Alpines in June

[quote=Skulski]

Well, I guess I'll test out the new site with a couple of pictures of alpines blooming now:

Asperula boissieri and Patrinia sibirica:

How often does one see brown flowers?  Mathiola anchonifolium:

[/quote]

Hi Lori, your images are staying as very small thumbnails, they're not enlarging. I'm working on a list of items that need addressing, or need instructions for best procedures.  I think we should use "Image Attachments" instead of "Embedded Images".

Yes, i realized that and can't figure out how to fix it.  It seems odd that the instructions suggest that one might be able to post photo files up to "35 MB" yet the posted photos are reduced, in the one case, to 55 KB.

Try Image Attachments instead, they seem to work.  I did a test earlier today, but was so busy with work, haven't had time to compile my findings, I have pages and pages of things that either aren't working or because of a number of options, we need to give instructions on the best way to do things.  Will have to wait until Sunday monring as I'm out most the the day Saturday.

Yes, it works if I load the same photos as "Image Attachments" - then it is possible to enlarge the thumbnails.   However, you can't actually see the photos in Preview then, and you can't move them around.  Oh well, I'm sure it will all get worked out.   Anyway, please bear with us...

Asperula boissieri and Patrinia sibirica:

[attachthumb=1]

Mathiola anchonifolium:

[attachthumb=2]

In your message, the [attachthumb=1] syntax doesn't do anything here, I know because It tried.  I'm sure there is indeed some syntax we can use to add photos exactly where you want, will ask the web developers.  Incidentally, there is a place in the image attachment feature, to add an image title, it will then display the image or plant name, as you "mouse over" the image, I like that feature. I see that you have taken advantage of that feature, nice!  By the way, how unusual the flower color is on the Mathiola, intriquing.

Aethionema glaucescens:

Campanula alpestris; Arenaria kansuensis; Campanula stevenii ssp. turczaninovii and Rheum rhizostachyum; update on Eremostachys speciosa; Oxytropis viscida (I think) x2

For those who missed it, to get your 'embedded images' to be linked to the larger image displayed in the colorbox overlay, before you click the 'Insert' button, set the 'Style' to 'Colorbox medium' or Colorbox large', if available.

[quote=Daniel Dillon]

For those who missed it, to get your 'embedded images' to be linked to the larger image displayed in the colorbox overlay, before you click the 'Insert' button, set the 'Style' to 'Colorbox medium' or Colorbox large', if available.

[/quote]

Missed it?  Where did we miss it from?  When I use the Embedded Images option, select an image that's within the pixel constraints, and hit Upload, I get the error message as follows:
 

An AJAX HTTP request terminated abnormally.
Debugging information follows.
Path: /file/ajax/field_embedded_image/und/form-iY3CQxwMjO4KTYd1BQTduN64np0Cgb2ZcUe45yikOxU
StatusText: n/a
ResponseText:
North American Rock Garden Society
Error          
Error message
EntityMalformedException: Missing bundle property on entity of type comment. in entity_extract_ids() (line 7663 of /home/nargs/public_html/includes/common.inc).
The website encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later.    
ReadyState: undefined

The options you describe (Style: colorbox medium,  then Insert) only appears *after* one adds an embed image (but don't click on upload, otherwise one gets the aforementioned error), just hit the Save button, then go back and Edit the post, only upon the Edit operation does one gain access to the (Style: colorbox medium,  then Insert) options.

[quote=Daniel Dillon]

For those who missed it, to get your 'embedded images' to be linked to the larger image displayed in the colorbox overlay, before you click the 'Insert' button, set the 'Style' to 'Colorbox medium' or Colorbox large', if available.

[/quote]

I want a photo1 embed right here, Epimedium elachyphyllum:

Here's some more  text,
then my 2nd and 3rd photo embeds below this text, Magnolia sieboldii Korean Form on the left, Iris gracilipes 'Cobblewood Charm' on the right:
 
 

The problem is, with the initial post, I can't hit Upload after selected an Embed image, because of the AJAX HTTP error, thus I get no option to add an additional image, can only initially add one embed.  Then would have to go back to EDIT the post, and then add more images.

