Gardens – Page 3 – Botanically Inclined

A Primula-rina

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this Primula that was showing promise to be a great Primula-rina!

The Ballerina – Primula frondosa (a bit elongated in a container in early spring)

Last time when I had visions of dancing plants it was two years ago because of a twirling Arisaema – it is not that often to discover a first class ballerina!.

Primula frondosa is a dwarf, farinose primula endemic from Bulgaria where it grows on cliffs at 900-2000 m altitude, in partly shaded, moist crevices. It is very hardy and will show up from under the snow, with a tight silvery rosette (you may wish that it remains like that), but then the leaves expand and remain powdery only beneath (but the flowering stem and flower pedicels still covered in silvery hairs). A very floriferous primula: umbels with up to 30 pink, delicate flowers with a yellow eye in early spring.

Primula frondosa in full bloom right now ( 2-3 seedlings were planted together in the fall)

Sometimes mistaken for P. farinosa (and vice-versa, but P. farinosa has white-farina on both side of the leaves, and it flowers much later). Both are commonly called Bird’s eye Primulas.

Propagation: very easy to grow from seeds (like other Primula spp.), and it will start flowering in the second year – soooo gratifying!

May 14, 2014

In sync – Corydalis solida

Alpine plants, Gardens, Photography, Plant portraits

Corydalis from the Greek ‘Korydalís’ meaning ‘crested lark’

Someone lucky enough to go hiking in the Carpathian Mountains in late April-early May would be surrounded by multicoloured masses of Corydalis solida – Fumewort (or ‘brebenei’ in my native tongue). There is a great variation in flower colour from white to pink and purple and actually the best forms of C. solida on the market today trace back their origins to Transsilvania (Romania) and Penza regions (western Russia).

This year, in sync, the ones from our garden are blooming at the same time:

The renown Corydalis solida ‘George Baker’ (from Gardenimports – I am not really sure if it is the real thing but still a good red form)

An ephemeral at superlative – it appears fast with the temperature raise in the spring, and then disappears quietly after a few weeks. But for the brief time when it flowers, it will fill your heart with unconditional love for the years to come. The deeply divided ferny foliage and long spurred, tube-shaped flowers are adorable providing the much needed burst of colors after our long winters.

Corydalis solida – in its usual purple form (from Lost Horizons)

They also make for very good photo-subjects after rain

C. solida ‘Beth Evans’- is a large-flowered form, with pink flowers; slow to increase. They are very delicate when in active growth; to be moved, mark their place and lift up the small tubers (bulb-like) as soon as they go dormant or in the fall.

Corydalis solida ‘Beth Evans’ (from Fraser Thimble Farm)

Due to its ephemeral nature it is offered mostly by specialized nurseries/mail-order operations. For part shade and moist conditions when in growth, then it prefers to remain on the dry side for the rest of the season. I particularly like them planted close to ferns or ornamental grasses where they fill in the space just perfectly in early spring. They interbreed easily and will seed around if happy forming multicolored colonies.

Best not to be a purist when it comes to Corydalis solida!

This is just a small glimpse of the Corydalis solida world – there are many other named varieties. I already wrote about other wonderful Corydalis species – do not be afraid to become a corydaphill!

Note: If someone doesn’t know it, the absolut Corydalis guru and bulb expert is Janis Ruksans from Latvia – on-line catalogue here: Rare Bulbs

May 2, 2014

Solomon’s-seals – are you kidding?

Gardens, Plant portraits

A gardener’s look at how our preconceived ideas prevent us from experiencing new plants in the garden.

Most specialty nurseries nowadays are carrying a wide range of Solomon’s Seals – Polygonatum spp., of which quite a few don’t look at all like the common, North American native Polygonatum biflorum. Although the Great Solomon’s seal is a great addition to any woodland garden of a certain size, its size and spreading behaviour have been extended wrongly to the genus Polygonatum in general. If we are willing to look beyond, there are species and varieties that look and/or ‘behave’ in the garden completely different. I cannot say it better than Tony Avent from Plant Delights Nursery did when talking about Polygonatum kingianum: “forget everything you know about Solomon’s seal, except that it grows from a rhizome in the shade.”

