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Parting shot: "Until they think warm days will never cease."

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Rhus aromatica blazing in the Bonsai garden

Future shock: I'm steeped in Southern Hemisphere in New Zealand: the quotation is from Keats'"Ode to Autumn" and the pictures were all taken Friday, October 28 in about 45 minutes a week ago in Denver. The jolt of going from high autumn to high spring is...well...bracing!

 Of course, they got jumbled when I uploaded them, so there's no story line except to say that the light was terrific, and Denver Botanic Gardens never ceases to amaze and delight me. I took a whole other set of pictures in different gardens a week or so ago--add these to those, and then imagine another few sets, and you can begin to appreciate the aesthetic overload I've experienced for 36 years (going on 37).


Suddenly there's a superabundance of mums (I believe they're Korean mums) in various gardens: splendid!


Another view of Rhus aromatica in fall attire.


ditto


It's been warm enough that the bonsai are still outside posing for us...


Amelanchier in a compact form gussied up for Halloween.

I love the yellow of autumn gingko leaves.


Seedpods on lilies.  a good thing!


We lost Ann Montague, a masterful gardener, almost two months ago--but her gardens still blaze with glory.




Dan Johnson, Associate Director of Horticulture, never ceases to amaze me with his designs--the plaze outside Marnie's Pavilion was over the top this year...



A little bed in the Parking Structure--the Acer grandidentatum coloring nicely...


Helianthus annuus along the street--love the contrast to the purple grape foliage behind (excuse the cone!)

I love 'Color Guard' Yucca!


Using tender Echeverias for bedding out is cruel in a way--but this one is so pretty I suspect it will be rescued. No frost yet! This one is Echeveria gigantea.

Aster tataricum in the grand O'Fallon Border.

Some years the autumn Aconites don't make it--but this year they've escaped the frost. Either A. carmichaelii or A. wilsonii.


Tree Yucca and hollyhocks: kinda a Denver thing!


Helianthus maximiliani in its prime...

Sprorobolus heterolepis
This tiny Sacaton has to be one of the most magnificent and underutilized native grasses-it takes on a russet color in the fall I find irresistible.

Sporobolus heterolepis

Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)


Still working on replacing hail damaged panels of the Conservatory...

Salvia darcyi blooming away for its sixth or seventh month

Stachys byzantina'Primrose Heron'

Watersmart Gardeb in Autumn splendor

One of Dan Johnson's blue Salvia in Watersmart: it's been hardy for some time I believe...

Opuntia phaeacantha

Goniolimon tataricum in tumbleweed mode.

Love the autumn colors and textures in Watersmart.


A hardy white Salvia greggii

Zauschneria arizonica (I know I know, its really an epilobium)

The tunnel surrounded by Dan Johnson's extravaganza...

Solanum sp. (forgot which one!)


Crocus speciosus coming up through Lamium

The new Steppe garden: African section

Erodium absinthum ssp. armenum
I featured this at length a few blogs ago, but can't resist showing it again. One of our best plants! In the Asian steppe garden.

Erodium absinthum ssp. armenum

I love the rosettes on Arctotis adpressa

Vignette from African Steppe garden

Ditto

Hardy dwarf Pampas on the Patagonian Steppe garden


Autumn yellow in the Woodland Mosaic garden (a sea of Fritillaria ssp. in the spring)

Tricyrtis hirta peaking...

Tricyrtis hirta

Tricyrtis hirta

Tricyrtis hirta
So hard to capture the magic of toad lilies...

Giant Aconites--of the carmichaelii type.


Acer palmatum (that survived the November holocaust of 2014 which killed almost all our Japanese maples and cherries)

Engelmannia peristenia


The Potager

Hot peppers in the Potager.

Chrysanthemums are new in the Japanese garden: love them!

The sempiternal Plains garden.

Plains garden

Liatris punctata in seed in the Plains garden

Sorbus scopulina

Picea mariana
I planted the black spruce in 1999 to commemorate a trip to Alaska--and now it's squeezed between Arizona cypress..oh well. Global warming in action!

Sapindus drummondii--our loveliest and least appreciated native tree


Another new of the native Rowan

The rock garden in fall glory

A tetraneuris--not sure which in the Rock Alpine Garden

New crevice garden

Muhlenbergia reverchonii in the meadow.



Cotoneaster apiculata 'Little Gem' living up to its nbame

The birch planted itself...and glad we left it.

Malva mauritanicus (a darker form of sylvestris)

More native Sorbus in the Rock Alpine Garden

Euonymus in the RAG

Salvia heldreichii is beautiful in foliage as well as bloom (in the RAG)

Crevice garden cushions...

Birds and bees garden in autumn color

Aronia melanocarpa

Annual Arctotis




Cutting garden

Cutting garden

Joe Pye Weed

Plant Select garden

Entrance to the Japanese Garden



Phlox grayi reblooming in the Children's garden



Teucrium cossonii in the Childrens Garden

Crevice Garden the Childrens Garden

Mexicali penstemon in the Childrens Garden


Crevice garden.



Polygonum affine in the Children's garden.





Children's garden

Apache plume

Samaras on Acer tataricum

















As an award for getting to the very bottom, here's the loveliest poem about autumn!

           John Keats (1795-1821)
                                 TO AUTUMN.
                                            1.
    SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
        Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
    Conspiring with him how to load and bless
        With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
    To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
        And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
            To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
    With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
        And still more, later flowers for the bees,
        Until they think warm days will never cease,
            For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.
                                            2.
    Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
        Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
    Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
        Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
    Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
        Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
            Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
    And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
        Steady thy laden head across a brook;
        Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
            Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
                                            3.
    Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
        Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
    While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
        And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue;
    Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
        Among the river sallows, borne aloft
            Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
    And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
        Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
        The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
           And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

A garden near lake Tekapo

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The crevice garden of Michael Midgley
Just a few years old, this crevice garden was designed and built by Michael Midgley, a delightful outdoorsman who hosted Jan and me last week on my tour of New Zealand. Michael and his wife Wilma have operated various businesses in the Tekapo area for decades, and Michael had a large complex of gardens around a guesthouse complex they owned and recently sold: he's concentrated his energies on this smaller, but very densely planted crevice garden and its nearby borders: the nearly 100 pictures that follows were taken literally in a matter of minutes before we sat down to a sumptuous meal. I've had many a tour in many a country--the New Zealanders are second to none in hospitality and generosity. Their gardens are unbelievably diverse: the modified Maritime climate (bordering on steppe here in Tekapo) permits a range of planting options that quite frankly are almost depressing to those of us who live where subzero cold is more common and hotter, drier summers strain true alpines. You really have to be here to believe it!

Lewisia cotyledon

Helianthemum numullarium

Rhododendron 'Elizabeth', R. 'Mayday' and others



California iris--mostly I. douglasiana (probably a seedling). He has grown scads of these: his old house still has vast stands. From a sales table--labeled a PC.

Euphorbia myrsinites: classed as noxious in Colorado, I saw it in a pot in the alpine house at Kew! Invasive is highly relative.

A cross between (Iris 'Los Angeles' x I. aphylla) x aphylla made by Michael Midgley​

Dutch iris, Lithodora diffusa'Grace Ward' and Rhododendron aff. 'Elizabeth' et al.. I LOVE this color combo!

Michael has nany SDB and other bearded species and hybrids everywhere...

Lithodora diffusa'Grace Ward' with Anemone nemorosa behind at left...

Iris tectorum 'Album'

A generous spread of Gentiana acaulis

Tulips still blooming

Raoulia hectori

Penstemon rupicola

Penstemon davidsonii

Phlox--probably douglasii forma

A charming dwarf Primula (Dodecatheon) pulchellum. Yes they're primulas now (DNA doesn't lie)

Riverbed Roulias knitting the flagstone walk


Primula veris

Acaena inermis

At the neighbors next door  (the bug is contagious)

A bunch of Camichaelia (not blooming) the NZ broom: Michael collects these and has an amazing assortment.

Celmisia alpina x semicordata

Ranunculus multiscapus

Cytisus x kewensis

Hyacinthoides (Scilla) sp.

Iris innominata hybrid

Iris cristata

Rhododendron cv

An American hybrid Rhody

Kalmiopsis leachiana

Rhododendron augustinii

Ranunculus insignis

Paeonia mlokosewitchii

Clematis paniculata

Cydonia oblona

Phlox subulata cv.

I love the color on this wallflower!

Erysimum sp.

Androsace sarmentosa

One of innumerable New Zealand Clematis sp. in the garden.

Phlox 'Crackerjack' I believe

And yet MORE Raoulia

Paraquilegia sp.

A superb color form of Phlox grayi

Views of the crevice garden

More views of the crevice garden

Leucanthemum (Chrysanthemum) hosmariense

Erigeron aureus self sowing

Primula vulgaris (Semi double)

Myosotis colensoi

Celmisia angustifolia

Hepatica nobilis

More Phlox subulata

Raoulia x loganii (Michael says this is the hardiest)

Helichrysum intermedium

Dryas octopetala 'Minor'

Morisia monanthos

Edraianthus (Wahlenbergia) serpyllifolius 'Major'

Lewisia tweedyi (right)

Saxifrage medley

Saxifaga x urbium cv.

