata - yet another native plant!
6) Aethionema grandiflora
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Thanks Lori, you also have a large number of gems too! I was collecting seed, but not growing it for several years before we moved here. It was difficult knowing it was all sat in the fridge waiting to be sown. ;)
I couldn't get the pics you posted to open- our connection speed is very slow in summer- but ca you tell me about the Castilleja? Is it in your grown? If so how did you grow it? I'd like to grow some here.
Flowering just now:
Gypsophila imbricata
Silene alpestris
a native Calamintha species
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Simon, the number of species of plants you have is simply astounding! Thank you for showing (some of) them! :)
1) Silene nigrescens
2) Sisyrinchium montanum - a native plant
3) Sisyrinchium septentrionalis - our other native blue-eyed grass
4, 5) Castilleja lutescens - yet another native plant!
6) Aethionema grandiflora
Lori you and Simon do have such an amazing range of lovely flowering things - it's so joyful to know that it apparently is endless :) I am very interested in your shots of wild plants and have become increasingly interested in the Silenes - Silene nigrescens in your photo has a gorgeous dark pink skirt and the bell is beautifully veined. Here they grow at the edge mostly of the meadows like bells tinkling in unison withe the cow bells close by.
The Sisyrinchiums are another tiny jewel and Castilleja lutescens glows in the grass 8)
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Lovely stuff folks.
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Many thanks again, Lori. You were right my P.whippleanus looks like it is P.hirsutus. I read somewhere P.hirsutus is quite variable in colour, which is maybe why I remember it being darker in the last generation. I have seedlings of a yellow and dark form of P.whippleanus from US sources so hopefully I will have the real thing flowering soon. ;)
Robin, I like Silene too- and Dianthus, and Arenaria... So many to chose from and so accomodating.
Flowering here now:
Linum flavum
Linum mucronatum ssp armenum
Iberis aurosica
Arenaria gracilis
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Thanks again for nice pics..
Here some from my scree bed :
Petrocallis pyrenaica
Phlox pulvinata
Saxifraga cherlerioides
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Beautiful plants, Magnar ... thanks for posting.
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Wonderful thread folks.
Here's my Verbascum x Letitia in her annual fight for supremacy with Campanula portenschlagiana. Of course the Campanula always wins.
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Super Verbascum :) I really like that one
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But a wonderful battle while it lasts David. My Letitia has succumbed to being run over by a large van. The third time.
I very much like the Iberis above. I think this is an under-rated genus, having a number of "common" plants in it but they are all very good and should be grown more.
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Sorry, I initially mislabelled the paintbrush - it is Castilleja miniata, the common lowland to marginally-alpine species, not C. lutescens. Simon, I actually bought a couple of plants years ago from a plant restoration grower - I haven't tried growing the genus from seed myself (though I should give it a try!) (There have been articles on the germination and growing of castilleja in the NARGS bulletins in the last couple of years...) These plants produce a goodly amount of seed, and a small number of seedlings have come up.
Robin, your area sounds and looks so beautiful, I'd love to see plants in nature there too! I have really enjoyed your photo essays!
Wonderful plants, everyone! Thanks for posting them!
1, 2. Here is more of a sky-blue one, Penstemon cyananthus (or so I think, off hand - I'll have to try to key it out too).
3. Campanula alpestris
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That really is a great Verbascum, David.
Thanks for the information, Lori. I sowed seed of Castilleja sulphurea in with some dwarf grasses this spring and I am hoping something will happen- maybe hoping beyond hope as I don't know how fresh the seed needs to be. That is a great looking Penstemon btw!
For Robin- some more Silenes. These are allevening opening species and as such are a bit tricky to photograph in the lower light levels- so please excuse the picture quality.
My favourite one first is Silene ciliata var graefferi (ZE&S51621)
then Silene bupleuroides (PH10487) both of these from Goteborg Botanic Garden seed bought before we moved here and I found they were both natives ::)
Silene flavescens came back with me from a holiday in Thassos, Greece- tough it is also found here in Bulgaria
The last was bought as Silene regis-fernandii from AGS SeedEx but I think it is Silene saxifraga- (as was the Silene lerchenfeldiana, Silene dinarica and Silene waldsteinii).
