Flowers and Foliage now - December 07

[Diane Whitehead]

I've tried unsuccessfully to get the flowers perfectly sharp, but don't
want to spend enough time kneeling in the cold to do it.  (I guess I
should put on a jacket and mitts.)

This erodium has been flowering nonstop since the summer.  I bought
it in 1994 as Erodium supraceum, but assume that was a misprint for
supracanum.
 

[zephirine]

A hard-headed spike, decided to light its litlle candles from botttom to top, right to the very tip of it: Veronica grandis.
And to keep her company, Hebe 'Midsummer Beauty', still blooming here and there.
Both refused to take into account the -6 to -8°C we had for a couple of nights lately!
Zeph Gottheblues 

[Peter Korn, Sweden]

Junos and a Crocus are flowering in the greenhouse. If I could get one day with sunshine there would be a lot of Colchicums and Crocus in flower. Now they just don´t want to open.

[Lesley Cox]

Is that the same iris you posted a couple of days ago Peter. I LOVE that colour combination. Who says there's no grey in flowers? I hope you are cross pollinating them.

[KentGardener]

I looked in the garden for anything 'alpine' to photograph and failed miserably.  So here are a few things that caught my eye anyway:

Watsonia


Crassula


A rather nice shiney leaved form of Asplenium scolopendrium


Fred


_________________________________________________________

John

[zephirine]

Fred

Nice "evergrin" you have there, John... Is it a particular species?

[John Forrest]

Fantastic Iris Peter. If you have a good macro lens I would like to see a closer picture.

[Peter Korn, Sweden]

I have got a name on the Iris, I. persica.
I could take a more closeup tomorrow if you want.

[Lesley Cox]

Yes please.

[Martin Baxendale]

I was complaining earlier in the year that I couldn't find Campanula isophylla plants or seeds anywhere these days (my sole surviving plant is still flowering away like mad in my lean-too).

In case anyone else is interested, I found a source for seed - www.nickys-nursery.co.uk

It's rather a nice little mail order seed business. Not really many alpine type plants, but good for various good bread-and-butter annuals, tender perennials, biennials, vegetable seeds etc. Very good value - lots of seed for not much money - I think they must sell a lot to small commercial growers. I've just ordered loads, including seed of white and blue forms of Camp. isophylla, Lapageria rosea, Viola corsica (which I used to have masses of but not so many left now - a lovely little blue violet and quite perennial) etc, etc. plus some nice veg seed for the allotment.

Dead chuffed to have found C. isophylla seed again. It's a super plant for under glass, flowering virtually all year round. Shame it's not so common these days. Used to be in all the garden centres.

[zephirine]

A little pic taken this morning, especially for Dear Maggi !
Any resemblance with existing or past galanthus should be considered as a pure coincidence...

"Smile!....Tomorrow will be worse!"

[Martin Baxendale]

I love the Saxifraga fortunei forms, especially the pinks, but just can't keep them going in the garden. They either succumb to drought, have their roots eaten by vine weevils or just generally pine away. I guess a hot, dry south-facing hillside garden just doesn't do it for them! 

[Lesley Cox]

Martin, substitute the word north, for south, and your post could well be mine in every respect. My last one has recently crumbled to dust.

[Paddy Tobin]

But, Lesley, I am sure you will grow them again!

Paddy

[zephirine]

It must be a kind of compensation: I can't grow most of your alpines, as my soil is heavy and moist, and the drainage is poor...but the "daimonjisou" seem to like it  here!
Some japanese cultivars are lovely, either for foliage or for flowers:
-Daimonjisou 1
-Daimonjisou 2
-Daimonjisou 3
-Daimonjisou 4
-Daimonjisou 5
-Daimonjisou 6

My first love of them, and still one of my favs, is Saxifraga fortunei 'Rubrifolia'.
I have cropped some seeds (or I'd rather say : some "dust"! lol) on my plants, and see if they will germinate?