Haut Chitelet Alpine Garden (France)

[Yann]

superbe Philippe!

[astragalus]

Beautiful combination, Philippe, you are giving everyone new ideas.  But it's the leucogynes that has won my heart.

[Philippe]

Philippe does Haut Chitelet do a seed distribution? You grow some stunning plants.

Seeds are harvested indeed. The list is sent to other botanical gardens in the world, with which the Nancy botanical garden is working.

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August 2016, update 5, part 1

The garden is now gently finding its way toward fall. Birches begin to lose their first leaves, as they always do each year when summer last third begins. In addition, we recently had a really windy foggy and rainy day. It felt curious to see the leaves blown by the wind gales, as if it was already october.

Fortunately, it's precisely during this last summer month, august, that quite a number of plants finaly decide to get into flowers



Aciphylla pinnatifida

NOt this one because it's still too young to produce any flowering stem and would anyway flower earlier in the season, but again, what an architectural plant from NZ! It forms small tufts of prickly deep green foliage. It shouldn't get too big, and that's right so, weeding amongst such aggressive plants is no pleasure for the fingers/hands




Craspedia sp.

Lovely rounded heads of white tiny flowers make this NZer another captivating and far more gentle plant.

As usual a detour in the asian beds is worth it, particularly at that time of the year, where there are still many things to look after.




Anemone rivularis

That plant surely lacks true garden prestance with its bold leaves and leggy stems carrying comparatively few little flowers. In this case, closer inspection reveals all the beauty hidden in that superficially common aspect: petals are white on the upper surface, tinged with purple under and the filaments bear surprising blue anthers.

 


Codonopsis subscaposa

Tens of hanging veined bells in the chinese bed.





Corydalis mucronipetala

From general flower appearance really like a C.cashmeriana, only happily flowering so much later, when the first has already almost gone dormant for the rest of the season. A precious addition to the bed, as that pure blue tone is rather rare at this time of the year ( after the Meconopsis and before the start of the glorious chinese gentians). A plant to propagate generously!

[Philippe]

August 2016, update 5, part 2


Still hanging around between China and Himalaya



Cyananthus macrocalyx, taking flight from the more frequent lilac and mauve colours of the majority of the other genus members. It seelfseeds profusely but doesn't become nuisible, as long as the neighbours are carefully chosen.




A pleasant scene from the Himalaya bed with Leontopodium stracheyi, the absolutely gorgeous Aster farreri, Potentilla eriocarpa, and different Primulas in the background. One last one Rheum alexandrae ends the ripening of scarce seeds under the protection of the beautiful hanging bracts.




Meconopsis napaulensis

I don't know how it looks on your screens, but it is in reality far less red than it is, on my screen at least. The camera had some problem with the colour it seems. What a pity, such a lovely red would perfectly fit to one of the big monocarpic Meconopsis isn't it?





Primula bulleyana

Happy with nothing at all, only water at the roots.





Primula poissonii

Also only wanting to send its roots into waterlogged acidic soil.

[Philippe]

August 2016, update 5, part 3


Still in Asia.



Saxifraga moorcroftiana

No real scoop, but a charming small yellow Saxifraga, so different from what is generally seen in the european beds for example.





Lilium mackliniae

Has just joined the himalayan bed a few days ago after having flowered for the first time in the propagation area, alone in its straight planted line between lilies and other monocots.

Such a beauty has to enhance other surrounding beauties in the geographic bed! It will not be far away from Nomocharis aperta, Geum elatum, Rhododendron anthopogon and other things from the Himalaya/China. Hoping the best for next season then!





The statuesque Lilium taliense

Reaching over 1.50m high now and beginning to flower. What a spectacle, and what a fragrance!

Let's leave the himalayan range and head towards north-east.



Thalictrum rochebrunianum from Corea.

I hesitated when taking the pic: the lovely violet small balls or waiting untill they open and show the spreading light yellow stamens?





Dicentra peregrina from adjacent eastern siberian mountains and Japan.

As the place seems to really please him,  why not consider building a "scree like setting" with stony soil surface  and planting many others amongst the rocks? But propagation is long and not always easy...

[Philippe]

August 2016, update 5, part 4


Into Europe now.



Digitalis purpurea

Quite a plague in the garden because of it endless seedlings even years and years and years after the mother plant has died, if accidentaly left to seed production untill the end...But in places it can overwhelm, it surely makes a beautiful display. Here trying to mimic the colour combinations of Dicentra peregrina we've just seen before.





The bed dedicated to some of the typical Vosges plants. Exceptionnal blossom of Gentiana lutea this year. I guess next season will be very poor, but anyway, there sure will be other things

Ripening inflorescences have to be cut before seeds is formed, otherwise, you earn too many opportunities to get hybrids which don't fit in the Vosges bed. On the other hand, that's precisely this way that interesting garden strains are created ( as it happened some years ago with an almost orange hybrid!)





Campanula thyrsoides ssp.carniolica

 A variation of the type species thrysoides, which comes from the eastern end of the Alps, with flowers more witish than yellowish. The spikes are even taller, if possible, than C.thyrsoides!





Gentiana purpurea

I love this simple gentian for its delicate and almost appetizing colour! It also has a light fragrance which is really pleasant.





Let's not leave the Alps without taking a look at the famous Edelweiss ( now Leontopodium nivale ssp.alpinum)

[Philippe]

August 2016, update 5, part 5




Iris latifolia, from the Pyrénées




Campanula carpatica var.turbinata.

The pic doesn't  give it justice, but one has to see the really huge bowl shaped flowers which almost hide the whole plant at flowering peak.





Stachys discolor, from the Caucasus





A view from the Caucasus giant mountain perennials





Cremanthodium nepalense

I must say if that wasn't a Cremanthodium, I wouldn't have add that pic to the update in last minute
I must also confess that by first quick weeding in this area early in June, I mistakenly pulled the plant brutally out of the ground with the hand, thinking these small emerging leaves were some common weed...Only when I saw the long white roots I understood I had really done s...t!
Fortunately, it didn't take umbrage from this unacceptable rough treatment!

Next update will most probably be the last one of the season. LAte august or during september.

[ashley]

Beautiful plants and photos Philippe, as always.
I love this thread.

[astragalus]

Your garden is so lovely, Philippe, and so varied.  Dicentra peregrina looks so healthy as do all the beautiful plants you are photographing. Please keep contributing photos - your garden makes my day.

[Gabriela]

Same as Ashley, Philippe

[Philippe]

New season 2017 is about to begin now.
We just drove today to the alpine garden to bring material and others things. No snow anywhere left . It went quite early during late march after a very snow poor winter. However, recent cold weather really stopped the plant growth.
No picture for today, but new posts about the garden should come in the next days

[Maggi Young]

Some of your snow has been falling here in the last two days, Philippe!

[Philippe]

Some of your snow has been falling here in the last two days, Philippe!

Hey you don't really think we were going to let Scotland tame this way an alpine garden high up in the Vosges!



Fresh snow these last both days. Looks like there are masses of it with this pic, but "not more" than 20 to 25cm this morning.
A good thing though, it lets some precious time for last indoor activities before the rush outhere starts for real.
Snowmelt began steadily today with the meanwhile strong late april sun. Let's see how much there will be left on monday for the new workweek. Hopefully few enough to let awakening plants show again after that late and last (?) cold sleep

[Maggi Young]

    Thankfully, we did not get that much.    You are welcome to it really!

[Leucogenes]

hold out...Philippe