What do you see on your garden walks? 2013

Lori, your adonis is beautiful.  Did you grow the Synthyris platycarpa from seed?  Do you recall where you got the seed?

Lori, lots of stuff going on there now.  It looks like I lost my Adonis 'Fukujukai', so you're still one up on me! ;D

Does Primula algida take some different conditions than other primulas?  It looks so happy all by its lonesome in a rock bed....

My Taraxacum pseudoroseum have not bloomed yet, so perhaps they are not what I think they are.  Buds coming....
       

But the seedlings of these exact same plants do look more like yours...
         

Love the Corydalis paczoskii.
And this is Corydalis nobilis in my garden as of today.  Zone 4 Minnesota is way behind zone 3 Alberta!
   

Iris ruthenica nana
Meconopsis delavayi

Claire, to my mind Meconopsis delavayi is the most beautiful of its family. Be sure to keep taking seed from it.

Lori, your Rheum rhizostachyum may be small but it is perfectly formed - I do like these little rhubarbs.

M

Gene, your garden looks fabulous!  Lori, you're growing marvelous things.  I start to wish I had more garden space but then common sense prevails.  :)

I was able to collect a small amount of seed from Meconopsis delavayi to share with friends.  Some additional seedlings are growing this year, so hopefully I will get enough seed to share more widely.

Seems I am the last one to have flowers in the garden! The cold weather does continue . . . . even the slugs stay inside.
A few plants do cope with the low temperatures though. Glaucidium palmatum comes up late but very nicely. An unknown primula flowersin the woodland and Rhododendron roxieanumvar oreonastes has taken the dry cold winter without a single harmed leaf. Paris (Kinugasa) japonica flowers for the first time! However the flower doesn't open fully in the low temperature.

Gene and Lori, seems you have full summer! You both display a lot of beautiful plants!

Hope someone can i.d. my allium, label lost.
More and more blooming every day.  Garden is late and very dry already.  April was a disaster, no rain.

There seems to be a problem posting pictures.  I haven't been able to get on the Forum for days and this morning I could, but the pictures don't seem to go through.  Trying again.

Some more plants in the garden now.

Anne, you have some gems there! Seems the pictures came through after all!

Not much to show from our mountain "garden". Allthough the snow has disappeared from the meadows except a few patches, not much green are to be seen.
The lake is still covered by ice and the higher terrain is still snowclad. The last "heap" of snow by the cabin is of course in front of the main door!
Only the "mogop" Pulsatilla vernalis is in flower - or almost so. The hares and some European elks have been visiting and nipped a few buds. It is still cloudy and some rain but the forecast for tomorrow is much better!

Trond, how wonderful to have Pulsatilla vernalis.  Wish I could grow this one, it's so lovely.

So much to catch up on, but I'll chime in on the Allium ID, I think it's Allium karataviense.

Spiegel wrote:

Trond, how wonderful to have Pulsatilla vernalis.  Wish I could grow this one, it's so lovely.

Anne, what is your problem, too hot summers?
It is not difficult here - it is a native although I have helped it a bit establishing in our meadow. The main problem is foraging animals like hares and elks. When my wife was a girl it was abundant down in the valley too growing on sandy flats and pasture along the river. And that is one of the warmest places in all Norway.

Although the pasture and meadow still is bleak with old dead grass some colours do appear here and there.
The leaves of several plants that developed under snow cover often show red colours like the docks and sorrels (Rumex spp).

Also the alpine pennycress (Noccaea caerulescens) do sometimes adorn itself with reddish leaves. It is one of the early birds often starting blooming under the snowcover. However I don't think people will make a stampede to get hold of any ;D But it is a charming little one now while later it looses its spell.

The cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) is is another making interesting new growth with its filigreelike leaves. A kind of mushroom live on the dead grass.

Trond, this is a very dry garden without watering possibilities and mostly in sun and wind.  We have heat (in the 90sF) and high humidity during the summer and cold winters, often without snow.  I have tried the Pulsatilla vernalis and it has always died.  Too bad, it is such a lovely plant.  I count on a wet April to supply water for the garden and this year April was extremely dry.  The eriogonums have been happy and many astragali have had a great year.

Mark and Lori, many thanks.  The minute I saw the name karataviense I remembered.  It's really nice.  Now to find a similar allium with more color in the flowers.
Any ideas?  This one is a size to blend well in the rock garden as a single plant, and elsewhere in a group.

Wow, Anne, April may have been dry, but you sure show a lot of happy healthy plants!
Yours is the first Genista to ever make it to my want list. 8)
------------------------------------

Those tiny little sparks of life in the early,early spring are really a joy when hiking the cold and seemingly lifeless landscape.
  And you always find things that most people never see....