I am sure the list can be longer but I’ll resume to a few species that I have images and are available at Lost Horizons Nursery in Ontario.

Polygonatum kingianum grows to 1-3 m tall, erect or as a climber; its leaves are narrow and arranged in whorls, each ending in a tendril-like tip. Flowers can be white to pink or orange and berries red. Flora of China specifies it is a highly variable species, which stands true for a few others Polygonatum sp. with whorled leaves.

Polygonatum verticillatum has also narrow leaves in disposed in whorls (but no tip-tendrils) and creamy-white flowers. A very tall form in cultivation is P. verticillatum ‘Himalayan Giant’. Another beauty with narrow, whorled leaves and smoky-rose flowers is Polygonatum curvistylum (I don’t have an image so you’ll have to believe me). Another species presented in the gallery, with umbel-like inflorescences might be P. zanlanscianense, but I’m not very sure. For more unusual species Flora of China is a good source of descriptions, although in some cases given their variability is hard to ascertain a proper identity, looking only at a few plants.

My preferate – Polygonatum hookeri is a dwarf Solomon-seal that you’ll fall in love with at first sight. It is a native from parts of China and N. India, where it grows at altitudes over 3000 m. It reaches only 10 cm in height and the leaves are crowded on the stems. The pink or lavender flowers resemble those of a hyacinth, and berries are red. In time it will form a lovely groundcover mat allowing other taller plants to peak through. Perfect for a small rockery in part shade. Available also at Wrightman Alpines – after all it is an alpine solomon’s seal!

March 7, 2014

In a mood for Arisaema part II – Arisaema galeatum

Gardens, Plant portraits, Propagation

Another great Arisaema that flowers in early spring is Arisaema galeatum. It is another story than A. sazensoo because it has a really big tuber. It is said that can grow to half a kilogram! Last year when I was checking the tuber in early March I caught it just starting to grow and it looked very appealing to me – with a dark-chocolate coating and raspberry syrup on top would be delicious! But I put myself together… This is an Arisaema from the Himalayan range (NE India to Bhutan), which grows during the mansoon months and then the leaves start withering in late summer and goes dormant early. Good to keep this in mind as it shows its requirements for a very good drainage from late summer to fall, and during winter of course.

The flower emerge on the same time with the leaves, on a short peduncle and it has a helmet-like (galeate) spathe, similar with A. ringens. It can be green or brown with whitish veins and has a white, translucent spadix that ends in a thread like whip. I like to call it Dolphin cobra lily, because that’s what it suggested to me first time when it bloomed – a dolphin emerging for air from within the leaf!

Just like its sister, A. ringens, the huge trifoliolate leaf is very ornamental. Actually, I consider it among the most beautiful from all Arisaema species I’ve seen. It unfolds slowly and the back pattern with accentuated purple ribs makes it mesmerizing to watch.

It did form two tuberlets two years ago (not a great rate of offsetting), from which one even produced a small flower in its first season! Unfortunately, the rainy weather we had late summer to fall it proved fatal for the smaller size tubers. If someone wants to give it a try I suggest container culture, so it can be moved to a dry place in late summer, or if in the garden a real well drained area, like close to a tree or shrub that would remove the excess water and also provide the part-shade required.

February 25, 2014

In a mood for Arisaema – Arisaema sazensoo

Gardens, Plant portraits, Propagation

This is an updated post on Arisaema sazensoo – I have more ‘data’ to share now than last year. I am always in a mood for any Arisaema, but especially for the rare ones like A. sazensoo.

Arisaema sazensoo, is one of the first Arisaema to emerge in the spring, just like its cousin A. sikokianum. It is native from Kyushu, Japan and resemble a little A. sikokianum but the spadix doesn’t have such a pronounced white ‘pestle’. The spathe is usually deep purple, recurved over the spadix and the leaves are trifoliolate, like you can see in the images. It was thought to resemble a Buddhist monk in meditation – ‘zazen’, hence its name sazensoo, or at least that’s what I read. Anyway, you can tell it is a very charismatic Arisaema!

