June 2015 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Hoy]

Two interesting shrubs, Ralph!

Acradenia is unknown to me. I planted my Corokia outside and it has survived but no flowers.

An onion in the woodland amongst the rhododendrons: Allium triquetrum.

[johnralphcarpenter]

That Allium is a really troublesome invasive weed in some parts oh the UK, especially Cornwall.

[Hoy]

That Allium is a really troublesome invasive weed in some parts oh the UK, especially Cornwall.

I am not afraid of that here! But thinking of it - seems it is left untouched by the slugs so maybe it has a potential to spread

[K-D Keller]

Lilac blossom time.

Aquilegia bertolonii, Campanula alpestris, Campanula fenestrellata, Edraianthus dalmaticus and Edraianthus montenegrinus (dwarf form).

[Tim Ingram]

Really nice to see the Acradenia Ralph. Would like to grow this as a memory of the Tasmanian flora... it would suit a Southern Hemisphere part of the garden we are beginning to replant after the cold winter a few years back saw off a lot of things.

[Robert]

A few more plants from the garden.

>Festuca californica - Bunch grasses were a part of the natural grassland ecosystem here in California. I use and experiment with native bunch grasses both in the garden as well as in restoring the native ecosystem here on the farm. Festuca californica is 100% xeric.

>Potentilla gracilis - One of our California native Potentilla species. It has worked out well in the garden, blooming for many weeks each spring. It is 100% xeric, however it will dry-up into nothing until the fall rains if not given some irrigation during the summer months. I tend to give them some irrigation to keep them green during the summer. The foliage is quite attractive.

>The last 2 photographs are of plain ol' Larkspur a great re-seeder that has saved the day in a more neglected part of the garden.

[meanie]

Meanie,

It looks good to my eyes too. Sometimes the self-seeders can be a great bonus to the garden. This year the reseeders have saved the day in parts of our garden that went more or less completely neglected since last fall.

I completely agree about self seeders. It seems silly posting the following amongst all the other gems on this thread but I allow a couple of Foxgloves to grow through to flowering. This years self seeders have produced the "holy grail" for us - a pure white one..............


And this Gladiolus byzantinus is a mystery. It is growing all alone far away from the others that I planted three years ago..............


A few others at the moment;
Echinopsis subdenudata has been out during the day and in the greenhouse overnight...........


Echeveria taking centre stage in one of my display areas............


Having such an attractive flower stem makes them all the better............


Canna brasiliensis from seed sown in January...............


Iris hookeri..............


And finally, an unknown Lantana species................

[Robert]

meanie,

I agree there are certainly many gems being posted. I do not mind seeing some commonly grown plants too. There is plenty to learn and inspiration to gain if we have an open mind.

Lantana is commonly planted here in our part of California (Central Valley - not the Sierra Foothills), and is a weed/pest in Hawaii. I am surprised that they bloom and do well with your relatively cool summers. They certainly have flower power.

[johnw]

Salix vestita in a trough here on the weekend past.  Some forms get monstrously big in western Newfoundland.  This and S. reticulata are favourites.

johnw

[meanie]

meanie,

I agree there are certainly many gems being posted. I do not mind seeing some commonly grown plants too. There is plenty to learn and inspiration to gain if we have an open mind.

So true. My interests are outside of the focus of most members here and vise versa but that doesn't mean that I can't;
a] learn something
b] appreciate other peoples efforts and skills
and
c] see something that wows me!

My biggest problem is that I find tender "exotics" easier than alpines 

Lantana is commonly planted here in our part of California (Central Valley - not the Sierra Foothills), and is a weed/pest in Hawaii. I am surprised that they bloom and do well with your relatively cool summers. They certainly have flower power.

Certainly not hardy so a pot grower.
Do well is a relative term I think. It does enough to be pleasing and worth the effort. Easy though if you follow the basics - encourage it to start growing in spring in the g/house, put outdoors in a sheltered spot to avoid bud drop and remember to put it back under cover if a late frost threatens.
I have just been sent a plant that you may be familiar with - Deppea splendens. Another wee challenge for me 

[Tim Ingram]

What a marvellous little willow John - perfect with the celmisia next to it. These are not so easy in our dry climate but we do have S. reticulata and the famous S. x boydii. A series of nice cool troughs must be in the offing - there is a good spot for these.

[Maggi Young]

I agree there are certainly many gems being posted. I do not mind seeing some commonly grown plants too. There is plenty to learn and inspiration to gain if we have an open mind.

Wearing my Moderators hat :
 It is so nice to have a wide range of plants show in the forum other than "just" alpine and rock garden plants - which is why "meanie's" tender plants are such fun - but I hope no-one ever doubts the posting of  commonly grown plants - after all there are readers of these pages who are complete newcomers to rock garden, alpine and woodland plants and it can only be a great advantage to them to see the whole range of plants available which can be used to beautify our gardens without undue difficulty or great expense!
Besides, even the most common plant can be a delight to see in a portrait or habitat photo!

[Chris Johnson]

Couldn't agree more. 

[François Lambert]

So very true, and we should keep in mind that our (rare) garden plants are often a native 'weed' somewhere else on the planet.

[johnralphcarpenter]

Like this, even?