Plants flowering in the open rock garden- July 09

[Sinchets]

Flowering now- excuse the lack of close-ups- the camera doesn't like this colour- although I do!
Delphinium cardinale and
Ipomopsis aggregata macrosiphon

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Nice red coloured Delphinium Simon ! 
Don't know about others, but in my garden there's very little red around at this time of year..  a lot of blue though... every season seems to have it's main colour here 

[ranunculus]

Nice red coloured Delphinium Simon ! 
Don't know about others, but in my garden there's very little red around at this time of year..  a lot of blue though... every season seems to have it's main colour here 

Yes, Luc ... in the U.K. it is green!   

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Well that's a surprise Cliff ! 

[Ragged Robin]

What a great colour, Simon, red hot and gorgeous - i have never seen a Delphinium this colour before (competition for Cliff's poppies  )

[fermi de Sousa]

Flowering now- excuse the lack of close-ups- the camera doesn't like this colour- although I do!
Delphinium cardinale and
Ipomopsis aggregata macrosiphon

I'm with you, Simon, I love the colour on these
How are you growing them? Are they reliably perennial or do you need to re-start from seed each year?
cheers
fermi

[Lori S.]

I'm keenly interested to hear the answer too, re. Ipomopsis miacrosiphon!  (Used to be Gilia aggregata var. macrosiphon...)
I bought a couple of seedlings in 2006; they bloomed a little in 2007, were spectacular all season long in 2008, and are AWOL this year!  
I'm devastated...

RIP, Ipomopsis macrosiphon.
  

[Sinchets]

The information I could find was that Ipomopsis aggregata is a biennial. The two forms I have were grown from seed last year, they overwintered as rosettes (which I believe can be a problem in wet winter climates) and flowered this year. The first one I had- a pinker form has already been and gone. The red one is in full flower now. I intend to collect some seed as insurance and see if I can get the rest to self sow into the scree bed where the parents are. Ithink they may be shortlived perennials in some areas. The Ipomopsis longiflora I posted is said to be a biennial too, it flowered last autumn as well as this summer. I think they may be plants which 'flower themselves to death'.
I am not sure if the Delphinium will be perennial either. The seeds germinated last sping. They were planted out and went dormant over the summer. The rosettes overwintered under snow and one patch of them is now flowering. I think the other group I planted may be intoo dry a position, but i have more pots from this springs germinations waiting to be planted. It would be lovely if they were perennial, but from seed to 2m tall and flowering in 18months isn't too bad. I am hoping that will they self sow too, but will also save seeds for sowing next year. 
They both seem wonderful plants for a continental or mediterranean type climate. Have you grown them in Australia Fermi?
It does seem strange the name change from macro to microsiphon- surely it's one thingor the other 
Flowering now:
Geranium renardii

[fermi de Sousa]

They both seem wonderful plants for a continental or mediterranean type climate. Have you grown them in Australia Fermi?

Sadly, no!
But I have got Delphinium luteum to flower and self sow in the shadehouse; maybe this year it's time to try it in a raised bed outside.
I have grown one of the Ipomopsis which I posted to the Forum a long time ago but it looks to be monocarpic_ I just hope that it's self fertile and some of the seed will germinate.
cheers
fermi

[Ragged Robin]

Simon, Geranium renardii is a lovely plant for the leaf shape and colour and the way it forms a hummock and although the flower is pale each one has wonderful markings and the both the CU and side view photo show it beautifully

[Sinchets]

Thanks, Robin- the camera likes flowers with good contrast of colours.
Fermi, how cold are you in winter there?

[Lori S.]

Sorry, Simon - the "microsiphon" was a spelling error on my part; should have been "macrosiphon".

[Sinchets]

Sorry, Simon - the "microsiphon" was a spelling error on my part; should have been "macrosiphon".

No worries then- I make enough of those too 

[Lori S.]

Thanks for the info/observations on the ipomopsis, Simon.

In the crevice garden and troughs....
1) A baby Catananche caespitosa
2) Heterotheca jonesii
3) Saponaria suendermannii... not blooming so heavily this year as previously.  (I don't get it... for once, the plants get snow cover... you'd think they'd be happy!)
4) Asperula gussonei

[Lesley Cox]

I tried Delphinium cardinale some years ago but it always died after flowering, rather like the little red nudicaule, and rarely set seed so I lost it altogether after 3 or 4 years.

The form of Asperula gussonii we have is a much deeper pink than your Lori. I quite like that almost white.