Arisaema sazensoo

Another characteristic is that it stays in flower over a very long period of time, comparing with other Arisaemas. It had one attempt to form seeds, which proved sterile, but two years ago in late fall I had the very pleasant surprise to find that it had produced an offset (a tuberlet)!

On a few websites you’ll read that A. sazensoo is a non-offsetting species, but obviously someone got it wrong. In the images below I can present now the tuberlet that has grown quite well in one season (A. sazensoo doesn’t have a big size flowering tuber). More than this, the old tuber shows very clear another tuberlet (which is best left to detach by itself).

Like many other Arisaema species, it prefers a part-shade location and can be grown very well in a container, where a good drainage can be easily provided. Best transplanted in late fall with fresh potting mix and kept dry over the winter.

February 24, 2014

One picture per blossom: A Peony Album

Gardens, Plant portraits

“One poem/ per blossom is not enough/ for a peony.” – Ryumin

And if I may add, one picture per blossom would not be enough for a peony either. I realized this at New York Botanical Garden when the herbaceous Paeonia (P. lactiflora) collection was in full bloom. There are plenty of books and websites devoted to peonies. What I find fascinating is how this flower has become so revered in the eastern countries, to the point that peony-viewing was a festive occasion in the Japanese gardens, for example. It was associated with good-luck, prosperity; it was a status and a symbol of good fortune. Peony images can be found in the artwork of many Asian artists, in paintings, tapestry, porcelain and literature. For the peoples from other cultures, the peony may be just a pretty flower, but even so we can all agree that true beauty doesn’t need description. That’s why I put together this album: one picture and one poem per blossom; they are not enough….

February 20, 2014

Climbing Monks…hoods

Gardens, Plant portraits

Yet another subject that I don’t have enough time to dedicate – the climbing Aconitum species. While the old fashioned monkshoods have been in the gardens and are well known for a long time (yes, despite the fact that they are highly poisonous), the climbing ones are still to raise a few eyebrows. Most of them, like A. hemsleyanum, A. volubile, and A. uncinatum with the usual blue flowers are a bit more common than this one that makes me start the conversation: Aconitum alboviolaceum – from China, Korea, Far East Russia, where it grows in “forest, scrub in valleys, mountains; 300-1400 m” (Flora of China vol.6). Two varieties are recognized: var. alboviolaceum: with twining stems – 100-250 cm and var. erectum – stems up to 30 cm tall.

Aconitum alboviolaceum var. alboviolaceum

Raised from seed and in its third year now, it twined very gracefully around a snake bark maple in the Display Garden at Lost Horizons, without becoming too cumbersome. In a perfect match with the snake bark, rows of monks with pink&white hoods are now, slowly climbing up….

Aconitum alboviolaceum var. alboviolaceum in the Display Garden at Lost Horizons Nursery

Aconitum alboviolaceum var. alboviolaceum close-up

September 9, 2013

Alpine Golden Nuggets from Wrightman Alpines

Gardens, Plant portraits

The Plant Gold Rush continues with the most precious of finds: the alpine golden nuggets. We found them at Wrightman Alpines during their open house last Sunday. It had been a while since I was lucky to admire their Saxifrages in flower, so we made another trip that turned out into a photography extravaganza. Many ‘golden nuggets’ were either in flower or at their best foliage; we took advantage of our most kind hosts, Irene and Harvey Wrightman, and poked around every corner of their wonderful rockery garden and nursery. Even for a plant connoisseur the richness of plant species they have can be a bit overwhelming to digest, so I’ll take it slow and there’ll be more to come…

Paeonia suffruticosa ssp. rockii

At this time of the year, after admiring the most impressive clumps of Paeonia suffruticosa spp. rockii, the best would be to explore the rock gardens around the house before heading into the hoop houses (although being very detailed people we did the other way around).