Right now, I get the same error attempting to an Image Attachment and hit Upload, get the AJAX HTTP error. Again, can only add one attached image when first creating the message, can add additional images after Save, then EDIT the post.  Right now, it's an obscure (with errors) multistep process), to attach images of embedded images. It should be noted, that when using the Edit button, and adding a second or third Embedded Image, then the Upload boes *does* work without the AJAX HTTP error, thus allowing additional images or embeds to be added, not sure it doesn't work to Upload when starting a new message.

1. Noticed too, that the "Alternate text" added to the embedded images *does not" pop up that text when mousing over the embedded image, alternate text does popup when mousing over an Image Attachment.

2. Notice as well, that on Image Attachments, if no value is added to the "Alternate Text", that it automatically adds in its own text, using the first few words of the message, why does it do that.  It's necessary to add at least one blank space in the Alternate Text for Image Attachments, to suppress that odd behavior.  I have left it as the default, so it says "Daniel Dillon wrote" when mousing over the image at the bottom.

Below is Iris gracilipes 'Cobblewood Charm', an Image Attachment

Thank you for the info, Daniel and Mark - that's very helpful! 

A dwarf Aconitum that came from Beaver Creek labelled as Aconitum sp. ex DaXue Shan - the flowers are very open.  

Some contrasts from the same seed batch... Silene bolanthoides:

Also Dianthus scardicus:

Aethionema schistosum; Potentilla porphyrantha; Genista cf. depressa with Arenaria pseudoacantholimon:

Quite a collection you have, Lori. Do you know how many different species you have in your tufa "mountains"?

Saxifrages do well on my modest roof.

Nice saxifrages!  I don't know how many alpines I have in tufa... probably a pretty static number, given I kill 'em off pretty regularly!

Aethionema schistosum; Plantago urvillei; Lychnis alpina 'Kugelblitz'; Penstemon virens (x2); Anthyllis vulneraria coccinea:

Dracocephalum ruyschianum.  Flowers are very blue!

Edrianthus wettsteinii, Delosperma basuticum and Coryphantha vivipara, Veronica oltensis

Love the cacti and delosperma, Rick!  Isn't Edraianthus wettsteinii the one with the very interesting seedheads? 

Edraianthus niveus; Edraianthus vesovicii, rather rain-soaked:

I'll get to see flowers soon on Salvia aff. caespitosa (S. quezelii?)... as it said on the label:

Alyssum spinosum 'Roseum'... suffering a little from ants having built underneath it:

Colourful seed heads on Rheum rhizostachyum:

Scutellaria indica v. parviflora 'Alba', from Beaver Creek and planted this spring:

Silene falcata:

Campanula hawkinsiana, a native to unstable schists and serpentinite soils in Greece and Albania (though clealry not fussy about substrates); monocarpic but self-seeding nicely:

Another shot of Plantago urvillei; Dracocephalum heterophyllum;  Lupinus aridus ssp. ashlandensis;  Saxifraga x burnatii (x2) - bought this spring from a local alpine grower:

First flowers on Anemone trullifolia v. linearis, bought last year from a local alpine gardener; Ajania tibetica; Hypericum aviculariifolium ssp. uniflorum... cute but not so spectacular as the first time they bloomed (monocarpically, unfortunately): 

Saponaria pumilio;  Sedum pilosum (now Rosularia pilosa, I guess);  Goniolimon cf. speciosa, close to flowering; Anthemis cretica ssp. leucanthemoides, from seed in 2012; Genista delphinensis, now Genista sagittalis;  Incarvillea compacta, bought last year:

Fabulous stuff being shown here, I want to comment on each and every one. But little time tonight, but did want to mention to Lori, in your multiple image posting above, the one with more than 10 images, 5 of the images don't enlarge; not sure why, but maybe while there's no stated limit on number of "embedded images" one can upload, maybe there is a limit to how many will behave as thumbnails that will enlarge, I'm just guessing.

I'll try to see if I can fix them.  I should have checked to see if they all enlarged as I guess they are supposed to... was pleased to see I could load that many at least!  Does seem as though I may have reached some sort of limit though.

Here are the last ones, which were not enlargeable before, repeated with text... 

