He can send the 60'F day here as well..... it would be lovely. At present that seems to be about what most of our nights get down to. ;D It would be lovely to have such a comparatively cool day. ;)
Wonderful pictures, Lori. Yes, it's a long wait til spring even though we are having a couple days of thaw at present. Still a lot of snow and as Mark says, with a rock hard surface. Finally managed to chop through the ice on path leading to door. It's taken a long time to do it. There always seemed to be yet another layer underneath. This is definitely catalog time. Lots of improbably gorgeous plant pictures to peruse.
Even though brown is my favorite color, I don't think I could deal with the brown winters of the south (U.S.). Out of the northern part of the U.S., I live in one of the winter-sunniest, non-mountainous areas. In fact when I was a kid, I would sometimes use a pair of homemade snow goggles. (Honestly though, I may have used them more just because I thought they were "cool" looking. ;D)
Anyway, my point being that the periodic snows, drifting, melting, fogs, etc. that occur in winter here provide a constantly changing landscape. My first experience of a thunder snowstorm (not just thundersnow), about ten years ago, was quite invigorating! Some people disagree (usually the people who moved here from places not Minnesota), but winter is certainly not drab to me!
Although Todd gets WAY more snow than me, his normal spring growth is usually still earlier, as I have to wait for the deeply frozen ground to thaw. things like snowdrops popping through the snowmelt just doesn't happen here because plants don't wake up until long after the snow has receded.
That said, we had a very early heavy snow this winter, and the freeze depth of the soil is minimal. I am expecting another unusual spring this year. Last year, spring arrived three and a half weeks early!
Interesting to hear about your winters compared to the others over there! Of course it is way different winter climates here in Norway too but I don't think any similar to yours ;D What's the difference between "thunder snowstorm" and "thundersnow"?? We experience snowstorms accompanied by thunder and lightening here but rarely.
Lori,
By the way, even if I am no fan of cold weather, snow and frozen soil at home, I am looking forward to our next visit to our mountain cabin ;) There we appreciate snow - at least in the winter season ;D Your pictures show why!
Regarding thunder snowstorms, I probably should have said thunder blizzards. It is rare that we have thunder snow, when snow fall is rather gentle and light, but even more rare when thunder occurs during a full blown blizzard. I can remember it happening only once in my 51 year life.
Post message: I was listening on the local public radio station how thundersnow is "formed", and it seems the frequency should be backwards from my experience: being rare, but more frequent in violent storms than gentle ones.
From a hike last summer, here are some colourful lichens at treeline. My best guess is that the brilliant yellow ones may be Cetraria sp. (C. pinastri??) and that the weird white tubercles behind it may be Cladonia sp. (C. bacillaris??)
Edit: Weird white tubercles appear to be Thamnolia subuliformis - common to arctic/alpine areas in the northern hemisphere.
Very special color of that lichen, Lori! I have never seen any that yellow. The nearest are Flavocetraria nivalis and Letharia vulpina. The first is rather common but pale yellow, and the latter is rare and growing on logs. It has been used to poison wolves.
Hi, Trond. Both of the lichens you show occur here too. Fascinating stuff... I would certainly garden these too if they were willing.
Lori, have you ever tried? I think it is feasible. Lichens reproduce by many means, also fragmentation. My daughters have "grown" lichens (Cladonia species) by taking pieces and placing where they want them. They live for years at least if they get sunlight and water.
Could be interesting to try the yellow one here if you ever stumble upon it again ;)
Another cute little Erigeron humilis (one of my favorites) tucked into a hollow in the rock, with a gorgeous purple-black involucre, and white petals this time, rather than mauve.
Nice Erigeron, Lori, I was looking at a species on Alplains list with black outers..
Todd's theme of persistent and resilient applies to this plant--neither photo nor species are exceptional, but I think there are some nice layers of meaning to this image: At a time of year when spring is still distant and longed for here, the dandelion is a good symbol--its often one of our first flowers, tucked up against the south side of some building!
Then, this particular plant is a good reminder of the difference siting can make to a plant's appearance: this one is growing in the hard packed native clayey soil with gravel (many many years ago) packed in almost like concrete on our driveway, in full sun, and thus remains tiny and compact, with reddish leaves--if I remember correctly, the leaftip to leaftip span would be something like 4 inches/10cm.
I received a couple bits of root last fall of some exotic dandelions--a french kitchen garden cultivar, and T 'faroense' which, if it survives the winter and I can grow it, might look a little similar to this one--small, with red leaves....