A very good color form of Erigeron compositus on the left, and a superb form of Sempervivum arachnoideum on the right.

A large mossy Saxifrage.

Helichrysum milfordiae. Two days earlier I'd been informed this was impossible to grow in NZ

Celmisia sessiliflora

Leucogenes grandiceps--South Island Eidelweiss--not yet in bloom..

Ramonda nathaliae'Alba'

Anchusa caespitosa

A lavender NZ Myosotis (a hybrid produced by Louise and/or Peter Salmon of Hokonni Alpines.)

Gentiana acaulis

A wonderful pink mossy Saxifrage.— in Tekapo.

Cassiope lycopodioides

Rhododendron camtschaticum (pink and white)

Great foliage and flowers to come...

More views... 

Salix hylomatica (formerly nepalenss) over yet another Raoulia

Erodium reichardii (or chamaedrioides)--definitely not hardy outdoors in Denver.

A strip of herb garden

A volunteer seedling Raoulia on the driveway.

A glimpse of the side yard

Aloe polyphylla, growing in a container on the balcony year around!

A glimpse of a flower stalk

A wonderful New Zealand clematis

A native NZ clematis with glimpse of mts. beyond

A native NZ clematis

Another native NZ clematis

Cardiocrinum giganteum

Last glimpse at Molly the Witch and the native clematis

One last glimpse

Magical mint: Monardella macrantha 'Marian Sampson'

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Monardella macrantha'Marian Sampson' at the Garden at Kendrick Lake
Certain plants just possess that certain "je ne sais quoi" (You might be amused to click on that and read some alternative translations of the phrase)...but basically, there are the plants one sees and simply HAS to grow: I struggled to obtain this wonderful Southern California native, and finally did get one (in an IPPS auction) originating with Suncrest Nursery, and ultimately from the eponymous Sampsons who first selected it. I had grown a few from wild collected seed in the distant past that were short lived and never did much: this clone seems to be much more tolerant of gardens

I have had many people tell me that they've had trouble growing this: I thought it would be insgructrive to see how well it's doing in four or five local gardens (many public with infrequent attention) and looking mighty good indeed! I have many more pictures from previous years...perhaps I shall add rhesel

Monardella macrantha'Marian Sampson' at the Garden APEX crevice garden in Arvada

Monardella macrantha'Marian Sampson' at the Garden at the Colorado Springs Xeriscape Demonstration Garden

Another one at Kendrick Lake
Monardella macrantha'Marian Sampson' in the garden of Domenique Turnbull in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado

Same plant with the surrrounding context

Most of these pictures were taken in September--this is obviously a wonderful plant for late summer color in our climate. I think It merits a lot more testing: I think a star has been born!

Foxtail acres: a nursery specializing in Eremurus in the Antipodes

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I used to think we grew a lot of foxtail lilies at Denver Botanic Gardens! Steve Newall--seedsman extraordinaire and impetus behind our trip to New Zealand mentioned casually that he knew someone who grew Eremurus, and perhaps I'd be interested in seeing them. You betcha!


As luck would have it, we arrived at Bannockburn Floriculture--the name of Jane Preston's fanastic operation--at the very peak of color of her Eremurus x elwesii field (hybrids between E.robustus and E. himalaicus) were in the peak of bloom. All I can really say is "wow"--the entire operation was fantastic to visit--and the little images of facebook can only capture a tiny view of the vast fields of flowers. There were big fields of E. x 'Ruitery' hybrids like 'Cleopatra' just budding up--and lots of alliums as well--but I couldn't show you EVERYTHING and manage to get the blog out before Christmas!


Here is Jane next to a special field of some newer hybrids with even taller stems: she rued we'd come a bit late--she's already harvested and shipped most of the stems, she says! (I found that a little hard to believe)...


Here we are in the "shed" where she packs the stems--this group was a little past the stage she could ship and offered them to us!


These were in the cooler, preparing for the next shipping day.


They're shipped all over the world! It was fascinating to see how orderly the operation was: and surely unique!


Of course, foxtail lilies are only one of many crops that Jane does--I flipped this picture for you to get a better idea of a few of her bulbs that she grows for cut flowers but also for autumn sales.




She also let us visit the "Trillium" house--she also grows Trilliums for sale as cut flowers, but also for sales as bulbs: she sells these all over the world as well!


There are both white and maroon forms of Trillium chloropetalum: She has developed a technique where she can harvest flowers without damaging the clumps!


A closer look...


My eyes kept going back to the foxtail lilies, however!


Her landscape was beautiful: mostly native shrubs, grasses and herbs: notice the Scleranthus uniflorus in the foreground--and oh, yes! Thymus vulgaris! The area around Cromwell is famous for the vast fields of thyme (which support a honey industry and are harvested by the ton for thyme oil). Perhaps I shall have a blog soon showing these wild fields: meanwhile, you can see how well it does in her garden!


I was sorry not to see the Pachystegia in bloom: It's endemic to the coastal bluffs near the epicenter of the earthquake that occurred last weekend. We were supposed to drive the highway where they grew--but it has been closed indefinitely and we took a big and wonderful detour via the West Coast of New Zealand. I imagine a fairly large proportion of that shrub's population was sloughed onto the ocean last weekend: I hope it recovers quickly. Meanwhile, it's in every connoisseur's garden hereabouts--and is really stunning. I have grown it in the Alpine House that once was at DBG and marvelled at the waxy, badminton birdie-like flowers.


The other sophisticate's plant here was this amazing Dr. Seuss tree: Pseudoaralia ferox. It is native nearby, and everyone agrees it looks dinosaurian!


A closer look at the amazing stem and leaves.


Corokia cotoneaster was in full bloom--a spectacular native shrub that I was thrilled to see in full bloom on the hills near Tekapo.


Jane is not above a row of daililies (nor am I!)


Oh yes! Sheep. If you are my Facebook friend you may be able to see a little sheep stampede one of these days--once I upload it to my Youtube feed...


And MORE Eremurus~


Another glimpse of the garden


Jan finally had a chance to pet a pet lamb!


A closeup of one of the large stems--this one tending towards E. robustus.

A highly symbolic ending, if you get my drift. My destiny (however backwards) has been to drift to beauty and the glory of flowers and nature--here seen interlarding the pulsing words: Life. If Filoli is short for Fight! Love! Life! Then my trip to New Zealand has been DeLiGht: Destiny Light, Ghost. The last word is a mispelling, I'm sure: it should be Guest: I've been the guest of the most generous, fun-loving and kind Hosts ever. Aha! DEstiny! LIfe! Good HosTs!YES! New Zealand is pure DELIGHT!

Foxtail acres: a nursery specializing in Eremurus in the Antipodes

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I used to think we grew a lot of foxtail lilies at Denver Botanic Gardens! Steve Newall--seedsman extraordinaire and impetus behind our trip to New Zealand mentioned casually that he knew someone who grew Eremurus, and perhaps I'd be interested in seeing them. You betcha!


As luck would have it, we arrived at Bannockburn Floriculture--the name of Jane Preston's fanastic operation--at the very peak of color of her Eremurus x elwesii field (hybrids between E.robustus and E. himalaicus) were in the peak of bloom. All I can really say is "wow"--the entire operation was fantastic to visit--and the little images of facebook can only capture a tiny view of the vast fields of flowers. There were big fields of E. x 'Ruitery' hybrids like 'Cleopatra' just budding up--and lots of alliums as well--but I couldn't show you EVERYTHING and manage to get the blog out before Christmas!


Here is Jane next to a special field of some newer hybrids with even taller stems: she rued we'd come a bit late--she's already harvested and shipped most of the stems, she says! (I found that a little hard to believe)...


Here we are in the "shed" where she packs the stems--this group was a little past the stage she could ship and offered them to us!


These were in the cooler, preparing for the next shipping day.


They're shipped all over the world! It was fascinating to see how orderly the operation was: and surely unique!


Of course, foxtail lilies are only one of many crops that Jane does--I flipped this picture for you to get a better idea of a few of her bulbs that she grows for cut flowers but also for autumn sales.




She also let us visit the "Trillium" house--she also grows Trilliums for sale as cut flowers, but also for sales as bulbs: she sells these all over the world as well!


There are both white and maroon forms of Trillium chloropetalum: She has developed a technique where she can harvest flowers without damaging the clumps!


A closer look...


My eyes kept going back to the foxtail lilies, however!


Her landscape was beautiful: mostly native shrubs, grasses and herbs: notice the Scleranthus uniflorus in the foreground--and oh, yes! Thymus vulgaris! The area around Cromwell is famous for the vast fields of thyme (which support a honey industry and are harvested by the ton for thyme oil). Perhaps I shall have a blog soon showing these wild fields: meanwhile, you can see how well it does in her garden!