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My favourite one first is Silene ciliata var graefferi (ZE&S51621)
then Silene bupleuroides
A great selection of Silenes, Simon, thanks for posting them so I can muse over them - particularly love the the two you mention as your favourites and wonderful they are native even if it cost you before you found out ;)
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Just caught up on some postings. Re Penstemon whippleanus, this is what I have as that species: the flowers are actually darker than appear in the photo - they are an exact match for Allium cyathophorum farreri, which has seeded nearby. Do they look correct? They always set plenty of seeds if anyone would like some.
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Well, I'm not entirely convinced that that plant is P. whippleanus either... :-\ Of course, I am no penstemon expert (nor an expert on anything! I guess I am a wet blanket though...) and I haven't seen it in the wild... and I have not even been able to acquire it myself... but plunging boldly on, nonetheless ;), I'm doubtful... I don't think the characteristics match, based on the Lodewicks' Key to Genus Penstemon, the description and photo in Bob Nold's Penstemons, and google photos from the more authoritative sites. The species usually has entire leaves (of course, usually means it sometimes doesn't!), noticeably chubby flowers with the lower lip very long, calyx lobes that are long and tapering that give the inflorescence a leafy look, a rather one-sided inflorescence, and the flowers have an exerted, golden staminode (according to Nold, although the Lodewicks say sometimes not exerted, sometimes not bearded!)... I don't detect those usual characteristics in the photos, from what I can see.
Anyway, those are my thoughts, but I am always open to correction! I'm sure someone much more knowledgeable will come along soon and help out...
There is also a site called Penstemon-L where I'm sure it could be ID'd. (Basic penstemon classification seems to start with the shape of the anthers and the shape of the opening therein, so it might require dissecting some flowers... a hand lens comes in handy. :))
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It looks like mine Penstemon azureus. The whole plant smells bad.
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Yes, to me it looks like the unknown species I posted last week- but mine doesn't smell bad. Can you remember the source Anne? Flowering now:
Calylophus hartwegii var. fendleri- an evening flower and hard to photo again
Anthericum ramosum- grown from seed collected in the Big River Gorge a few years ago
Townsendia alpigena
Dianthus arpadianus var. pumilus (I think)
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Also from today:
another annual for a dry area Eriastrum sapphirinum dasyanthum
a Campanula species listed as being found at Daxue Shan, China
and Scabiosa crinita from Turkey- the colour is more peachy in real life
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Is the Calylophus close to Oenothera? Looks rather like one. and the Chinese campanula bears a suspicius resemblance to C. rotundifolia don't you think?
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Townsendia alpigena
Dianthus arpadianus var. pumilus (I think)
Really cute.... I love the Townsendia, Simon and the hummock of Dianthus arpadianus
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From the little I have read (spurred by receiving seeds of Calylophus serrulatus this winter), Calylophus do seem to be very close to Oenothera, though are purported to be more day-blooming than the usual "evening" primroses in Oenothera. Also, I just ran across a site that said the stigma of Calylophus is club-shaped, while it is cross-shaped in Oenothera... ?
Penstemon azureus is one of those with entire, glaucous, glabrous leaves (and much reduced or absent basal leaves), so that suggests that Anne's plant, with its toothed, green leaves, is something else again...
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Is the Calylophus close to Oenothera? Looks rather like one. and the Chinese campanula bears a suspicius resemblance to C. rotundifolia don't you think?
Yes, I think I have seen this species as Oenothera elsewhere- this one is quite shrubby though I don't know if that is the reason for a different genus.
The Campanula is I am guessing in the same section as C.rotundifolia- but the picture does not do justice to how delicate the colour is compared to European harebells. I'll try and find out more about it from the supplier.
Thanks Robin, the Townsendia is a little beauty.
Flowering now:
Brodiaea californica (we think)
Brodiaea coronaria macropodon
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Brodiaea californica looks spot on to me Simon but I don't know the other one.
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Thanks, David. It was a nice surprise seeing it come up, as it was in a batch of unknown rescued bulbs.
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Yes, to me it looks like the unknown species I posted last week- but mine doesn't smell bad. Can you remember the source Anne? Flowering now:
Calylophus hartwegii var. fendleri- an evening flower and hard to photo again
Anthericum ramosum- grown from seed collected in the Big River Gorge a few years ago
Townsendia alpigena
Dianthus arpadianus var. pumilus (I think)
Simon, your Townsendia is very nice, but it is not T. alpigena. It is probably T. incana.