Enjoy a few images from Wrightman Alpines Nursery rock gardens

Rock crevices with lots of ‘plant golden nuggets’

Rock crevice garden with an incorporated trough

Chaenorrhinum glareosum – Nevada dwarf snapdragon (from Sierra Nevada, Spain)

A glorious Asperula suberosa

Polygala major and Jurinella moschus var. moschus

Polygala major and right – Jurinella moschus var. moschus

Penstemon fruticosus var. serratus ‘Holly’

A small crevice dweller – Androsace globifera

Asyneuma limonifolium ssp. limonifolium

Irene was very happy about this cactuses growing in the alvar type rock

Irene was very happy about these cacti growing in the alvar type rock

Aquilegia scopulorum x A. coerulea

Rarely seen Oncocyclus susiana (syn. Iris susiana)

Of course, we came home very grateful and with a few gifted golden nuggets; to show off just one of them:

Scutellaria orientalis ssp. pinnatifida – a very floriferous and bright Scutellaria (from Turkey at 2500 m)

The wonderful day spent among the plethora of alpine species (native and non-natives) brought to my mind a few places we traveled to and I wrote about – see the Botanical Trailblazers page. Gold mines full of ‘golden nuggets’ await to be discovered almost everywhere – start exploring!

May 27, 2013

And then there were the Saxifrages…

Gardens, Plant portraits, Propagation

The Latin word saxifraga means literally “stone-breaker”, from Latin saxum (“rock” or “stone”) + frangere (“to break”). Pliny the Elder thought the plant was named like this because at the time it was given to dissolve gallstones (another example of the Doctrine of Signatures). Even so, Saxifraga is a very good name for a plant growing in rock crevices.

Saxifraga ‘Redpoll’

Some of my regular readers might have noticed my penchant for mountains, and of course, everything that grows on them. The seed collections from the Carpathian Mts. we did last summer, my limited garden space (at some point there is no other way to expand but UP), and the fact that every year I plan to do it and it never happens, all combined together and I finally made it to the only nursery specialized in alpine plants from Ontario: Wrightman Alpines .

Alpine house with Saxifraga and many other species

It is a small size operation (mail-order) but growing a vast array of alpine plants from all over the world. On their website, besides perusing the catalogue, with some species in very short supply, you can watch a few interesting videos about building clay crevice gardens, planting tufa and much more. Alas, this cold month of March made it that many species were behind their usual growth, but to put things into balance, the Saxifrages were in flower. Skilfully grown in small tufa pieces by Harvey Wrightman, they were looking like miniatural rock gardens in themselves.

Saxifraga ‘Athena’

Saxifraga cochlearis ‘Minor’

Saxifraga oppositifolia ‘Florissa’

The genus Saxifraga is quite large, comprising a wide range of mostly perennial plants, many of which are alpines. According to the Saxifraga Society there are some 480 known species and countless garden hybrids. The sections that are of garden interest are: the ‘mossies’ (section Saxifraga), the ‘silvers (section Ligulatae) and the Kabschia and Engleria subsections (of section Porphyrion).

Saxifraga ‘Allendale Charm’

Saxifraga oppositifolia ‘Theodor’

Saxifraga ‘Premsyl Orac’

Now, if I made you think I know what I’m talking about, you are wrong (in this case). When I’ll be done with the many other genera I’m working on, I’ll get to the Saxifraga too, but that might be a long time from now. Unless you really need a botanical challenge in your life, I suggest that you do like me: try to have fun growing a few of them in your rock garden.

Saxifraga ‘Penelope’

Saxifraga ex. Porteous

Saxifraga ‘Jana’

Saxifraga ‘Dana’

And of course, I came home with my ‘Romeo’ (and a carload of tufa stones), hope our romance will last a bit longer…

Saxifraga ‘Romeo’

For the connoisseurs, I cannot end without showing a real alpine gem: Dionysia tapetoides – a cliff-dweller, native from Afghanistan, hard to grow and equally hard to find.

