August 2015 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Maggi Young]

Lysimachia paridiformis ssp stenophylla is a plant we are very fond of. The seed of this plant was collected about 20 or more years ago in China by Mikinori Ogisu, he sent them to Roy Lancaster who sent them on to us to sow. We raised a reasonable number most of which we sent back down to Roy and we kept three plants for our selves. It is a good grower with nice foliage and a lovely cluster of bright yellow flowers in late summer. It has never set seed for us in the North but I do believe they have had seed from it in England - it can be increased by cuttings taken in autumn which will root fairly readily over the winter. 
Wim Boens grows it very well- he claims that applications of mud from the bottom of the rain butts  help it to flower really well!
 
Lysimachia paridiformis var. stenophylla
cited in The Plantsman 3 p. 83, 84P
Lysimachia paridiformis var. stenophylla
cited in The Garden 124 p. 506-7

[Tim Ingram]

Thanks Maggi - it's nice to have the story behind a plant. I will have to talk kindly to Gill and Peter!

[Maggi Young]

We haven't taken any cuttings this year, Tim - but we can try  a late "go"  for you.

[johngennard]

I have just made August and in spite of the so called dearth of colour from shrubs during July and August I thought that these few pictures taken during July and August belies that view.They are just snapshots of a North facing,shaded border that I started in 2009 which previously contained a motley collection of ordinary  shrubs and trees that weren't doing very well and I have gradually converted it to a hydrangea walk.The pictures only show a part of the walk and don't really convey the fact that it is 100 metres long

[johngennard]

the rest.

[Maggi Young]

Not exactly flowering now, but this has arrived from Peter Kohn :

" This  picture was taken at Kerrachar in 2010 a year after we left with the
garden untended for more than a year. Delighted to find the plants
still thriving this May (still with no attention). Don't remember how
many years to flowering but we brought seeds with us sown in 2011 and
got our first flower (and seeds !) this year. "

[Robert]

Here it is 29 August and many of the Eriogonums are still blooming even with very minimal irrigation.

1> A chance seedling of Eriogonum nudum looking very good in the garden. It looks even better in the early evening with the full moon!

2> Eriogonum wrightii var. subscaposum in our garden. This is one of our late blooming species.

3> Eriogonum incanum hybrid getting ready to bloom. In the wild, both E. marifolium and E. incanum can produce another set of flowers late in the season.

4> An Epilobum canum selected from wild seed in its late summer glory.

5> Pellaea mucronata in the garden. One of the many California native ferns that need no or very little irrigation to survive the summer and still look great. This species will even survive full sun and no irrigation once it is established.

[Robert]

1> Mimulus moschata. With some attention this species blooms all summer and fall for us, especially when the weather cools a bit.

2> The first of the Colchicum for us. The tag with the name is long gone. 

3> Codonopsis. If anybody has a clue to its identity a name would be very much appreciated. We have a number of different species that do okay despite the 38 c plus summer heat. Spider mites are a problem. With the dry heat I just live and let live and enjoy them as they twine around and bloom.

[astragalus]

Beginning its bloom now, Zauschneria garrettii 'Orange Carpet', planted on top of a wall and drifting over Daphne rollsdorfii 'Wilhelm Schacht'.

[Robert]

Astragalus,

'Orange Carpet' looks great. I have never grown this clone. How tall does it grow each year? It looks fairly low, maybe under 12" (30 cm).

[astragalus]

Robert, 12" is its max but since the plant is soft and billowy only parts of it reach that height.  It really wants to be planted above a wall or rock so that it can drape and fold itself.  After flowering I plan to cut this one back at the bottom or the daphne at the base of the wall will be covered

[Robert]

Robert, 12" is its max but since the plant is soft and billowy only parts of it reach that height.  It really wants to be planted above a wall or rock so that it can drape and fold itself.  After flowering I plan to cut this one back at the bottom or the daphne at the base of the wall will be covered

Astragalus,

Thank you for the information. I think that I understand what you mean, Zauschneria-Epilobium can move around and get too "big" in some garden settings.

We only have ssp. latifolia in our area. I have never been down to the Mojave Desert region to see ssp. garrettii. I also wonder about the origins of some varieties such as 'Wayne's Silver'. This variety is completely sterile for me and the foliage is quite different from any of the other clones that I have seen or grown. Wayne had so much in his Orinda garden, but then maybe he found the original plant out in the wild somewhere or it came from somewhere else like Tilden Park.

[astragalus]

Robert, I'm also growing Z.'Wayne's silver' and love the foliage.  It hasn't flowered heavily yet.
I have a very dwarf form  of Z. latifolia, but my favorite is Z.californica v Etteri.  The color is deep red-orange and it's a heavy bloomer.  Spreads horizontally.  Planted in a very deep crevice and so far quite hardy.

[Robert]

Robert, I'm also growing Z.'Wayne's silver' and love the foliage.  It hasn't flowered heavily yet.
I have a very dwarf form  of Z. latifolia, but my favorite is Z.californica v Etteri.  The color is deep red-orange and it's a heavy bloomer.  Spreads horizontally.  Planted in a very deep crevice and so far quite hardy.

Astragalus,

'Wayne's Silver' is always a late bloomer around here too. I have not watered it much this summer and it is still looking okay. Yes, I agree 'Wayne's Silver' has beautiful foliage. The only improvement for us would be if it had more flowers. Most of the others get loaded with flowers. Maybe yours is more floriferous?

So many of the Zauschneria - Epilobiums are native to the high Sierras or the east side of the Sierras. I remember seeing them blooming along the trail out of the Owens Valley towards Shepherd's Pass - bitter cold in the winter and very hot and dry during the summer. Then there are those growing in Northwestern California where the climate is much more temperate. Years ago, I found some good color forms along the Salmon River in NW California. They did well here, however they may not be as cold hardy as the Sierra varieties. I do not have any of them now, however I do know where to go to find more. 

Thinking about Astragalus -  there are some great species on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. We have a few around here, however it gets very interesting in the south around Mono Lake and in and around the Owens Valley and the White Mountains.

[astragalus]

Robert, the Mono Lake area has always been on my bucket list of places to explore.  It seems to be a unique area and I've heard that the Fabaceae is well represented there. Have you been there?  And photographed?