I am always happy when I find wild fleabane in the mountains here and some of the alpine dandelions are quite nice too! What do you intend to do, Cohan, use the dandelion as a salad herb ;D
I've spent a really ridiculous amount of time trying to convince myself that this is our native alpine dandelion, Taraxacum ceratophorum... I think it is. Is it?? This picture (and the rest of my peculiar little collection of alpine dandelions :rolleyes:) was taken at about 2500-2600m elevation, well above treeline, in an area where I cannot recall seeing any weeds whatsoever once past the roadside (which is pretty much the norm along the mountain trails except in areas frequented by horse parties... which we would avoid anyway). Teensy, tiny little plants...
Well, it's hardly spectacular and given that it seems this species has been demoted to a subspecies of the regular weedy ol' dandelion, maybe it doesn't matter anyway! ;D ;D (Although having said that, I did collect a few seeds and am growing them... :rolleyes:))
I've spent a really ridiculous amount of time trying to convince myself that this is our native alpine dandelion, Taraxacum ceratophorum... I think it is. Is it?? This picture (and the rest of my peculiar little collection of alpine dandelions :rolleyes:) was taken at about 2500-2600m elevation, well above treeline, in an area where I cannot recall seeing any weeds whatsoever once past the roadside (which is pretty much the norm along the mountain trails except in areas frequented by horse parties... which we would avoid anyway). Teensy, tiny little plants... [attachthumb=1] [attachthumb=2]
Well, it's hardly spectacular and given that it seems this species has been demoted to a subspecies of the regular weedy ol' dandelion, maybe it doesn't matter anyway! ;D ;D (Although having said that, I did collect a few seeds and am growing them... :rolleyes:))
a Very cool! Somewhere recently I read authors' conclusions that there were likely a number of species of Taraxacum in Alberta, but the work hadn't been completed to make it clear what they should be... but where did I read that? A quick glance at the 4 books I have to hand did not yield the source... I'm most interested in some of the arctic species with white or creamy flowers (completely unsuccessful in finding any sources, I tried some of the academic sources involved in research with some of the species, but no joy), but I have also grown interested in any of the small species; I see T ceratophorum can be up to 25cm-- based on conditions, no doubt? How long have you been growing it, any sense of how small it will be?
In Scandinavia they have described thousend of dandelion species - the reason for calling them species is that they are apomictic and you what you have is a swarm of clones! The characters differentiating the species/clones are often subtle.
A few, often in mountainous regions are quite different and easier to recognize.
In Scandinavia they have described thousend of dandelion species - the reason for calling them species is that they are apomictic and you what you have is a swarm of clones! The characters differentiating the species/clones are often subtle.
A few, often in mountainous regions are quite different and easier to recognize.
This is also the case with some other Asteraceae, such as Antennaria, and apparently many unrelated Arctic plants, as well.. makes that usage of species a bit silly--surely no one is actually going to name all those species??
Cohan, I only started the (supposed) Taraxacum ceratophorum this winter so I don't know how big they'll get... it's the old nature vs. nurture question.
This was a very pretty thing, though unfortunately none of them wintered over for me... Petrocoptis pyrenaica ssp. glaucifolia, a Caryophyllaceae from the Pyrenees:
Cohan, at least one dedicated botanist has tried to name all the dandelions in Scandinavia. Tongues tell that he forgot what he had already done so every time he picked a dandelion he gave it a new name.... or maybe that it was the guy working with Hieracium that lost control ;)
Lori--if the dandelion grows too big, try in a spot like my packed clay and gravel driveway ;D I'll be looking forward to updates!
Trond--dedicated scientist or crazy man ;) Actually, I might be able to see a reason to count and number the clones, but not to give them species names!
Anne was talking about antlered rats in the the Groundhugging Shrubs, thread; We had a visit this morning form one-- too young to be antlered, but not too young to prune virtually every shrub and small tree on the property (the planted ones, that is, and no doubt some of the natives too)- a young moose; I didn't see it, I was still sleeping, but my friend got a few pics, and my mom saw it from her window--yelling at it to move before it could eat off some small Spiraeas and a small flowering plum; Nanking cherries are much shorter now! and some of the apples I harshly pruned last year have had most of the new growth removed (these are only a few metres from my mom's house, and not much farther from ours!); as always, it headed for a planted Cornus sericea -the natives, which are smaller and all over in the bush here, are also almost universally pruned- and the Sorbus--which should be a good sized tree by now, but remains a multi stem large shrub/small tree--finally having got a bit of height in the middle where its not as easy to munch.. it also made a stop to seriously clip an arctic willow, and passed through my rock garden to be to take a few bites off a small willow I have there.. Luckily, they don't seem to be interested in the Tilia cordata, which I love for its shape;
HI, I thought I'd add a couple pics of one of my favorite plants. The second photo shows a Hosta 'Great Expectations and a Polystichum braunii. I purchased the orchid and the fern 2 years ago from Don Avery at Cady's Fall Nursery in Morrisville, VT. A spectacular nursery full of well grown treasures and amazing display gardens. It's out in the boondocks but well worth the trip.
