April 2021 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Claire Cockcroft]

A couple of more epimediums.

[Gabriela]

Epimediums are starting to bloom.

Lovely Claire.

[Roma]

Aquilegia scopulorum - seed from Gothenberg Botanic Garden sown in 2015.  First flowering.  I don't remember how many sedlings I started with but am now down to 4 plants.  This one is in the greenhouse, 2 others in the cold frame not doing so well and one in a large pot outside.





This one is a bit of a mystery. Same batch of seed, leaves look similar but tiny red flowers

[Claire Cockcroft]

Helonias bullata, the Swamp Pink.  Its flower makes you stop and look.

[shelagh]

Wow Claire that's a stunner.

[Mariette]

Nice epimediums, and very special plants, Andre!
These are the small flowers of Lonicera deflexicalyx, the berries being much more showy.

[Andre Schuiteman]

1. Alyssoides utriculata. Sown from AGS seed in December 2018. The seed was listed as Physaria alpina, but even before my seedlings first flowered, in April 2020, I had my doubts about that name. Thinking it might be another North American crucifer, even if it wasn't Physaria alpina, I spent some time trying in vain to identify it. Eventually, the typical spherical fruits gave it away. It turned out to be Alyssoides utriculata, a species from the Alps and southern Europe. Wrong genus and wrong continent (the second photo is from last year).

2. Gaultheria trichophylla. This miniature Himalayan shrub is famous for its striking blue berries. I have yet to see those and I had to wait quite a while for the flowers too. The tiny buds already formed last year summer but then did nothing until March this year, when they suddenly began to expand into little bell-shaped flowers.

3. Houstonia serpyllifolia Michx. Here is a case where you should add the author to the name, because there is also a Houstonia serpyllifolia Graham, which is a synonym of the well-known H. caerulea. My plant of H. serpyllifolia is doing a credible impersonation of a cushion plant even though it is really a tangle of creeping stems. It was obtained as 'Houstonia michauxii', a name that does not officially exist.

[shelagh]

This amazing weather is certainly bringing out some wonderful blooms.

Anemone nemerosa Robisonianum.
A big patch of Aubretia.
A patch of mossy Sax that has been rather burnt in the sun. (You don't often have to say that in Bury.)
Oxalis Red Eye.
Primula Julius Caesar still going strong.

[shelagh]

Our Ramonda nathaliae JCA686 is still looking good I think every flower is our now.
Three Rosenia humilis all grown from cuttings by Brian.
One of our Viola troughs which has come all through the winter weather.

[Susann]

Spring has taken a huge step backwards in southeast Sweden with terrible frost burns as a result. I believe this is the coldest spring in years.

But I am happy to share this little beauty with you, Pulsatilla multifida. Seed comes from Russian Amurskaya province by the Chinese border, and the plant is about 10-12 years old. It is planted in a heap of peat and granit sand and -gravel, where the Moss is an uninvited guest. But, as it has not harmed any plants yet I just leave it.

People who "know about me" tend to think I collect Pulsatilla species. I actually do not. I only grow the most common and easy ones.

[Gail]

Very beautiful Susann and looks cosy in its bed of moss.

[Susann]

Thank you!

I have not a clue if different mosses contribute with different thingsin the eco-systems, but I guess so? Anyway, it is not unusaul to find the multifida princess in a soft moss carpet. However, I am quite sure her natural carpet is not the same as you would enjoy finding in my garden.

[ashley]

... Pulsatilla multifida ...

Spectacularly beautiful Susann.  I hope you can increase it from seed.

[Susann]

Oh dear,

I should never have mentioned how cold this spring is. It seems as winter was listening and wants to make sure we are aware that he is still around. (In Swedish winter is a male, King Bore, as in Borealis. I don't know about English?).

Ashley: Regarding the Pulsatilla. Unfortunally I have other Pulsatillas belonging to the same subgenus, and they hybridize, more than willingly. But as I think most of us know, it is not difficult -although not without risks- to propagate it vegetatively. I think that would be the only way to get those beautiful greyish hairs on the sepals.

[ashley]

Susann, I was thinking in terms of protecting a few buds in muslin bags then hand-pollinating them, to see what variability the seedlings might show. 
Certainly a fine plant & worth propagating, vegetatively or otherwise, as insurance against accidental loss.