Lupinus aridus ssp. ashlandensis;  Saxifraga x burnatii (x2) - bought this spring from a local alpine grower:

First flowers on Anemone trullifolia v. linearis, bought last year from a local alpine gardener; Ajania tibetica;Hypericum aviculariifolium ssp. uniflorum... cute but not so spectacular as the first time they bloomed (monocarpically, unfortunately): 

[quote=Mark McD]

Fabulous stuff being shown here, I want to comment on each and every one. But little time tonight, but did want to mention to Lori, in your multiple image posting above, the one with more than 10 images, 5 of the images don't enlarge; not sure why, but maybe while there's no stated limit on number of "embedded images" one can upload, maybe there is a limit to how many will behave as thumbnails that will enlarge, I'm just guessing.

[/quote]

Fabulous stuff indeed Mark. A cornucopia of amazing images of some superbly grown plants.

It hasn't been mentioned anywhere as yet, to my knowledge, but this new forum appears to automatically resize any pictures uploaded, to fit within the limit. This for me is a tremendous innovation and removes one of my previous frustrations. Well done design team!

Well, thank you!  I don't claim to grow anything well... I just stick it in the ground, and if the conditions happen to suit it, it survives (at the same time, a whole lot don't) - pretty haphazard. Thanks for the kind words though (however undeserved)!

A few more in this, the probable height of bloom in the rock garden:

Update on Silene falcata... the flowers are at their best on cloudy days, such as it was today:

Gentiana siphonantha buds are colouring up... a very rich dark blue that the camera doesn't quite capture:

A couple of Campanula that I failed to record properly; they look familiar - think I've grown them before - but if you know what they are, please let me know!

Aubrieta 'Axcent Blue with Eye" (uggh, the name makes me cringe!) and 'Royal Red':

Update on Oxytropis viscida(?); from seed last year; flowers turning an interesting blue:

A native alpine chickweed - not showy but I like the dark stems:

Campanula saxifraga:

Saxifraga cuneifolia:

Not exotic but I'm a sucker for red flowers... Anthyllis vulneraria 'Coccinea' is knocking itself out:

You certainly have many gems, Lori! I don't know which one I admire most ;-) 

BTW I think it worked to scroll down all your pictures by just clicking on the first when it was enlarged, then the next showed and so on.

We are on our way to help our daughter move so not many pictures now.

Here are Potentilla ambigua and Veronica austriaca from our cabin by the sea where we stayed one night.

Here are another Veronica, V. fruticans from our mountain cabin where we have spent 2 nights and one rainy day. (Going to Trondheim today.) Lychnis alpina (new name: Silene suecica) This year some albino forms have appeared.

Not exactly a plant for the rockery but worth a picture is Anemone narcissiflora.

Potentilla ambigua looks very rock garden-worthy, and I love Lychnis alpina (used to have a big swath of them and must get some going again - I like the dark stems on that one too)!   Anemone narcissiflora is wonderful... is it a spreader?

Mostly just repeats today:  

Ajuga lupulina:

Incarvillea compacta:

Scutellaria indica var. parifolia 'Alba', bought this spring from Beaver Creek:

A show winner that Incarvillea!

Lori, I can look for seeds later if you are interested. Potentilla ambigua seems to spread a little by underground runners so maybe not one to put anywhere.

Anemone narcissiflora has not spread by seed yet (with only one specimen in flower it scarily produces seed). It has slowly made a clump. Now I have planted another one so maybe I'll get a better harvest. 

A few plants from a short stop yesterday. Oxytropis lapponica, Astragalus alpinus, Astragalus frigidus (a stately plant but no open flowers yet), Pedicularis oederi. The last one doesn't quite fit in a rock garden but a bog garden!

Just received these delightful images from dear Anne Spiegel who is currently being snowed upon in Corvara, Italy on her (and Joe's) annual pilgrimage to the beautiful Dolomites.  A very late season and the current snowfalls mean that the high passes and usual haunts are out of reach, so Anne was especially pleased to discover these magnificent stands of Gentiana acaulis in a high meadow where she noted that every plant was growing in large clusters like this ... in old cow pats, perhaps?

Gentiana acaulis images captured by Anne Spiegel.

Holy moly those gentians are out of this world!

I love the Pedicularis, Trond - what a beauty!

The gentians and ranunculus are stunning, Cliff!  We're glad to be able to share Anne's alpine rambles.

