What do you see on your garden walks? 2012

[Hoy]

I can't find the label although I am sure I put it somewhere. I think it was Penstemon superbus 'Rick R'. I'll report on hardiness next year!

You just won't stop the charade, Trond!  Fun, but I'm on to you, though... 

I thought that bacopa was extra nice, too.  The white form has been around for decades here, but only now is it catching on with the general gardener.

I'll shut up now, Rick!

It's the second flush on that Bacopa. It flowered in June and beginning of July and had a break in late July. Then started again in August!

[Todd Boland]

Been a while since I stepped in...been too busy to breathe this summer.  Here are a few Gentians which are currently open.  G. decumbens, G. macrophylla and G. walujewii var. kesselringii

[Todd Boland]

A couple of alliums....good ole A. flavum and A. togasii

[McDonough]

Been a while since I stepped in...been too busy to breathe this summer.  Here are a few Gentians which are currently open.  G. decumbens, G. macrophylla and G. walujewii var. kesselringii

MMMmm, I like each and every one of those Gentians!  But I particularly like the light blue blooms on the last one (G. walujewii), contrasting with the spotted yellowish centers and brownish-purple tipped buds.

In my garden, it would be impossible for Allium flavum and A. togasii (also spelled togashii) to bloom at the same time, A. flavum blooms starting the end of June into July, and togasii starts late August and into September, your season must be very contracted to have them bloom together.

[RickR]

That light blue gentian is also my favorite.

  How it comes up with that arrangement of open blooms is a mystery to me.

[cohan]

Nice Gentians, Todd, I like A flavum, too..

[Todd Boland]

Delphinium grandiflorum..amazed the slugs missed this one!  Blooming first year from seed.  Inula rhizocephala..slugs DO love the blossoms.  Guess blooming the first year from seed means its monocarpic.  And my newest addition, the hardy Impatiens omeiana.

[Spiegel]

Todd, I've grown Inula rhizocephala before, but don't recall it having much longevity and I was away when it produced seed.  How long has it lasted for you?  Should you ever have extra seed, please think of me.

[Todd Boland]

My understanding is that Inula rhizocephala is monocarpic....I have two plants...one blooming, the other appears to be waiting until next year.  I saw it first in Lori's garden...maybe she will comment in regards to how long her's lived.

[Lori S.]

I've actually had Inula rhizocephala last for multiple years (I'm guessing ~3? - not a long time, but not monocarpic though) as well - that was with the original plants I had out along the sidewalk in regular soil.  I also heard one account of it being perennial here in another garden.  The plants I later put in phase 1 of the tufa garden did act as monocarps... not sure if that was due to excessive moisture in that area (a low spot, underlain by rich soil).

[cohan]

Great looking Impatiens, Todd!

[Todd Boland]

I have a blooming mystery Aquilegia.  Sown from seed this year as A. parviflora but while the flower is minute, it is not that species.  I cannot find anything in Nold's book that comes close.  I am thinking a hybrid between viridiflora and one of the canadensis types, based on size and shape.

[Bundraba!]

  I'll apologize in advance for this rather blighted post. It may not be suitable for all audiences.

Erigeron compositus, Centaurea simplissicaulis, Eriogonum flavum 'xanthum': The fungus/mold fibers were quite evident on the last. below: Are these ants (termites) foraging on the fungus that attacks alpines? They are pouring out of this blighted cushion of Saxifraga bronchialis. Some plants survive the fungus period. Others do not. In some cases I'm able to out fox or out propagate the attrition rate or, at least, it seems to seem so.

The Psylid (on sunflower leaf) that makes growing the Aster family (most) an ugly challenge in my garden. There have been curious, usually brief, exceptions.

Finally here is a conundrum, one of many we face. These Asarum europeum are growing side by side. In the second photo; Shortia galacifolia planted in my experimental "New Sand Barren". Some green is beginning to creep into the sickly yellow leaves. I've been applying a gravel and crushed stone (feldspar?) as well as some peat to the barren sand. The yellowing might be due to excessive nutrient (and magnesium) in the soil or other imbalance.
 
I do see this stuff on my garden walks.

[Bundraba!]

A rare instance: This sage brush (Bighorn Mountains, 2004) seems less prone to Psylid attack than many other plants on the garden. I think its the pewter shepherd dog!


Here's a nice little late blooming buckwheat backed by Satureja montana.


The odd flower on Iris suaveolens 'rubromarginata'.


Three little Western peas grown from 2009 seed. They will all bloom gloriously next year of course. The third is an orophaca and (all/any) up there pretty high on my "must grow" list.


Three agaves that survived last winter. The last, planted right at the south foot of my house has come through two winters. Note two tiny pups off of the first. It is planted in a crevice pocket with probably scant root run due to construction. I consider these a horticultural stunt to trump sage brush but a fun idea! They are: First is from SW New Mexico at 8500' or so (estimate). The other two hail from central Arizona (8000' estimate). The Arizona population seems just a bit tougher. I've just now obtained another try at A. utahensis which grows yet farther to the north and west.


Anemonopsis macrophylla

[cohan]

Must be a pain to lose so much growth on slow-growing plants!
I've never heard of that pest on Asteraceae 
Nice to see the other set of plants still thriving- great sage brush, and the Agaves are looking good, what species are they?