I was sorry not to see the Pachystegia in bloom: It's endemic to the coastal bluffs near the epicenter of the earthquake that occurred last weekend. We were supposed to drive the highway where they grew--but it has been closed indefinitely and we took a big and wonderful detour via the West Coast of New Zealand. I imagine a fairly large proportion of that shrub's population was sloughed onto the ocean last weekend: I hope it recovers quickly. Meanwhile, it's in every connoisseur's garden hereabouts--and is really stunning. I have grown it in the Alpine House that once was at DBG and marvelled at the waxy, badminton birdie-like flowers.


The other sophisticate's plant here was this amazing Dr. Seuss tree: Pseudoaralia ferox. It is native nearby, and everyone agrees it looks dinosaurian!


A closer look at the amazing stem and leaves.


Corokia cotoneaster was in full bloom--a spectacular native shrub that I was thrilled to see in full bloom on the hills near Tekapo.


Jane is not above a row of daililies (nor am I!)


Oh yes! Sheep. If you are my Facebook friend you may be able to see a little sheep stampede one of these days--once I upload it to my Youtube feed...


And MORE Eremurus~


Another glimpse of the garden


Jan finally had a chance to pet a pet lamb!


A closeup of one of the large stems--this one tending towards E. robustus.

A highly symbolic ending, if you get my drift. My destiny (however backwards) has been to drift to beauty and the glory of flowers and nature--here seen interlarding the pulsing words: Life. If Filoli is short for Fight! Love! Life! Then my trip to New Zealand has been DeLiGht: Destiny Light, Ghost. The last word is a mispelling, I'm sure: it should be Guest: I've been the guest of the most generous, fun-loving and kind Hosts ever. Aha! DEstiny! LIfe! Good HosTs!YES! New Zealand is pure DELIGHT!

Mt Edwards (near Tekapo, New Zealand) vignettes...

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Aciphylla aurea
 Thanks to Michael Midgley,whose fabulous rock garden I featured in an earlier blog, we had a chance to rise high onto the shoulder of Mt. Edwards, a peak hovering near Tekapo where he lives in the lake country nestled in west Canterbury, South Island New Zealand. I can't begin to express our amazement at how he maneuvered his 4-wheel drive on perhaps the most rugged road (with some of the steepest grades) one of us  at least (Jan Fahs) had ever experienced! These are just a few alphabetical glimpses of the wonders we saw: there were hundreds. Just the very first few flowers were blooming...it must be dazzling in December and January. Who knows, one day we may find out?

People have asked for some pix in the wild: here are the provisional few from our THIRD trip to the wild---more commentary will be added as I have time not to mention more pix on the others as well...

 Aciphylla aurea and the Southern Alps of New Zealand in November

Corallospartium (Carmichaelia) coralloides

Corallospartium (Carmichaelia) coralloides

Carmichaelia nana (ensyi)

Carmichaelia nana (ensyi)



Mats of silver Celmisia angustifolia

Chionoheba pulvinaris

Corokia cotoneaster

Corokia cotoneaster

Mats of Dracophyllum and bunchgrass (Chionochloa spp.)

Dracophyllum sp.

Gaultheria cuneata

Geranium sessiliflorum

Helichrysum intermedium and Aciphylla aurea

Hebe sp. (whipcord type)

Notothlaspi rosulatum

The Southern Alps of Canterbury, New Zealand

Ranunculus crithmifolius

Raoulia aff. australis

Raoulia eximia

Raoulia  eximia

A Raoulia rally. Really!

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(I have taken the liberty of adding Jo Wakelin's comment to the front: "I'm so glad you enjoyed our Mahaka Katia salt pan reserve Panayoti. It is a treasure trove of biodiversity with many uncommon and rare natives, having escaped complete modification. You would love the tiny Convolvulus verecundis, the un-named Craspedia, and the tiny halophyte which lives on the edge of the salt pans, Atriplex buchananii.I'm glad we found you a few last flowers on a Myosotis uniflora cushion!")

 As dirty rotten luck would have it, my camera failed me: it refused to focus properly, and half my pictures were fuzzy (and the others not so crisp as I'd like). Then it rained. And this is when we finally came to the area around Cromwell, in Otago province of New Zealand--the semi-arid plateau which most resembles Denver's climate (though not nearly as hot in summer nor cold in winter)--probably more like the steppe just east of the Columbia River Gorge, perhaps. The lady with the umbrella is Jo Wakelin, a horticulturist and instructor at a College nearby with one of the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen. Her garden is next to this nature preserve (Mahaka Katia salt pan reserve) which has an fabulous colony of Raoulia australis. The plants here looked far more like the tiny plant sold for years as Raoulia lutescens, (a synonym of australis) than the silvery plant usually sold under that name. 

Steve Newell admiring a blooming mass of Raoulia australis
 I was fascinated by this hill, and couldn't resist taking lots of pictures...the difference in bloom time, in color, and in maturity from one plant to the next was amazing.


I will include a series of pictures--close up and vista--to give you a sense of this fascinating plant and its wonderful habitat...



Here is a silvery one...


Fabulous vistas in the distance...











This is a miniscule yellow-flowered Myosotis (Jo advises that it was M. uniflora) growing with the raoulia: how frustrating to have my camera go on strike--there were flowers on these I'd love to have you see...Here is a link to show you a closeup taken elsewhere of a much less yellow form. Not too many other native plants I could identify, but these two were more than worth it. I would love to grow a range of both of these one day! New Zealand truly is a marvellous place!

Christchurch Alpine Garden Society meeting

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Scilla litardierei
 I've traveled to many countries, but New Zealand is a tad different: perhaps because it's so far from anywhere else (except maybe Australia, which is still pretty far: Sydney to Aukland is over 2000km direct!)...things in New Zealand aren't quite like anywhere else. The entire country (103,483 mi²) is a tad smaller than Colorado (104,185 mi²), but possesses such an astonishing range of climates, habitats and dozens of mountain ranges in addition to the famous agricultural production...

I've been to many a plant meeting in my day: cactus clubs in Southern California are especially vibrant and crazy--the San Diego or San Gabriel cactus may have a plant show at most meetings, with lots of plant sales--but the one in Christchurch was JUDGED....and I'm embarrassed to say it me who did it!


A trunkload of treasures from Hamish Brown's  raised beds: I photographed this in his car's "boot" as they say before we drove off to the meeting...


And this is the Plant SALE section--dozens, maybe hundreds of choice (often VERY choice plants) and brought and sold--sometimes for the club, or for the donor.


You don't see Myosotideum hortensia at many plant sales I go to.


The sale plants were sometimes very creatively packaged...


I wish I could have taken some of these home!


And there were books (very good books) donated by members. I did come home with some of these!


There was a whole table of exquisite flowers brought for elucidation and sharing. It was peak of the rhody season after all!


It took a long time to do all these flowers justice--and there was a meeting to boot: namely me, giving a talk!



A whole box full of New Zealand alpine treasures grown to perfection--just brought for the heck of it (not in the competition), just to share.


Lots of work went into staging, preparing the plants...and recording the results of the judging.


I was told not to give the Rhodohypoxis a prize (there were many pots brimming with flowers like this: "they're much too common"!)


It was heartening to see two fellow Americans on the bench: Allium platycaule is a long time favorite of mine: I was amazed at how well it does in a pot in New Zealand (mine are duking it out in the garden)...Needless to say it won a ribbon!

Fritillaria recurva

I'm not sure what we gave the "best of show" to--in my beart of hearts it would be this dazzling fritillary...the most striking of its genus, and not too easy to grow this well.

And did I mention there were numerous tables loaded with goodies to eat after the talk (supper, they said)...but I dare not show these or you'll go raid the refrigerator!

The Chihuly effect--this time in Atlanta!

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Just in case you've been hiding under a rock for the last generation or so, I thought I should inform you that Dale Chihuly has performed a remarkable feat of not only creating astonishing, spectacular sculpture, but partnering with dozens of botanic gardens around the world to display his work in different contexts which result in many things. The sculptures often light up dark corners of gardens where they are placed, or they dance wildly with the colors around them. Both the gardens and the sculptures gain somehow in this operation (although naysayers will say nay)...what is undeniable is that every garden graced with Chihuly sculptures experiences a colossal explosion at the box office: numbers of visitors and often members are doubled...and I've been told that the effect continues indefinitely. I doubt we could underestimate the impact Chihuly has had on raising awareness of public horticulture, and the countless millions of dollars in hard cash that have accrued to the participating gardens as a consequence. Of course, Dale and his army of associates benefit as well--but I'm not sure that's what's uppermost in their minds. I believe Public Horticulture owes Chihuly an enormous debt of gratitude. This images were taken last September when I visited Atlanta Botanic Gardens (their second--maybe third?--round of Chihuly). I believe the placement of these at Atlanta was exemplary--and I hope you'll enjoy these rather rapidly snapped images as much as I am doing three months later in frosty, early winter here in Colorado!



I will hardly need to comment on each picture, but here the artistic punning of art and nature needs a bit of a verbal smirk!