Dionysia tapetoides flowering at Wrightman Alpine Nursery

March 24, 2013

Sunday Phlog: Never enough Gentians

Gardens, Plant portraits

Flowering faithfully from spring through summer and late fall, the Gentians are my most beloved flowers. Although I am usually associating them with a mountainous environment, there are plenty of species/varieties growing happily in ordinary garden conditions. This gallery contains Gentiana species and varieties from our travels and from Lost Horizons Nursery (where a few are available to purchase) and it will be updated gradually.

And if you are crazy like me about Gentianaceae please visit The Gentian Research Network.

September 9, 2012

Sunday Phlog: More cinnamon, please?

Gardens, Plant portraits

Yeah, I have to show off more of the Roscoea ‘Cinnamon Stick’, it’s tooooo beautiful…

Roscoea purpurea ‘Cinnamon Stick’

The first species to flower is also one of the most cultivated – Roscoea cautleoides. Typically it has pale yellow flowers, but there are also forms with pink flowers.

Roscoea cautleoides

Roscoea cautleoides ‘Jeffrey Thomas’ – flowers with an enlarged labellum, primrose yellow and the hood with a deeper yellow

Roscoea auriculata – native of Nepal, Sikkim and Xizang, has large flowers usually deep violet or purple and consistently auriculate (eared) leaves on the pseudostem. It is sometimes confused with R. purpurea, however it flowers earlier and it has white staminodes and a strongly downward-facing labellum.

Roscoea auriculata

Roscoea auriculata – group photo

Grown from a batch of seedlings supposedly of R. cautleoides, it was a very pleasant surprise for us to discover that we have a new species in cultivation: Roscoea scillifolia f. atropurpurea. This one seems to be rare not only in cultivation but in the wild too, so it is fair to say that we just got lucky!

Roscoea scillifolia – f. atropurpurea, with small flowers of almost black colour

August 19, 2012

A Yellow Giant: Gentiana lutea

Gardens, Medicinal plants, Plant portraits

Some of you may be surprised to find out that the following image belongs to a gentian, but it’s true. This is Gentiana lutea (Yellow gentian, Bitter Root), native to the mountainous regions of central and southern Europe (Carpathians, Alps, Pyrenees…), where usually grows in alpine and sub-alpine meadows on calcareous soils. It is a tall perennial, reaching 1-2 m, with large leaves arranged in a basal rosette until flowering. The yellow flowers are atypical for a gentian, with corolla deeply divided in 5-7 narrow petals, and disposed in terminal and axillary clusters.

Gentiana lutea flowers

Gentiana lutea has been used for centuries as a medicinal plant, and to flavour alcoholic drinks commonly known as bitters, which are very common and widely used in Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy. For this purpose, the roots and rhizomes are collected in late fall and dried, practice that has lead to over-collecting and brought the species to endangered lists in many countries. The principal medicinal use of the yellow gentian is for digestive disorders due to its bitter compounds, among which the gentiopicrin, is one of the most bitter natural compounds known.

Apart for its medicinal virtues, it is an impressive perennial, a focal point for a sunny perennial garden. It is a rare find, so hurry up and spread the word! Flowers in June-July or in July-August at high elevations. Needless to say that it is very hardy. Propagation has to be done by seed.

Gentiana lutea in the Display Garden at Lost Horizons

Of botanical interest: Despite its atypical flowers Gentiana lutea it is the type species of the genus Gentiana! [The generic type is a representative species that is selected when a genus is described].

I’ll have more on Gentiana lutea, as the few seeds I collected from the Carpathians Mts. will germinate (fingers crossed) and also I hope I’ll manage to collect more seeds in the future.

Meanwhile, you can see the yellow giant in flower by visiting the Lost Horizons Display Garden in July (and sometimes a few plants are available for sale).

June 28, 2012

Who’s afraid of the Arisaemas?

Gardens, Plant portraits

In the garden world the common ‘everyday’ can vanish somewhere between real and surreal; for sure Arisaemas are to blame for this. Mysterious and animistic creatures, they are permanently watching us, even from the underground. At Lost Horizons Nursery there are quite a few Arisaema species (Cobra lilies or Jack-in-the-pulpits) around; sometimes benevolent and sometimes mischievous you’ll find them everywhere: in small seedling trays to pots, stock beds or in the display gardens.

