April 2015 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Mike Ireland]

Draba sphaeroides cusickii
& self sown seedlings in tufa wall.

[Mike Ireland]

Plants on my tufa wall,
Draba mollisima
saxifraga oppositifolia Theoden
various saxifraga
tufa wall

[David Nicholson]

Obviously Theoden thrives in tufa Mike. Mine looks a sorry object in ordinary gritty soil. Think I need to check the prices of vans, balaclavas and such and make a dead of night tufa theft

[astragalus]

A wonderful tufa wall, and so colorful now.
Hmmm, David, maybe you need to build one yourself. 

[Mike Ireland]

A wonderful tufa wall, and so colorful now.
Hmmm, David, maybe you need to build one yourself. 

Obviously Theoden thrives in tufa Mike. Mine looks a sorry object in ordinary gritty soil. Think I need to check the prices of vans, balaclavas and such and make a dead of night tufa theft

Thanks both.
David I find Sax oppositifolia generally struggles in my garden no matter where I have tried to grow it.
Seems very happy in the tufa though.

[David Nicholson]

A wonderful tufa wall, and so colorful now.
Hmmm, David, maybe you need to build one yourself.

I would do that if I could Anne but tufa is as rare as rocking horse manure (and just as expensive!) in the UK.

[meanie]

My Clerodendrum ugandense has sneaked back into bloom without my spotting it under glass.................


And this wee self seeded Viola is a bit of jewel outdoors.............


I know that Viola are as common as muck but the colour is unlike any of the others I have kicking around.

Indoors Pachyphytum is back in bloom...............

[Leena]

How lovely red viola.
Over here it's been rainy and cloudy the past week so all the flowers have closed flowers, but Daphne mezereum has started to flower.

[latestart]

I bought this as R.Sinogrande and for the first year it had yellow flowers but since then it has had these pretty pink flowers which fade to white. When first bought the leaves were at least two foot each long. The leaves are still pretty big but much less now. I spoke to a rep on the Rhodo society stand and he said the leaves do tend to get smaller as the plant ages.

[latestart]

Our winter flowering rockery was planted with 176 heathers and a few dot shrubs in 1989. It starts to show colour in November and peaks in April. The first photo is November 2014  and the second April 2015. The 3rd is the back of the rockery also April 2015. 

[johnw]

latestart - Perhaps I am not seeing the leaves of your sinogrande.  What I do see don't look like them to me.

Here is true sinogrande as id'ed by Cox.  Yes the leaves do decrease as the plant increases but are still notable.

johnw

[latestart]

I agree my leaves are not nearly as big as the ones you show but I am also puzzled that the plant I bought had yellow flowers and now they are pink. Here is a photo that shows a comparison with the skimmia leaves and red berries. It was planted around 1990.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Plants on my tufa wall,
Draba mollisima
saxifraga oppositifolia Theoden
various saxifraga
tufa wall

Great stuff, Mike !!

Over here, in flower :
Iris potaninii
Lithodora zahnii
Magnolia stellata 'Kobold'
Prunus incasa 'Ko-yo-no-May'
Primula auricula 'Mauve Mist'

[johnw]

Luc - What a splendid Lithodora! I nearly dropped to the floor as I thought you had a blue-flowered Rhododendron roxieanum Oreonastes there.

johnw

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Luc - What a splendid Lithodora! I nearly dropped to the floor as I thought you had a blue-flowered Rhododendron roxieanum Oreonastes there.

johnw

Thanks John !  Glad you didn't hurt yourself ! 
The Lithodora is in its third year, John, so far so good !  I've lost it in the past after a hard Winter....