Alberta Wanderings

[Lori S.]

That's certainly the pinkest Viola canadensis I've ever seen too.  It's mildly spreading in the garden, beautiful in spring when its in bloom with the epimediums and primroses; usually gets tired-looking and mildewy later on though (hard to understand what stress it is reacting to, i.e. the mildew, as almost nothing else is affected by mildew in the yard).  Mertensia paniculata is rather spreading - in the garden, other mertensia species are showier and better-behaved.  I absolutely love seeing it in the wild though.   (And, having said that, I wouldn't actually kick it out of the garden either...  hmmm, I find it very hard to get rid of anything!)

[cohan]

That's certainly the pinkest Viola canadensis I've ever seen too.    Mertensia paniculata is rather spreading - in the garden, other mertensia species are showier and better-behaved.  I absolutely love seeing it in the wild though.   (

interesting to hear your input..
i will keep an eye on that stand of V canadensis --its only maybe 10m from where we park.... i still think its likely that they just looked that pink at that time--since i was a bit surprised going through the pics now too... IF  if turns out that they really are that pink, i could see if they set seed for those interested.... i havent noticed mildew on it here, which doesnt mean it doesnt get it--its in a natural area with a lot of grass and other plants, so i dont pay much attention to it when not in flower..

of course at this point i dont really have a 'garden' in any usual sense... the Mertensias are growing all over my yard on their own, and while i might plant them in particular spots with particular other species--i feel sure i have seen them flowering with wild roses, but havent found a photo of it, so i might plant them that way, mostly they would be in 'natural'/naturalised areas so spreading wouldnt be a problem--i'm sure they will be seeding themselves into any disturbed soil anyway, though the native asters do that more agressively!

as to other species, i did have my eye on something alpine at beavercreek, though i havent decided if its my best choice right now when i have to keep my order small, and i have mertensias all over already...lol

[Gerdk]

are you growing any small rubus, gerd?

Cohan,
Please accept my apologies for the delay in answering. I didnīt find the label (as usual) of the species mentioned first and so had to look into my files - in this case back to 1992.
I grow Rubus nepalensis - a real beauty. Easy and hardy here but seldom fruiting. Another species is Rubus arcticus ssp. stellata, which is grown in a trough.

Gerd

[Lori S.]

Cohan, I see the Crassula species offered on the Beaver Creek site now (that I think came up in a different thread).   Sorry, I didn't see it (or perhaps notice it) when I looked a few weeks ago, but there it is again now.  A few other things on the site have changed since I last looked... I wrote a couple of things down to order that aren't there any more!

[cohan]

gerd:
dont worry about any delays in answering! sometimes i am on a lot, other times i am not, so no problem..
i dont know much about rubus species other than our natives, and a few from british columbia, i will have to look up nepalensis...
the smaller species here dont fruit nearly as much as the large species...

lori:
i also checked the crassula when we spoke about it, and it wasnt there, so he must have updated; hopefully nothing is gone that i wanted...lol--you may know it doesnt hurt to ask--he could have a few of something but not enough to offer--that was the case with an enquiry i made before about something that was there and then wasnt...

[cohan]

now in early june, 08; this set again is right on my acreage, or just at the edge
a couple more shots of the
Viburnum edule
the larger view shows the same naturally planted cluster at the base of a poplar that i mentioned before; growing with a Ribes sp
more strawberries
Fragaria
Mertensia paniculata
flowers are commonly pink when they first open, but this one seems to be staying that way...
one of our chickweeds, presumably
Stellaria
dont ask me which one; i'll have to get pics with leaves, this year..

[cohan]

i discovered last year, tons of
Corallorrhiza trifida
presumably...there'll be more photos of this; saprophytic orchid; this was not so abundant in the old days around here...maybe the last couple of wet years have been good to it? i was surprised to see it growing even on soil that i would not have thought to be very organic--mostly clay, on the banks of a sewage lagoon (far from the waste water..) as well as in more expected wooded soils ..
Cornus canadensis
the super common but still charming bunchberry; just beginning to flower in this shot;
Equisetum
one of several types..