Arisaema ringens

Arisaema ringens from the galeate section of cobra lilies is worth growing only for the huge, trifoliolate, glossy, and leathery leaves. The thick spathe with green and purple stripes resembles a cobra head rising up from the shade, ready to attack garden intruders. The spathe-limb is described botanically as galeate (galea – means helmet), and can be green or purple with white stripes and revolute green or purple margins. The spadix is either male or female. Origin: Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, and E China. The only regret that someone can have about A. ringens is that it rarely produces seeds. Maybe the right pollinators are not around, and we also need to have the two partners together in order to have babies, aka. seeds (at least in most cases).

Arisaema ringens flowering last year in June

Another species with galeate spathe-limb (helmet-like) is A. franchetianum. It has 1 or 2 trifoliolate leaves with bluish green, ovate leaflets and the inflorescence appears below the leaf, like in A. ringens. Arisaema franchetianum ‘Hugo’ has the spathe-limb deep purple with white stripes and its tip is ending in a 20 cm long tail-like apex. The spadix is either male or female, exceptionally bisexual – but let’s not get started on the Arisaemas gender variability now…

Arisaema franchetianum ‘Hugo’ showing up in a pot

Arisaema franchetianum doesn’t require that much shade like other Arisaemas; in its original habitat is actually growing in “ open sunny sites among boulders and scrubs, along roadsides” (SW China, NE India, and N Myanmar). Here you have it, one Arisaema that doesn’t have to be in the woodland garden!

Arisaema franchetianum ‘Hugo’ flowering last year

Do not be afraid of the Arisaemas, take my example – Good and not so good things happening around the garden?

Blame them all on the Arisaemas!

April 29, 2012

Rainbows in the spring: Reticulate Irises

Gardens, Plant portraits

While I was away for a couple of weeks, things have gone crazy in the garden. Yesterday I run outside in a hurry to take a few images of the reticulate irises. I really love these dwarf irises and I planted them everywhere: in the sun, in part shade, in containers and every other corner where I can still dig a small hole, including small pots for winter flowering. The name of the genus comes from Iris the ancient Greek Goddess of the Rainbow. Along with the snowdrops and crocuses the reticulate irises announce the beginning of Spring with a splash of colours.

Iris reticulata ‘Purple Gem’

They belong to a group of small bulbous irises from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Georgia and adjacent areas. In the spring, it is easy to recognize their leaves, which are square or almost cylindrical in cross section. The bulbs have netted tunics, hence the common name: Netted Irises. Most of them are very hardy, flowering in early spring as soon as the snow melts, and going dormant in the summer. Very easy to grow, they require only a very well drained soil, in order to survive dormancy.

Iris reticulata ‘ J.S. Dijt’

Iris reticulata is the best known species with colours ranging from sky blue to violet to purple. There are quite a few cultivars in the trade and some that are hybrids with other species. With careful selection you can have a display of dwarf irises from early March till April, depending on the location.

The queen of the dwarf irises in my garden is Iris ‘Katherine Hodgkin’. The result of a cross between Iris winogradowii and Iris histrioides done by British plantsman E.B. Anderson in 1960, it flowers right after the wild I. reticulata and it has big, orchid-like flowers with an intriguing pattern.

Iris ‘Katherine Hodgkin’

Other species not so often cultivated from this group include: I. pamphylica, I. histrio, I. danfordiae, I. kolpakowskiana and I. bakeriana. Check out Alan McMurtrie’s website to see what hybridizing reticulate irises involves and from there you’ll be able to have a look also at Janis Ruksans catalogue.

Update – Spring 2013

Just a few more images with dwarf Irises from my small rockery – I particularly liked the combination with Eranthis hyemalis (Winter aconite). What remains to be said is that after flowering the leaves will continue their growth in order to feed the bulbs for the next year flowers. This translates in a period of some sort of ‘weedy-ness’ which can hardly be obscured by other plants in a small area. Therefore, for next year I will move quite a few of them from the rockery in containers.