We are 11 days late on this topic!
A couple views of some of my garden beds in the last couple of days-- not a whole lot to see! but you see some of the 'ridges' of the rock gardens and berms I've been developing, and looking at them this winter under snow, I've realised that these winter shapes should be taken into account at the design phase, since this is what I see for months at a time!
1-3 the rock beds in front of the house which get extra snow, being surrounded by shovelled paths; in #3 you can see a bit of the tallest Sempervivum flower stalk sticking through the snow still..
4,5 a couple of rock beds and berms in a different part of the acreage- these are in the moister part of the property, and (not counting the shovelling mentioned above) get the deepest snow
6,7 the third rock garden area, this is on the drier end of the property, and drier yet between the two large spruce trees- the two taller ridges have had the least snow cover of any of my plantings, so time will tell what plants that will favour (naturally, I am planting things that generally want to be drier in this area)
Comments
cohan (not verified)
Fun to see the Celmisias
Mon, 10/21/2013 - 10:27amFun to see the Celmisias together, nice variations. The Melicytus is very cool!!
David L (not verified)
Melicytus is a very
Tue, 10/22/2013 - 3:26amMelicytus is a very interesting genus especially the small-leaved forms. Melicytus alpinus as presently constituted is a mixture of species none of which are formally described. All are superficially very similar to one another. I find the flowers are the most useful feature to distinguish them in the field. Melicytus 'Ida" is very distinctive - the branches ramify through the stones of the screes where the plant grows and form little clumps Other forms are shrubby here is another one I have growing in a trough. I picked it up many years ago as a typical example of Melicytus alpinus but it is not.
First a picture of Melicytus alpinus from near Alexandra in Central Otago. This particular form is dioecious and these are male flowers.
Next the plant from my garden. The flowers are hermaphrodite
David L (not verified)
Not sure why the first image
Tue, 10/22/2013 - 3:32amNot sure why the first image failed to load so I will try again.
Richard T. Rodich
Wow!
Tue, 10/22/2013 - 7:16amWow!
Cool plant, Cool photos!
cohan (not verified)
Very interesting indeed- and
Wed, 10/23/2013 - 12:32amVery interesting indeed- and crawling through the rocks is extra cool.
Lori S. (not verified)
It will be very interesting
Sat, 10/26/2013 - 12:48pmIt will be very interesting to see how Sorbus reducta does for you, Cohan. I'm looking forward to seeing those red-turning-to-pink berries some day, as I'm sure you are!
Fabulous stuff, Fermi! Love the Cemisia... and the Myosotidium (sigh!)... and all the other beauties.
After a truly amazing fall, there are still a few things in bloom here. Tomorrow, however, promises a daytime high of -5 deg C, then overnight lows of -10 C for a couple of days - (Edit: And I realize I failed to mention the best part, 10-20 cm of snow) - so I guess we'd better enjoy these last few daylight hours of autumn!
Aethionema saxatilis ssp. oreophila - this particular plant has been blooming since at least June 6th - not a traffic-stopper but a pretty impressive bloom period.
Draba tomentosa - teensy, plant - the chokecherry leaf provides scale; fall colour on Arenaria kansuensis; late boom on our native Ranunculus eschscholtzii continues; wayfaring tree, Viburnum lantana:
Solidago 'Laurin' - some years these plants don't even get to bloom. I know that some species of goldenrod are very invasive in the garden, but there are also many very garden-worthy, noninvasive cultivars, which unfortunately, don't seem to be very available around here any more.
Last, slightly freeze-dried blooms on 'John Cabot' rose; Aster sedifoius 'Nana'; columnar birch 'Dakota Pinnacle' in the foreground and Swedish columnar aspens behind - most of the other trees are bare now:
Trond Hoy
Pretty pictures folks!
Sat, 10/26/2013 - 2:53pmPretty pictures folks! However the antipodean plants, especially the Melicytus Ida takes the prize!
These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago when we visited our mountain cabin. Now it's more wintery there!
A lonely rowan tree (Sorbus aucuparia) among the spruces and pines. The rowan is one of the hardiest deciduous trees here.
A huge specimen of Huperzia selago.
The goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) has definitely lost its golden colour! The reindeer moss (so called although it is a lichen, Cladonia stellaris) doesn't have much colour to loose!
cohan (not verified)
There are some columnar
Sat, 10/26/2013 - 7:12pmThere are some columnar poplars grown around here- mostly in towns, but a few on farms/acreages- and they are one of those things suddenly more conspicuous in fall, when other things are bare and they are glowing- there are also some exotic willows used as windbreaks that are either still partly/green or in fall colour now, when the native trees which predominate, and other exotic windbreak species, are bare...
Nice little Ranunculus, Lori, - I guess that is an alpine species?
