Image of the day

Todd wrote:

Trond, lesser celandine is a pest here too...my garden is starting to get overrun...spreading into the lawn as well.

Blooming now...Besseya alpina.  I can never get more than one flower per year.

Never more than one? Is it against the law?  ;D Can't you grow more plants?  :D

Anyway Besseya is a lovely plant.

LOL Trond!  If it were against the law, I'd never see the light of day again!

Scilla rosenii...hard to tell but very large flowers for a Scilla.

Skulski wrote:

I planted a couple of cultivars of Ranunculus ficaria years ago and still have one* coming up every spring... definitely not invasive here!

*By which I mean one, puny, diminished little survivor.

Isn't it the forms/subspecies that have bulbils in their leaf axils which are the invasive ones?  I have the invasive subspecies bulbifer which does have bulbils and large-flowered ssp. chrysocephalus which doesn't and as a result is much better behaved.

I also have the invasive type with bulbils (R acris acris, bulbilifer is invalid). The seedproducing one (R acris fertilis)  is not common in Norway but grows on Karmøy, an hour drive from here.

Edit: I don't know what I did when I wrote this! I meant of course Ranunculus ficaria ssp ficaria and R ficaria ssp fertilis!

Although your spring is a little late, Lori and Todd, it seemingly comes in strides now!

Today's flower is Heloniopsis orientalis

I'm sure Trond meant Ranunculus ficaria, although nowadays it's Ficaria verna I believe...

Yes, you are quite right Stephen! I beg your pardon, but I don't know how I messed this up. I hadn't drunk too much red wine either.
According to Lid (The leading Norwegian flora) the name of the genus in which lesser celandine belong is still Ranunculus but that may have changed internationally of course. My edition is the last one but from 2007.

Btw R acris never has bulbils, at least have I never noticed any and they are pretty common here. However they produce lots of fertile seed.

To talk about something nicer, the Heloniopsis is very fine, Todd! My Heloniopsis and Ypsilandria have suffered badly in the last winter.

This house is not mine but I drive along this meadow every day on my way home. The cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis) is a hallmark in this region.

Fantastic, Trond - I pass a couple of garden lawns like that on my cycle to work, but not quite as good as that!! I was going to post a picture but you beat me to it!

Impressive display Trond!  :o  Ours are barely showing buds yet.

Calandrinia grandiflora...wish it was hardy here!  I grew it from seed years ago and have kept it going in the cool greenhouse at work.  They are just starting to bloom now and will do so all summer.

cohan wrote:

Hoy wrote:

This house is not mine but I drive along this meadow every day on my way home. The cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis) is a hallmark in this region.

Nice! Is this a little pink or lavender? Or is it white?

The coloured vary from light pink, to lavender to white and in between.
Here are three color forms from my garden (actually weeds in my lawn and flowerbeds ;D)

Some plants can be even darker but I didn't find any when I looked for it.

Stephenb wrote:

Fantastic, Trond - I pass a couple of garden lawns like that on my cycle to work, but not quite as good as that!! I was going to post a picture but you beat me to it!

For once I was quickest :o

Todd wrote:

Impressive display Trond!  :o  Ours are barely showing buds yet.

Calandrinia grandiflora...wish it was hardy here!  I grew it from seed years ago and have kept it going in the cool greenhouse at work.  They are just starting to bloom now and will do so all summer.

A pretty plant, Todd.
I have grown this Calandrina and tried to overwinter it outside - a foolish thing to do!

One of my Androsace...I think it is A. carnea 'Alba'

Innocent little beauty, Todd!

I have had A carnea but they usually are shortlived here.

Most Androsace are short-lived here too...S. primuloides and A. sempervivoides are exceptions.

Today Erythronium sibericum opened...first time blooming from seeds sown 6 years ago...the originally came from Finn Haugli.  I'm more patient than I thought!

Todd, every garden is so different.  I have no luck with Androsace sempervivoides, which behaves here more like an annual, but Androsace villosa seems to be quite permanent.

Beautiful villosa Anne!  IT behaves like an annual in my area!  If fuzzy, forget it in my neck of the woods!

Blooming currently...Bergenia ciliata

Todd, your Bergenia ciliata is way better than mine! The last two years have almost destroyed the flowerbuds and the emerging flowers are very disappointing. However the leaves are magnificent when they unfurls! They attain a diameter of 20-30cm!

Hoy wrote:

Todd, your Bergenia ciliata is way better than mine! The last two years have almost destroyed the flowerbuds and the emerging flowers are very disappointing. However the leaves are magnificent when they unfurls! They attain a diameter of 20-30cm!

