April 2017 in the northern hemisphere

[Mike Ireland]

Some wonderful plants being shown by everyone at the moment..
In the alpine house this week,
Wilkstroemia gemmata   thanks to Ian ...the Christie kind
Lewisia tweedyi lemon/yellow
Lewisia tweedyi pink/yellow
Tropaeolum tricolorum
Tropaeolum azureum plus another.

[Mike Ireland]

A patch of Trillium kurabayashii seedlings flowering for the first time showing a lovely range of colour forms.

[Maggi Young]

Super photos  Mike - and the plants aren't bad either!!! 

[Mike Ireland]

Super photos  Mike - and the plants aren't bad either!!! 

Will keep trying to do my best Maggie.

[Leena]

Mike, so many and lovely Trilliums!

Leena, your spring is about a month later than here. I wouldn't have thought it was that much difference. Well worth waiting for. Your spring garden looks lovely.

Thank you Gunilla.  Yes, it is quite a big difference. This spring is said to be late for two weeks here, but even in more normal springs Hepatica nobilis flowers here in the woods in the last week of April and first week of May.
In my garden only in the warmest beds the first crocuses are open, and here under the apple tree they are still only coming up, only snowdrops are flowering. Helleborus, Crocus, Corydalis and Hepatica are showing but not flowering yet, I suspect in the beginning of May it will be very colourful.
Snowdrops in another bed, the big one is 'Mrs Macnamara' and in front of it is 'Straffan'. Pictures taken today.

[Robert]

Our California garden is still full of blooming plants.



One of a number of Lewisia cotyledon.



Although pink and white Lewisia cotylon is commonly seen in the wild it is still very beautiful. I will always keep them! 



Digitalis purpurea



I grow and select my own seed lines. I have been doing this for a number of years now. The plants preform well despite our hot summers and some are more or less perennial. I have one white form up at the farm that must be 10 years old now.



A pot full of white Rhdohypoxis baurii

[Robert]

Mimulus aurantiacus var aurantiacus blooming through Salvia leucophylla.



One of a number of Mimulus aurantiacus var. grandiflorus in bloom.



Mimulus aurantiacus var. pubescens.



A pot full of the annual Mimulus bicolor coming into bloom. I am very excited about this. I will be doing a seed increase and hope to established them throughout the garden next year.    !!!



Pellaea mucronata looking good planted in the garden.

[Robert]

A pot with Allium obtusum var. conspicuum. It looked very good about 3 days ago when it was very windy and rainy.



Allium unifolium, another California native, is easy to establish and maintain in our garden. It is not weedy! 



Primula japonica

[David Nicholson]

Looking very colourful Robert.

[Mike Ireland]

Daphne x susannae Tichborne
Clematis hirsutissima

[Gerdk]

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Mimulus aurantiacus var aurantiacus blooming through Salvia leucophylla.

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One of a number of Mimulus aurantiacus var. grandiflorus in bloom.

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Mimulus aurantiacus var. pubescens.

Robert, I never expected such an amount of variability in Mimulus aurantiacus!
Great!

Gerd

[Robert]

Robert, I never expected such an amount of variability in Mimulus aurantiacus!
Great!

Gerd

Gerd,

From my observations Mimulus aurantiacus var. aurantiacus is fairly uniform in flower colors, size, etc. in our area (Northern California). Variety grandiflorus shows much more variance in flower color and from. At this time I have not been to the northern end of the range (southern Sierra Nevada Foothills) of variety pubescens in a number of years. In the southern portions of M. aurantiacus range variability in flower color, form, and size seems to increase. I have a number of good reasons to travel to this region. It is a considerable distance from our home, and such a trip is not practical at this time.    Things do change, so it is something for me to look forward to in the future. There are so many species that interest me in our southern regions.

[Yann]

Here's it's very dry, i've flooded the garden : Paeonia withered, soil is cracked, the lawn is in the same state as end of august!

I will soon be able to develop my Mediterranean garden 

[Lesley Cox]

I MUST get my photo thing sorted as I have two Mimulus aurantiacus in bloom now not shown above. One is a quite deep red, almost blood red and the other white but the later (now in autumn) flowers are creamy white rather than the pure white of a couple of months ago.

[meanie]

For a variety of reasons I've not been here for a while so I'll have to catch up with everyone's photos later but for the time being here are a few of mine from April;

Ornithogalum dubium.........


My little pot of Pleione that was outdoors all winter in a dry sheltered spot...........


Ledebouria socialis which lives in the porch..........


Ajuga reptans "Caitlins Giant" which is far from giant............


Iris japonica.........


Geranium phaeum...........


Eccremocarpus scaber...........




My first Salvia to bloom this year was S.elegans...........


And finally Iris confusa "Martyn Rix".............