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Townsendia alpigena
Simon, your Townsendia is very nice, but it is not T. alpigena. It is probably T. incana.
Thanks, Zdenek :)
Flowering today:
Nepeta tuberosa
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Also flowering now:
Delphinium glareosum from AGS SeedExchange seed (I am not sure if this is true)
Gentiana cruciata
Dracocephalum grandiflorum (for a different source to my other plant, which flowered last month)
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Several Symphyandra are flowering just now:
Symphyandra pendula
Symphyandra zanzegura (?)
and 2 paler flowered ones which could also be the same- although I have had seed of S.armena and S.ossetica in the past.
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More from the gravel bed:
Anemone trullifolia v linearis
Castilleja miniata
Centaurea pindicola
Oxalis enneaphylla
Coronilla minima
Ourisia poeppegii
Phlox diffusa v diffusa
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always so many great plants in this thread--just from page 22:
maganar's Sax cherlerioides--wow!
simon's Eriastrum sapphirinum dasyanthum --i like the idea of nice little annuals..
Lori's Penstemon cyananthus..
etc
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This is a very interesting thread to follow.. so many nice and interesting plants to see.. known and unknown.. Thanks everybody.
Saxifraga vandellii is flowering now,, after 4 years. The plant's actual size is about 1/4 of what is shown in the pic.
magnar, you show so many incredible saxifrage--i really love these tiny species, interesting in and out of flower!
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A lovely Incarvillea species Anne, and a great Iris Lori.
Flowering here:
Teucrium rotundifolium
Stachys scardica
Sphaeralcea coccinea
simon-very nice to see the sphaeralcea, which grows in alberta, i had a cutting last year from near drumheller, but i dont think it made it in the pot, as i dont see any sign of it this year, so far (not positive yet, as there are various bits of things together...)
how large is yours, i gather there are various size forms? i photographed one in saskatchewan that was very tiny...
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Really a great thrill to see Ourisia poepegii in cultivation - and in flower! Thanks for that Magnar. :)
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1, 2) Lychnis ajanencis, from seed last year.
3) I think this is another of the same, though misnamed on my map. It is a more compact plant.
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Carduncellus pinnatus... I like these best before they bloom! The young offsets are so nicely symmetrical.
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Great plant.. would love to try to grow that one :)
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Carduncellus pinnatus... I like these best before they bloom! The young offsets are so nicely symmetrical.
that is a cool plant...
btw, i saw (shot) Physaria in flower at Kootenay plains a few weeks back, so i was right originally when i thought i was seeing some little cabbages there out of flower :)
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A lovely Lychnis and Carduncellus, Lori!
Cohan, the Sphaeralcea maked it to about 10cm tall for me. We had had no rain at all for 3 weeks, until yesterday evening, and the plant has started to die back to its roots. It has moved from 5 to 20cm away from where it started last year, and I thought it had died over the winter until the new rosettes emerged. Maybe that is what yoursis doing?
Flowering now:
Geranium sessiliflorum nigricans
Ziziphora clinopodioides
Keckiella corymbosa
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Lori,
I love that Carduncellus pinnatus. What a leaf arrangement!!
Magnar,
I just love the Ourisia poeppegii. So striking!
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You may well be right Lori about the third of your three Lychnis pictures but I'm thinking it could perhaps be a Saponaria. They're related of course but it looks exactly like some seedlings I have of S. caespitosa crossed with another species, not sure which. Any comment?
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I'll never forget the sheer horror on the face of my retired farmer neighbour many years ago, when he saw C. pinnatus. "What on earth are you doing woman? Cultivating thistles!!!"
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Lesley, thanks for the thoughts on the ID of the "lychnis" in the third photo. I took more close-ups, and after examining them (funny... I could have just looked at the plants, but the photos are so much easier... obviously, I'd never make a field botanist!), thought they were very similar except for the compactness of the second plant and slight differences in the intensity of the veination on the outside of the calyx (see photos, attached).