Lori, did you mean that Peterocoptis is a perennial? Even if it is an annual or biennial I like it and think it could do well at my summerhouse!
Amy, I like Cypripedium very much! I have planted two different species here (very small plants a couple of years ago) but last year when they produced the first flowers slugs damaged the flower stems >:( Unfortunately garden orchid is hard to find for sale in Norway and although a lot of nurseries in Europe have plants it is very difficult and expensive to import (due to Norway not being a member of EU).
Nice moose, Cohan. I think they are very noble looking animals, and I like their long elegant legs... though that one still has the cuteness too of a relative youngster.
Beautiful orchids, Amy! Welcome! It's great to see you posting here. Re. your comments about the nursery having terrific display gardens... what an effective strategy for plant sales, as well as to show, simply, an appreciation for the plants... not that I ever need that much encouragement to buy plants, but a good display garden is always a bonus! ;D )
Trond, I found one site that claims Petrocoptis pyrenaica ssp. glaucifolia is a perennial; it's hard to find much other than a few pictures, though. Native to Spain's Picos de Europa, it seems. I found a site that claimed it occurs in the Pyrenees also.
I was browsing my photos and found a shot of an absolutely amazing thing growing in Stephanie Ferguson's incredible garden... well, actually, anyone who has visited knows you can't turn around there without seeing a hundred absolutely amazing things! Stephanie is presenting at the Winter Study Weekend, along with Todd, and Vojtech Holubec and others.... dang, I've been kicking myself for not arranging to go! Here, from Stephanie's rundlestone rock garden, is the gorgeous foliage of Bukiniczia cabulica, with the prickly appeal of Caragana jubata, above it:
Re. your comments about the nursery having terrific display gardens... what an effective strategy for plant sales, as well as to show, simply, an appreciation for the plants... not that I ever need that much encouragement to buy plants, but a good display garden is always a bonus! )
Lori....It seems most nurseries here (in Vermont anyway) have extensive display gardens. I work in a small specialty nursery and we've got huge gardens for customers enjoyment and inspiration.
Lori....It seems most nurseries here (in Vermont anyway) have extensive display gardens. I work in a small specialty nursery and we've got huge gardens for customers enjoyment and inspiration.
It's great to hear that most nurseries there would have display gardens, Amy. It's not at all the case here... possibly due to the fact that we are situated in "Hail Alley'. A significant number of damaging hail storms in any year seems to have driven the bigger places to have everything indoors in greenhouses or buildings, believe it or not. Rundle Wood, a small specialty nursery, is an exception, with an incredibly beautiful private garden, that also functions as the "display garden" for the sale of exquisite plants. What is the specialty of your nursery?
Lori, I think moose are pretty cool, too.. its amazing that something so big can be around (not in small numbers either, I think) and not much seen! Those legs are long, too-- I was looking at tracks through the yard, this morning (probably this youngster in the picture had a companion, helping it to prune every bush in the place ;D) and it seems one of them came from the bush, where I have a piece of wire mesh fencing kind of propped up against the trees beside my veggie patch, its about 3- 4 feet tall, and the critter calmly stepped over it, walked toward the back of my mom's house and calmly stepped over another similar fence (built as a dog run, for a small dog) and went out between the houses, passing no more than a few feet from my mom's house--bold!
Is Stephanie Ferguson the gardener with the rosulate violets that were shown on Alpine-L? What does this Caragana do--is it pendant? or..?
In my immediate area, most nurseries seem to grow on and sell plants started and bought in bulk from somewhere else--mostly B.C., it seems; not much for display gardens that I have seen....
I never have time to post pix of my rock garden in May, so I think I will do so now in the end of February in anticipation of what I hope will be another good year (aren't all years good in rock gardening?). The pictures were all taken at the end of last May of my Quince rock gardens...
Fantastic Panayoti, and I even spot a circular plant of Allium senescens glaucum in two of your shots. The pink delospermas in your photos inspire confidence that mine will overwinter. About a week ago, enough snow from the 3' snow pack receded where my troughs are located, and the delospermas caught some sun and looked okay. Since then all is encased in a new thick layer of slush and freezing rain that turned to concrete, now followed by another 8" of snow.