Update on Lychnis alpina 'Kugelblitz' - lovely plant:

I had one precocious seedling of Rhodiola rhodantha that was huge compared to all the rest and is blooming now, 5 months from germination:

Edraianthus damaticus:

Carduncellus pinnatus, out in the front yard (excuse the unsightly soaker hose!):

Goniolimon cf. speciosa, now in bloom (with Rhodiola pilosa in the background); Gentiana siphonantha (x2) - unfortunately the camera doesn't capture the dark, rich blue!; Telesonix jamesii var. heucheriformis;  Asyneuma limonifolium - two plants with quite different habits.

Scrumptious, all of them!

Lori, your Carduncellus pinnatus is wonderful.  I grow a different one not nearly as nice.  I remember growing Goniolimon years ago from the NARGS seed exchange.  It lasted quite a while and then left.  I'll have to try it again.  Your plants are marvelous.  What a joy your garden must be right now.

Thanks, Anne and Rick!  

It seems that the offsets produced by Carduncellus pinnatus take many years to take on the perfectly radial, highly-dissected leaf form of the blooming rosettes.  One of those offsets is visible under the blooming rosette.  Has anyone else noticed this?

Anthemis marschalliana:

I bought this labelled as Salvia aff. caespitosa/S. quezelii?; it's now in bloom.  Can anyone suggest which of the two it is?  I see that someone has posted photos of S. quezelii at SRGC; the flowers on it have a larger pink blotch; I'll have to enlarge the photos to try to compare the foliage.

The tail-end of bloom on Salvia caespitosa... mostly just the bracts left.

Yes, I did notice, Lori, but wasn't even sure that it was part of the carduncellus but maybe a stray seedling of something else popping up.

Very nice, Lori! I don't know which one to give my vote ;-)

We are visiting some relatives in Mid-Norway and used the last day of June for a hike in the nearby mountains. At this latitude the forest line is about 800m ASL. The bedrock consists mostly of acidic rocks with a few exceptions. We started walking at Ytre Sonevatn where Sona, one of the main tributaries to Stjørdalselva (a famous salmon river) has its source. We prepared warm lunch at the beach of Ytre Sonevatn. (Vatn = lake)

Sona, Ytre Sonevatn, Østre Sonevatn.

The flora isn't particularly rich but we found some nice plants.

Arctostaphylos alpinus                              Cornus suecica                                       Eriophorum latifolium

Menyanthes trifoliata                                 Orthilia secunda                                       Pyrola minor

Diapesia lapponica is vey showy in flower but we were a bit late. Diphasiastrum alpinum  Lycopodium clavatum

Geum rivale double                  Pinguicula vulgaris. I looked for the whiteflowered P. alpina but couldn't find it. Trientalis europaea

Tofielda pusilla, still with morning dew.        The local krummholz, Pinus sylvestris     An old dead pine.

Wonderful images, Lori and Trond.

A couple of new images from dear Anne Spiegel in the Dolomites ... two of her favourites, Polygala chamaebuxus and Ranunculus alpestris.

Polygala chamaebuxus  Images by Anne Spiegel
Ranunculus alpestris

Thanks, Cliff!

Beautiful flowers Anne/Cliff! Polygala chamaebuxus is one of my garden favorits and the Ranunculus is on my list of unattainable gems!

Yesterday we did drive home - a 800km trip from Trøndelag in 14 hours. We went through some of the most spectacular montane landscape in Norway but the mountains (more than 10 is higher than 2000m) were hidden in clouds (Without clouds: http://www.sognefjellet.no/ ). The highest point of the road is 1400m ASL and here people still enjoy skiing. We also went through about 100km with tunnels altogether, inclusive the longest road tunnel in the world, Lærdalstunnelen 24.5km long.

http://www.google.no/search?q=l%C3%A6rdalstunnelen&client=firefox-a&hs=3EB&rls=org.mozilla:nb-NO:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0pTUUZLZOIKG4gST5IHwBQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=666

We didn't stop here though, just passed by, because we had made a stop at lower altidude to look at the flowers and straighten the legs.

Pyrola norvegica in a rich meadow and a Salix in the gravel.

Astragalus frigidus had opened the flowers since we passed the other way. Veronica alpina.

While we waited for the ferry I pictured Veronica officinalis, a very common plant both in the mountains and by the seaside. Here in the fjords a lot of alpine plants go down to the sea, like this Saxifraga cotyledon. Compare my hand to the rosette!

