Flowering Now - June 2009

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Paul,
By the looks of it it's quite vigorous - it has (in it's first year) slender stems of approx. 25-30 cm long - lying down - as such the aspect of the plant is only 10 cm high - the leaves are narrow and some 3 cm long - a little spikey also.  You'll get a better idea when I post a picture of the whole plant .

[Paul T]

Thanks for the info, Luc. 

[Sinchets]

Flowering here now:
Two colour forms of Knautia sylvatica collected as seed in the Pyrenees
A tall yellow Scabiosa ochroleuca

[Rodger Whitlock]

Well Paul, it comes from Mexico. Think desert!

Mexico is a country of great climatic and floristic diversity, by no means all desert. Here are a couple of very informative books on the Mexican landscape:

"Mexico's Sierra Madre" by Donald Dale Jackson & Peter Wood, 1975, ISBN 7054 0169 3

"Mexico's Baja California" by William Weber Johnson, 1972, no ISBN

Both were published in the Time-Life series "The World's Wild Places" and neither should be at all rare or costly.

[cohan]

Well Paul, it comes from Mexico. Think desert!

Mexico is a country of great climatic and floristic diversity, by no means all desert. Here are a couple of very informative books on the Mexican landscape:

i imagine lesley was rather joking anyway, but indeed tremendous diversity in both plants and habitats in mexico: from well watered areas including seasonally wet tropical forest, to dry forests, indeed deserts (and many semi to arid places, for sure!) to rather temperate forests etc etc..the country is quite mountainous in many parts, so there is a great deal of variation due to rainshadow effects--in a relatively short distance, i've passed through areas of near desert (xerophytic bromeliads, cactus, agave etc), climbed higher to reach deciduous then coniferous forest (or vice versa? forget now..) then come over the other side of the mountain to tropical forest, epiphytes growing on power lines etc......

[Ragged Robin]

On my meadow slope in front of the chalet, a new flush of wild flowers enjoying the sun this morning - coppers and brown butterflies everywhere but flitting too quickly to catch - wonder where their pit stops are?

[Paul T]

Nice, Robin.  I love the pink Malvaceae in the middle, and that lovely yellow one you posted first (I immediately thought Verbascum, but flower not quite right I think).  Lovely!!  So exotic to mention that they were in front of the "chalet".  Coming from a limited snow country a chalet is most definitely VERY exotic. 

[Lvandelft]

Lovely alpine meadow flowers Robin.

When I was at a plant fair ten days ago I saw this Dahlia offered in pots...

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks for your comments, Paul, yes we are lucky to have so many beautiful wild flowers just on our doorstep!  Photo one is indeed a Verbascum that is very tall - the earlier ones are smaller - to give you an idea here is another one not yet out that grows in the same spot every year. Fortunately this year I have been able to encourage 'no strimming' so we have enjoyed a succession of flowers and grasses!  Next year I hope once the slope has reseeded it will be an even better display  

[Ragged Robin]

Lovely alpine meadow flowers Robin.

When I was at a plant fair ten days ago I saw this Dahlia offered in pots...

My namesake looks lovely Luit - thanks for thinking of me - I really like the simple Dahlias 

[Sinchets]

Flowering here now:
Clematis vitalba on the main gate
Campanula carpatica- the first flower on a plant in the woodland area

[Lori S.]

Lovely pictures, Robin!  I wonder which verbascum that is?  (I really like verbascums, an interest for which I pay dues, i. e. much weeding out of multitudes of verbascum seedlings!)

1) Wonderfully bizarre colouration on Canna 'TropiCanna'
2) Helenium hoopesii (a southerly Great Plains native), which should have been blooming a month ago, with Salvia pratensis.
3) A beautiful thug, Phalaris arundinacea 'Feesey's Form' (which I have confined within a cut-off pot)
4) Rosa primula... not the best show this year; in better shows, it forms cylinders of flowers around the stem - interesting that it's hardy here.
5)  Salix x boydii, and Salix retusa.
6) Spiraea triloba
7) Rosa spinosissima
8 ) Echium russicum.

[Sinchets]

I have been trying to record some of the Nepeta I have here- sorryfor the pic quality- small flowers and hard to focus 
Firstly the ones I do know:
Nepeta laevigata
Nepeta heliotropifolia
Nepeta clarkei
Nepeta sibirica

[Michael J Campbell]

Can someone ID this Campanula plrease,It is from seed labeled as Carpatica blue clips.
 
1 Campanula flower?
2 Campanula plant ?
3 Campanula foliage ?

4 A little plant of Campanula sartorii

[Sinchets]

Can someone ID this Campanula plrease,It is from seed labeled as Carpatica blue clips.
 
1 Campanula flower?
2 Campanula plant ?
3 Campanula foliage ?

4 A little plant of Campanula sartorii

Maybe Campanula alliariifolia  or C.makaschvilii?