#1 is Lychnis ajanencis
#2 is possible but undetermined L. ajanencis
Then, I got out my 10X hand lens and dissected a flower from each... In Taylor's Guide to Perennials (Barbara W. Ellis), it is said that lychnis have 5 or sometimes 4 styles, that silene have 3 or sometimes 4 styles, and that saponaria have 2 styles.
The L. ajanencis flower had 5 styles, while the unknown had 4 styles, while otherwise appearing extremely similar in flower structure! (I guess I should probably dissect more flowers to see if this difference is actually consistent.)
On my map, the plant was indicated as being "Dracocephalum aff. densum", which it obviously isn't... yet nothing else has unexpectedly revealed itself as being a misplaced dracocephalum... And I have no record of a plant dying and being replaced in that spot... My order records don't show the draco, but it could be I bought a mislabelled plant at the local rock garden sale. (Beaver Ck. sells there, but I don't know which lychnis or silenes may have been available last year... and it would probably be an amazing coincidence if I'd happened, randomly, to pick up a mislabelled L. ajanencis look-alike...) Anyway, my head is spinning now.
So, I dunno! ???
Guess I'll dissect more flowers tomorrow!? (If the unknown is another seedling of the same plant, which seems likely still, I suppose the compactness could be due to a little more sun, or that it likes being jammed up against a rock.)
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A lovely Lychnis and Carduncellus, Lori!
Cohan, the Sphaeralcea maked it to about 10cm tall for me. We had had no rain at all for 3 weeks, until yesterday evening, and the plant has started to die back to its roots. It has moved from 5 to 20cm away from where it started last year, and I thought it had died over the winter until the new rosettes emerged. Maybe that is what yoursis doing?
Flowering now:
Geranium sessiliflorum nigricans
its possible simon, though it is/was in a smallish pot, so not too much room to move..
i love that geranium! i think i admired that/similar on wrightman's list (ontario); i want to get some more geraniums, preferably small..we have masses of himalayense that my mother planted years ago, its nice, though i am not so fond of that pinky/purply/blue--rather any one of those on their own! and our native G richardsonii -more or less white--is just starting flowering here now, including around the yard, 12-18" at a guess; we dont have the pink native viscosissimum, a more southern species.
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The Geranium has been with me a while, though never in the same place long. It flowers and sets seeds easily, but they usually explode and send the seed elsewhere before you realise- unless you keep on top of it. I managed to collect 4 seeds to bring here and 1 germinated. I now have another plantnearly 2 metres from last autumn's flowering. ;)
Flowering here now:
Scutellaria hypericifolia
Dianthus seguieri (?)
Mirabilis multiflora
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Hi Simon,
Lovely photos of beautiful plants. Your Dianthus seguieri is identical to mine flowering in a pot at the moment. Only three blooms though!
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Thanks Cliff. Does yours sucker and run underground slightly too? This is the reason I was unsure, as I couldn't find any mention of it anywhere.
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Sorry Simon - only one plant in a six inch pot, so little chance yet for it produce suckers - though, in all honesty, it doesn't SEEM likely. The flowers are certainly identical.
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Thanks again, Cliff. It's not the same suckering as Cerastium, but it did surprise me whenit started doing it- not something I expected from a Dianthus.
Flowering now:
Monardella odoratissima ssp glauca X liniodes
Peganum harmala
Cirsium candelabrum
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Peganum harmala
The use of seeds of Peganum harmala is documented in Emboden's book "Narcotic Plants", 1972, rev. ed 1979. Emboden says the seeds are also the source of the dye "Turkey red" used as the fundamental color of Turkish carpets.
Definitely a plant "for the gardens of the curious", also for gardens of economic plants.
From what Emboden has to say, it's one of those plants filled with an assortment of alkaloids and indoles. Not something to fool around with, in case anyone reading is inclined to experimentation with altered states of consciousness.
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Apart from the flowers, it's rather like French tarragon. :)
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It does have great foliage, but is maybe better in a hot, dry spot than in any kind of french dressing ;)
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Flowering now:
Digitalis parviflora
Clarkia dudleyana
Linum tenuifolium (collected locally)
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Simon,
Love that Digitalis. Any chance of a closer pic to show the flowers? I love the combination in that pic of the Digitalis and the spikey grassy background. ;D
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1) Lewisia 'George Henley'
2) Alyssum tortuosum
3) Gypsophila nana
4) Oxytropis splendens - starting to bloom
5) Sedum hispanicum v. minus 'Aureum'
6) Silene falcata
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Lori,
I love the Oxytropis splendens. It looks like it must be so fuzzy. Great leaves, and flowers! Thanks for the pics.