Fantastic scenery and beautiful plants, Trond!  Looks awfully wintery up there - I'm always surprised to see roads through such places.  (If it was up to me, travel in the alpine zone would be self-propelled only, ha!  Just one of the many reasons why I'll never get elected Supreme Ruler of the world... ;-)  )

I'm really enjoying seeing what seem to be the European counterparts to many of "our" plants.  Cornus suecica is intriguing... so similar and yet different from Cornus canadensis, the only one we see here (though I know C. suecica occurs elsewhere in North America);  Trientalis europaea versus Trientalis borealis; Veronica alpina versus Veronica  wormskjoldii (which, assuming the Wiki article is correct and complete(?), also occurs in Greenland).   Lovely photos, both for the compositions and the subjects!

And, by the way, I am about to start an "Alpines in July" thread... stay tuned.  

Once I find out how (and assuming I remember to do so!), I'll move the last messages from this thread to the July thread....

Thank you Lori! You know I have to keep up to your standards ;-)

I have noticed the similarities between "our" and "your" plants and assume they sometimes had been classified as the same species if they had occurred in the same country.

I grow Cornus canadensis in my garden and have just got going Trientalis borealis to compare.

Regarding roads in those heights, you know, it is sometimes the only possible way from A to B! But they make new roads literally through the mountains these days.

Friends and I took a trip to Stampede Pass (just east of Snoqualmie Pass) to see Penstemon rupicola.  (It's hard to remember that a month ago it was rainy and cool!  I'm slow posting pictures -- things are a little hectic right now.)

There were fields of Xerophyllum tenax (beargrass) in full bloom.

Ribes lobbii caught my eye.  The wind almost knocked me over while I photographed Saxifraga bronchialis.

I'll attempt a comment, though I doubt my internet is up to trying to post photos right now.. Trond very cool to be able to drive through those zones, and great plants!

Claire- very nice- that Penstemon is quite wonderful! Would the area where it is growing be moist most of the year, or tending to dry, or..?

Right now that area is hot and dry -- temperatures 80-90 degrees during the day and cool at night.  We've had no rain for the last 31 days and forest fires are a big threat.  Everything crisps up until the fall rains awaken them.

Very nice, Claire! Penstemon rupicola is a gem! Have you tried it in the garden?

Is beargrass a high altitude plant?

Ribes lobbii looks nice. Wouldn't mind one in my garden!

Claire, mouth-watering photos Penstemon rupicola.  And the Bear Grass view is terrific, a fantastic plant, but I hadn't see a view like this with so many in flower. I share Trond's sentiment, wouldn't mind Ribes lobbii in my garden, it's on my list ;-)

Forum tip: when placing text for embedded images, put your plant names in the "Title Text: field (instead of "Alternate Text"), then your plant names will show up as popup caption when mousing over the image.

Thanks for the info, Claire, I'm sure I've considered seed of P rupicola on the Alplains list (hard to choose from -what is it, 4 pages?- so many Penstemons on that list..lol)

R lobbii is a cool one too, another to look for..  Bear Grass is another thing I've always admired, a little meadow of it would be very nice!

Hope the fires stay away.. we've hardly had 31 minutes without rain since late May...lol (exaggeration, but no more than a few days without rain for sure, when we've had a day or most of one without rain, I joke that it's getting really dry...)

Hi, Trond,

 I grow penstemon rupicola (from seed) and it is never as floriferous as it is in the mountains.  But even a few flowers of that bright, deep color are worth the effort.

On the other hand, bear grass grows quite well in my nearly sea level garden, flowering most years, and otherwise is a nice spray of fine, green leaves.  One reason there was such a field of it is because all the tall vegetation had been removed under power lines.

...Claire

Thanks Claire!

Have to try that penstemon in my garden too! I have considered bear grass before but never tried it. Do you or anybody know whether it is easy from seed?

Penstemons seem to germinate easily - I have several species seedlings for testing now.

I've grown Xerophyllum tenax  from seed several times (and killed it, too, I might add).  I planted more seeds this past winter -- seeds that came from the 2007 AGC-BC seed exchange, stored in the refrigerator all this time.  I have a pot full of seedlings, with germination starting in March of this year.  So I'd guess bear grass isn't hard from seed.

Thanks!