With most of the Hepatica seeds ‘out of the way’ (thank you!), we are preparing for the next wave of seeds that are best sown during the summer to ensure proper germination. These are the Helleborus, maybe a new species this year -Pachyphragma macrophyllum, plus various native species like Sanguinaria canadensis, Asarum canadense, Erythronium grandiflorum […]
A revised post from another year with some additions. The plants are just the same :) they only flower at slightly different times every spring, region & weather depending. Do you need ideas about North American natives woodland species to introduce into your garden? Take a hike into the woods; nature is the best expert […]
Just a few pictures for today. The collection of Corydalis seeds is on-going ;) and with the current heat wave it will be finished fast. For the same reason, Paeonia japonica and Paeonia mascula are suddenly in flower and I’ll hand pollinate them to ensure the best outcome from seeds. Various species are in flower […]
Just a quick post to show the start of Jeffersonia germination. There were never leftover seeds of Jeffersonia until last year; the slightly larger seed quantity and early cold arrival in late fall of 2022 contributed to this (we know by now that moist packed seeds cannot be shipped when the temperatures fall too much […]
We shouldn’t let the spring go by without admiring and talking about Corydalis species. Last year’s drought coupled with an April brief surge of temperature resulted in a not so great display of Corydalis solida. Few other species, like Corydalis malkensis (in the featured image with Helleborus caucasicus) and Corydalis paczozkii weren’t bothered as much. […]
Greetings to all and welcome to the busiest and most beautiful time of the year: SPRING! We have waited, waited some more, we have prepared and now we don’t know what to start doing first. For us seeds growers the priorities are: transplanting and acclimating the indoor seedlings AND – yes, sowing more seeds! Plus, […]
The rainy periods seem to have come to an end, just in time for Easter celebrations; the Orthodox Easter follows next week. We are told that the night temperatures will remain above zero next week; some garden cleaning becomes urgent for the locations where the Corydalis, Claytonia, Hepatica, Helleborus, and other early spring species are […]
Today was a good day to watch the seedlings grow instead of looking out the window. At this time many seedlings are starting to show their ‘true face’ and you can tell, in some cases, that the name on the label don’t match it. The cute seedlings of Phyteuma cf. nigrum are next to those […]
The subpage with Hepatica names and coll. numbers has been updated. For H. acutiloba, there is just one new addition: a light pink maiden form with multipetal tendency, called ‘Maiden Blush’. The cross pollination is made easier in this case, by only having to brush pollen from another Hepatica on the stigma. There is also […]
The melting of the snow in some areas brought to light a few Hepatica leaves in the garden. Among a small pile of pots and containers, the first buds of various seedlings and Hepatica japonica are trying to reach for the sun. Coincidentally, I am working to update the Hepatica pages, especially assigning collection numbers […]
I had a look at what I was writing in March a few years ago, and in a few years it was about the Hot water treatment. I usually do a few species using this easy germination technique in March; it is a good time for a remainder. If you have species from the Fabaceae […]
March marks the arrival of spring in many regions of the world. Here, the arrival of more snow…True that there are few snowdrops in flower – partially under the snow! However, no matter how much snow is falling, the daylight is getting longer, new seeds are germinating, and the seedling are growing :) Not so […]
Continuing the last year’s review – the first picture from the August folder is a Waist-threaded wasp feeding on Eupatorium perfoliatum. It seems that the Common Boneset is a powerful attractant of various solitary wasps, besides other pollinators. Last summer I started to do a little ‘inventory’; I missed a few but there is always […]
Just a few highlights for a cold and icy Friday, provided by the ‘not so small’ inhabitants of the garden. In the sunny, dry side there are always Delphinium fissum, Delphinium albiflorum and Crocosmia, Centaurea orientalis; in part-shade, a couple of Aconitums and Acanthus hungaricus, plus the first time flowering last summer – Angelica capitellata. […]
Early to mid- February is a good time for us, in cold Northern Hemisphere regions, to start seeds under indoor lighting. This way, by late April-May the seedlings can be acclimatized outdoors, and in some cases planted in the ground during the summer (fast growing species). Gaining 2-3 month of growth for our short season […]
Towards the end of June it was not only very dry, but also super hot, much to the dislike of quite a few species. Others, which by their nature enjoy such conditions, were not bothered at all (Salvia daghestanica, Veronica oltensis in the featured image). Also, Centaurea jankae, the subject of a plant portrait a […]