The extraordinary conservatory and tropical collections out-Chihuly art in their extravagant beauty. I was fortunate to spend an afternoon with Ron Determann--curator of tropicals in Atlanta and perhaps the greatest public gardener in America. Atlanta packs multiple wallops of excellence!




Is it Chihuly in miniature or just pomegranates?


Here is their permanent Chihuly installation in the parterre that was undergoing transformation (the box hedges--like boxwoods elsewhere in the East--will soon be a thing of the past.)



A closer look



I loved this courtyard...


The Mosaiculture goddess is from a previous exhibit--but she seems to enjoy the Chihuly baubles placed to distract her from her endless waterfall...



Another view


From the amazing raised walk...



These remind me of balloons. I'm not sure that's a good thing?




Let's not forget the magic of nature sans sculpture...


Like a crane version of the Blue Man troop...



The end! Thank you Atlanta and thank you Dale for a magical interlude...

Tongue fern: what's in a picture?

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September 3, 2004
 I first obtained this fern not long before this picture was taken: a gift of Harlan Hamernik, co-founder of Bluebird Nursery in Clarkson, Nebraska who collected it in inner Mongolia. We didn't know at first what species it was--in fact I only determined it recently:  Pyrrosia petiolosa (click on the name--there's a description in the Flora of China for you) has accrued quite a vast literature due to its use as an herb. If you google the name you'll see plenty of papers on the flavinoids and chemicals that make this plant so useful to Chinese Medicine. I suspect the little rhizome Harlan teased out and brought home is trivial compared to the metric meters of this plant that have been collected for herbal use!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 7:54 PM
 This has been one of the pride and joys of my rock garden--although 99 out of 100 visitors probably don't notice it. Tony Avent did--and asked for a piece (I have yet to provide)--or even spore, which I keep forgetting to gather: I will do so this year for sure, Tony!

Monday, ‎August ‎23, ‎2010, ‏‎12:25:10 PM
 The reason I'm posting all these pictures (with their dates) is that I think this demonstrates why we nerdy gardeners take so many pictures: even a darned fern with no pinnation looks completely different at different times of the day, growth cycle, and as it expands in the garden! If you don't take pictures, you don't realize this! And we have all that wonderful meta-data one can mine!

Saturday, May 3, 2014 9:06 PM
 Look how different this one looks above, just beginning to unfurl a few fronds...

Friday, ‎May ‎23, ‎2014, ‏‎9:33:16 PM
 To this one, a mere twenty days later, still unfurling fronds...

Sunday, July 3, 2016 6:39 AM
And this one taken this summer, when I realized it had grown enough to dig a piece, which I did for Michael Bone, who'd been hinting rather boldly...and I thought I better do it before I lost the plant! A fern that hangs in through the last few horrendous winters deserves some attention!

Monday, ‎September ‎5, ‎2016, ‏‎8:00:30 PM
And here, a short while after a piece was taken from the middle, I put a rock to fill the cavity--you'd hardly know a bit chunk was missing! Hopefully, one day we can propagate this widely and spread it around. Probably the hardiest Pyrrosia, it may only appeal to connoisseurs...but then, if you've read this far, you must be one!











Guilty pleasures (the up-side of invasives)...

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("Invasive" wildflower display between Cromwell and Alexandra, New Zealand) [All photos by Jan Fahs]

Like all good conservationists, I like my nature pure. I would just as soon only see native plants in most landscapes (with the minor exception of city gardens and of course vegetable and cereal producing areas to feed us--and I suppose some pastoralism in there too...it's getting more complicated). But what happens when the invasives create gardenesque sweeps worthy of a painter? Can we make exceptions for these?


Proof I was in New Zealand last month (is it last month already? feels like yesterday still the impressions are so bright) and here Jan (whose pictures I'm using throughout this post--mine weren't as good)  has caught me in the act: we both took way too many pictures.


Of course, its mostly red valerian (a.k.a. Jupiter's beard: Centranthus ruber) which has naturalized many places on the planet. I have admired this blooming wild in Greece, where it seems to almost always be a chalky pink: here every shade from pure white to deep crimson can be found. Along with California poppies (Eschscholtzia californica) and a goodly number of other Mediterranean introductions. All of them exotics and all of them planted with such cunning and care you'd swear it was a garden.


The environmentalist angel on one shoulder is fuming with anger and indignation: how could such horrible invasives be tolerated? There is another fallen angel, on my other shoulder whispering ("Aaaah, isn't it pretty?"). I have some friends who have only one angel, who can look at this and not suffer some qualms and indecision: if I were given a magic wand, would I "whoosh" away all the invasives and restore exactly what was there prior to European settlement? Or should we go back before the Maoris as well (they must have had an impact too, don't you think?)...and would that restored landscape persist with rabbits, hares, possums and so many other plants that are probably responsible for the success of what you see more than humans by ourselves.


Have I mentioned the lavender you've been seeing is Thymus vulgaris?  This was much the commonest weed, growing so thickly that it's harvested by the ton for herbal extracts. There is a minor industry of herbalists who rely on the plant itself, and legions of beekeepers who bring their hives here: how does the thyme on this hill differ from alfalfa in a pasture (or paddock as they say in New Zealand?)...


I believe this is Salvia verbenacea. And there were legions of Mignonette (Reseda luteola, I believe, although only R. alba is listed on the Department of Conservation's weed list) and other fellow travelers here and elsewhere...


Excuse me while I admire this unholy landscape. I guess we may all share a little of the sublime hypocrisy of those pious evangelistic preachers who bellow fiercely on the pulpit, but wallow in sin when parishioners aren't around. A stretch of a comparison, I know!



A last few lingering looks...


Our salvia again...such tracery!


Just a little more red and pink, please!

I'm incorrigible, but you're still looking at it too aren't you?











We wind down with some thymes...

Scotch broom by the acre (abetted by agricultural practice and logging)

Everything you see in this picture is exotic: the Eurasian grasses, the broom and the distanct plantation of Monterrey pines: in fact there is barely a stitch of native vegetation anywhere on the eastern quadrant of New Zealand below, say 1000 feet (more or less)... That said, there are a few remarkable reserves throughout the country (even at lower elevations) and a high level of awareness among every New Zealander I met about the ecological issues and challenges they face. I believe the horticulturists especially are extremely self-conscious and have borne the brunt of the pain of the draconian laws meant to prohibit new weeds: any new plant to cultivation in N.Z. must be submitted to a Government process costing tens of thousands of dollars--a very regressive and self defeating example of colossal myopia and ineffectiveness in my opinion. Makes me root for the weeds, frankly!
 

It may be an ecological menace, but it's beautiful!


New Zealand plantspeople can't obtain the latest Podophyllums from China legally (plants that are never posing a threat to anything but pocketbooks of plantsmen)...but they are free to pave their lawns (and countryside) with invasive Eurasian grasses, and topiaries. I rather liked these in the Southlands!

I shall quit while I'm sorta ahead...
The issue of weeds is a sticky one at best: I have gained enormous new insights thanks to this island country. New Zealand delighted me no end with her fantastic beauty, the rugged (and often weed free) high country and unbelievable alpine cushion plants and wildflowers...the astonishing (and largely weed free) temperate rain forests I sampled all too briefly ih the far south and west coast. The amazing private gardens where exotics and native plants were grown to perfection, and two of the best public gardens I've ever visited (Christchurch and Dunedin Botanic Gardens)...I hope I might have a chance to go back again--hopefully leading a tour in January 2018 for the American Horticultural Society! Meanwhile I shall savor every moment of one of the most magical trips I've ever taken in my life (weeds and all!).

A magical garden in Central Otago.

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Shona and Colin Wallace
 Some gardens speak for themselves...the garden of these two wonderful Kiwis is such a garden. They hosted Jan and me in mid November for an evening (when I spoke to the Alexandra garden club). We had such a delightful time talking to them about everything under the sun. From the comfortable and spacious quarters of their garden level guest rooms we could look down into the deep valley below, and see their garden beckoning: alas, the picture I took at that window was too blurry to include (although I did include a few blurry "impressionistic" pictures from my malfunctioning camera towards the end which still convey something meaningful)...

It's worth lingering a moment on their portrait picture: I end this blog with another taken a moment later. They are a wonderfully photogenic and charismatic couple. I wish the world had more Wallaces!


Take a moment as you scroll through these pictures and see what wonderful glimpses you catch of the Clutha valley below and the many vignettes: it's hard to believe it's all one garden (albeit a very big one!)...it's worth mentioning that when they bought the property, the garden was rank with weeds and required an enormous amount of earth-moving and rock placement which they've done entirely themselves!



They don't purchase everything at garden centers, obviously!



And they grow lots of veggies! Aren't these different levels delightful in a garden? I thought the 20' drop on our property was dramatic...it's nothing compared to the Wallace's hanging gardens!



I believe this is a dwarf culinary sage (Salvia officinalis'Nana') a terribly underused plant.



I love the terraces..





