Chris Chadwell - Little Tibet Expedition 2011

[McDonough]

May I call your attention to plant explorer Chris Chadwell's upcoming 26th expedition to the Himalaya, a unique and affordable opportunity to acquire seed of numerous desirable Himalayan plants.  To quote the prospectus "Chris Chadwell, veteran of 25 expeditions along the Himalaya, leads an expedition into Ladakh, commonly known as 'Little or Western Tibet'. Based in Leh (at 3500m), a range of habitats along the Upper Indus between 3000-5500m will be covered, to secure seed of a variety of garden-worthy plants".



I must say, seed share prices are reasonable, a real bargain in terms of receiving freshly collected seed from the Himalaya, including desirable forms of uncommon plants already known in horticulture, and of course, many new enticing rarities... such an exciting and accessible opportunity.  Be creative, opt for a share with a friend, or a group of friends, or ask your NARGS Chapter to sponsor a seed share; there is nothing quite as thrilling (plant-wise) as the anticipation of growing plants collected from a renowned plant explorer and botanist... if you get seed of a Cremanthodium, you can be sure its a Cremanthodium and not something else!  Your particular plant preferences as a seed shareholder are acknowledged.

Questions about the expedition, contact Chris Chadwell:
chrischadwell261@btinternet.com

For a prospectus, see the Chris Chadwell Seeds website:
http://www.chadwellseeds.co.uk/prospectus

Application Form
 LITTLE_TIBET_EXPEDITION_Application_Form_(97-2003).doc (23 KB - downloaded 55 times.)

[McDonough]

Just received a couple of photos from Chris; a most enticing Delphinium brunonianum, from Chang La, 5000m.

[Saori]

Thanks for posting the pictures! It seems like he had a wonderful trip! I did contribute a little bit for the first time to this year's Little Tibet Expedition 2011; Chris said that seeds will be delivered around Christmas time and I can't wait to see what I will receive!

[McDonough]

Thanks for posting the pictures! It seems like he had a wonderful trip! I did contribute a little bit for the first time to this year's Little Tibet Expedition 2011; Chris said that seeds will be delivered around Christmas time and I can't wait to see what I will receive!

Saori, welcome to the NARGS Forum!  I quite agree, I'm full of anticipation and excitement waiting for the seed, a forthcoming grab-bag of goodies.  Sometimes it is easier this way, to be surprised, rather than agonizing over narrowing down an affordable selection from plant and seed lists.  Maybe we can compare notes on the forum when the seed arrives. 

[Saori]

Thanks for warm welcome, Mark! I have been lurking the forum for long time and have learned a lot!

Maybe we can compare notes on the forum when the seed arrives. 

Sounds good! I'll let you know when I receive the seeds!

[cohan]

Is there any after the fact sell off of leftover seed?

[McDonough]

Is there any after the fact sell off of leftover seed?

I'm not sure, but you could certainly send an email to Chris (address is above) and see what he has to say.

[McDonough]

I emailed Chris about seed above and beyond the normal seed-share process, he replied:

To answer the question: No, I do not have much in the way of seed left over from the expedition - it is allocated to shareholders [those who purchase a share].  I usually keep a pinch of each collection to sow myself but most collections are allocated in their entirety.
 
The prospectus for my 2012 Himalayan seed collecting expedition is available upon request and should be ready by April.  I also have other (non-expedition) seed available on a per packet basis within my January 2012 Chadwell Seeds catalogue including items from Japan and a small number collected on my behalf from other parts of the Himalaya.  I currently have a short Fall 2011 seed listings from Kashmir.

Best Wishes,

Chris Chadwell
Freelance Lecturer, Himalayan Consultant, Proprietor of Chadwell Seeds
www.chadwellseeds.co.uk
chrischadwell261@btinternet.com

If you're interested, you can email Chris and ask to be sent the "CHADWELL SEEDS - December 2011 Listing (Kashmir Section).pdf" and order form.  The PDF is too large (2.5 MB) for me to post on the forum, but I'm sure he'll send it to you upon email request.

[McDonough]

Just to add the human touch, here are a couple photos of Chris Chadwell and I this past summer when he visited in July 2011.  The first is in Kris Fenderson's most excellent garden in central New Hampshire.  Not sure what I was laughing about, whatever it was, it struck me as hilarious   (photo taken by Chris' son Matthew Chadwell).  Every couple of years or so Kris Fenderson opens his garden up to tour, it should not be missed.
http://www.growingwithplants.com/2009/07/garden-tour-july-in-kris-fenderson.html




In the next photo, Chris and I are deep within my Allium garden, in the foreground waist-high in weedy field grass plumes that have infiltrated my beds.

[Saori]

Woo hoo!!! My seeds arrived yesterday and I'm so excited! This was my first contribution and I didn't know what to expect, but I'm more than happy! I got 25 beautiful packets of seed including Delphinium brunonianum, and I have been enjoying looking at the accompanying CD that came with my package. The pictures and documents are very informative; not only I can see the flowers of the seeds I received, but I can see their native growing conditions. Plus, it's wonderful to hear and see his experiences on this trip.

The seeds I received:

Anemone poyanthes
Anemone rivularis
Arenaria festucoides
Arisaema propinquum
Arisaema unknown
Bergenia stracheyi
Boenninghausenia albiflora
Capparis spinosa
Cardiocrinum giganteum
Delphinium brunonianum
Geum elatum
Iris lactea
Ligularia amplexicaulis
Lindelofia stylosa
Meconopsis aculeata
Nepeta floccosa
Parnassia cabulica
Peganum harmala
Primula meeboldii
Primula munroi
Primula moorcroftiana
Primula reidii
Saxifraga ?hirculoides
Saxifraga moorcroftiana
Waldheimia sp.

Cohan, thanks for the update. I was going to ask Chris a similar question as to whether he had leftovers for sale...

[McDonough]

I hear that my seed share is in the mail, can't wait to see what it is.  Saori, you got some good stuff, some I don't know what they are and would have to look them up.  Very exciting indeed.

[Saori]

Oops, sorry Mark, your post about the message from Chris came in the middle of my writing a post, and I attributed your comment to cohan by mistake. Sorry about that, and thanks for the information!

[McDonough]

No problem Saori.  By the way, your dog is adorable (see: http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=916.msg13584#msg13584), what is his or her name? 

[Saori]

Thanks, Mark! His name is Peppa. He is a nine-year-old standard poodle. He 'helps' me in the garden.

[Lori S.]

Wow, can't wait to see the results of growing that most interesting list of species! 
I was just looking at Lindelofia stylosa and I think it may the one pictured in the upper right of the photo montage in Mark's first posting in this thread?

The illustration in this link (below) shows seed pods that look very similar to the photo:
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200019084

The link says the flowers are purple or purplish-red... sounds nice!