Flowering Now - April 2009

[Gunilla]

What a beautiful collection of spring flowers Gerd!  Your Anemone trifolia look so vigorous. I have never managed to grow them well

[Lvandelft]

Collected in 1886 Fargesia nitida, the Umbrella Bamboo is flowering here,
johnw

Still remembering the date you must have a fabulous memory at your age then John 

[Paul T]

Howdy All.  Fantastic pics everyone, thanks.

Anne,

That is some display of Paris quadrifolia!    And those wonderful ferns, and the beautiful dark Daphne!!    Wonderful.

And I have to ask how in the world you made that "castle" trough (as Gerd called it).  I'm trying to get my mind about how you actually constructed that all in one piece by the look of it?

Thanks again everyone for the wonderful pictures.

[Magnar]

The last week of April also provided some flowers in the high north.

Helleborus thibetanus
Colchicum trigynum
Iris x Frank Elder

[Ragged Robin]

Magnar, your iris Frank Elder is a real beauty - it obviously loves the North of Norway is it native to the Northerly zone?

[Gerdk]

Thanks for the nice compliments!

Gunilla, Even in my garden Anemone trifolia never has the vigour of
Anemone nemorosa. The group shown developed from plants introduced  about 30 years ago.

Gerd

[Magnar]

Magnar, your iris Frank Elder is a real beauty - it obviously loves the North of Norway is it native to the Northerly zone?

Ragged Robin : This iris is a hybrid between I. histrioides from Tyrkey and I. winogradowii from the Cauacsus mountains.

[Lampwick]

Todays pictures. 

Erysimum 'Orange Flame'
An easy dependable alpine plant with brilliant tangerine-orange flowers all summer.
 
Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Nanum’A lovely dwarf form, ideally suited for a trough, as seen here. The creamy-white flowers on 10 cm. stems are followed by tiny apple-green leaves, with a distinct burgundy edge to them.

[Carlo]

Well done John. I too am a fan of E. grandiflorum 'Nanum'. It's just starting to flower here,  but I'd take if for the leaves alone. I'm not getting the red edging seen in your photo, presumably because mine are in shadier haunts. I love the small leaves and the plant's near bun-form in the shade. Can't wait to start whacking my five plants into pieces and spreading it around the woodland garden...

[annew]

I have a new plant of it too, Carlo, and I want to do the same ! The trough is one made of hypertufa onto a chicken-wire framework and moulded by hand doing one layer per day over 3 days. Things don't do well on the top layer because it gets too dry, I think. Of course, I could water it more frequently!

[Paul T]

Isn't that Ep wonderful.  A favourite of mine, when in flower or when in leaf.  SO diminutive, but so delightful! 

[johnw]

Collected in 1886 Fargesia nitida, the Umbrella Bamboo is flowering here,
johnw

Still remembering the date you must have a fabulous memory at your age then John 

Luit  - Not that old, I was but a child when it was collected.

Just catching up on postings as the internet has been down here.  A rather tense 36 hours here as a huge wild fire (the second in two days) threatened the gardens of 6 friends on the southwest side of the city. The humidity was 23% with gusty winds. Can't imagine what Australia just went through.

Mercifully rain came today around noon time but it was a very close call.  Twenty or more houses gone.

johnw

A shot from last night:

[Afloden]

Ashley,

 Your Uvularia is U. grandiflora. The tepals don't have the right shape to them. Check the back of the leaves and I'll bet with some magnification they are pubescent.


 Aaron Floden
 Knoxville, TN
 UT Herbarium

[Rodger Whitlock]

There's a key to uvularia species at

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=134281

I've noticed that uvularia for sale are often misidentified.

[ashley]

Your Uvularia is U. grandiflora. The tepals don't have the right shape to them. Check the back of the leaves and I'll bet with some magnification they are pubescent.

You're right; well spotted   Label now corrected. 
Many thanks Aaron and Roger