Image of the day

[Hoppel]

is this photograph of wild plants, or are they ones you are growing in Poland?  They are very nice - quite charming.

This is photo from my garden, plants are located under roof overhangs by my house in pure granite gravel. In regular conditions in my garden it would rot off very quickly.

[Hoppel]

I have seeds of this one to try this year...yes it's too bad they are so short-lived.  makes for a lot of work to keep them going year to year.

It may be much easier to keep it going by immediate sowing. I've done it last year just after seed ripening and new seedlings shot after a couple of weeks in the same place. Now new plants are of 2cm size but probably 'll be flowering next year.

[Booker]

Pretty plant from the Dolomites for today's image ... the gorgeous honey-scented Thlaspi rotundifolium.

THLASPI ROTUNDIFOLIUM

[P.Schneider]

Hello to all. Greetings from north central Tennessee. Pouring rain here today. Attached is one of my favorite Cornus shot at Cataract Falls, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland Summer 2007. Actually Todd it was the day my wife & I visited you in St. John's.
Great job with the website. I'm still learning how to use it

Regards to all, Paul H. Schneider, Eastern Sun Studio & Gardens, Portland, TN

[RickR]

Welcome to the forum, Paul!

As a kid who spent nearly every summer weekend in wild northern Minnesota near the Ontario border, I am very familiar with this species.  Back then I dismissed it as "boring", since many other more "interesting" flora abounded in the area - pitcher plants, sundews, more than a dozen species of orchids, etc.
But I have now become rather fond of Cornus canadensis, and have seen it native in a few places in southern Minnesota, too.

[Todd Boland]

Cornus canadensis is perhaps THE most common woodland plant in Newfoundland...we also have Cornus suecica which is equally as nice.

Great looking Thlaspi Cliff!

[P.Schneider]

Welcome to the forum, Paul!

As a kid who spent nearly every summer weekend in wild northern Minnesota near the Ontario border, I am very familiar with this species.  Back then I dismissed it as "boring", since many other more "interesting" flora abounded in the area - pitcher plants, sundews, more than a dozen species of orchids, etc.
But I have now become rather fond of Cornus canadensis, and have seen it native in a few places in southern Minnesota, too.

Thanks Rick, I grew up in northern NY near the Vermont border. We could find C. canadensis occasionally, usually in Vt. or NH. With clay soil & thuggish summer heat here in north central TN, it is one that I doubt would be very happy.

[Todd Boland]

Here is my contribution to plant of the day...Diapensia lapponica...creme de la creme of our native alpines but extremely difficult to grow in cultivation.  We have a single plant in the Memorial University Botanical Garden alpine house that is now 3 years and going...every one we tried outside died within weeks.  This picture is in the wild where they are actually reasonably common in Newfoundland.

[Lori S.]

Gorgeous photos, all!

Very interesting, Todd.  What do you suppose is the critical difference between the alpine house and outdoors in your location, as opposed to where the plant grows in nature?

Lori

[Todd Boland]

Outside I think it gets too hot where our BG is close to sea-level.  The alpine house is lightly shaded so the heat is not nearly as intense.  In the wild, Diapensia grows in open, windy areas that are often foggy thus intense heat is not a problem.  St. John's is far from hot but relatively speaking we are hotter than where Diapensia would normally grow.

[Booker]

An image from an Alpine Garden Society Show (at Blackpool, Lancashire, U.K. in March 2009) of a fine Saxifraga 'Lismore Carmine'.

SAXIFRAGA 'LISMORE CARMINE'

[McGregor]

This is one of the most popular of the cultivars which has appeared in the last 20 years and this is one of those depressingly beautiful specimens that some people manage to take to alpine plant shows!

[McGregor]

I thought I'd post this picture of Allium crenulatum. It's taken in the Olympic Mountains, Washington State, and I thought it was so attractive against the dark shale. I'll post another picture in the Bulbs section as well.

[Todd Boland]

Stunning Allium Malcolm...I have lots of Allium in the garden but I have not tried that species.

That is a wonderful saxifrage Cliff but growing in an alpine house seems like cheating.  If it looked like that outdoors, then I'd be REALLY impressed.

[McGregor]

This picture is from a few years ago and the whole thing has now gone but for four or five years it was as good as this. So it can be good outside.

'Lismore Carmine' is halfway down on the left hand side and round the right hand side there is 'Lismore Pink' which I think is even more beautiful. They are both hybrids involving Saxifraga georgei and really want a slightly more moist atmosphere than is typical here. We're not fantastically cold, or fantastically hot (often at least) but we are often very dry which is usually the determining factor for what does well long term.

I would think Newfoundland might be ideal for this sort of saxifrage.