I am eager to see my little Sorbus flower and fruit- if it is smart, though, it will stay close to the ground, below snow level, keeping it out of reach of the hungry moose which ruthlessly prune most shrubs here, esp anything Rosaceae, with Sorbus being a favourite. I have seedlings of S cf wilsoniana, and will have to think of some way to protect them when they are taller than snow levels...
Our forecast keeps changing- they are now saying -14/-12 for Monday and Tuesday mornings, with 10-15cm of snow for Rocky (a little warmer and less snow for Red Deer, so we'll see what we get between the two...).. back to 9 by Thursday, supposedly.... I got out this afternoon to try to get some of the last mowing to pick up leaves done before the snow, in case it doesn't melt or doesn't dry... I have some more areas I can do if I get a chance, but if not, the main stuff is done..
Trond, is that the natural spacing of the trees on that slope, or is that due to grazing?
Trond Hoy
cohan wrote:
Fri, 11/01/2013 - 2:22pm[quote=cohan]
Trond, is that the natural spacing of the trees on that slope, or is that due to grazing?
[/quote]
The spacing is natural as the grazing is at a very low level these days. When my father in law was a kid no trees grew here at all. Changing climate and lack of grazing (and cheese-making; cooking milk to make cheese needs a lot of firewood) have resulted in a treeline creeping higher and higher.
cohan (not verified)
Interesting changes..
Fri, 11/01/2013 - 11:51pmInteresting changes.. apparently, treeline- or at least woody growth- is climbing in our mountains as well, threatening wildflower meadows...
Trond Hoy
It is shrubby areas with
Sat, 11/02/2013 - 1:54amIt is shrubby areas with dwarf birch and heather which is occupied by conifers, the meadows are threatened by birch invasion (not that that is any better!).
Rick, I like that Acer miyabei! Looks interesting.
Richard T. Rodich
These first few pics take 2
Thu, 10/31/2013 - 8:55pmThese first few pics taken 2 weeks ago. These are among my fist pics with a new camera, so some are not as good...
Syneilesis intermedia going over, and Syneilesis aconitifolia just turning color. I picked up my first cyclamen (purpurascens) at our August Chapter plant sale. Didn't even expect it to bloom and almost missed it under other foliage.
These from last week:
Abelia mosanensis calyces, Euonymus bungeana 'Pink Lady' and Acer miyabei.
Chamaecyparis thyoides, Picea crassifolia turns more blue as winter nears and Miscanthus sinensis 'Klein Fouintain'
And whatever happened to the giant sized Silybum marianum? Well, the first bud aborted in mid September for some reason,
and then it grew side shoots. Some bloomed, some still aborted (Oct 18). It drooped after a 26F night, but then recovered. Either the cold makes the flower turn white, or it's a white form. This is from a different seed source than my previous (purple flowering) plants.
cohan (not verified)
Lots of nice foliage there,
Fri, 11/01/2013 - 12:23pmLots of nice foliage there, Rick, and great colour on the Euonymus. I like the white flower on Silybum, too. A certain number of the Cirsium arvense here have white flowers...
Richard T. Rodich
Not all Acer miyabei have the
Sat, 11/02/2013 - 8:15amNot all Acer miyabei have the corky bark. In fact, when I first bought the ungrafted tree mail order and 3 feet high in 1996, it had smooth bark. The first winter it died back to the ground, and the next summer when it grew back it had corky bark. What a pleasant surprise! As all Asian maples are, it is susceptible to verticillium wilt, which is native here, and it was atacked when it was 15-20 ft tall. Since then, I'v been growing it as a shrub that I cut down every 2-3 years. It has no fall color for me, either, so I can't allocate my limited space for such an iffy tree. But the bark and deep, deep green foliage is so nice, so I keep it around.
Trond Hoy
Rick, I have no problem with
Sun, 11/17/2013 - 5:17amRick, I have no problem with verticillium wilt so far and I think I will be on the look-out for this fine species maple.
Winter is approaching, we are expecting freezing temps next week, the first so far this fall! Some plants are still in flower. Here are som pics from last week (the plants look the same today!)
A late flowering Japanese Anemone cultivar is still sparsely flowering. Cyclamen hederifolium among fallen maple leaves.
A yellow fruited holly with good crop this year. Rosa 'Flammentanz' with a late flush of blooms.
This Fascicularia bicolor is flowering for the first time. It is in a pot that I bring inside when it is too cold outside.
cohan (not verified)
Nice to see the colour-
Tue, 11/19/2013 - 11:09amNice to see the colour- Fascicularia is interesting- I'\d hav e to look it up, no idea what it is- looks like a bromeliad?
Our colours are now reduced to shades of gray and mostly white! snowing again today, we have mid-winter amounts on the ground now... this is one of the rock gardens in front of the house the other night... more snow since then..
