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Shameless Self Promotion: November New England talks
Come hear me present at one of these New England venues:November 2, 2024“Glimpses from the Eaves of the World: the Himalayas”Androsace hookeri in Sikkim 2023New England NARGS Luncheon (More info here...
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Three long-blooming natives and one not
Penstemon petiolatus (photographed October 25, 2024)My friends who work at nurseries have regaled me with the crazy things they're asked, one of the commonest of which is "do you have a perennial that...
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Friends with flair
Resnova megaphyllaI don't add new genera to my life's list every day (particularly South African bulbs), but it's not surprising I should do so at Matt Xavier Mattus and Joe Phillip's incredible home...
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The other Adonis....
Adonis annuaRock gardeners always associate Adonis with the giant flowered, early spring flowering perennial species that spread across Eurasia in a narrow band from the Pyrenees to Japan...but there...
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Old folkies never die
Like most Americans (that includes Canadians and [of course!] Mexicans and other Latino-Americans incidentally--except Argentinians) we start trotting down to our local post offices this time of year...
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Have flower will travel (a year in bloom)
January: Gentianella cerastoidesIt was easy for me to pick my favorite plant we found in Ecuador: in the shadow of Cotopaxi I thought I'd found crocuses at first. But no: a gentian. Ecuador is...
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Mistaken identity: Coryphantha robustispina ssp. uncinata
Coryphantha robustispina ssp. uncinata A picture of what I have been calling (and distributing seed of) as Coryphantha scheeri for many years (this picture was taken in 2007). Arguably one of the most...
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Ineffably beautiful pasqueflower
Pulsatilla patens (Asiatic form)I think I have even more pictures of pasqueflowers than I do of snowdrops, adonis and crocuses--these four champions of late winter are so photogenic (and have so...
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Wyoming wandering: part one--buckwheat bother
Eriogonum umbellatum ssp. majusWhat's the bother with buckwheats? We'll get to that but first admire if you will the wonderful changing color on the perianth segments of this specimen--soon the whole...
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Feelin' the Blues (Yellowstone, Part two)
Penstemon cyaneus In the course of my life I've grown no end of penstemons: not merely dozens of species and hybrids--I'll bet I've grown nearly a hundred. But it wasn't till this past summer I...
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Season's greetings from a lost book...
Castilleja rhexifolia by Esther Reed Not altogether lost yet--more like in limbo. This rather gorgeous watercolor is one of dozens residing (today) on my desk at work. They deserve (and will certainly)...
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Summer seasoning
Surely I'm not the only person who, in the heat of summer, phantasizes about a cool winter's day. On January 1 in Denver, we can hardly say we've had TOO much of a winter--daytime temperatures for...
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Panayoti on the Road Again! California here I come!
California Lecture Tour Tuesday Jan. 21 (meeting starts at 7 pm at the County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park) San Francisco Cactus club: “The OTHER South Africa” More information HERE Succulent...
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A sprig of yarrow for remembrance
Snowcapped Achillea filipendulina (01-05-2017)If I hadn't removed this sizeable clump of a common, summer-blooming yarrow from this spot (I still grow it elsewhere) it would probably look pretty much...
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Blown away and blown up by hardy Gesneriads (and a little Olympic digression...)
Ramonda serbicaGesneriads are one of those hot-button families of plants that have spawned their own societies and generate a sort of buzz. I am old enough to remember when African Violets were still a...
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The miss-named violets of the Karoo
Aptosimum indivisum Calitzdorp 09-16-2023 The one pretty Universally accepted common name for plants in the genus Aptosimum is "Karoo Violet". Although they are by no means confined to the Karoo (the...
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Sweet Wyoming home (overture)
Clay Butte, from Beartooth HighwayTechnically, I have never lived quite long enough in Wyoming to REALLY call it my home. But I have probably spent more time in Wyoming than perhaps any other state in...
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Wyoming blue me away! (First movement)
Penstemon cyaneus Everybody goes gaga over Meconopsis....having spent magical times in the Himalayas (not to mention Scotland) I certainly get this. But what about penstemon? There are no end of...
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Three more good reasons to attend "Peaks to Prairie" in Cheyenne this June!
Mike Kintgen and Kenton SethTwo of the keynote speakers at Peaks to Prairie--the North American Rock Garden Society's annual meeting in Cheyenne this June--happen to live in Colorado. I know I am a...
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Yuccarama! The untold story
Yucca faxoniana (left) and Y. thompsoniana (right) [2010]Most first time visitors to Denver Botanic Gardens have been surprised to the large yuccas that flank the entrance to the main Boetcher...
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Crocus season of remembrance
Crocus vernus v albiflorusSnowdrops are starting to go over. Snow is predicted for this evening--and of course the brunt of spring crocus blossoming is just begun.Everyone is a gardener in March--and...
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Jackalope: bioengineering joke?
Intrepid rock gardeners from the Rocky Mountain Chapter in WyomingHard to believe ten years have passed since we took this picture--in Douglas, Wyoming, I believe. We were returning from a magical five...
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Inklings of spring
Townsendia hookeriEaster this year doesn't officially occur till April 20--almost a month away, Easter daisies don't really pay attention to religion however--these may even be in seed in a month! We...
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O Captain! my captain!
I am not sure why I decided to carve a woodblock with the face of Agamemnon almost 60 years ago. 18 years ago on April 1 (a day I never forgot) I saw a very tall man come striding a bit gingerly...
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Sailing to Ravenna
Cupola mosaic in the Baptisterio Ariano I confess, we rode a train--we did not sail into Ravenna. I must admit I am a devout secular humanist, but have a peculiar (and very real love) of Medieval...
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