Bulb Log 16/05/'07

[Paddy Tobin]

Ian,

Your paving slab raised beds seem to have been a great success. My initial impression, from your comments during the past week, was that they would look very 'boxy' but you have overcome that by building beside them to disguise the bulk of the slab beds.

Despite my admiration of your success with the slab raised beds I think the shallow stone troughs are just the thing, really good ones. Are these the ones you made yourself? If so, how did you go about it?

Paddy

[Anthony Darby]

Fiendishly difficult to make these ones Paddy. I seem to remember something about flame throwers and hot knives, but enough about keeping Maggi focussed on this Saturday.

[Maggi Young]

Well, I've just about stop chuckling now, Anthony. Thanks for that, an excellent stress reliever! It's not all Beer and Skittles, sitting here trying to persuade folks from a' the airts and pairts to send some plants to the show! There's a fair amount of Crabbies Green Ginger and Maltesers involved ,too.

The rather smart ( yes, we are pretty pleased with them, too) granite troughs that Paddy mentions  were made by Ian using discarded flagstones from the streets of Aberdeen. Being made of granite, these flagstones tend to be rather deeper than such things would ordinarily be and so afford enough depth to allow their conversion to a shallow trough. This is indeed a tricky business, since they are not of even depth and granite is tough stuff! Ian will doubtless explain his technique with these in a later log. Suffice it to say, it is unwise to challenge the bearded skinny one to an arm-wrestling contest!

Off now to purchase supplies for the show....tea, coffee .... enough ingredients for many gallons of home-made soup... just the usual Show Secretary stuff! Wish I'd asked Fermi if he can cook !

[t00lie]

Ian --I have a similar Zigadenus as yours which was raised from seed as Z. fremontii .However i'm no authority and a quick google search shows fremontii as your pic as well as variations where the flower colour is fully yellow.

At the stage where the numerous side stalks holding immature flowers are all still together in a tight cluster reminds me some what of a Camassia sps.

Cheers  Dave.

[Maggi Young]

Yes, Dave, we do have Zigadenus fremontii... but I didn't think this one was that! They are fairly similar

As to the resemblence to Camassia... which of course, the native Americans used to eat, the Zigadenus are called "Death Camas".... bit of a clue there, methinks!

If you are correct, and why wouldn't you be, then this is fremontii and the other, not out yet, or even flowering size, I think, is most likely Z. nuttallii... unless, it is Z. elegans!!

[Ian Y]

Paddy as Maggi has already said those troughs are carved from granite.
This involved cutting around the hole with a stone cutting disc saw and then a lot of hard work carving out everything inside that cut line with the trusty hammer and chisel I showed in the log.
Nothing as easy as a flame thrower and a hot knife Anthony.
Ah Dave, Z.fremontii does ring a bell now you mention it, thanks.

[Lesley Cox]

Off now to purchase supplies for the show....tea, coffee .... enough ingredients for many gallons of home-made soup... just the usual Show Secretary stuff! Wish I'd asked Fermi if he can cook !

I don't know about cook Maggi, but he sure can eat!

[Susan Band]

In the garden of Dr Oldrich Maixner he had loads of stone troughs, many he had made himself by cutting them from LARGE lintels and chunks of stone. Maybe it helps being a dentist, lots of practice with drills and chisels.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Great sight of the Calochortus Ian !
They look just as I saw them some years ago in their natural habitat of dried up grasses in the US ! (except for the red labels of course  )
Thanks for another great log !