Lori..the nursery where I work Rocky Dale Gardens specializes in dwark conifers and unusual perennials. The gardens are 20+ years old so the conifers are outgrowing their space and the owner is re-working the whole garden. Panayoti...beautiful shots and so needed now. Like Mark said here we've still got feet of snow covering all and tomorrow more sleet & freezing rain! In the third photo there is one bright spot of red...is that a poppy of some sort?
I never have time to post pix of my rock garden in May, so I think I will do so now in the end of February in anticipation of what I hope will be another good year (aren't all years good in rock gardening?). The pictures were all taken at the end of last May of my Quince rock gardens...
Wonderful plantings--I can only imagine the gems that must be in there ;D All the better to see them at this time of year when there is nothing much to see outside but snow! Snow again yesterday, today and tomorrow, though shouldn't be too much...
Thanks for posting the pictures, Panayoti. What a beautiful garden! Much appreciated here in the northeast, where everything turned white before Christmas and remains that way.
Is Stephanie Ferguson the gardener with the rosulate violets that were shown on Alpine-L? What does this Caragana do--is it pendant? or..?
Yes, she's growing some rosulate violet species, and they look incredible - just as they do in the photos from the Andes that we see now and then! Plus, she grows pretty well every other plant that is considered incredibly desirable and impossible... Jankaea, Paraquilegia, numerous species of Castilleja, Astragalus coccineus, you name it!! :o :) And grows them all extremely well!! Here's a better picture of Caragana jubata, taken just as it leafed out in early spring in Stephanie's garden, before the gorgeous, disproportionately-large flowers emerged... the habit is somewhat lax. (I really like this one, and was incredibly fortunate to have got a seedling as a gift last year!)
Here also is Callianthemum anemonoides... one of many spectacular specimens of it in her garden!
She has a great looking garden, Lori! I love the stone itself, for starters ;D I think a similar stone (not sure it ranges into the warmer colours, though, mostly dark grey) is available from somewhere near Nordegg, and quite commonly used around here in commercial landscaping, I haven't priced it at all though...
From what you say, presumably Stephanie is a very skilled gardener, but aside from that, do you think there is anything about her site that allows some of the presumably less hardy things to flourish? Or do you think its more a case of her choosing the right spots and right soils?
Today was the first day this year I felt the spring in the air! Till now weather has been cold and dreary and the spring flowering plants have barely put up their heads. The first snowdrops opened wide today and the first crocuses, snowflakes and hellebores follow soon. Let us hope fore more mild days and nights!
Today was the first day this year I felt the spring in the air! Till now weather has been cold and dreary and the spring flowering plants have barely put up their heads. The first snowdrops opened wide today and the first crocuses, snowflakes and hellebores follow soon. Let us hope fore more mild days and nights!
Congrats on the belated spring! I can't resist whenever you mention snowflakes-- I have to say I have lots of those! We shovelled the last two days, and again today at least some (only a couple to a few inches each time, but we don't want to let it pile up and pack down...)
Congrats on the belated spring! I can't resist whenever you mention snowflakes-- I have to say I have lots of those! We shovelled the last two days, and again today at least some (only a couple to a few inches each time, but we don't want to let it pile up and pack down...)
Thanks, Cohan! Can you pick your (spring) snowflakes and decorate the sittingtable (without placing it in the fridge)?
Comments
Todd Boland
Re: Image of the day
Fri, 02/18/2011 - 3:06amIntense blue skies Lori! I know YOU will have winter for almost as long as I will.
Mark, send that 60 F my way...suppose to get 6" more snow on Sunday and mid-week is suppose to bring us the heaviest snowfall of the season :-[
I will be escaping that while in Calgary and Victoria! :D
Paul T (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Fri, 02/18/2011 - 3:17amTodd,
He can send the 60'F day here as well..... it would be lovely. At present that seems to be about what most of our nights get down to. ;D It would be lovely to have such a comparatively cool day. ;)
Anne Spiegel
Re: Image of the day
Fri, 02/18/2011 - 7:04amWonderful pictures, Lori. Yes, it's a long wait til spring even though we are having a couple days of thaw at present. Still a lot of snow and as Mark says, with a rock hard surface. Finally managed to chop through the ice on path leading to door. It's taken a long time to do it. There always seemed to be yet another layer underneath. This is definitely catalog time. Lots of improbably gorgeous plant pictures to peruse.
