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

[Rodger Whitlock]

Rodger, I was there [eastern Canada] in a hot summer- the humid heat sat over the area for weeks and even the wildlife was torpid. I am used to heat in Bulgaria, but here it is usually a drier heat.

You really ought to try the American southeast some summer. I imagine you'd end up chirping away on the forum about how Canada is a mere nothing when it comes to summer heat and humidity. There's a wealth of wonderful plants in the south, I should add: trilliums in variety, uvularias, Shortia galacifolia, Lousiana irises, all sorts of wonderful things. How many would be hardy in Bulgaria I don't know, but I suspect most wouldn't be.

By the way the stories of ticks here are overhyped you have to be 'lucky' to find one. 

From what I've read, it's Siberia where the ticks are truly ferocious and quite dangerous too as they carry encephalitis. We have them here, but the infested areas are rather localized. I've only run across two or three in nearly 40 years.

Maggiepie, my sister says she is still shocked by how much life seems to end in Montreal during the winter and then return after the snow has gone building up to a fever pitch of activity for the few months of summer.

Life in Canada has its moments. I've always been amused how the population here in BC welcomes the first hint of warmth in the spring by throwing off every stitch of clothing the law allows them to (and sometimes beyond what the law allows).

When I lived in Rochester, New York (climate similar to Montreal's, but not as cold in winter), the fall was always the season I most enjoyed being in the out of doors. Crisp, clear days, warm enough for comfort without ever being hot, and best of all no insects once the first frost had come. Plus the glorious fall foliage. Winter in Rochester was long and dreary, and spring came on rather sullenly, but fall was the season of light and the promise of renewed life at the end of winter.

[Sinchets]

You really ought to try the American southeast some summer. I imagine you'd end up chirping away on the forum about how Canada is a mere nothing when it comes to summer heat and humidity. There's a wealth of wonderful plants in the south, I should add: trilliums in variety, uvularias, Shortia galacifolia, Lousiana irises, all sorts of wonderful things. How many would be hardy in Bulgaria I don't know, but I suspect most wouldn't be.

We have plenty of Trillium and Uvularia here in the garden. As long as things die back to storage organs in summer and come up late in spring they seem quite happy here.
Never really thought of myself as a chirper, maybe I've been around the crickets too long.

[Sinchets]

Flowering today in the garden:
Aquilegia x micrantha (a hybrid of A.micrantha nd possiby A.elegantula)
Aquilegia nevadensis (seed from Jelitto where it wasn't listed as albino)
Aquilegia pyrenaica
Aquilegia atrata
Aquilegia flabellata (tall form)

[Sinchets]

Some Penstemons:
P.carnosus
P.kingii
P.duchesnensis
P.absarokensis

[Sinchets]

Some more Penstemon:
P.paysoniorum (posted before but the whole plant is in flower now)
P.caryi
P.aridus

[Sinchets]

The last ones for today:
Senecio canus
Stanleya pinnata

[maggiepie]

Lori you're welcome to all ours!!

John, I didn't realize NS had such variety in zones, sounds like you have one of the best spots.


Simon, I can relate to your sister, I think we must store all our energy during winter.
Your penstemons and aquiegias are wonderful btw.

Rodger, the people here shuck off their clothing as much as possible as soon as the sun comes out and it is above 10.
What I still don't understand totally is why even in winter when it can be -15C, if you are outside in a sheltered position and the sun is out, it feels warm.
I spent 8 months in the UK in 1980, arrived at the tail end of winter and they were the first people I had ever seen pull off their clothes when the sun came out even though it was really cold.
Australians go the opposite way, they rug up when the temps drop below 22 or so.

[Sinchets]

It's the same here. We might be in T-shirts, as it is in the high 20sCelsius, but are neighbours still have their woolies on until midsummer. It's what you get used to I guess- yesterday we had 25C in the shade today it will be warmer still. We are in the mountains- once you get down into theplains it is like being in an oven there in summer.

[ashley]

So many great things Simon.  Do you collect seed from your aquilegias, and if so how do you keep them 'pure'?

[Ragged Robin]

So many great things Simon.  Do you collect seed from your aquilegias, and if so how do you keep them 'pure'?

Same thoughts and question from me...I love the dark/purple aquilegias and had a lovely one that regenerated with slight variations - it was almost black, white double ruffled skirt and no spurs but I never found out what variety it was....

[Sinchets]

I am not sure how pure some of the Aquilegias are now. I have had A.atrata for a long time, maybe 20years. It still grows in my mother's garden, where it throws up different colours- deep purples and reds, but I have only collected seed from the darker ones. A.pyrenaica I have had for at least 10years-  they still seem similar to the ones I started with. A.flabellata never seems to change much over time either for me. I am not sure what will happen now I am growing some of the North American species close together, as we also have some McKana hybrids down in the nursery, but I will collect seed from them all and see what happens.

[Sinchets]

Well I guess I tempted fate- looking around the garden today I noticed the patch of Aquilegia pyrenaica shown in the picture now has a plae pink plant in with the purple ones. The flowers are the same shape, so I am not sure if this is a result of inbreeding or outbreeding.

[Sinchets]

We have had a lot of thunderstorms and rain over the last few days, but flowering now:
Penstemon payettensis
Penstemon virens
Penstemon eatonii eatonii - with Ornithogalum reverchonii to the left
Onosma alboroseum - a week later as flowers turn reddish

[Sinchets]

Oxytropis lambertii
Dianthus simulans
Ebenus longipes

[Paddy Tobin]

Simon,

Great selection of photographs. I think the texture on the flower of Ebenus longipes is perfectly beautiful.

Paddy