What do you see on your garden walks? 2012

Finally got out and photographed the irish trough, or stone sink.  It was delivered by a pickup truck and 4 football players (using a coouple of 2x6s), moved it into position.  It is in this position to stay.  Not a good time of year to photograph it and it's only half planted still.

Sorry, I don't know what happened to the photos.  I'll try again.  Computers are a mystery to me.

Masterfully done, Anne, and befitting of your awesome garden as a whole.  

    Kinda peaceful and Zen like, too.

I really l;ike the outcropping,too.  It's necessary since this is a shallow trough.  I'm convinced that the deeper the trough, the better, like a mini raised bed.  In my climate everything freezes solid.  The irish trough has such thick walls but that's still not enough protection from freezing.  I use rain covers on some of the troughs, designed by Mark Mazer of NARGS.  They are open on the ends and arched over the trough.  They get lots of sun and wind but no drenching rain.  You do have to brush the snow off the top or it will bow down.  The top is made of plexiglas (I think).  I wish Mark would weigh in.  They are so marvelously designed and I'll put a picture on soon.  I haven't installed them yet for the winter.

RickR wrote:

Funny how even a dead looking prenanthes like plant can be interesting - and not even in relation to the aforementioned winged patterned frost (which is fascinating): I assume the leaf blades senesced, fell off and blew away, while the petioles dried and remained...
I don't think I have ever seen that on a herbaceous plant before.

Rick; I recall the leaves and petioles do not fall from the stem. As I said, I clip all back so what remains is the (older seasons growth) stems. This is doable because all top growth dies, only buds on the caudex remain. The ice wings seem to emanate from the dead stem itself which really is weird as I cannot figure where all the water comes from. It must be coming from the earth below; a sort-of "frost finger" effect. I had a picture of the plant but computer ate most photos (that weren't posted to NARGS!) prior to June. I was out this morning shooting frost formation on a few other plants so may post those. If my goat-plant survives winter; I'll strive to get a photo up. It is interesting, I think, botanically and that it thrives here being from such a southern area.

Has to be armchair botanising for me the next days. Although it is mild now (+7C) we have a lot of snow. Farther south they were hit hard by the gale and a train and several hundred cars were caught in the snowdrives. Hundreds of people had to stay all night in the cars. If this had happened in the mountains nobody had rised an eyebrow but this is in the lowland and in the mildest part of the country  :o  When I was out driving last night it reminded me more of a mountain crossing than a trip to the airport!

Euonymus hamiltonianus var. sieboldianus fruit.  All harvested on 3 October.  

15 days later:
The left, dried in relative darkness in the garage, the right is an outdoor dried bouquet remaining at my south facing doorstep.
             

26 days later:
             

Picea asperata and Liriodendron tuliperifera seed heads.
       

Gymnocladus dioicus and Pinus strous 'Wintergold'
       

Pinus ponderosa    

Fibigia clypeata
         

So, you do have snow too, Rick! Nice trees ;) Think I still have to wait some years for my specimen to flower!
I hadn't time to picture my snowclad trees - no daylight when I had time and no snow left on them when I had daylight :-\

Some more frost action; still no snow  :( still no cold  :) Saxifrages; 'Hamilton' Cranberry; Androsace sempervivioides -special because it came from seed set here; and Shortia. The drawing is three (four) sided pyramid rock crevice garden concept: I know -way over the top. May I build you one? LOL!

Hi Michael, how come you have frost action without cold? :o

Now the cold is back here after a few mild days. The hellebore is later than usual but has managed to free itself from much of the snow. The Farrer viburnum is late too but has flowered and new buds are forming. It is still snow patches in front of my house.

Here, the frost comes at night, then disappears when the temperatures rise during the day.  So far, we are having a non-winter.  Joe had to cancel a ski trip to Vail in early December because of lack of snow.  I check the garden every day speaking sternly to plants showing signs of ignoring the shutting down for winter process.  Last week I found a Gentiana dinarica bloom (measely and not fully open, but still...).

Before climate change, we always had continuous snow through the winter.  Now, who knows?  Last season, the severe drought lasted right through the winter, and I think we had more winter days without snowcover than with.  Now the bulk of the snow seems to pass just to the south of me.  So, southern Minnesota and Iowa get the snow I would usually get.  They are getting a blizzard right now.

I feel sorry for the children here, when I think of the loads of fun we had as kids sliding down hills, grooming the runs, building snow forts, etc.  On the other hand, nowadays they probably would much rather play with there video games, anyway.

Hi John!

Glad to see you've made your debut here.  Welcome!

When the leaves drop in the fall, I always find that the Liriodendron bloomed more heavily then I had thought.  ....this season especially.

No more doting on the little plants in this garden this year.

But still a few hours left in this year to dote on the big plants in this garden!

Veiw of back yard after snow; Rhodopolis; Sage Brush by lamp post and ladenus Taxus

Michael, seems you still have full winter over there!

The winter did leave us last week here but we will have it back later for sure :-\  Today I managed to get outside between the showers. Not much to see though and everything is completely soaked. The Cyclamen (hederifolium) is still in leaf despite the cold we had and the hellebores try to flower as soon as they can (H. niger hybrid and foetidus).

