Flowering now July 2007

[Maggi Young]

"The Silverhills Seeds people" are Rod and Rachel Saunders, Paddy. Charming folk and interesting speakers, we had the pleasure of some talks in Scotland a year or two ago.

[Brian Ellis]

Yes Lesley the sweet pea is an annual,  I think it one of the best but only a little one!  We saw it at Sylvia Norton's (National Collection of Lathyrus) and it was about two foot tall.  Mine has reached the dizzy heights of 16" I think in a better year - mine got off to a bad start - it can reach four foot, but what a belter!!

Thanks to both Lesley and Fermi, the Watsonia will, I am sure be kept in check by the weather - especially at the moment.

Paul it is as orange as it looks, I keep it going in the cold greenhouse over the winter and plant it out for the summer.  This year I decided to put a couple of plants together in a pot and am very pleased with the result.  It was difficult to get the colour right for the puya, the descriptions we gave it ranged from kingfisher to petrol blue ... and I would be more than happy to have Galanthus flowering now

[Carlo]

Brian,

Love that pea! Where'd you find your seed? (L. belinensis)

Carlo

[Brian Ellis]

I had two sources of the seed - Sylvia Norton the National Collection Holder has limited amounts, and John & Brenda Foster.  I hope to have a few seed this year and will bulk up for next.

[PaulM]

Roger Parsons Sweet Peas is a source for Lathyrus belinensis

http://www.rpsweetpeas.co.uk/OtherLaths.htm

[PaulM]

Here are some current pictures from Sweden

Onopordum messeniacum with a very limited distribution in southern Greece, flowering the second year from seed obtained from the Gothenburg Botanic Garden.


It has very spiny stems and the leaves are rather narow and spiny as well. It has a slender shape and doesn't take up as much room as many of the other species.


Salvia staminea, which is a trustworthy perennial, collected in Cappadocia in 2003


Antirrhinum nuttallianum ssp nuttallianum from California


and last pictures show the first flower of Azorina vidalii, which is from a plant raised from seed in 2005

[Rob]

Some photos from the garden today

I have retouched the water lily to make it a slightly darker yellow than it is in real life.

The cyclamen is one I got last year which lives in a raised bed and is meant to be hardy. Cyclamen hederifolium is also starting to flower in the same raised bed.

The tricyrtis hirta is in a pot on the patio, but the one in the garden has loads of buds and will open in the next day or two

[David Nicholson]

I've still got Cowslips flowering like mad, I'm sure they think it's March.

[gmoen]

Hi folks

Not so many plants in flower in the garden at the moment, but I took a few pictures to day:

1 Erodium chrysanthum
2 Zauschneria garrettii
3 Zigadenus elegans
4 Gentiana tibetica
5 Cremanthodium sp. From Szechuan, China.....any ideas???
6 Close up of Cremanthodium sp.
7 And finally, I have built a new "spot" in the garden from limestone. Mostly for Primulas..... (Yes, the uggly labels will be gone soon.....ha ha)

[mark smyth]

Geir that's a great looking rockery except for the white labels. Would you like a packet of black ones?

[gmoen]

No thanks Mark, I've got hundreds of them just have to write the names....

Did you get the Pulsatilla seeds yet ??

[mark smyth]

no seeds yet. I need to shift up a gear and get all my promises in to the post

[johanneshoeller]

Some photos from the weekend

Epipactis helleborine
Cyp. calceolus - damages / hail
Gentiana ?
Gentiana farreri? (seed from China)
Gentiana ?
Cyclamen eur.

Hans

[Susan Band]

Geir, lovely cremanthodium, don't know what it is though.

[Maggi Young]

Re that lovely, feathery Cremanthodium:
 I thought at first it might be C. brunneopilosum, but I think the leaves are too thin and small in Geir's plant for it to be this species.
See the AGS Bullletin, China Special, Volume 70 September 2002, pages 318- 320 for notes on Cremanthodium and Ligularia from China, by Hilary and John Birks.