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

[Armin]

Also from today
Dianthus plumarius praecox
An Arenaria sp- name lost in the mists of time
Penstemon confertus
Penstemon arenicola

Simon,
your lost name "Arenaria" looks to me like "Saponaria ocymoides".
Nice Dianthus plumarius praecox.

[Sinchets]

Thanks, Armin. I am sure it is an Arenaria. I've grown Saponaria ocymoides before in my parent's garden. Glad you like the Dianthus.
Also from today:
Dracocephalum heterophyllum (white flowered form)
Dracocephalum multicaule setigerum
Myosotis australis (?)

[Lesley Cox]

Also from today
Dianthus plumarius praecox
An Arenaria sp- name lost in the mists of time
Penstemon confertus
Penstemon arenicola

Simon,
your lost name "Arenaria" looks to me like "Saponaria ocymoides".
Nice Dianthus plumarius praecox.

To me, it seems to be Arenaria montana. Yes?

[Lesley Cox]

Do the hothouse calceolarias have some kind of a tuberous root maybe? I've only grown hardy types which all are herbaceous including the woollly leaved, purple flowered C. arachnoidea.

[Lori S.]

A yellow myosotis - amazing!  (New to me, at any rate. 

[Lesley Cox]

A species native to New Zealand Lori. There are several others as well as many whites and some brown/bronze colours too.

[cohan]

Also from today:
Silene araratica
Silene viscariopsis
Silene caryophylloides subulata
Dianthus pyrenaicus

i like the silenes--we have one of the european agricultural weeds, and i rather like it...lol...would be nice to have something a bit less aggressive but with those nice inflated flowers...

[Sinchets]

Thanks, Lesley- thanks yes I see it could be Arenaria montana. I've never purposefully grown the species, but had a few (with very exciting names) from a seed exchange. Most of them were lacklustre, this is the seed from one of the better ones. Unfortunately, by the time I came to harvest seed there was no label left to id its supposed parent.
Cohan, the Silene caryophylloides subulata is an interesting one in my books. It grew to form a small cushion last summer, then spent autumn looking like a cross between a bird's nest and a tumbleweed- completely dead looking. As soon as the snow went it 'resurrected' with new rosettes growing from the centre of the old ones.
Flowering at the moment:
Onosma echioides
Verbascum dumulosum

[Luc Gilgemyn]

You just keep pulling the gems out of your secret drawer Simon
Great variation of alpines !  simply glorious !
That Verb. dumolosum (not hardy out here unfortunately  ) looks superb ! (as do many other plants !)

[Sinchets]

Thanks, Luc. The Verbascum dumulosum was outside all winter, but under snow. There were a few thaws when I thought I would lose it as the leaves were very soggy and sad. V.arcturus didn't make it- but I will try it again in a different location.
Flowering now:
Astragalus arnottianus (Flores&Watson 11267)- showing pods aat the front and flowers behind- this one is from Chile via JJA
Hypericum orientale (?)

[Lori S.]

Verbascum dumulosum is hardy here for me, in zone 3 with no consistent snow cover; have had it out in the front yard for several years now.

Terrific plants, Simon.  I'm amazed to see plants blooming there that will take another 2 months here!

[Ragged Robin]

Stranger and stranger......markings on the seed pods of your Astragalus arnottianus - Would like to see the flower/plant more clearly if possible, Simon, I imagine it is quite small?

[Sinchets]

Lori, well done you with the Verbascum- fantastic to hear of it doing well in Zone3! I guess it's the winter wet it doesn't like. I have a fancy to cross it with V.purpureum if possible- just to see if it would work and the colours of the offspring. 
Robin, sorry but the Astragalus flowers are too small for a good pic with our camera. If you like those seed pods wait for the ones on Astragalus ceramicus, which are forming just now. They are like something from the scenary of 'Lost in Space'- the original 1960's one. 

[Sinchets]

Flowering now:
Dracocephalum botryoides (seed from aplant bought at an AGS show)
Dianthus hybrid (my own seed collected from a plant grown from AGS labelled as D.subacaulis)

[Lesley Cox]

A super verbascum without a doubt. I've grown it under this name for a number of years but in the finish I think mine may be V. pestalozzae. Apparently the only real difference is that the undersides of the latter have tawny fur (lion-coloured) instead of grey. Mine is tawny.

Simon, do you by any chance have a picture of V. arcturus? I have some little woody plants which I grew from AGS seed as V. acaule (Celsia acaulis) but as soon as the seed arrived I knew they weren't. Hundreds of seeds instead of the expected dozen, tops, that I've previously had. They're dead-looking now but I expect will come away again in the spring. In any case I have some seed to sow. I once had a plant to about 15cms labelled as arcturus dwarf form and it was pretty similar (a bit more woolly) to my present ones which in bloom are about 20-25cms I'd like to know if they're arcturus or not.

Here's a picture, the first flowering. Last spring they were a bit bushier and it responds well to a good trim over after flowering.