My Bit of Heaven - by Kristl Walek

[ThomaS]

Lovely pictures of a nice flora. I grow many of these same plants in a small area of my garden in central Sweden and it seems they have started to flower at about the same time as in your area. We have had a strange season with an early spring after a mild winter, bulbs starting to flower in early february, then a cold spell mid march to mid april with frosts and some snow. Now that it gets warm again everything seems set to go at the same time. Birches and other trees are getting green these last few days, cherries and early Magnolias starting to bloom.
Thomas Schultze

[Kristl Walek]

Did I almost forget to post THE QUEEN, hands down, of our eastern woodland?

[ChrisB]

Lovely reminder, Kristl, of things past for me.  Thank you.  Do your comments mean you have sold now?  Wish I could have bought it, such a wealth of plantings.... hope all goes well for your move.

[Kristl Walek]

No, Christine, The real estate sign is still up. Not sure if I am more apprehensive of selling or not selling. But it's not a question of choice, so have left it to those forces of the universe to decide my fate. The only thing that has become clearer recently is that I will likely now move east (Nova Scotia) rather than west.

[ChrisB]

I can well understand why your move might be east rather than west.  The price of housing in BC has shot up since they got the Winter Olympics.  I'm sure they will come down again after its all over, but probably not by as much as they've gone up.  Land is a bit cheaper out east from what I see.  I constantly check MLS to see house prices just in case we have to return there some day.  Its still a bit less expensive there than here on the whole, but with the Canadian dollar strengthening against the US dollar, that too has played a part in the price of housing I guess.  Meantime, nice you can stay where you are.  If I ever get back there I'll have to come see that fab garden of yours....  Lovely pics you posted here, was real deja vu for me....

[Kristl Walek]

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginiana) is a tough little ephemeral, able to compete even with the worst of the running grasses in the wild. Although individual flowers are small, they are lovely massed and bloom for a relatively long time, opening only in sunlight. Seed is ephemeral.

Viola adunca, the earliest blooming of my native violas is a vigorous colonizer, especially in full sun.
It is followed soon by the yellow V. pubescens, which eventually carpets my entire summer woodland.

The seed of most eastern North American woodland Viola is ephemeral and should be moist-packed after collection.

Saxifraga virginiensis is a widespread species here, growing in all sorts of environments. The normal sized plants are shown- but I also have a very good clone (shown in just-emerging bud here), with extremely short, chubby flowering stems, very floriferous, larger flowers. Will post later.

[Kristl Walek]

In the sunshine, my small Saxifraga virginiensis...

And in the woodland, the beautiful wood poppy, Stylophorum dipthyllum, Arisaema triphyllum, and the delicate Twisted Stalk, Streptopus roseus dangling it's tiny pink flowers under pretty foliage.

[Gerdk]

Viola adunca, the earliest blooming of my native violas is a vigorous colonizer, especially in full sun.
It is followed soon by the yellow V. pubescens, which eventually carpets my entire summer woodland.
The seed of most eastern North American woodland Viola is ephemeral and should be moist-packed after collection.

Ahh - some pretty violet pics shot in their native habitat - enjoyed them. Thank you!

Kristl,
How do you store the moist-packed seeds - in a fridge? When do you sow them?

Gerd

[Kristl Walek]

Guten Morgen, Gerd...
Moist packing the ephemeral Viola seed accomplishes a two-fold purpose: it keeps the seed from dying in storage and also rots away the undeveloped seed that is always there in any collection of this genus. So what remains is the viable, sound seed. Because I have a seed business, the seed remains, thus moist packed in vermiculite, for an entire season (a full year) until the next fresh collection.

Because most of the species I deal with require cold for germination, the moist packed seed is stored at room temperature, with instructions to my customers to provide the cold on receipt. And germination is good even after a full year of the seed being kept viable and being held from germinating in this way.

[Lesley Cox]

I do like Saxifraga virginiensis. Is this another you offer Kristl? Would you put a notice on the Forum please, when you next have a catalogue available. I should have been in touch long ago. The first and only batch of seed I had from you, maybe 3 or 4 years ago, provided me with excellent plants of very good things, so from that single experience, I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone else.

The Sax is rather like a favourite of mine,(though some say it is not worth growing) S. manschuriensis.

[Kristl Walek]

Leslie, I too grow (and love) S. manschuriensis---a FINE plant, most certainly, and prettier than my lowly S. virginiensis, although the latter is much more adaptive and easy as to site, soil and exposure.

I remember you purchased some of Janis Ruksans Fritillaria and Iris seed that I offered the year I featured him in my special yearly seed collection.

Yes, the S. virginiensis has been on my list for years (I do wild collect seed of most of the horticulturally worthwhile herbaceous and woody species in my area). I stopped doing a print catalogue 2 years ago---so there is nothing to announce. My catalogue has been web-based only since then, and this puts it in the realm of electronic space- and of never being static, as species continue to get listed day by day, as they become collected and available. It's an interesting change for me after nearly 20 years of producing a print catalogue---the concept of an on-going, ever changing list of species with no clear "beginning of new season" idea.

[Gerdk]

Guten Morgen, Gerd...
Moist packing the ephemeral Viola seed accomplishes a two-fold purpose: it keeps the seed from dying in storage and also rots away the undeveloped seed that is always there in any collection of this genus. So what remains is the viable, sound seed. Because I have a seed business, the seed remains, thus moist packed in vermiculite, for an entire season (a full year) until the next fresh collection.
Because most of the species I deal with require cold for germination, the moist packed seed is stored at room temperature, with instructions to my customers to provide the cold on receipt. And germination is good even after a full year of the seed being kept viable and being held from germinating in this way.

Hallo Kristl,
Thank you for this detailed reply. I'll try the same but sow in late autumn.
I am curious about the results.

Gerd

[johnw]

Kristl - I guess I missed as few posts. I know it will be difficult to leave such a splendid piece of land as you have, the attachment must be very strong indeed.

However we are pleased as punch you have decided on Nova Scotia. We will welcome you with open arms.

Aren't we lucky!

johnw
 

[Kristl Walek]

John....you are very sweet. 
Recently I have actually started to feel *almost* ready to leave- I don't know what accounts for this, but I think whatever it is, it needed to happen before I go--that important thing about doors closing and opening again.

The last of the abundant native viola, V. canadensis has joined its cousins in the woodland. It will do battle with the vigorous, groundcovering Maianthemum stellatum. Actaea rubra, better in it's berry stage, than in flower, is nontheless a lovely foliage plant.

Our only native Solomon's Seal, Polygonatum pubescens dangles its pinched bells. Lastly, the widespread Caltha palustris is at the side of the ponds and the stream.

The last picture of the Caltha was taken in a wild wet-woodland setting, obviously very happy.

[Gerdk]

Most interesting pics, Kristl. What a strange Maianthemum!
For me all Maianthemum had heart shaped leaves - always something to learn from this Forum!
Thank you.

Gerd