Tim Ingram (not verified)
Been a while since I've had a
Thu, 11/28/2013 - 4:23amBeen a while since I've had a look at the Forum - busy through the summer in the garden and nursery. Still good autumn colours here with Cornus controversa 'Variegata' just going over, and Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel'. The second picture shows our small sand bed in the front garden with winter protection from excess rains half constructed. This allows quite a few more tricky plants to get through the winter in the absence of much snow cover - must give passers by something to wonder about!
Tim Ingram (not verified)
Seems to have missed the
Thu, 11/28/2013 - 4:25amSeems to have missed the first picture?
Lori S. (not verified)
I fixed it for you, Tim. The
Thu, 11/28/2013 - 5:49amI fixed it for you, Tim. The photo had been uploaded but not yet "inserted" into the text. If you go back to your message and click on "Edit", you can see what I mean - note the "Insert" button.
deesen (not verified)
Tim Ingram wrote:
Fri, 11/29/2013 - 10:41am[quote=Tim Ingram]
...............Still good autumn colours here with Cornus controversa 'Variegata' just going over.......................................................................
[/quote]
Interesting to see your Cornus controversa 'Variegata' still has plenty of leaf left Tim. Mine, which is my only garden tree, is very nearly leafless now. It isn't that we have had a lot of frost, just a couple of early morning silverings of the car windscreen and all gone by the time I get up, but we have had a lot of rain and winds from the North
cohan (not verified)
Good to hear from you, Tim!
Fri, 11/29/2013 - 11:08amGood to hear from you, Tim! So nice and green there still, but I guess you will be through much/all of the winter?
Fermi de Sousa
It's officially the start of
Sat, 11/30/2013 - 6:44pmIt's officially the start of summer here and for once it actually feels like it with hot and sunny weather.
In the rock garden a lot of color is coming from plants from the Americas;
The main part of the pic is the yellow daisy, Haplopappus coronopifolius (syn. H. glutinosus) from Argentina and Chile; on the far left (not fully in the pic) the clump of Triteleia ixioides is still colorful while Triteleia laxa is the blue patch on the right;
in the background California Poppies provide orange and yellow,
cheers
fermi
Tim Ingram (not verified)
Thanks Cohan - yes, we rarely
Sun, 12/01/2013 - 8:40amThanks Cohan - yes, we rarely have snow until after Christmas and then every year is completely different! Occasionally snow will lie for a week or more - so different to the conditions you and others in N. America experience. It's great to see those flowers in Fermi's garden, and a really striking overall planting. Our big project this summer was replanting an old raised bed - mostly with mediterranean climate plants. This has now been covered with dutch lights for the winter and we look forward to seeing how the plants establish next year.
Fermi de Sousa
Glad you liked a small view
Mon, 12/02/2013 - 4:00amGlad you liked a small view of our garden, Tim. we were very impressed when we saw yours in May! Will is responsible for design and I do the planting
.
In another raised bed there is a nice conglomeration of late bulbs and others - Calochortus splendens, Allium acutiflorum, Euphorbia rigida/myrsinites and Californian Poppies,
And further along Ixia rouxii can be startling when the weather is sunny,
cheers
fermi
janedoe42 (not verified)
Jealous, I am.
Sun, 12/08/2013 - 7:12pmJealous, I am.
Fantastic to see images of all the life and summer in the other half of the world--please keep them coming because there is not much startling around here.
...but here is a cute little pinus aristata that I hope will survive
cohan (not verified)
That looks like a lot of work
Mon, 12/09/2013 - 10:22amThat looks like a lot of work, Tim!
Fermi- wow- lovely lot of colour! We just keep getting whiter by the day! I don't know if we are into any kind of record territory, but it's certainly the most snow I've seen at this time of year since I moved back..
Janedoe- that's a more familiar looking scene...lol.. nice rocks and pine, hope it does well for you..
Fermi de Sousa
Not quite as summery at
Mon, 12/09/2013 - 6:51pmNot quite as summery at present, just a mild 17oC with light cloud - good gardening weather but I'm at work!
This morning I got pics of two native plants in flower - Banksia cones, in fact!
Banksia petiolaris
Banksia gardneri ssp hiemalis
cheers
fermi
cohan (not verified)
Wow-those are pretty wild!
Sun, 12/22/2013 - 11:15amWow-those are pretty wild! and looks like they are persistent?
Fermi de Sousa
cohan wrote:
Sun, 12/22/2013 - 3:07pm[quote=cohan]
Wow-those are pretty wild! and looks like they are persistent?
[/quote]
Yes, they're the sort of cones you can enjoy legally
I think in nature when the seed are produced they stay in a sort of suspended animation till a fire goes through and the pods "pop" afterwards to release the seeds into the ash-field where they'll germinate; not sure if these set fertile seeds though,
cheers
fermi
Tim Ingram (not verified)
Thanks Lori - need to get
Fri, 11/29/2013 - 4:21amThanks Lori - need to get used to this new Forum!
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