Plants flowering in the open rock garden.April May '09

[Gerdk]

That looks similar Gerd. Is it pinker in real life? The oneI had held its flowers closer to the rosette, but that may have been because I was cruel to it at the time and grew it in a pot 

Simon,
Not much pink inside the open flowers but the fading ones turn to this colour.

Gerd

[Sinchets]

I stayed with friends in Melbourne and on the back on their toilet door was a poster of the flowers of Victoria it made very interesting reading. I'd certainly love to grow Chorizema!

[Sinchets]

The backs of the petals look great Gerd, they make the same plant doubly attractive. Are you interested in exchanging seed if it sets?
Only one for today, as we have finally had some much needed rain-
Penstemon paysoniorum

[Gerdk]

Simon,
Will send a PM!
Gerd

[Lori S.]

Fabulous flowers, Simon!  What an amazing range of plants you grow!  I am curious as to the origin of your Oxytropis splendens  - do you know where the seeds were from?  The inflorescence, particularly, is much less furry than the ones I see here.

[Sinchets]

I have 2 stocks of O.splendens, Lori. This one was from seed of a plant I bought at an AGS show as O.splendens. My other stock is from seed from Rocky Mountain Rare Plants. Do you have a pic of your plants?

[Lori S.]

Simon, do the leaves form a whorl around the stem on the one you've shown?  It seems as though they probably do but it's not completely clear.  The lower lip of the flower of the plant you posted is rather different in form from ours too, it seems.   I posted some pics of our native form (though growing in my garden) over on a different thread; rather than interrupt  your thread, I'll just post the link, if I can - the photos of O. splendens are toward the bottom of the page and I've added one to show leaf detail:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3214.30


EDIT to add:  As I look at the pictures posted at RMRP, I'm becoming deeply confused!  The leaves on that plant seem to be arranged sticking out perpendicular along the stem length - or perhaps I should say held in a single plane, perpendicular to the stem axis - there should be at least some that whorl around the stem, but I don't see it; even those close to the inflorescence look perpendicular to the stem, rather than whorled?? 

[Sinchets]

Lori, I am looking at your pic just now and comparing it to mine. I must say yours looks much like the pic of O.splendens I have just found in one of my Field Guides to North American Wild Flowers. So at this point I am wondering what mine is. As I said mine was from seed of a plant i bought at an AGS show, where it came from I don't know. Your plants is pretty amazing though!

[Lori S.]

One of my favorite plants!  I will collect seeds this summer, if you would like some?  (I just checked - I don't have any left from last year.)   I'll also send some for the seed exchange (assuming it's allowed to send locoweed seeds to Scotland; I could not send them to the NARGS exchange due to US seed import rules).

[Lori S.]

I amuse myself with dreams of a lawn spangled with dandelions in differnent colors, to the consternation of all who behold it.

Rodger, I'm sure the passers-by think I'm a lousy weeder when they see Hieracium villosum in bloom in our front boulevard (though I doubt they notice it when it's not in bloom)... another pretty thing to add to a dandelion-ish collection, with which to frighten the neighbors.   

[Sinchets]

Lori, I never say no to seed! Is there anything I can send in return?
I had another look at the leaves of my O.'splendens', in the clear light of day, they aren't really whorled-. The best i can describe it is as ,2 leaflets at 90degrees to each other, with another 2 leaflets slightly up the stem on the opposite side. Does this help?
I love Hieracium villosum after the rain. I first grew it as a teenager, when I lived with my parents, they still have in 'hard to weed' cracks in the concrete around the edges of their patio. I have a small patch here from seed and hope it will take over an old brick wall eventually. 

[Sinchets]

Today the first flowers on Hedysarum pulchrum began to open. A hot colour for a hot garden!

[Ragged Robin]

Today the first flowers on Hedysarum pulchrum began to open. A hot colour for a hot garden!

How extraordinarily fascinating - would love to know more about this hot plant 

[Sinchets]

Sorry to say that all I know about this plant is that the seed was collected at 3800m in the Pamir mountains by Josef Jurasek. The plants itself is one year old and survived a winter under snow for 3 months following a hot dry summer. 

[Ragged Robin]

Sorry to say that all I know about this plant is that the seed was collected at 3800m in the Pamir mountains by Josef Jurasek. The plants itself is one year old and survived a winter under snow for 3 months following a hot dry summer. 

I had a feeling it was extraordinary, thanks simon for the story so far...