Richard T. Rodich
Re: Image of the day
Fri, 02/18/2011 - 7:29amEven though brown is my favorite color, I don't think I could deal with the brown winters of the south (U.S.). Out of the northern part of the U.S., I live in one of the winter-sunniest, non-mountainous areas. In fact when I was a kid, I would sometimes use a pair of homemade snow goggles. (Honestly though, I may have used them more just because I thought they were "cool" looking. ;D)
Anyway, my point being that the periodic snows, drifting, melting, fogs, etc. that occur in winter here provide a constantly changing landscape. My first experience of a thunder snowstorm (not just thundersnow), about ten years ago, was quite invigorating! Some people disagree (usually the people who moved here from places not Minnesota), but winter is certainly not drab to me!
Although Todd gets WAY more snow than me, his normal spring growth is usually still earlier, as I have to wait for the deeply frozen ground to thaw. things like snowdrops popping through the snowmelt just doesn't happen here because plants don't wake up until long after the snow has receded.
That said, we had a very early heavy snow this winter, and the freeze depth of the soil is minimal. I am expecting another unusual spring this year. Last year, spring arrived three and a half weeks early!
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Fri, 02/18/2011 - 8:45amRick,
Interesting to hear about your winters compared to the others over there! Of course it is way different winter climates here in Norway too but I don't think any similar to yours ;D
What's the difference between "thunder snowstorm" and "thundersnow"?? We experience snowstorms accompanied by thunder and lightening here but rarely.
Lori,
By the way, even if I am no fan of cold weather, snow and frozen soil at home, I am looking forward to our next visit to our mountain cabin ;) There we appreciate snow - at least in the winter season ;D Your pictures show why!
Richard T. Rodich
Re: Image of the day
Fri, 02/18/2011 - 1:59pmRegarding thunder snowstorms, I probably should have said thunder blizzards. It is rare that we have thunder snow, when snow fall is rather gentle and light, but even more rare when thunder occurs during a full blown blizzard. I can remember it happening only once in my 51 year life.
Post message:
I was listening on the local public radio station how thundersnow is "formed", and it seems the frequency should be backwards from my experience: being rare, but more frequent in violent storms than gentle ones.
Toole (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Sat, 02/19/2011 - 1:33amArisaema ciliatum in fruit today.
Cheers Dave.
Paul T (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Sat, 02/19/2011 - 2:45amDave,
If you had a closeup just of the berry bits, it would look a bit like some sort of alien invasion!! ;D
Lori S. (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Sat, 02/19/2011 - 10:28pmFrom a hike last summer, here are some colourful lichens at treeline. My best guess is that the brilliant yellow ones may be Cetraria sp. (C. pinastri??) and that the weird white tubercles behind it may be
Cladonia sp. (C. bacillaris??)Edit: Weird white tubercles appear to be Thamnolia subuliformis - common to arctic/alpine areas in the northern hemisphere.
Cliff Booker
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/20/2011 - 1:05amThey must have looked like beautifully flowered cushion drabas from a distance, Lori ... magnificent!
Todd Boland
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/20/2011 - 4:47pmWow Lori...I've never seen yellow lichens! Look good enough for growing in our rockeries!
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/20/2011 - 11:48pmVery special color of that lichen, Lori!
I have never seen any that yellow. The nearest are Flavocetraria nivalis and Letharia vulpina. The first is rather common but pale yellow, and the latter is rare and growing on logs. It has been used to poison wolves.
http://www.google.no/images?um=1&hl=no&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%...
http://www.google.no/images?um=1&hl=no&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:...
Lori S. (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Mon, 02/21/2011 - 9:11amHi, Trond. Both of the lichens you show occur here too. Fascinating stuff... I would certainly garden these too if they were willing.
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Mon, 02/21/2011 - 9:29amLori, have you ever tried? I think it is feasible. Lichens reproduce by many means, also fragmentation. My daughters have "grown" lichens (Cladonia species) by taking pieces and placing where they want them. They live for years at least if they get sunlight and water.
Could be interesting to try the yellow one here if you ever stumble upon it again ;)
Lori S. (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Mon, 02/21/2011 - 10:39pmI'll have to give that a try!
Another cute little Erigeron humilis (one of my favorites) tucked into a hollow in the rock, with a gorgeous purple-black involucre, and white petals this time, rather than mauve.
Todd Boland
Re: Image of the day
Tue, 02/22/2011 - 8:29amAmazing how persistent and resilient some plants can be!
cohan (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Tue, 02/22/2011 - 10:39amNice Erigeron, Lori, I was looking at a species on Alplains list with black outers..
Todd's theme of persistent and resilient applies to this plant--neither photo nor species are exceptional, but I think there are some nice layers of meaning to this image:
At a time of year when spring is still distant and longed for here, the dandelion is a good symbol--its often one of our first flowers, tucked up against the south side of some building!
