Flowering Now - April 2009

[Sinchets]

Hopefully it will look better on the whole in a few days, but I posted early as we are expecting rain in the next few days.

We have a lot of Fabaceae here in Aus

I was in Australia a long time ago and I remember seeing a Kennedya on a badly eroded hillside (rabbits). It was a stunner and wished then I could grow Australian plants outdoors.

[Paul T]

Which colour Kennedya?  They come in reds, pinks, black, ranging from quite delicate things to quite large and entangling.  Great plants though! 

[ChrisB]

Just curious, Simon, but how come all your photos are c C Greenwell?  Is it someone else that takes them for you?

[Regelian]

For those of you who do not visit the Onco thread, blooming today are I. stolonifera and I.'Tadzhiki Bandit'(regeliocyclus)

[Lampwick]

Pictures taken today.

Haberlea ferdinandi-coburgi. This plant must be about 30 years old. It’s growing in a situation that no one in their right mind would put it! It’s in a shallow 6½” deep trough against a south facing wall, its roots are on the north side of a hypertufa rock. Why does it survive? Explanation here:
http://portraitsofalpineplants.com/Portraits%20of%20Alpine%20Plants.htm#H

Rhododendron 'Blue Steel'. This is a lovely dwarf plant, which was given to me by Birmingham AGS group member Christine Heap many years ago. The original plant eventually became quite large, “leggy” and aged, but I have quite a number of its children from cuttings around the garden. This is one of them.   

Uvularia grandiflora. To the top right of picture you may just be able to see seedlings of this popping up

Eriogonum ovalifolium ex. South Pass, WY. From RMRP 1997-1998. It has achieved a diameter of about 14 inches (forgive me, I still cant relate too well to metric mesurments!) and receives no winter protection.

 

[Sinchets]

Just curious, Simon, but how come all your photos are c C Greenwell?  Is it someone else that takes them for you?

Yes Christine, Chris takes all the pics- I am not very good with a camera 

Which colour Kennedya?

It was quite a low sprawling one, and Pillarbox red with black, as I recall. It was in Victoria somewhere- if that helps.

[Sinchets]

Flowering this afternoon on the top rock garden:
2 plants- seed from a plant I purchased some years ago as Erigeron vagus.
Veronica species 'Dedegol Dag'
and Cerastium (lanatum?) this was originally in with seed of a Campanula from a seed exchange.
Ranunculus millefoliatus and Ranunculus (asiaticus?)

[Lampwick]

Hi Simon,
That P. viscosum is a beauty! I grew it from seed years ago, and got it to flower quite well, but I couldn’t keep it. I would love to try it again; your picture has got me pining to obtain it again! It’s the same with Oxytropis and other Leguminosae – Lupinus and Astragalus – I wish I could succeed more with some of the American alpines. Is your Oxytropis shokanbetsuensis from the USA?  Although the specific name hints at an oriental.
 

[Lampwick]

Flowering this afternoon on the top rock garden:
2 plants- seed from a plant I purchased some years ago as Erigeron vagus.
Veronica species 'Dedegol Dag'
and Cerastium (lanatum?) this was originally in with seed of a Campanula from a seed exchange.
Ranunculus millefoliatus and Ranunculus (asiaticus?)

Great plants; and I do like the natural look of the top-dressing around the plants. Do you buy this or is it obtainable otherwise? I would like to know if top-dressing like this is obtainable here in the UK, but most garden centers near where I live have only got bags of “eye-hurting” white, and coloured glass-like dressings of garish amber and green etc.! 
 

[wolfgang vorig]

pictures from today

[Hristo]

Jamie, super looking Oncos, bravo!
Here today a selction of narcissus cultivars flowering in the garden, sorry but the names are lost in the mists of time!

[Sinchets]

Posted by: Lampwick:Is your Oxytropis shokanbetsuensis from the USA? That P. viscosum is a beauty!

The Oxytropis was bought as a plant a long time ago- it is maybe 3rd generation from seed and I can't remember where i bought the original from. I think it is a Japanese species. The Polemonium is flowering in its first year- if the other spikes it is putting up have as many flowers as the first -I am not expecting it tobe long lived- but I will save seed and regrow it. I found that my Astragalus and Oxytropis lived for maybe 5 years in Scotland, and then England, before the plants became leggy and prone to dieback- i am not yet sure how they will behave here. The pictures of alpines I am posting so far are all of plants one year from seed. They made it through a long dry summer and very hard winter, but I do not know what will happen as they get older.

[Ragged Robin]

  Just beautiful and so healthy looking.... the Pulsatilla flavescens is dreamy

[Gerdk]

Ranunculus millefoliatus and Ranunculus (asiaticus?)

I am almost sure that the last Ranunculus isn't asiaticus because this species has
blackish anthers! But - sorry - no idea what it is.
R. millefoliatus is nice but an awful weed!

Gerd

[Hristo]

We are confused too, this has the same leaves as R.asiaticus and we only grow about 6 Ranunculus species, one of which is asiaticus. In previous years from the same leaves we have had black centered typical asiaticus flowers!