March 2010 Northern Hemisphere

[cohan]

you seem to have lots of tiny beauties..

I have not much space Cohan . So I have to go for the smaller ones.
And I also like hard and harsh conditions wich means compact plants.

i am familiar with limited space--its what i have indoors where i have grown for years, but i also just find the tiny plants more interesting; outside now i have lots of space, so i will grow some large things for impact in the landscape, but the small things among the rocks will always have my heart!

[Lori S.]

down with the romans!

Saxifraga Peach Melba now covered in flowers.

Wow, spectacular!!

With a bright sunny day, after snow over night, the bulbocodium have opened!!  
Cohan, unfortunately, they are hard to find here.  I got 2 bulbs only, many years ago - can't remember if they did happen to be available at a local garden center, or if I ordered from a bulb specialist (if so, likely Bradner in BC, taken over long ago by Botanus).  The only place I know of that currently sells them is Fraser's Thimble Farm ($5 each  ).

[WimB]

Flowering here now:

Corydalis shanginii ssp. ainae
and Ypsilandra ca-valerei cavaleriei (thanks for the name correction, Giles)

[Tony Willis]

Wim you are way ahead of me,my Ypsilandra is not out of winter dormancy yet.

Here are a couple of Asrum splendens. Whilst the first seems to be true I wonder about the second which I purchased some years ago from Denmark.

[arisaema]

Here are a couple of Asrum splendens. Whilst the first seems to be true I wonder about the second which I purchased some years ago from Denmark.

The top one looks a bit like A. magnificum, are the leaves glossy?

[JPB]

Flowering here now:

Corydalis shanginii ssp. ainae
and Ypsilandra ca-valerei cavaleriei (thanks for the name correction, Giles)

Wim, are these flowering in your garden now?

[WimB]

Flowering here now:

Corydalis shanginii ssp. ainae
and Ypsilandra ca-valerei cavaleriei (thanks for the name correction, Giles)

Wim, are these flowering in your garden now?

Yes, they are 

[Lesley Cox]

Saxifraga 'Peach Melba' is a beauty indeed. I'm sure even the lady herself would have admired it though I believe she was most attracted to Acacia.

[cohan]

With a bright sunny day, after snow over night, the bulbocodium have opened!!  
Cohan, unfortunately, they are hard to find here.  I got 2 bulbs only, many years ago - can't remember if they did happen to be available at a local garden center, or if I ordered from a bulb specialist (if so, likely Bradner in BC, taken over long ago by Botanus).  The only place I know of that currently sells them is Fraser's Thimble Farm ($5 each  ).

now that is some spring
i haven't actually searched for them, but should do so--i think early flowers are the most important of the year! i'm just making do with cacti flowering on the windowsill
maybe i will be lucky and someone has been bulking up a batch to sell just when i get around to it....

[Ragged Robin]

Wim, does Ypsilandra cavaleriei have a dark green or purple tinged leaf ?  It's very attractive, I've never heard of it before and would like to know a bit more 

[WimB]

Wim, does Ypsilandra cavaleriei have a dark green or purple tinged leaf ?  It's very attractive, I've never heard of it before and would like to know a bit more  

Robin,

it's a shade plant which is native to China, it's from the family of the Liliaceae or the Melanthiaceae (it depends on the taxonomist). It grows from a rhizome and has very dark green narrow leaves (a lot darker and narrower then the other one which I've seen in cultivation, Ypsilandra thibetica). In total this family has 5 described species, according to the flora of China and IPNI. The leaves got a purple tinge after the last frost, normally they stay green.
Here it grows under the shade of an old cherry tree, in a soil to which I have added a lot of leaf mould.

[Tony Willis]

Here are a couple of Asrum splendens. Whilst the first seems to be true I wonder about the second which I purchased some years ago from Denmark.

The top one looks a bit like A. magnificum, are the leaves glossy?

No the leaves are not glossy but they are old and will die of soon.I will look at the new leaves when they emerge.

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks for all your info Wim - Ypsilandra cavaleriei is a lovely plant and I can just imagine it under your old cherry tree  I will look out for it in future as we have two cherry trees here.

[Sinchets]

Flowering here now around melting snow patches in the Chepan mountains of western Bulgaria is Adonis vernalis. The first flower is always at ground level, but the stems will elongate later as the grass around them grows.

[WimB]

Thanks for all your info Wim - Ypsilandra cavaleriei is a lovely plant and I can just imagine it under your old cherry tree   I will look out for it in future as we have two cherry trees here.

Robin, it's a shame mine is still so small, if it were any bigger I would have sent you a piece.

Here's another plant flowering now, a very young Hacquetia epipactis 'Thor'