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Some lovely plants, Lori. I see whatyou meant now about the O.splendens- mine really does look different to yours- maybe another imposter ???
Paul, this is the best closeup I can get :-\. The Digitalis parviflora is growing in front of Festuca mairei. this was grown from bought seed so I am not sure if it is true- but at least it isn't ryegrass!
Also flowering- what I believe to be Nepeta parnassica (3rd time lucky!)
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Simon,
Thanks for the further pic of the Digitalis parviflora. What a cool colour, something I just don't associate with foxgloves. ;D I like the fact it looks to have more densely packed smaller flowers too...... making it even more desirable to me. Thanks again for the followup pic. 8)
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No problem, Paul. It was listed as 'Milk Chocolate' by the seed company, but as far as I can see from other pics it is no different to the straight species. Have you seen D.cariensis before? It's another good dwarf but more on the lines of D.laevigata or D.ferruginea.
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Simon,
Not I've ever seen a species Digitalis in real life. ::) So were all the 'Milk Chocolate' the same? Looks like a good name for it. While some hate brown, I just think it is a wonderfully unusual colour in a flower and would love it. ;D
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Hello!
Here are some images from the Artic-Alpine Botanical garden in Tromsų from earlier this month. Enjoy :)
1. Dryas octopetala
2. Polemonium boreale
3. Gentiana angulosa (or G. verna angulosa if U prefer that)
4. Gentiana clusii
5. Meconopsis punicea in bud
6. Meconopsis quintuplinervia
7. Rhododendron wardii
8. Saxifraga marginata
9. Part of the Sax-collection
10. More of the Sax-collection
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re: the Tromsų photos
Jaw-dropping!
johnw
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While I have not been lucky enough to visit Tromsų myself, Ian has toldme how wonderful the Botanic Garden is.... and how fine many private gardens are, too. Finn Haugli has tempted us with his talks about the TBG and now Viggo is doing just the same!
Have you ever seen so many flowers on a Dryas octopetala mat? :o 8) Or on a Gentiana verna angulosa, come to that ? !
I tell you, this place must be magical to be so beautiful! :)
Edit : I have made a new thread for all these lovely June photos.
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Some lovely pics, makes me wish I was back up a mountain today looking at the spring flowers :)
Flowering now:
Origanum tytthantum - a real butterfly magnet- seen here with a Meadow Brown- there were also Map Butterflies - but these were camera shy ;)
Leptodactylon californicum- the first flower- hopefully more to come
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Incredible photos!
A few meagre offerings from here:
1) Astragalus angustifolius
2) Leptodactylon pungens ssp. pulchrifolium - it's only had a few flowers, but I'm impressed that it survived the winter!
3) Carduncellus pinnatus
4) Saxifraga longifolia hybrid
5, 6) Silene saxifraga
7) Saxifraga paniculata v. minutifolia 'Red-backed Spider"... or so it was said to be - I've not been able to find any reference to a cultivar of that name.
8) Interesting seedpods on Astragalus purshii var. lectulus
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Lori,
Lovely pics. I really love the Carduncellus pinnatus. I think I prefer it in flower rather than in bud, but they are both so very cool. Such an amazing radial design. How big actually IS the plant? Hard to tell from the pic, but it looks like it could be a reasonable size? Not something I've ever encountered in real life, so I have no size reference in my head. ;D
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Thanks, Paul. A rosette of Carduncellus pinnatus is about 15cm in diameter, in my conditions, anyway.
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So it is quite petite then..... very cool. Thanks for the extra info.
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And then there's this one Paul, but not in flower here at the moment, Carduncellus rhaponticoides.
[attachthumb=1]
This doesn't best show the arrangement of the rosette which like pinnatus' is immaculate in its layout of the single rosette. Both are somehow less pristine once they have clumped to several rosettes. This one too, grows to about 15 cms in diameter but sometimes they'll bloom at quite a lot less, and totally stemless of course. Propagate from root cuttings. I've never had fertile seed from either and if you see it on the occasional seedlist, don't bother. (Anyone know differently from this?)