Trond, I enjoy news of happenings in your tropical (comparatively) garden. There are stories of success with Cyclamen in the region though I'm apt to start an argument with those story tellers  :rolleyes: Cyclamen in my garden so far have departed along with the most tender of the avian set around the time the first snowflake falls. The Helleborus foetidus types may burn to death if we get a real winter with little snow though I find H. orientalis, having a strong below ground component, quite tough. The weather folks here are saying the snow we have now (15 inches) is apt to stick around a while. A gentle mass of arctic air, deemed "modified" is to send a few ripples over us and temperatures at night are expected to drop to below zero F. Totally different than last winter so far!

Thanks Michael, it's vice versa too - I believe you have much warmer summers than I have ;)
We had rather nice weather today but working I couldn't enjoy it. At this time of the year I leave home before sunrise and get home about sunset but I had 3/4 moon shining when driving this morning ;D Now it is back to rain again :-\

Michael, the only cyclamen that makes it here is C. fatrense, which came from Dick Redfield many years ago.  I've tried C. coum (didn't even make it through a single winter), and C. hederifolium.  Cyclamen fatrense blooms in August (if memory serves), and is long lasting in the garden.

cohan wrote:

How does purpurascens do in eastern NA gardens? It certainly has no issues with cold- I think Lori has had it for some years, and I've had a number of seedlings outside for a couple of winters (not a long term endorsement yet, I know) though of course we have very different climate issues from you folks down east..

I've had great luck with C. purpurescens, coum & hederifolium here in Vermont with no extra winter protection, but in very well drained soil. The coum is self-sowing too!

After visiting with Nina and Jack Lambert many years ago, Nina gave over 50 Cyclamen coums in all sizes.  I tried them in many different areas in the garden, in varying soils, exposures etc.  Not one made it through the winter.  She gave me many more the following year with the same result.
I was told by a Czech grower that C. fatrense was not a form of C. purpurascens.  The leaf is not absolutely plain, it does have some [no-lexicon]minor[/no-lexicon] marbling.  At any rate, it has been hardy here for many years, the others (hederifolium, coum) have not.  C. hederifolium actually made it through a few winters but gradually dwindled.

Anne, do you grow Cyclamen purpurascens?  I find it iron-clad hardy here, and as well, forgiving of hot dry weather too, reliably flowering starting mid summer and lasting into early autumn.  Some of the marbled and silver leaf forms are outstanding.  I scratch in the seed, and they come up by the hundreds.

Well, there you have it! If it will grow for Amy, Anne and Mark then it will certainly grow for me! This could be a case of trying too hard; killing plants. No arguments: I'm looking for peace in 2013 as well as for exciting gardening adventures :)

Mark, the only cyclamen that has survived for me is what I know as Cyclamen fatrense from Dick Redfield.  Dick was very insistent that it was different from C. purpurascens (which I don't have), and since his knowledge was really encyclopedic. I've always accepted it as such.  It's a lovely plant whatever the name.  I tend to become very fond of plants that do well for me and I'm very fond of this one.

Tim, the Cyclamen hederifolium and coum leaf forms are pure delight!

David, I find it surprising about Grey-Wilson advice to deeply plant C. purpurascens (6-8 inches), mine always rise to the surface with 1/2 of the tuber above ground level!  It's somewhat unnerving observing that behavior, as I worry they will dessicate in our summer heat, and if no snow cover, could be winter killed, but it seems to be what they want.  Mine are also growing on a steep hillside, so moisture never lingers there, the area becomes quite dry.

Anne, given that I'm a couple hundred miles to the north of you, I have to imagine C. purpurascens should be hardy and grow for you.  I can save seed this summer.

Some views of Cyclamen purpurascens planted under Magnolia 'Forrest Pink', in one view there was a bumper crop of Magnolia seed littering up the cyclamen and trillium bed beneath ;), a view of self-sown seedlings (all green ones).  I started out with all-green leaf ones, then got some silver and marble leaf types, and now get all kinds of seedlings.

That was very helpful, David. Thanks.

Grey-Wilson's wrote:

I have now come to the conclusion that this plant[C. fatrense] cannot be distinguished on botanical grounds...

but on cultural grounds...
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C. purpurascens growing in Minnesota gardens have their crown at or just below the soil surface, for the most part.  I've always imagined that those "above grade" simply heaved up with frosts, but they do equally well.  A few grow C. hederifolium, and they look very healthy, although I've not seen them in flower.

Thanks, Mark.  I'll look forward to trying the seed.

Not sure if I'd like that in my "garden" :D, but it's pretty impressive.

--- Excellent branch work, too!

Howey wrote:

And here he is - I hope.  Fran
Frances Howey
London, Ontario, Canada
Zone 5b

Oh, do you think he is out walking in the night? Not sure if he is still there ;D

Tim, that is a nice specimen! I've seen Garrya in England and have wanted to try it at home. Once I got the chance but then we got the worst winter in decades and it died :-\