May 2014 in the Northern Hemisphere

[astragalus]

And a few more, including Clematis fremontii

[johnw]

Gentiana out on the coast yesterday and Glaucidium in the city 3 days ago.

johnw - +7c

[astragalus]

Gorgeous plants, nothing can beat gentian blue.  Hopefully, my glaucidium will look like that in a few years.

[Gene Mirro]

Penstemon davidsonii var. menziesii:



Rhododendron occidentale (very fragrant) with Davidia in background and Limnanthes douglasii in foreground:



Lilium pyrenaiacum:



Fremontodendron californicum:



Physoplexis comosa growing in the garden, fourth year:

[Gene Mirro]

Rose 'Eddie's Jewel', started from a cutting in 2007:



Eremurus robustus, with Boston ivy in background:



Arisaema heterophyllum:

[astragalus]

The physoplexis is amazing.

[Anne Repnow]

Styrax japonicum 'Pink Chimes' in full flower

And Stewartia rostrata - both are firm favourites with the bumble bees. The flowers of Stewartia rostrata look pretty even when they have fallen because they look "intact" (the petals and anthers are attached at the bottom).

[ChrisB]

Aquilegia buergeriana in a sink.  From SRGC seed

[Maggi Young]

Rose 'Eddie's Jewel', started from a cutting in 2007

Pretty impressive, Gene    I do like a single rose.

[astragalus]

The stream garden is loving the rain we've had this spring.  The side of the stream that has most of the Primula japonica can rarely be mowed before mid-August due to the general bogginess of that area.  The solution is to slowly replace all the grass with wood chips which soak up the wet.  It gradually sinks in and more chips are placed on top - no more need to mow there. At the edge of this area I've transplanted all the seedlings Ligularia 'Brit-Marie Crawford' is making.  I planted 3 in the shaded  part of the stream garden and they took over the world.  In this area it's OK.
The Rodgersias are really happy and the Hellebores flowered like crazy here, no more competition from the Ligularias.
Gardening is certainly a slow learning process (at least on my part),

[Anne Repnow]

You've done it all perfectly and it looks marvellous! Excellent solutions to some problems the natural habitat has posed for you.
 
Gardening, I feel, is mostly about observation and reaction. Which plant does well where? How can you enhance the characteristics of a particular site? Going against nature is rarely successful and certainly a lot of work for the gardener... 

[astragalus]

That is so true.  An imposed landscape never works for me.

[ruweiss]

Two weeks ago Tulipa sprengeri flowered in this unusual location. How could this
happen? I ordered seeds of Lilium nanum from some seed exchange, but the resulting
seedlings did not look like lilies at all. Nevertheless they were planted in a bed for
peat loving plants where they grow very well.

[Maggi Young]

They look good, Rudi - always  nice to see how many places these lovely Tulips will grow.

[meanie]

Iris chrysographes......................


It's actually a little darker in the flesh.

Diplarrena moraea......................




Isoplexis isabelliana is a far better plant in the ground than a pot..................