I took this 18 months ago. Not sure what the white spots are, a passing seagull maybe. >:(
Thanks for the link, by the way. :)
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Lesley beat me with this, found this evening a picture from an old dia. The color is not so good, but the rozette is nice though.
My experience is that this Carduncellus rhaponticoides is easier to keep longer alive.
The C. pinnatus often will flower to death.
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Mine never flowered that much :) but I did lose it in a trough when a dianthus grew over it. :'( I find the flower of pinnatus is a slightly greyish lavender while rhaponticoides tends towards a clear purple. I'm very fond of them both though so prickly. The fine prickles on the leaf edges of the latter can cause excruciating pain if they're not pulled out, like a blackberry prickle left in the finger.
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I've had C. pinnatus flowering annually over a few years but not yet flowering itself to death ... which does, however, sound wonderfully dramatic, LOL! (Though really irritating, in reality, IMO!)
It would seem like a terrible waste of effort for a plant to flower itself to death yet not produce viable seed... ??? My plants produce abundant seed, but I guess I should attempt to germinate it prior to offering it in the seed exchanges.
A not-so-quaintly-symmetrical double...
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Maybe the words 'flowering to death' was a little exaggerate. What I meant was that I noticed that after flowering
so rich and right in the middle of the rosette the flowerhead is rotting away and the whole plant disappears, mostly when
it is a very wet summer. The roots will rot and not thrive again. But that is my experience.
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1) Delosperma nubigenum - planted last year. It came through the winter very well.
2, 3) Vella spinosa - it is rather interesting in the way that bare spiky branches form a mesh over the leafier stems below.
4) Penstemon procerus, local wild form.
5) And Delosperma basuticum, from about a week ago. (Also planted last year, and wintered well.)
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Good show Lori !
Interesting to see the Delosperma overwintering that well in your climate !!
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Lovely colourings, Lori, the
Penstemon procerus, local wild form
is a dream :)
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Thanks for the further pics and info on the Carduncellus everyone. Sounds like I need to find it here in Aus. I just love the form to it. Would be worthwhile trying it I think, hopefully with some advice at the time. Anyone out there in Aus who has a spare plant they can send me (Heck, I think it is worthwhile asking, even if a positive response is not expected ;)). I think the smaller unusual plants are just so interesting, but will make sure I look out for prickles on the edges of the leaves by the sound of it. ::)
Thanks again.
And Beautiful pics, Lori. The Delosperma look lovely, particularly that last one.
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Flowering now:
Teucrium polium - Grown from wild collected and forming a low mat, with just about the tiniest Teucrium flowers I know of.
Ipomopsis longiflora- This plant was lovely last autumn, but just now a species of click-beetle seems to enjoy nibbling through the flowerstalks just before flowering. So this is one of only a few flowers this summer :'(
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Your Teucrium polium interests me Simon. As it is known here, the flowers are yellow, going into lime gren at the edges of the infloresence and the foliage is very white, velvety. Have you had a sniff at the foliage? Ours has a really sweet, herby scent, very pleasant.
Luit, as you'll see in my pic of Carduncellus rhaponticoides (remains of a rosette at bottom left), the flowering rosette always dies and rots away but of course it should leave some young rosettes to replace, or these should grow very soon afterwards. Mine are both in very gravelly troughs.
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A couple may be odd ones.. I never saw them in other gardens. The Nassauvia is flowering for the first time. May be not spectacular, but very interesting.
Nassauvia patagonica
Paederota bonarota
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I had the Paedorota many years ago then lost it in 1989 when I moved house, garden, nursery. Since then, I've had it in a gritty raised bed, quite successfully for about 5 years, then after last year's winter, it didn't come up again, which really saddened me as it is a delightful plant and a favourite which I probably can't replace. I think the recent plant was from AGS seed.
I really like the foliage on the Nassauvia Magnar. :)
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Teucrium polium - Grown from wild collected and forming a low mat, with just about the tiniest Teucrium flowers I know of.
Teucrium seems to be one of those neglected genera that contains any number of interesting plants. Some years ago I ordered all the different teucriums from the exchanges, and now have a couple of quite nifty plants that I can't put a specific name to, thanks to label loss. Unfortunately, the scent of the foliage is not very pleasant: rather musty, I'd call it.
