What do you see on your garden walks? 2012

[Lori S.]

Finally, a photo of Gentiana siphonantha with flowers opened:


Several of the Smelowskia calycina that I grew from local seed this winter are blooming in a very anomalous fashion, not at all how one sees them in the wild:

In the wild, for example:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=384.msg3761#msg3761

Edraianthus dalmaticus:


Another of Saxifraga paniculata v. minutifolia 'Red-backed Spider':


Saponaria x(?) suendermannii  (Hmm, I see that this name is not shown in The Plant List):


Cyananthus macrocalyx:

[RickR]

Whether you believe it or not, Lori, I still say your plants are never ending... and very cool  .

A question for you and everyone:  which Edrianthus sp. would you guess is easiest for lowlanders?

------------------------------

The night blooming Hemerocallis altissima has significantly shorter scapes this year, due to the early hot weather, I think.  Fortunately the flower size and quantity is unaffected.
              

        

I had been waiting for the flowers of Ptilostemon afer to open, but now I find out that this is as open as they get!
        

        

[Tim Ingram]

Rick - Edraianthus are superb on our sand bed and I think I would go for pumilio anytime; it is compact, well flowered, and tidy in and out of flower.

[McDonough]

Hard to keep up with this favorite topic, which such a refreshing variety of plants and scenes.  I can't begin to express my thoughts on so many great plants shown here, but I'll mention a few that particularly come to mind.

Lori: I'm totally impressed with Gentiana siphonantha, such a distinctive display of flowers above neat foliage.  Michael, I like your summer Gentiana too, do you know what species it is?

For foliage alone, both Tim's Berkheya multijuga and Rick's Ptilostemon afer are eye-catching, the Ptilostemon with such architectural structure, although dangerously spiny to be sure.

Rick: I wonder if your Hemerocallis might actually be H. citrina or a hybrid; both citrina and altissima are night blooming. Hemerocallis altissima is a favorite of some daylily hybrids here in New England, and from what I know of this species, the flower shape and disposition look a bit different.

PK: regardless of the name, Penstemon 'Coral Baby' looks terrific!  Seeing the splendid specimen of Alkanna aucherana reminds me that I once grew this, from MacPhail & Watson seed expedition to Turkey, and while mine never bloomed, I was able to strike some cuttings and give rooted plants to Howard Porter in Connecticut, which he grew them on to flower in his outdoor "dryland scree" protected from rain with an overhead open-air translucent roof.

And what can one say seeing clumps of Escobaria sneedi v. leei growing larger than an ancient clump of Sempervivum arachnoideum and undulating waves of an impossibly huge Convolvulus assyriacus, OMG!  But it is Monardella macrantha 'Marion Sampson' that has my head spinning once again; every time you show us this awesome little western mint it makes me crazy with plant envy.

Michael: Minuartia caroliniana is indeed a nice surprise, a respectable floral display, good to learn of that species.  Congratulations on your Phlox bryoides (with penny cultivation), and the many other wonderful plants you show.

[Lori S.]

Well, thanks, Rick!  I do like that Ptilostemon afer, though it looks like a wicked thing to weed around!

Mark, Gentiana siphonantha is a good size too - 7" tall in flower.

A few things from the garden...
The colourful bracts that precede the flowers on Ajuga lupulina; the second photo hints at the perfectly geometric shape of the flower stems as seen from above:
 

Leontopodium alpinum:


Tiny flowers on Aethionema saxatilis ssp. oreophila, from seed this winter:


Sedum album:


Eriogonum flavum:


Sideritis glacialis - subtle but quite pretty:


A froth of blossoms on Clematis recta:


Heuchera richardsonii, a native plant; the flowers are insignificant (though much loved by bees) but the foliage is quite attractive (though currently concealed in the underbrush in this overgrown bed!):


Heuchera 'Canyon Duet' with hail-ravaged ligularias in the background (2 hail storms in the last week - uggghh!):

[cohan]

Great to see you back, Panayoti, and with fantastic photos!  Your Delosperma 'Firespinner' is really taking the gardening world by storm, most deservedly!

Speaking of which, a few weeks back I picked up a Delosperma something-or-other 'Kelaidis' at Home Depot- funny to see that while shopping way up here...lol no idea if it will actually survive here- those stores seem to be stocked nationally, with no regard for local climate... any tips from anyone on ideal siting and soil for best chance of survival? Mid-winter wet is not an issue, but spring and fall can certainly have cold wet spells.. I don't have a spot for it just now, as I am in the midst of bed-building, but I think I should get it out of the nursery junk into real soil anyway..