Rick, Genista depressa is a fabulous plant.  When the flowers (which are large) go over they slowly turn to shades of rust and brown, most decorative.  The pods are narrow and almost black.  I'd add Genista carinalis to your list as well.  It's a bit more difficult for me - the central trunk gets woody quickly, but it has a wonderful shape.  Right now the garden has changed to purples. blues and yellows and whites.  The yellows are mostly genistas and cytisus and chamaecytisus, all good.

Krish, the Douglasia Montana is unbelieveable!

Lori, PLEASE post many photos of Astragalus loanus when it blooms.  Mine has yet to bloom and probably won't this year.

Astragalus chloodes doesn't really show up well in the picture but it'swonderful, almost like a flowering grass.  The grassy leaves are a pale blue-gray and the flowers are purple, small but numerous.  I really like this one.

Tradescantia x andersoniana 'Purple Profusion'.  The emerging sprouts are purple.  Not sure if this is the reason for the moniker, but the plant is a division (not in vitro propagation)  directly from the originator, Wesley Williams.
   

Hacquetia epipactis
May 3, May 13 and May 16
   

Hepatica americana, native from the Minnesota/Canadian border.
   

Fritillaria meleagris is such an easy frit, but really rewarding, nonetheless.
   

Mertensia alpina
   

Uvularia grandiflora (Helleborus purpurascens to the left)
   

Great display Rick!  been a while since I've posted...been too busy on the alpine group of facebook.  Here are some shots taken in my garden this morning.  Dpahne retusa and Pieris 'Brouwer's Beauty'

Those wee little things are the cutest plants, Lori.

I had completely missed Anne's last photo of A. chloodes, until Lori mentioned it.  A strange and wonderful plant!

My Taraxacum pseudoroseum grows in the fairly hot dry garden, which probably accounts for its flattish growth.
Regarding leaf variations, these Taraxacum albidum are the same age from the same batch of single source seed.  I had transplanted them last year, and they almost immediately died, but in fact they just went dormant!  They are planted in the same garden, but perhaps in a little less hot place.
   

Taraxacum pseudoroseum - morning, next day, two days later.

The Uvularia grandiflora is also from native stock here in Hennepin County, Minnesota.  A big wild clump consists of perhaps a dozen stems, but in the garden, it really takes off.  From the one pictured above, I removed a forth of the plant (when sprouts were 1-2 inches) for divisions for our Chapter plant sale.  
   

For me, Leibnitzia anandria seems to prefer a more woodland setting.  This self sown seedling grows in dappled shade all day.
   

Corydalis nobilis, Convallaria majalis 'Aureo-striatum' and Hosta 'On the Marc'.
       

Spiegel wrote:

Trond, this is a very dry garden without watering possibilities and mostly in sun and wind.  We have heat (in the 90sF) and high humidity during the summer and cold winters, often without snow.  I have tried the Pulsatilla vernalis and it has always died.  Too bad, it is such a lovely plant.  I count on a wet April to supply water for the garden and this year April was extremely dry.  The eriogonums have been happy and many astragali have had a great year.

It is always a pity not to be able to grow everything you would love to! I know that feeling ;) But as you have shown you do grow plenty of other things very well!
And I have the opposite problem - too much water. This April has been a disaster.

Calgary is ahead of me Lori, but then this week is nothing but cold drizzle and temps barely reaching 40 F...that is really slowing things down.

Mouthwatering plants folks!
Rick, I have tried Uvularia several times but it is very vulnerable when germinating - (foraging hungry slugs if you have forgotten my no 1 pest!).

My specimen of pink dandelion died after flowering last year, seemed to rot. Maybe the climate is too humid. However common dandelions do very well!

Here at the cabin it is still only the Pulsatilla vernalis that shows up. In the early morning they are closed but soon open when the sun get hotter. Yesterday we had a very warm day and even a lot of butterflies found a reason to take a flight. The Small Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis urticae) found the pulsatilla interesting. Actually they were two. The very hot day (in the city of Bergen they measured all time high temperature for May) ended with a thunderstorm and the flowers tried to hide their better parts as best they could.

Gene, I didn't know L. mackliniae bloomed that early.  And I also didn't realize L. pyrenaicum could be orange!
Cool plants. ;D

Longma wrote:

{ Fritillaria affinis provides a scale  ;D }

Hah, hah!  Yes, we all know that that is the choice plant in the photo. :D

Hoy wrote:

Mouthwatering plants folks!
Rick, I have tried Uvularia several times but it is very vulnerable when germinating - (foraging hungry slugs if you have forgotten my no 1 pest!).

I usually cut off all the seed pods before they mature, otherwise I think they would take over the garden!  I could send you (or anyone) a boatload, Trond.  I am thinking the seed needs to be kept moist?

How easy do Taraxacum cross the species barrier (e.g. pseudoroseum x officinale)?  I don't think I would ever get true seed without complete isolation.