Then there are the closely similar Teucrium marum (cat thyme) and Teucrium subspinosum. I think these are often confused, and they are so similar I really wonder if they're just different forms of one species.
Our summer-dry climate seems to agree with the teucriums very well.
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Teucrium asiaticum was with me some years ago but the smell was dreadful - tomcat plus dettol plus brylcreme I think. I left it behind when I moved, but T. ackermannii is a lovely plant, not unlike polium but the flowers are pink. Again though, while the foliage scent is very nice, like polium's, the flower scent is like sewage. My neighbour started to dig up his drains once, because the teucrium was flowering in a trough beside the dividing fence. I didn't have the courage to tell him where the smell came from.
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Your Teucrium polium interests me Simon. As it is known here, the flowers are yellow, going into lime gren at the edges of the infloresence and the foliage is very white, velvety. Have you had a sniff at the foliage? Ours has a really sweet, herby scent, very pleasant.
I could only find 5 native species of Teucrium listed for Bulgaria, and I know it certainly isn't one of the other 4. These being Tt chamadrys, lamiifolium, montanum and scordium.
I read in Will Ingwerson's 'Manual of Rock Garden Plants', that T.polium was yellow flowered too. However, Flora Bulgarica shows only white flowered plants with the same white flowers and foliage as mine. Oleg Polunin's 'Flowers of Europe', says that flower colour may be pink, white or rarely yellowish. So I assume either it is a variable species and none of the forms in cultivation were collected in Bulgaria, or I have discovered a new species- Teucrium silcockii ;) ;)
I had Nassauvia gaudichaudii for a while, but sadly had to leave it behind in England- tiny flowers with an amazingly strong honey scent. :P
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You really don't stop confronting us with interesting plants Simon !!!
Great job ! ;)
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I love the blue star shape with sharply tapered petals of your blue Ipomopsis longiflora, Simon - the foliage looks attractive too bit I hope not too attractive to click-beetles so we can see them again next year ;) (would like to see more of the foliage too)
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Nassauvia Magnar is a lovely combination of pendulous flower weighed down over such a prettily cut leaf; gorgeous Magnar :)
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Magnar,
I think the Nassauvia patagonica is pretty impressive myself. Love the leaves, and such a good head of flowers. What size is the actual plant? Looks like it could be large or small. Reminds me a little of some of the Australian Epacridaceae, but I'm guessing it isn't even vaguely related. ;D Much more dense head of flowers though.
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Composite family, Paul. they do wacky things down there in South America like so many other families do. ;)
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Magnar,
I think the Nassauvia patagonica is pretty impressive myself. Love the leaves, and such a good head of flowers. What size is the actual plant? Looks like it could be large or small. Reminds me a little of some of the Australian Epacridaceae, but I'm guessing it isn't even vaguely related. ;D Much more dense head of flowers though.
The flower heads are about 15 cm from the ground.
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Thanks Magnar and Simon. Very nice little plant, that is for sure.
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Hello!
Here are some images from the Artic-Alpine Botanical garden in Tromsų from earlier this month. Enjoy :)
arctic-alpine -sounds like my kind of botanical garden! and, wow--those blues!
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1) Astragalus angustifolius
8) Interesting seedpods on Astragalus purshii var. lectulus
these two are especially nice---love the white flowers, and seedpods..
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Thanks, Cohan.
I guess this is about all I will get this year from Silene kantzeensis... it bloomed more heavily last year.
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I guess this is about all I will get this year from Silene kantzeensis... it bloomed more heavily last year.
i guess in theory we hope to keep garden conditions more consistent from year to year than they are in the wild, but weather must still affect performance...
the difference in wildflowers from year to year is striking, and not always what you'd first think: this year being so much drier than the last couple, some plants are much smaller and less floriferous, others still have a lot of flowers, but the plants overall are thinner or smaller; other plants (esp woodland plants) here are much more vigorous and floriferous this year--i'm guessing because of heavy and late snowfall, which both watered the forest well, and kept plants protected from winter spring drying...
and of course your silene may have completely unrelated reasons for not flowering as much this year ;)
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...but each little :)flower is perfectly shown against the mat of foliage, Lori
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Such a nice little plant, a sort of raggedly version of Silene acaulis. :) Quite new to me.