[McDonough]

Cohan, I have run into Delosperma 'Kelaidis' at a general nursery myself, had a similar reaction as yours

Panayoti sent me a box of various "Delos" in 2010, which I duly planted, but received some advice after I had planted most in troughs, that they are less likely to survive in troughs, and show improved hardiness when planted directly in the ground.  One that he sent me was a "new species" but I think this is the one that is now named "FIRESPINNER" (PK, let me know if that assumption is correct).  It grew in the trough that first summer and looked terrific, even through the winter, but in late winter early spring it went into a slow demise, not turning mushy or anything, just losing any life color and slowly browning until it was dead by full spring.  Saddened I was, but there was a glimmer of hope.

When I first planted it in a trough, a piece broke off, and I stuck it into some sandy soil at the base of the trough.  That little piece is still alive and growing, now I must move it to a more permanent place of honor in a warm sunny spot.

[cohan]

Thanks, Mark, I'll likely try to keep a piece indoors just in case..
What about soil/moisture? Should I be deliberately trying to keep it dry (once in ground)? I have read that the hardy Delos in general are not dryland plants, but rather alpines, and as such want good drainage, of course, but not actually to be parched..

[RickR]

Rick: I wonder if your Hemerocallis might actually be H. citrina or a hybrid; both citrina and altissima are night blooming. Hemerocallis altissima is a favorite of some daylily hybrids here in New England, and from what I know of this species, the flower shape and disposition look a bit different.

I received that hemerocallis from Chen Yi many years ago as H. nana.  (Obviously not that!)  There sure are a varied bunch of identities for H. citrina on the web.  But from what seems to be the most verifiable, I think you are right, Mark.  At the least, citrina and altissima are very closely related.

The Flora of China doesn't even recognize an H. altissima, and views it as a synonym of H. citrina. And the drawing there does seem to match.
http://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200027672

Even more so this H. citrina on the Plant Delights site:
http://www.plantdelights.com/Hemerocallis-citrina-Yao-Ming-Yao-Ming-Daylily/productinfo/6875/
Mine also normally has 5ft. scapes.  Maybe I should be selling mine for $25 a shot, too!    Actually, mine is even better because it hast the enviable characteristic of dark tipped buds. 

[McDonough]

I received that hemerocallis from Chen Yi many years ago as H. nana.  (Obviously not that!)  There sure are a varied bunch of identities for H. citrina on the web.  But from what seems to be the most verifiable, I think you are right, Mark.  At the least, citrina and altissima are very closely related.

The Flora of China doesn't even recognize an H. altissima, and views it as a synonym of H. citrina. And the drawing there does seem to match.  http://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200027672

Looking again, I see that The Plant List, Tropicos, and other sources all regard H. altissima as a synonym of H. citrina, didn't notice that before.  So citrina it is, and a most attractive daylily it is.  I will ask a daylily hybridizer friend of mine (Mike Huben) about the citrina-altissima question, as certainly the name altissima is often credited in daylily hybridization reports.  Mike has been working on some hybrids with near black stems, which set off the flowers nicely; the dramatic coloration does tend to fade to a gray color during anthesis.

[Hoy]

Cohan, I have planted my fat plants in a mixture of pebbles, sand and organic soil:




The commoner rocky subjects here are Sedums like S spurium, a Caucasus native which has spread enormously here. They come in all shades of "red".

 


The yellow Hemerocallis is finished but the brown H fulva is in flower now. It is a very old garden plant here and every other old house has a clump of it. Here it grows "wild" with other plants like these Campanulas and the weedy Lysimachia punctata.

      

[Hoy]

Nothing is growing in tidy beds but all plants have to struggle for life in a semi wild planting scheme together with the native ones.
Here are some Geraniums, a Securigia, a Trifolium and a Tanacetum(?). The last one is biennial and very floriferous from Chadwell seed.

[Hoy]

Although it has rained much in the rest of the country the last days we have had nice and warm (that is about 25C here) weather and enough rain so I don't need to water anything.
The insects have appreciated the sun an the thyme and several of the other plants have been eagerly visited by honeybees and other insects. Lots of them paid the Erigeron a visit too - and a species rose, also Chadwell seed.

[RickR]

Trond, your Tanacetum? looks like Matricaria, except that is an annual...

[Todd Boland]

I think I have finally caught up to you Trond....Hemerocallis fulva is just starting in my area too.