Alpines, 2015

Starting to open, just in time for howling winds, cooler weather and possible snow flurries... Saxifraga oppositifolia and S. oppositifolia 'Theoden', Saxifraga 'Delia', Douglasia montana:

April 7 2015 i took these two pictures out in the rock garden, not really alpines im afraid. The Penstemon acaule is a third generation self seed, this a few years old. The interesting thing is these seedlings are much earlier to flower than any of the other P. acaule or P. yampaensis in the garden with the latter usually weeks later than any of the P. acaule. The other photo is a cluster of Lepideum nanum with a volunter Hymenoxis lapidicola seeming to like the company.

Wow, enviable plants and setting!  

You grow Saxifraga oppositifolia well Lori. It always goes brown in the middle in my garden.

Thanks, David.  If true, it's nothing special I do!  Looks like 'Theoden' will not have much of a bloom this year.

Maybe my wet Summers don't suit it?

I sure wish i could grow S. oppositifolia like that. Mine sort of linger a year or two before they expire, i have given up on them. The Loco weed is starting to kick in now as are some of the Penstemons and Buckwheat. I have included a picture of Talinum spinecens even though it has not started to bloom. i like the look of the knarled branches on the old plants before they have fully leafed out.

Excellent growth of Talinum spinescens, Jim, and the locoweeds are looking great.

I'm going to see if I can catch up in one fell swoop...

Androsace laggeri (formerly A. carnea 'Alba', I guess) from April 9:

A bad picture of one of my poor, long-suffering Pulsatilla vernalis, out in the awful dry clay along the sidewalk (I should see if I can transplant them)... just before a rabbit (or possibly some passing cretin) nipped off the flower:

Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Pearl Bells'; Thlaspi kurdicum; Smelowskia calycina:

Oxytropis multiceps; a new Primula marginata; Androsace incana:

A new Vitaliana primuliflora (supposedly a different var. than my old plant but looks the same); Primula x allionii 'Aire Mist'; Dracocephalum paulsenii in bud (still not quite open):

A baby Pulsatilla turczaninovii; Potentilla uniflora; Saxifraga 'FJK3': 

Iris taurica; Astragalus loanus; Lomatium nudicaule: 

Saxifraga 'Athena'; Gentiana verna, starting to bloom; Saxifraga sp.: 

Saxifraga 'Jupiter'; Androsace chamaejasme; Erigeron compositus:

And, a little out of sync, as the last of the blooms are now fading (peak was around the end of April), Adonis vernalis: 

Thlaspi bellidifolium; Thlaspi crassum, a woody one that suffered a bit of die-back; Draba ventosa:

Finally, a flower on Packera/Senecio werneriifolia; Phlox kelseyi:

Marvelous, Lori!  I love the little pink thlaspis especially.

In my new rock garden, a rabbit has decided it's a salad bar. 

Oh, darn.  I'm glad our backyard is fenced!

Lovely set of pictures Lori and also a most valuable resource for anyone like me who is a inveterate note keeper of the "Ooo that one looks nice I must look out for one of those" variety. Wish more of the Forum members would post pictures of their plants! 

Thanks, David.  I do the same and I agree - more activity here would be great.

Androsace incana; Gentiana verna; Draba ventosa in seed:

Unknown Draba also in seed; Pulsatilla campanella; Erigeron compositus (unknown var.):

The colour range endpoints in my Pulsatilla vulgaris population, lightest and darkest: 

Rheum rhizostachyum in bloom (much more colourful later when the seed heads turn red); Erigeron trifidus(?):

Draba rigida:

Polemonium pulcherrimum; Dracocephalum paulsenii; Alyssum sp. ex. Tahtali Dag, Turkey (Holubec collection):

Draba tomentosa; tiny self-sown seedling of Myosotis decumbens and one of Aethionema saxatilis var. oreophila:

First bloom on Ranunculus alpestris, bought from a local expert grower in 2012;seedling of Pulsatilla albana var. lutea from 2012; Phlox condensata:

Phlox multiflora; Potentilla hyparctica 'Compacta'; Gentiana verna, when the sun goes around and the flowers close:

Campanula sp. seedling from last year - one of that confusing group of Turkish ones!; Erigeron nematophyllus; Saxifraga 'Athena':

Saxifraga 'Delia'; Primula yuparensis in bud; the earliest Primula scotica are blooming: 

Close-up of Dracocephalum paulsenii:

Euphorbia capitulata, surprisingly fragrant, though looking a little rattier this spring, perhaps, than in previous ones:

Erigeron trifidus(?); Gentiana verna, still blooming nicely; Erigeron montanensis:

Rheum delavayi; Potentilla nivea Mt. Kirigishi form; Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Pearl Bells', now in seed:

Penstemon spathulatus: 

Geum alpinum 'Beech House Apricot'; Aethionema saxatilis var. oreophila; Potentilla uniflora:

Matthiola trojana; Edraianthus niveus; Anthyllis vulneraria var. coccineus, starting to bloom:

Lupinius lepidus var. utahensis; Eritrichium pauciflorum ssp. sajanense; Myosotis decumbens: 

Bergenia cordifolia; Potentilla porphyrantha; Woodsia obtusa: 

Potentilla rupestris 'Pygmaea'; Erigeron linearis; Polemonium boreale 'San Juan Skies':

Erigeron nematophyllus; Aubrieta canescens:

By the way, I revised the title of this thread from "Alpines in Spring, 2015" to simply "Alpines, 2015".  What we consider spring up here may well be edging into summer further south!