And yes, tomatoes: the weather was still a bit cool--so they're giving them a little shelter....


I love this hillside!







The hillside opposite shows that the Alexandra area is still borderline steppe--although nowhere nearly as extreme as Denver. They do have some warmer weather to contend with in summer, and somewhat colder temps than on the coast, of course. As a consequence, this is the prime area for orchards in New Zealand: a major destination for domestic tourism--like the Western Slope of Colorado for us in Denver (people driving to see the orchards blooming in September, and for fruit at Christmas and beyond). Alas, the land values are skyrocketing: I hope New Zealanders don't allow the area to become overpopulated and the extraordinary charm compromised...Unlike my country, which has shown some dreadful lack of judgement in the last two months, Kiwis seem to have their priorities straight!



One of my blurry pix, but you had to see their pond! Hang in there...the next few are a tad "impressionistic"--just pretend you mislaid your glasses, okay?






My Jan and Colin enjoying the view--a few of my pix sorta turned out. Fortunately, the ones I took of the couple themselves turned out perfect!











Another portrait of our hosts. Although we spent barely a day with them, we felt so welcome (as we did all over New Zealand). The Kiwis have perfected the art of being hosts. Jan and I have commented repeatedly that this trip has struck a chord as no others have. Of course, it helps to have an island of such stunning and dramatic beauty, filled with unique biodiversity and extraordinary gardens. Here, as few places on earth, the people themselves seem to embody and reflect the magnificence of this planet earth which elsewhere is at such risk. Especially in my sad land.

(P.S.: all the pictures above except the blurry ones (the last twelve) were taken by Jan Fahs.)

Why a rock garden? THIS is why!

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Last May I got a call from Anne Smith, telling me that I might enjoy seeing her garden. I take calls like this very seriously, so on the 20 of this past May (which feels like seven years ago rather than just little less than seven months--life in the FAST lane!) I hopped in my car and drove the 25 miles or so to Boulder--only to be thoroughly chagrined by her garden. It was perfect as you can see....why chagrined? I've been at this game for well over half a century, and this clever woman has surpassed my fondest dreams, in my own home town as well...fortunately, Anne is a lovely lady: otherwise I'd hate her! Just LOOK at that garden! It's SCRUMPTIOUS....


THIS is the view from where I took the LAST picture--beautiful from any angle!

Gentiana acaulis

Where but in a rock garden can you grow the Trumpet Gentian so artistically and well?
Lewisia tweedyi (or one of another half dozen generic names--just ask my buddy Mark McDonough and he'll tell you which one is current).

I have struggled with Lewisia tweedyi--growing it for two or three years: it will produce thee stems perhaps with two or three flowers at the very best and then die. She's had this sucker for years--and LOOK at the flowers....you could see steam emanating from my ears if you were near me...


And daphnes throughout--this monster is probably Daphne x medfordensis'Lawrence Crocker' if I'm not mistaken...


But of course, what makes rock gardens so compelling are the views: like you would find on high mountains meadows--colors melding and combining differently every few feet, like a kaleidoscope (no relation to my last name, incidentally)....


These big cushions of Arenaria'Wallowa Mt.s" remind us that green too is a color in a combo like this....

Paeonia tenuifolia
The peony is grand enough--but so wonderful with the phloxes behind, the Iris 'Sprite' in front and the variegated  I. pallida to the right...this is the magic of rock gardening in spades!


Another glimpse, with a shrubby peony behind (not sure which one) and a perfect dwarf blue spruce sashaying up front!



Anne's garden would have easily fit in Joseph Tychonievich's brand spanking new book on rock gardening (hot off the presses!)...and if you order PROMPTLY from Timber Press, you can get a hefty discount (just click on this sentence and I'll waft you there)



BETTER YET, Click on THIS URL, and you can sign up for the North American Rock Garden Society just in time to get the new seedlist put out by that group (with several hundred kinds of seed I sent them from my garden and collections included!)...NARGS is America's premier headquarters for plant nuts like you and me--and frankly if you've read this far you probably better belong if you're not a member already. I've been a member for over 40 years and lovin' it! You too will not regret it!

An alphabetical stroll through this year's blossoms in my garden....(A-C) [warning, graphic depictions intended for plant nerds primarily, and those afflicted with Hibernal North Zonal Temperitis]era

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Adonis amurensis

Aethionema grandiflorum left and Delosperma Fire Spinner (right).

Allium carolinianum (lower right)

Adonis hookeri ssp. muliense

Allium togashii and Origanum acutidens

Anemone ranunculoides

Aquilegia cf bertollonii

Argemone munita

Argyroderma sp.

Arum dioscurides

Arum nigrum

Astrophytum myriostigma

Begonia evansiana'Heronswood Pirouette'

Beta trigyna

Beta trigyna

Bulbocodium vernum
 

Campanula 'Dickson's Gold'

Campanula choruhensis

Campanula x stansfieldii

Dictamnus albus'Purpureus'& Clematis iintegrifolia pink

Clematis crispa

Codonopsis clematidea

Colchicum boissieri

Corydalis turtschaninovii

Crocus gagaricus

Crocus sieberi 'Tricolor'

Crocus sieberi 'Tricolor'

Crocus sieberi 'Tricolor'

Crocus speciosus 'Albus'

Crocus tomasinianus 'Barr's'

Crocus vernus v. albiflorus

Cyclamen coum


New Years parade for 2015-16 Quince Garden flowers continues...Leontice ewersmanni (L-R)

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Leontice ewersmanni
Each of these plants has a story: sometimes a very LOOOOOONG story, so I shall leave them be to be admired for their elegance of form and lovely colors. (Btw: high today 56F, high Saturday 11F!--don't even ASK about the lows...)

Leptodermis oblonga

Lilium bulbiferum v. croceum

Lilium henryi

Lilium martagon album

Lilium x Orientpet cv.

Melica ciliata

Moltkia petraea

Muscari aucheri

Narcissus 'Peeping Tom'


Narcissus x jonquilla'Sun Disc'



Narcissus nanus

Nepeta musinii

Onopordon acanthium
I realize the thought of a Scotch Thistle in the middle of a rock garden make strike terror in tender hearts...but some of us love all things Scots! And all things Carduaceous.

Origanum 'Kent Beauty

Origanum acutidens

Origanum 'Suendermannii'

Random oregano seedling and blood grass

Orostachys malacophyllus

Paeonia mlokosewitchii

Paeonia officinalis 'Anemonuiflora'

Paeonia peregrina

Paeonia tenuifolia

Papaver orientale seedlings

Papaver tauricolum

Pediocactus despainii

Phlox bifida

Phlox divaricata 'Blue Moon'

Pinellia tripartita

Polemonium reptans

Polygonatum biflorum 'Florrisant'

Polygonatum hirtum

Portulaca grandiflora cvs (not above a bit of color...)

Primula elatior

Primula elatior

Pulsatilla patens (this one is actually in the Children's garden at DBG, but couldn't resist including it)

Putoria calabrica

Ranunculus gramineus

Even a few rhodies...

Ribes x gordonianum

Sempervivella (Rosularia) sedoides

Rumex scutatus'Silvershield'


Christchurch Botanic Garden

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Myosotidium hortensia
It's November 3, 2016: our host, Hamish Brown, suggests a stroll through his local botanical garden. A beautiful spring day...why not? I have loaded most of the pictures I took that wonderful morning (our disastrous Election "results" were still a week away--so nary a cloud in the sky--except for some rainclouds that did fatidically close in eventually.)....I photographed labels and can name some plants--but many are just scenes from this wonderful urban garden I would love to revisit! (And perhaps might in another 13 months if an A.H.S. trip I'm scheduled to lead will come through)--click on the last sentence to see a bit more about it!)
Melanoselinum descipiens
I'm a sucker for Umbels--this one from the Canary Islands...

Melanoselinum descipiens

Tree ferns!

Pacifica irises LOVE New Zealand!

Another monster clump by the Alpine House

Syncarpha canescens
This wonderful sub-shrubby Asteraceae from South Africa loved the Alpine House treatment!

Growing alongside Roscoea cautleyoides from China...gardens make strange bedfellows!

A large Helichrysum--probably H. intermedium?

Poor caged cyclamen...I didn't think New Zealand would worry about theft, but perhaps there is a danger...


The traditional Conservatory was very well maintained...

A pleasure to seee lots of unusual plans, bur also an attempt to have them look good...


I'm a sucker for scarlet Passionflowers--but who isn't?

Bromeliads are always flashy

Nicely arrayed tropicals in great shape...

A neighboring greenhouse for remporary displays--he Cinerareas knocked your socks off!



And a fine Cactus greenhouse

The Leuchtenbergia was perfect!

As were all the cacri


Astrophytum is my favorite genus (today anyway)

A breathtaking display of Miltonia in one of the Orchid greenhouses




The obligate Nepenthes

Lovely tableaux on every side...

It looks as though headhunters may have captured some of the previous--hopefully underperforming--staff. Or supervisors?

