Rock garden quarterly

v79 #3

A New Crevice-Style Rock Display: A Showcase for Alpine Plants

Michael Uhler

THE INCESSANT GALE-FORCE wind is howling as I crouch low to view a beautiful, prostrate, and seemingly delicate alpine plant. My wife, Ellen, and I are between two peaks at nearly 12,600 feet (3,800 m) above sea level, exhilarated by the locally well known Washoe Zephyr winds, and botanizing. We...

Some Red Hot Californians

Panayoti Kelaidis

CALIFORNIA NATIVES HAVE a reputation for being intolerant of extreme cold. This truism is so universally acknowledged that most rock gardeners east of the Sierra shun plants from that state. And so it was with me in Colorado for much of my rock gardening career. Accidentally at first, and then with...

Californians in Virginia

Joseph Tychonievich

MANY PLANTS LOVE my climate in coastal Virginia but I’ve found that most plants native to the west coast of North America hate it here. They do fine in the cooler seasons when our mild temperatures and regular precipitation are not too wildly divergent from the Mediterranean climate they evolved in...

Finding Hepatica falconeri

Harry Jans

THIS IS THE STORY of the rediscovery of an unusual species which is said to be the link between the genera Anemone and Hepatica. In 2010, I was asked to organize and lead a tour in Kyrgyzstan in spring 2011. Eventually this trip took place in spring 2012 from April 22nd to May 6th. At that point I...

Gardening with a Knife and Fork

Wiert Nieuman

THE NETHERLANDS HAS seventeen million people on a small piece of earth so you get a lot of gardens like postage stamps. Instead of turning that space into a mini paradise, those gardens often have just a few shrubs and perennials or are filled with paving, lounge sets, and outdoor kitchens. Can it...

The Nurse Rock

Lee Recca

AS THE MORNING mist evaporates, a pale rock becomes visible in the garden. It invites a passing bird that perches on its crest. Before flying off again, the bird drops a few seeds that it was carrying in its beak. They skitter down the smooth face of the rock and find a comfortable spot at its feet...