Yes Trond, the foliage is quite spectacular for a Bergenia...puts the others to shame!

Todd, can you show us the foliage on Bergenia ciliata; the flowers do look nice.  I must admit a bias with Bergenia, when I lived in the Seattle area of Washington State, big cabbagy Bergenias were a prerequisite for most any yard and border planting.  It wasn't until Roy Davidson showed me some choice smaller species growing out of pockets in a vertical stone wall in his garden that I became aware and interested in the genus.

Hoy wrote:

Stephenb wrote:

Hoy wrote:

Rick, once I tried to get hold of Staphylea but then I never thought of sowing it and I never managed to find some plants for sale. You have rewaked that wish and I'll put Staphylea seed of my list for next seedex ;D

I may be able to help you with that - I think I have an extra plant of Staphylea pinnata (remind me when you're next up here)! It grows well and sets seed here.  

Many thanks, Stephen! We are to visit my wife's sister and her family at the farm May 6-8 ;D

Good to meet you at the weekend. We forgot the Staphylea!

A modest wee little thing, but I'm so pleased to see a few blooms on Leucocrinum montanum (sand lily, starlily or mountain lily).  Thanks Hugh!

Judging from the following link, the plant is variable across its broad range:
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/ofp/leu_mon.htm

The USDA range map is visually misleading, as it looks more common than it really is.  Check the Flora of North America range map for a better picture:
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LEMO4
http://www.efloras.org/object_page.aspx?object_id=8438&flora_id=1

Stephenb wrote:

Hoy wrote:

Stephenb wrote:

Hoy wrote:

Rick, once I tried to get hold of Staphylea but then I never thought of sowing it and I never managed to find some plants for sale. You have rewaked that wish and I'll put Staphylea seed of my list for next seedex ;D

I may be able to help you with that - I think I have an extra plant of Staphylea pinnata (remind me when you're next up here)! It grows well and sets seed here.  

Many thanks, Stephen! We are to visit my wife's sister and her family at the farm May 6-8 ;D

Good to meet you at the weekend. We forgot the Staphylea!

Thanks the same! Although we forgot one plant I wasn't emptyhanded when leaving! . . . and now I have an excuse to return ;D

:)

McDonough wrote:

Todd, can you show us the foliage on Bergenia ciliata; the flowers do look nice.  I must admit a bias with Bergenia, when I lived in the Seattle area of Washington State, big cabbagy Bergenias were a prerequisite for most any yard and border planting.  It wasn't until Roy Davidson showed me some choice smaller species growing out of pockets in a vertical stone wall in his garden that I became aware and interested in the genus.

Mark, bergenia ciliata is deciduous...it will be a few weeks before the leaves start to put on their show!

Lovely Leucocrinum!

Mark, is that Leucocrinum ephemeral or does it flower through the summer?

A shot from my garden.
Grusonia clavata, Lewisia rediviva var. minor, and Erigeron compositus.

WimB wrote:

Today, this plant catched my eye in my garden, I thought it was quite nice:

Echinocereus baileyi

Wim
Very nice clear pink.

Most of my Echinocereus are a week or two out yet for flowers to open. They are heavily budded so I am hoping I can compeat with your fine display!  

Report to moderator

McDonough wrote:

Todd, can you show us the foliage on Bergenia ciliata; the flowers do look nice.  I must admit a bias with Bergenia, when I lived in the Seattle area of Washington State, big cabbagy Bergenias were a prerequisite for most any yard and border planting.  It wasn't until Roy Davidson showed me some choice smaller species growing out of pockets in a vertical stone wall in his garden that I became aware and interested in the genus.

While waiting for Todd's:Here are the leaves of my B ciliata today.

The dominating flowering plants here now is rhododendron. Here are a few of the bigger ones:

Todd wrote:

Today Erythronium sibericum opened...first time blooming from seeds sown 6 years ago...the originally came from Finn Haugli.  I'm more patient than I thought!

Easier to be patient when the prize is so good though, eh? These erys are SO worth the wait!!

Trond, those rhodies are spectacular!  Those hybrids are too tender for my area.  Our first rhodies are just starting....only the dauricums are open at the moment, but the buds are quite fat now on R. oreodoxa.

Here is a strong contrast from the garden...Pulmonaria angustifolia and Anemone blanda 'White Splendor'

Anemone blanda 'White Splendor' grows at the Minnesota Arboretum, too.