I love Mimulus. Or whatever they're calling the genus now..."Eyryanthe" in the family "Phrymaceae": D.N.A. hath decreed...

Of course it began to rain!

The gift shop was terrific in a wonderful new greenhouse complex!

And Amorphophallus konjac was in prime form for our visit!


You look out of the greenhouse at enormous Cupressus macrocarpa--hard to believe this is rare in Monterrey.

A lot of these pictures don't really need commentary: just enjoy the Garden's sites if I don't drone one...


A small part of the grand perennial border

My friend, Victor Reiter's wonderful cultivar (Geranium pratense 'Midnight Reiter')



TB's starting to bloom....aaaah! I love this wonderful season when Nature shifts from Spring to Summer!

Convolvulus cneorum: looking a tad rain-bedraggled: a stand this big is proof that there's a touch of the Mediterranean in the local climate.

I love sweet Williams. Note to self--plant some this coming spring!

A huge canal wraps around most of the Garden (free entrance--but would be easy enough to secure for a bit of revenue...Alas! sometimes I think we only value what we pay for!
Jovellana violacea
A spectacular specimen of this amazing Calceolaria cousin from Argentina: I regret I've only labelled it now that almost 100 people have scanned this blog. You must revisit my blogs, and you'll find all sorts of significant changes (hee hee)...
A distinctive form Bergenia ciliata

Dksporiopsis omeiensis
This is a new taxon for me: will it be as tender as Bergenia emeiensis? And will I ever visit Emei Shan? Life is full of questions...

I was slightly amused to see Iris pseudacorus along the canal--a "noxious" weed just about everywhere.

Iris japonica

Iris japonica Closeup

Hostas love New Zealand: I never saw a single snail.

And Rhodies

Forgot to photograph the label, dang it!

And Iris confusa

And more rhodies...

And a red Horsechestnut--probably A.x  briotii

And azaleas

And more rhodies!

Arisaema sp. (japonicum?)

There were Podophyllums in every garden itr seemed...

I loved this one!

And Asphodelus

And I had to visit the rock garden, of course...

A splendid Siberian!

Lotsa pix of the rock garden--these are my specialty after all!

It was really glorious that day--rain notwithstanding.

Eryngium maritimum


Rhodies and rock gardens. What could be better? (and check out the lichens!)


Our trilliums seem to like New Zealand more than their home continent.

Hamish, contemplating the rock garden


Helleborus argurtifolius



Sine eoun

A fine clump of pogon (perhaps wild pallida?)
New Zealanders seem to have the same infatuation with iris that I have: they were extremely well represented in private gardens, nurseries botanic gardens and at plant shows. I love that island paradise!

An extremely beautiful little Viola.


I never get tired of rock gardens.


Iris gracilipes

Dodecatheon meadia




[Sorry for this white space: I can't get rid of it]

A serpent in paradise! Nothoscordum inodorum I believe.

Nothoscordum inodorum
Not a plant to grow in a garden, alas!

More rainy views...(it was lovely)

I'm having trouble tearing myself away, even in the rain!


Davidia involucrata
Whenever I've been lucky enough to find a Dove tree in bloom is always a red-letter day. I've had a few of those on my travels...aaah.

See the dove tree in the distanced?


A monumental Eucalypt

And a family of Paradise ducks--a native bird that has survived the onslaught of invasives...

Rose garden--we'll see that one in the distance soon...

Impeccably maintained and so healthy!

I told you we'd see it close up! Garden art is a dangerous thing in any Universe...
I dedicate this rose to Chris Woods, my favorite rose gardener of all!

And another mini tree

One last goodbye to the conservatory

A demonstration of native groundcovers--here a Leptinella (or Cotula)

And a terrific spread of Scleranthus

A felled cypress stump left for kids to plan on

Enchanting carpet scheme of Anemone coronaria cvs.

And eceryone's favorite Aloe polyphylla--loving New Zealand!

This bed designed to show off "Xeriscape" plants needing no supplemental irrigatrion

Aloe polyphylla budding to bloom (probably in full bloom as I type this)

A Hebe...for the "xeriscape"--(makes me chuckle to see those in the same sentence)

Cornjs cv. (Eddie's white wonder perhaps?)


On our way out!

Ending with a gigantic Forget-me-not: symbolic dontcha think?
And coming full circle, a fabulous planting of the island native Myotosidium hortensia....one of many native wonders in this amazing place!

Part two: Plant Pageant, Quince Garden plants from 2015-16 (letter D-H)...the show continues!

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Daphne x schytleri (left) Daphne x susannae 'Anton Fahdrich' (on right)
I suppose when these two monster daphnes are in full bloom like this in late April and May, I can declare my rock garden to have come into full bloom. By the way--I mistakenly published the THIRD installment of this years plants before THIS one--and nearly two hundred visitors have checked the other two installments thus far, no one seemed to notice a big chunk of the alphabet was missing! With the glaring omission of "Iris" (which I shall do last), the parade will conclude with the last part of the alphabet appropriately last...This parade is really a way to keep up my spirits in the dead of winter--the temperature as I type this is -6F (that's =21C): to be fair, we're supposed to warm up to near freezing tomorrow and 52 by Tuesday!

Daphne alpina
White isn't as fetching perhaps in daphnes--but this one is getting some character in its form.

Daphne arbuscula 'Radicans'
I lost a branch of this last month: a month away without watering took its toll--even in November!

Datura wrightii
One of the plants left over from my predecessors: there were a few daturas in the garden when we came here--and they still pop up and occasionally come back from the roots!

Delosperma 'Fire Spinner'
Hard to beat this one!

Delosperma'Flame'
This one beats Fire Spinner, if any do. It may be the ultimate delosperma--which I am thrilled to FINALLY have in my garden. David Salman produced this--representing a cross with D. dyeri, which I'm afraid it leaves in the dust. I wish I knew what the other parent was (I wonder if David knows?)...Plant Select is promoting this confusingly as Delosperma'Red Mountain Flame': which has led to confusion with the clone of PURE D. dyeri. I tried to obtain 'Flame' several times, and ended up with plain 'Red Mountain' instead--which thrilled me no end, he said sarcastically. Of course, one wants both!
.
Delosperma cooperi (from Oxbow) and Salvia daghestanica
I'm proud of this cool combo: strangely enough, no one seems to have picked up the Oxbow cooperi--which is at least one and maybe two USDA zones hardier than typical cooperi. The dying foliage on the right is Colchicum boissieri--shown blooming in the PREVIOUS pageant!

Delosperma 'Topsz'

Delphinium pylzowii

Delosperma 'Tiffendell' and Dianthus erinaceus

Dicentra formosa 'Purity'

Dictamnus albus 'Purpureus'

Draba bruniifolia (dwarf, ex Toros Dag)

Draba bryoides v. imbricata

Draba dedeana

Draba polytricha

Echinocereus weedinii

Echium vulgare

Eremostachys laciniata
It's been given a new generic, but I'm sticking to this one for now...

Erigeron flagellaris
The mat is about 12 feet across--spreading like wildfire with runners. Fortunately, I needed to cover some ground there!

Erodium cf. cheilanthum
I struggle to grow plants that should be easy--but one genus that really loves my garden is Erodium: several  are minor weeds, and even the challenging sorts form big mats and bloom nonstop. Strangely neglected by most local gardeners.

Erodium rupestre
It's hard to pick my favorite erodium: they love us and we love them! This may be it, however...

Erythronium 'Pagoda'
I know I should have removed the dang stick.

Euphorbia epithymioides
The old "polychroma" performs from early spring as it emerges to summer and then again in the fall with great fall color. Common isn't a bad thing!

Fritillaria michaelovskyi
I have been thrilled at how this has adapted to my dry garden.

Fritillaria sp.
Planted years ago, this comes back reliably...only I lost the label and can't be sure which of four or five species on my list for this bed it might be.

Fritillaria pontica?

Probably Fumana procumbens
Who will grow these little things if not us? Although never a mass of bloom, there are usually a few flowers on this little sunrose from Spring to early winter. Wouldn't want to be without it!

Galanthus elwesii (Hackenbrry giant form)
Almost twice the size of my other elwesii, I have grown this for decades...

And here is one fully opened.

Galanthus nivalis 'Viridapice' is probably the fastest spreader of any in the genus for us.

Galtonia candicans in a border

Gentiana acaulis
One of four big plantings I put in the fall of 2015--they bloomed wonderfully their first spring. Wonder how many flowers I'll get THIS year (thank you Edelweiss Perennials for growing these so well!)

Gentiana acaulis 'Albocaerulea'
ALMOST as stunning as the blue form...Urs is selling this at Edelweiss perennials as well--do check his fabulous nursery out. I have put a link in at the nursery's name!

I love this sloped meadow in my rock garden--here in late June

Glaucium hybridshave swamped my garden (in a good way)

Helianthus maximiliani 'Lemon Yellow'
Another of David's stellar selections--this pale form of Maximilian daisies always brightens up the late growing season.