Then, this particular plant is a good reminder of the difference siting can make to a plant's appearance: this one is growing in the hard packed native clayey soil with gravel (many many years ago) packed in almost like concrete on our driveway, in full sun, and thus remains tiny and compact, with reddish leaves--if I remember correctly, the leaftip to leaftip span would be something like 4 inches/10cm.
I received a couple bits of root last fall of some exotic dandelions--a french kitchen garden cultivar, and T 'faroense' which, if it survives the winter and I can grow it, might look a little similar to this one--small, with red leaves....
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Tue, 02/22/2011 - 1:13pmI am always happy when I find wild fleabane in the mountains here and some of the alpine dandelions are quite nice too!
What do you intend to do, Cohan, use the dandelion as a salad herb ;D
Lori S. (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Tue, 02/22/2011 - 7:51pmWell, speaking of dandelions, Cohan...
I've spent a really ridiculous amount of time trying to convince myself that this is our native alpine dandelion, Taraxacum ceratophorum... I think it is. Is it??
This picture (and the rest of my peculiar little collection of alpine dandelions :rolleyes:) was taken at about 2500-2600m elevation, well above treeline, in an area where I cannot recall seeing any weeds whatsoever once past the roadside (which is pretty much the norm along the mountain trails except in areas frequented by horse parties... which we would avoid anyway). Teensy, tiny little plants...
Well, it's hardly spectacular and given that it seems this species has been demoted to a subspecies of the regular weedy ol' dandelion, maybe it doesn't matter anyway! ;D ;D (Although having said that, I did collect a few seeds and am growing them... :rolleyes:))
cohan (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Tue, 02/22/2011 - 10:31pma
Very cool! Somewhere recently I read authors' conclusions that there were likely a number of species of Taraxacum in Alberta, but the work hadn't been completed to make it clear what they should be... but where did I read that? A quick glance at the 4 books I have to hand did not yield the source...
I'm most interested in some of the arctic species with white or creamy flowers (completely unsuccessful in finding any sources, I tried some of the academic sources involved in research with some of the species, but no joy), but I have also grown interested in any of the small species; I see T ceratophorum can be up to 25cm-- based on conditions, no doubt? How long have you been growing it, any sense of how small it will be?
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Tue, 02/22/2011 - 11:47pmIn Scandinavia they have described thousend of dandelion species - the reason for calling them species is that they are apomictic and you what you have is a swarm of clones! The characters differentiating the species/clones are often subtle.
A few, often in mountainous regions are quite different and easier to recognize.
cohan (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Tue, 02/22/2011 - 11:52pmThis is also the case with some other Asteraceae, such as Antennaria, and apparently many unrelated Arctic plants, as well.. makes that usage of species a bit silly--surely no one is actually going to name all those species??
Cliff Booker
Re: Image of the day
Wed, 02/23/2011 - 2:31amA bright sunny picture to warm your hearts and tickle your fancy ...
Armeria alpina on the Sella Pass in the Dolomites.
Todd Boland
Re: Image of the day
Wed, 02/23/2011 - 2:35pmGorgeous Cliff...a way to warm the heart when youn are looking out the window at -20 C!
Paul T (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Wed, 02/23/2011 - 3:37pmBeautiful, Cliff.
Lori S. (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Wed, 02/23/2011 - 6:50pmCohan, I only started the (supposed) Taraxacum ceratophorum this winter so I don't know how big they'll get... it's the old nature vs. nurture question.
This was a very pretty thing, though unfortunately none of them wintered over for me... Petrocoptis pyrenaica ssp. glaucifolia, a Caryophyllaceae from the Pyrenees:
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 9:00amCohan, at least one dedicated botanist has tried to name all the dandelions in Scandinavia. Tongues tell that he forgot what he had already done so every time he picked a dandelion he gave it a new name.... or maybe that it was the guy working with Hieracium that lost control ;)
Cliff, a nice thrift and a yellow Asteraceae too!
cohan (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Thu, 02/24/2011 - 11:23amLori--if the dandelion grows too big, try in a spot like my packed clay and gravel driveway ;D
I'll be looking forward to updates!
Trond--dedicated scientist or crazy man ;) Actually, I might be able to see a reason to count and number the clones, but not to give them species names!
cohan (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Fri, 02/25/2011 - 11:48amAnne was talking about antlered rats in the the Groundhugging Shrubs, thread; We had a visit this morning form one-- too young to be antlered, but not too young to prune virtually every shrub and small tree on the property (the planted ones, that is, and no doubt some of the natives too)-
a young moose;
I didn't see it, I was still sleeping, but my friend got a few pics, and my mom saw it from her window--yelling at it to move before it could eat off some small Spiraeas and a small flowering plum;
Nanking cherries are much shorter now! and some of the apples I harshly pruned last year have had most of the new growth removed (these are only a few metres from my mom's house, and not much farther from ours!); as always, it headed for a planted Cornus sericea -the natives, which are smaller and all over in the bush here, are also almost universally pruned- and the Sorbus--which should be a good sized tree by now, but remains a multi stem large shrub/small tree--finally having got a bit of height in the middle where its not as easy to munch.. it also made a stop to seriously clip an arctic willow, and passed through my rock garden to be to take a few bites off a small willow I have there..