Helleborus niger
For years (to be honest, decades) I struggled to grow the Christmas rose well. Now I have perhaps a dozen big clumps that bloom their heads off silly for months. There's something to be said for persistence!
Heuchera bracteata
I've always thought this was the homeliest Heuchera--but grown in a trough like this, I've changed my mind.

The last pix of this year's garden (S-Z)

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Salvia phlomoides
This wonderful Moroccan was a highlight of the garden this past year--an introduction via Mike Kintgen. A winner!
 
Salvia caespitosa
This is the first time I've attempted this salvia on a wall: a bit more sun and it may make a show!

Saxifraga Mossy dwarf
I planted a number of these in the garden--they do have cultivar name I must look up: all of them are taking off and spreading...

Saxifraga hostii
By far the toughest, most vigorous silver. There are now a dozen or more clumps on his slope--they should make quite a picture in a few years!

Scrophularia chrysantha
This is one of my favorite color combos of early spring...must add more of both...

Scutellaria orientalis
An outstanding skullcap, don't you agree? One can never have enough of these...

Sedum (Hylotelephium) 'Cherry Tart'
I traced the progress of this sedum in another blog recently, but can't resist another glimpse!

Sedum ternatum
One of the best sedums, common in the Appalachians, but seemingly rare in gardens.
Sempervivum wulfenii
One of the very best houseleeks--huge rosettes and glorious flowers!

Senecio bigelowii
OK. It's not so very showy...but easily grown and cool.
Seseli gummiferum and Atriplex hortensis 'Rubra'
Both self-sow and are indispensible...in my book anyway!
Sideritis scardica
One can never have too many of these Mediterranean "mountain mints"--this one is especially graceful.
Sinningia leucotricha
Not hardy in Colorado, but pretty necessary for the window...

Smyrnium perfoliatum
This popped up in a path (unauthorized) the year I was to find acres in bloom in Greece a few months later!
Spartium junceum
It freezes to the ground some years, but comes back strong!

Sphaeromeria capitata
A cousin to Tansy, this is one of my favorite step cushion plants from Wyoming.

Spigelia marilandica
Astonished at how beautifully this has finally settled down in my woodland garden. It's been high on my wishlist for years...hope I can reel some others in soon!

Sporobolus wrightii
The only picture of this lot not taken at my Quince st. garden: this is a few miles away--and looks far more majestic than mine. I did have a super clump--but in the wrong spot and it isn't crazy about transplanting the time of year I did it (fall)...
Stachys citrina
I tried this many times and failed, and suddenly I have it all over the garden. Have I learned something, or do I have a hardier clone?

Stomatium agninum Giant form
The monster of hardy mesembs--I've grown this on and off for decades. Almost non-existent in commerce.
Symphyandra (now Campanula) armena
Apparently, Symphyandra is just a segregate of Campanula. (They are a distinct cluster who deserve subgeneric status at least)...so still symphies to me!

Tellima grandkflora
I need lots more of these: there were massive clumps in gardens all over New Zealand...

Thalictrum tuberosum
Another one I struggled to obtain...

Trachycarpum orientale
Purportedly spready in some gardens, it's very restrained for me: I love that blue!

Tradescantia longipes
I first got this from Boyd Cline, probably over 40 years ago: it's persisted here and there ever since.

Trillium nivale
My favorite of the genus: first to bloom! And tough.

Tulipa cf chrysantha (dwarf)
Originally from Goteborg--don't know what name they had for it, but it's delightful.

Tulipa fosteriana
The classic red emperor: finally have a good spot for it!

 Tulipa bakeri and Narcissus
Love this combo...
Valeriana sp. dwf
It came from Arrowhead alpines under a name I can't find anywhere else. It blooms forever!

Verbascum atropurpureum
Very close to V. phoeniceum, I know--this one is more wiry and very tough.

Verbascum seedling (hybrid)
A seedling of V. phoeniceum hybrids and a big yellow one: it's come back several years, but the seed doesn't seem to be fertile...

Verbascum lychnitis
This perennial white one would be so wonderful if it looked this good all the time. But it doesn't.

Mixed Mulleins Rogues galllery

Viola pedata (finally!)
This tiny plant is a triumph for me: I never thought I'd fine forms that tolerated our soils and climate--until I visited a site in Kentucky two years ago. Some day I'd like to have patches like THESE! My pictures didn't turn out as well as Matt Mattus' from the same field trip in Michigan.
Yucca elata (note the tiny Eremurus stenophyllus center left)

Zigadenus venenosus in our little patch of blue gramma prairie

"Carrying a bomb"

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"My own favorite of the mulleins I know is called Verbascum bombyciferum, which possibly means 'carrying a bomb', though my Latin was never very good. It is well suited to the modern garden"* (The Essential Earthman, Henry Mithell). I was smitten by this most amazing mullein long before I read Mitchell's quote, but knowing the earthman appreciated this plant only reaffirmed my affection. I have shown pictures of verbascums quite often on Prariebreak--several shots in my most recent posting and in at least one more extended post "Pax Verbascum". I seem to keep acquiring new species and better pictures of the plants--and a full scale update is due before long, but I should linger a bit on this one--which is sort of a signature plant of my garden. Above you can see that even as first year rosettes they make quite a statement!


As the flowering stems spindle up, they impress even more: the multiple headed one in the middle is undoubtedly a hybrid--real bombyciferum doesn't branch like that! This sort of variability only adds interest!


The show gets more dramatic as the butterfly blossoms open up!





They remind me a bit of a corps of ballet...albeit with very saggy tutus.


The flowers are really quite large--and usually buzzing with bees. In the morning, however (the petals shrivel and drop in the afternoon).


One year they seem to grow unusually tall...

And here one at Denver Botanic Gardens germinating in the rock--much as they do in nature (see the last shot!)...


 I have thinned out this colony and planted more and more of these out on the street: they do suck up a lot of space in what I'd like to be a more diverse garden. So this is a bit of a memorial to this wonderful planting in the "West Ridge" (which is SUPPOSED to be Western American plants)...I've left a few for 2017, but by 2018 this cottony madness will have been exiled to the periphery of my garden...so better visit next summer if you want to see the last blast of the bombers!

Bob Beer photographing V. bombyciferum in the wild, on Ulu Dag
 And now my great confession: in early July of 2015 I was on a trip to study the flora of the two "Olympuses" of ancient Greece: one of the goals of visiting the Turkish Olympus (Ulu dag) was to find and photograph one of its most famous endemics, namely our little bomb bearer...

Sure enough, our very first day in Bursa, we took the Teleferik up Ulu Dag, and there below the gondala were hundreds--nay thousands!--of V. bombyciferum in glorious bloom up the mountain. Did I take a picture? Why bother--surely we'll see some more. We proceeded to spend several more days driving all over Ulu Dag: we saw half a dozen mulleins there, including the glorious V. olympicum by the million, but nary another bombyciferum anywhere else on the mountain. By the time I realized my omission (we could have just gone back to the Teleferik), it was too late--we were on our way to Kaz Dag.

Fortunately, my friend Bob Beer who accompanied us that summer had been on the mountain a few years before and took these pictures of the plant in the wild. Sadly, the fate of this plant and Turkey are clouded by its very name: the benighted government has been so oppressive that any number of bombs have been going off around the country, triggering fear among tourists, and crippling the hospitality industry in this important recreational destination...

Verbascum bombyciferun on Ulu Dag

 And this is the plant that Bob was photographing  on Ulu dag...a fitting end, I think!

There are several other Verbascum spp. with gorgeous silvery leaves and many with marvellous flowers, but none carry so potent a "bomb" in the garden as this cottony marvel...

*I'm sure Henry knew enough Latin to know that the "bombus" of bombyciferum is cotton and not a bomb! It is "cotton bearing" and not "bomb bearing"! Just to clarif y a tad!

November snapshot of a Plantsman's garden near Christchurch, N.Z.

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This dashing Kiwi on Mount Southey in the Canterbury mountains of New Zealand is Hamish Brown, an Agronomic Scientist at his day job doing environmental research for a living but in his SPARE time, he climbs mountains (I can attest to that) and he also happens to be a terrific plantsman who has a huge collection of choice plants in raised frames he grows for show and for propagation, and a sizeable garden--I would guess half an acre?--at a new home where he is creating an exciting garden along with his wife Mika (who is also very much a gardener) and their son Sato. The Browns hosted me and Jan our first days in New Zealand--and launched us on this fantastic trip we've been sharing...I thought you (reader) might enjoy seeing a few of the plants a keen plantsman living near Christhurch might have in their gardens...this is a mere snapshot of a half hour or so's photography on a single day...albeit at the height of spring bloom. Enjoy!

Androsace bulleyana
As we proceed through the picures, I will have labeled those I knew, such as this one. But some I neglected to photograph the label in my frenzy of picture taking: I have passed this by Hamish, and he made a little commentary which I shall cut and paste: it will be in blue with his initials afterwards (H.B.), like this!

Androsace bulleyana


Gingidia montana (H.B.)
There is a wonderful account of this New Zealand and Australian native at this URL.

Aquilegia viridiflora

Tropaeolum tricolor
Of course, it makes perfect sense that this Chilean native would do so well in New Zealand--the climate is so similar: here is what Hamish has to say about this plant: "This is the growth from a single tuber that was a gift from a friend in the alpine garden society in April this year" (H.B.)

7 Saxifraga x urbium

Saxifraga x urbium
Quoth H.B.: "This was grown from a packet of seed labelled Saxafraga X arendsii but I am not sure if that is what it actually is."I am pretty sure it's a London Pride selection myself.
8 Campanula portenschlagiana


Myosotis concinna (H.B.)
Hamish just sent me this image of another NZ Myosotis, M. explanata

Medley of color
H.B.:. Rhodohypoxis, Meconopsis cambrica, Androsace bulleyana and Androsace strigillosa

 Iris x germanica

H.B.: "One of many tall bearded irises we hurriedly moved from our old house and misplaced the name."

Iris tectorum

H.B:.  Common garden onion, grown to eat the bulb but went to seed… so why not enjoy the flower before pulling them out. (PK: doesn't quite match up with Allium cepa, our common yellow onion--more like Allium altaicum, or one of the swollen leaf species. I shall post on Facebook's Alliorum and see what they think!)

H.B:Olive in the blue pot and a lemon magnolia to the right.  The cover around them is wheat (tritium astevium) which grew out of the wheat straw we used to mulch the area.  It looked more interesting that a blank area so we left it in and the local birds loved it.
H.B. An undescribed* Celmisia species commonly known and ‘Grassy leaved’
*(When Hamish says "undescribed" it means it is a NEW species: the plantsmen in New Zealand are always finding plants new to science. People forget that historicallly, gardening has been one of the principal drivers of Botany:botanists are there to help us name our plants! P.K.)

H.B.: "Ranunculus verecundus (yellow) and Babiana angustifolia (? I think)"

H.B.: '. Colobanthus affinus (the pincushion),  Montia sp. (to the left) and Myosotis australus (to the rear)"


Myosotis australis v. alba


H.B. :t know what that is, came with something else that I dug out of a friends garden PK: I am thinking it's a North American Triteleia.




H.B.: Kiwi style shade house.  The large Hebe provides protection from the sun as well as cooler and better looking shade structure that a shade tunnel.  Anything I pot on or prick out spends 2-6 weeks here before going back to the tables in brighter sun

H.B.: Philadelphus sp.






H.B.: "A look across one of 10 tables I have made to house our plants.  Everything, regardless of how they grow in nature, is grown with a 10-20mm layer of grit topping on the pots to keep liverwort under control and to slow evaporative drying.  During summer everything is watered from above daily which provides ideal conditions for liverwort growth and this can easily overtake a timid alpine and rapidly desiccate the mix below."


.  H.B.: "Mostly NZ natives, Celmisia, Colobanthus, Helichrysum, Anisotomi, Raoulia etc."


H.B.:"Odd bedfellows, Poa novae-zelandiae and Gentiana tibetica"



H.B.: "Penstemon sp (I have this written down but am at mum and dads at the moment and can’t remember the species name), A brassica who’s name I also forget but I am going to dumb the lot of them because they are covered in luscious seed pods and will become weedy.  The spiky looking one in the back is a nice compact form of Celmisia sessiliflora I collected."



H.B.: "Different species of Iris grown from seed in foreground.  Background is a collection of seed pots with seed from one of the many garden clubs we belong to.  The white thing contains a temperature sensor.  When the temperature exceeds 26oC the sprinklers come on for 1 min ever 20 min to help keep things cool"


Bulbinella hookeri



H.B.: "A double Rhodohypoxis that mum gave Mika a small pot of some time ago.  Mum has lost hers so I will be able to give some back to her.  I love the way this works with gardeners."



H.B.: "Celmisia sessiliflora X Celmisia spectabilis.  Celmisias often hybridise in the wild producing some interesting forms which I like to collect."

Ranunculus enysii

H.B. "Phyteuma comosum.  Grown in my standard potting mix (45% 1-3mm grit, 45% 1-3mm pumice, 10% moss peat) with 4 handfulls of crushed lime to reproduce that dolomite experience.  This plant looked great in full flower but I don’t seem to have a photo to send you."

Osteospermum hybrids H.B.: "Some daises that seem to go everywhere.  The look good, require little water and fill a gap so they will stay until something else is needing the gap the fill."


H.B.: "Celmisia gracilenta, one of the smallest of the Celmisia genus, but with beautiful makings on the leaves."

Ranunculus godleyanus in early November (H.B.:Ranunculus godleyanus is correct.This only grown near in the high Alps near glaciers, and in my garden."
Here's Hamish's picture of the same plant...a month or so later

Hamish posted this as his Facebook avatar, Ranunculus godleyanus in the wild I believe..


H.B.: Leptinella pyrethrifolia

H.B. "Poa pygmaea, A NZ native alpine grass.  I love it how alpines challenge what you expect a plant to look like."


H.B.: Raoulia grandiflora



Craspedia incana



Ranunculas chessemanii

Hamish grew this from seed labeled "Delphinium exaltatum" which is of course the common, tall perennial Larkspur. A pretty wonderful form, I would think. (Looks like a distinct, good species to me...)
Here is Hamish's picture of this delphinium in full bloom last week.
Another of Hamish's pictures, this one of Delphinium requienii: a new species to me.


H.B.: "Something I collected that I haven’t identified yet (Jo told me but I forgot and didn’t write it down) but it grows well and smells good."


H.B.:Anemone obtusiloba Pradesh



H.B. "The plant front and centre is a Chinohebe thomsonii, Parahebe decora hybrid (both species are now officially in the Veronica genus) I collected and am very excited about.  It has the most fascinating foliage and takes easily from cuttings…".

H.B.: Geum uniflora and Saxifraga primuloides‘Elliots’ variety'


H.V.: "A better specimen of Poa pygmaea without a misspelled label.  zephyranthes candida in the pot to the left.

Androsace strigillosa

Iris reichenbachii

H.B.: Celmisia semicordata (the largest celmisia species) X Celmisia alpina (the smallest celmisia species) collected and distributed by the fine folk of Hokonui alpines

Carmichaelia vexillatac

H.B.: Poa maniatoto, a tiny and adorable native grass


Montia sp.

Leonohebe sp.

Scilla adlamii or Ledebouria cooperi

Leontopodium alpinum v. nivale

H.B."Dianthus that Mika grew from a packet of supermarket seeds"

H.B.: "Incarvillea ‘Bees Pink’, a self seeded plant dug up from Steve Newall’s garden"

. Celmisia semicordata stricta X Celmisia gracilenta 

Delosperma'White Nugget'

Iris verna

H.B.  "Arum that was planted in the garden by the previous owner


H.B. "Ranunculus lyallii (big green leaves), a gift from Steve Newall for hosting Ger and Mariet van den Beuken.  As if getting to make friends with fellow plant enthusiasts wasn’t gift enough."




And now a little photogallery lifted from Hamish's Facebook postings (with his permission) of some plants I missed...

Ranunculus lyallii
 Notice that in MY picture just before this one he's growing it in the ground as well: I saw some fabulous clumps in private gardens in Dunedin and elsewhere--so it can be grown to rival the incredible specimens in the Southern Alps.

Ranunculus verticillatus
I believe I'm in a very select fraternity who can claim to have seen both R. verticillatus and the very different R. SEMIverticillatusof the Andes. If you click on the last Latin name you'll have a chance to see what has to be one of the handful of most dazzling plants on the Planet.

Gonocarpus micranthus
 A wonderful little New Zealand native in the Haloragaceae--a family that's new to me!
Campanula choruhensis
 First introduced by Zdenek Zvolkanek from Turkey in the early 1990's--I believe Rocky Mt Rare Plants--a seed company run by my ex-wife and myself back then--were the first to offer seed of this as Campanula "coruhensis" (sic). Wonderful to see it in the Southern Hemisphere.

Helichrysum'Silver Cushion'
Leucogenes grandiceps


Brachygolttis bellidioides
 Like all true rock gardeners, Hamish ventures where others fear to tread--collecting modest alpine DYC's, like Brachyglottis. And once you have a few, you can begin to be truly amazed by Nature's combinational skills!

Brachyglottis haastii
How wonderfully distinct the foliage is on these two! As a lover of DYC's, I'm jealous!


And now back to my last few pictures: I was dazzled by the giant forget me nots along the Brown's shady SOUTH Side of their house...Hamish was a bit surprised ("Those are left over from the previous owner" after all. They left the Browns with quite a few plants I was dazzled by--huge, very healthy protea bushes in several species for instance)...This Chatham island endemic is pretty commonly grown in New Zealand--and no great shakes there. But it doesn't thrive in too many places in the Northern hemisphere (it needs coolness, humidity and little frost: not for Colorado!)...

Myosotidium hortensis

Myosotidium hortensis

New Zealand: truly we shall "Forget-thee-not"

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