Luckily, they don't seem to be interested in the Tilia cordata, which I love for its shape;
Amy Olmsted
Re: Image of the day
Fri, 02/25/2011 - 4:33pmHI, I thought I'd add a couple pics of one of my favorite plants. The second photo shows a Hosta 'Great Expectations and a Polystichum braunii. I purchased the orchid and the fern 2 years ago from Don Avery at Cady's Fall Nursery in Morrisville, VT. A spectacular nursery full of well grown treasures and amazing display gardens. It's out in the boondocks but well worth the trip.
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Sat, 02/26/2011 - 2:11amLori, did you mean that Peterocoptis is a perennial? Even if it is an annual or biennial I like it and think it could do well at my summerhouse!
Amy, I like Cypripedium very much! I have planted two different species here (very small plants a couple of years ago) but last year when they produced the first flowers slugs damaged the flower stems >:(
Unfortunately garden orchid is hard to find for sale in Norway and although a lot of nurseries in Europe have plants it is very difficult and expensive to import (due to Norway not being a member of EU).
Lori S. (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Sat, 02/26/2011 - 4:28pmNice moose, Cohan. I think they are very noble looking animals, and I like their long elegant legs... though that one still has the cuteness too of a relative youngster.
Beautiful orchids, Amy! Welcome! It's great to see you posting here.
Re. your comments about the nursery having terrific display gardens... what an effective strategy for plant sales, as well as to show, simply, an appreciation for the plants... not that I ever need that much encouragement to buy plants, but a good display garden is always a bonus! ;D )
Trond, I found one site that claims Petrocoptis pyrenaica ssp. glaucifolia is a perennial; it's hard to find much other than a few pictures, though. Native to Spain's Picos de Europa, it seems. I found a site that claimed it occurs in the Pyrenees also.
I was browsing my photos and found a shot of an absolutely amazing thing growing in Stephanie Ferguson's incredible garden... well, actually, anyone who has visited knows you can't turn around there without seeing a hundred absolutely amazing things! Stephanie is presenting at the Winter Study Weekend, along with Todd, and Vojtech Holubec and others.... dang, I've been kicking myself for not arranging to go!
Here, from Stephanie's rundlestone rock garden, is the gorgeous foliage of Bukiniczia cabulica, with the prickly appeal of Caragana jubata, above it:
Amy Olmsted
Re: Image of the day
Sat, 02/26/2011 - 5:20pmRe. your comments about the nursery having terrific display gardens... what an effective strategy for plant sales, as well as to show, simply, an appreciation for the plants... not that I ever need that much encouragement to buy plants, but a good display garden is always a bonus! )
Lori....It seems most nurseries here (in Vermont anyway) have extensive display gardens. I work in a small specialty nursery and we've got huge gardens for customers enjoyment and inspiration.
Lori S. (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Sat, 02/26/2011 - 6:02pmIt's great to hear that most nurseries there would have display gardens, Amy. It's not at all the case here... possibly due to the fact that we are situated in "Hail Alley'. A significant number of damaging hail storms in any year seems to have driven the bigger places to have everything indoors in greenhouses or buildings, believe it or not. Rundle Wood, a small specialty nursery, is an exception, with an incredibly beautiful private garden, that also functions as the "display garden" for the sale of exquisite plants.
What is the specialty of your nursery?
cohan (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Sat, 02/26/2011 - 6:19pmLori, I think moose are pretty cool, too.. its amazing that something so big can be around (not in small numbers either, I think) and not much seen!
Those legs are long, too-- I was looking at tracks through the yard, this morning (probably this youngster in the picture had a companion, helping it to prune every bush in the place ;D) and it seems one of them came from the bush, where I have a piece of wire mesh fencing kind of propped up against the trees beside my veggie patch, its about 3- 4 feet tall, and the critter calmly stepped over it, walked toward the back of my mom's house and calmly stepped over another similar fence (built as a dog run, for a small dog) and went out between the houses, passing no more than a few feet from my mom's house--bold!
Is Stephanie Ferguson the gardener with the rosulate violets that were shown on Alpine-L?
What does this Caragana do--is it pendant? or..?
In my immediate area, most nurseries seem to grow on and sell plants started and bought in bulk from somewhere else--mostly B.C., it seems; not much for display gardens that I have seen....
Panayoti Kelaidis
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 6:04amI never have time to post pix of my rock garden in May, so I think I will do so now in the end of February in anticipation of what I hope will be another good year (aren't all years good in rock gardening?). The pictures were all taken at the end of last May of my Quince rock gardens...
Mark McDonough
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 7:31amFantastic Panayoti, and I even spot a circular plant of Allium senescens glaucum in two of your shots. The pink delospermas in your photos inspire confidence that mine will overwinter. About a week ago, enough snow from the 3' snow pack receded where my troughs are located, and the delospermas caught some sun and looked okay. Since then all is encased in a new thick layer of slush and freezing rain that turned to concrete, now followed by another 8" of snow.
Amy Olmsted
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 8:03amLori..the nursery where I work Rocky Dale Gardens specializes in dwark conifers and unusual perennials. The gardens are 20+ years old so the conifers are outgrowing their space and the owner is re-working the whole garden.
Panayoti...beautiful shots and so needed now. Like Mark said here we've still got feet of snow covering all and tomorrow more sleet & freezing rain! In the third photo there is one bright spot of red...is that a poppy of some sort?
Richard T. Rodich
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 8:15amWe could have a contest with PK's beautiful pics. Who can name the plants?
I think I see Hieracium villosum (or H. lanatum) (?)
Lori S. (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 8:24amBeautiful gardens, Panayoti! I couldn't even imagine what's all in those photos, but I think I see Verbascum dumulosum?
Nice, Amy. I hope you get an employee's discount, but I imagine in any case that your own gardens are full of choice stuff from Rocky Dale!
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 9:30amPanayoti, a wonderful rock garden! What kind of rock do you use? Is it a kind of granite? I can't even dream of creating anything like it!
cohan (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 10:12amWonderful plantings--I can only imagine the gems that must be in there ;D All the better to see them at this time of year when there is nothing much to see outside but snow! Snow again yesterday, today and tomorrow, though shouldn't be too much...
Anne Spiegel
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 11:00amThanks for posting the pictures, Panayoti. What a beautiful garden! Much appreciated here in the northeast, where everything turned white before Christmas and remains that way.
Lori S. (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 5:20pmYes, she's growing some rosulate violet species, and they look incredible - just as they do in the photos from the Andes that we see now and then! Plus, she grows pretty well every other plant that is considered incredibly desirable and impossible... Jankaea, Paraquilegia, numerous species of Castilleja, Astragalus coccineus, you name it!! :o :) And grows them all extremely well!!
Here's a better picture of Caragana jubata, taken just as it leafed out in early spring in Stephanie's garden, before the gorgeous, disproportionately-large flowers emerged... the habit is somewhat lax. (I really like this one, and was incredibly fortunate to have got a seedling as a gift last year!)
Here also is Callianthemum anemonoides... one of many spectacular specimens of it in her garden!
cohan (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 6:34pmShe has a great looking garden, Lori! I love the stone itself, for starters ;D
I think a similar stone (not sure it ranges into the warmer colours, though, mostly dark grey) is available from somewhere near Nordegg, and quite commonly used around here in commercial landscaping, I haven't priced it at all though...
From what you say, presumably Stephanie is a very skilled gardener, but aside from that, do you think there is anything about her site that allows some of the presumably less hardy things to flourish? Or do you think its more a case of her choosing the right spots and right soils?
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Sun, 02/27/2011 - 11:29pm..... and where in the World (Canada) does she garden?
Lori S. (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Mon, 02/28/2011 - 5:24amHere in Calgary, Trond.
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Mon, 02/28/2011 - 9:53amAnother reason to visit Canada then!
Today was the first day this year I felt the spring in the air! Till now weather has been cold and dreary and the spring flowering plants have barely put up their heads.
The first snowdrops opened wide today and the first crocuses, snowflakes and hellebores follow soon.
Let us hope fore more mild days and nights!
cohan (not verified)
Re: Image of the day
Mon, 02/28/2011 - 10:22amCongrats on the belated spring! I can't resist whenever you mention snowflakes-- I have to say I have lots of those!
We shovelled the last two days, and again today at least some (only a couple to a few inches each time, but we don't want to let it pile up and pack down...)
Trond Hoy
Re: Image of the day
Mon, 02/28/2011 - 11:22amThanks, Cohan! Can you pick your (spring) snowflakes and decorate the sittingtable (without placing it in the fridge)?
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