Saturday, October 6, 2012

Garden Melange, or Bits & Bobs


 Oreoxis alpina needs more internet presence; (there are no pictures of them as tight buns- until now!)
This is on Loveland Pass, CO, USA; {I would trade my left index-toe for seeds; they must blow away in the wind (which is owed, perhaps, for the bun form) if they are produced at all on these plants.}
Can you belive it is a Carrot/Cilanto/Parsley family member?

 Hippeastrum x johnsonii is an heirloom naturalising Amaryllis in the Southern USA, I hear; it has grown for me in Grand Junction, CO for many years now.  I planted it several inches deep.



Manzanita bark. Arctostaphylos patula. A somewhat challenging beast to acquire and establish, but well worth it.



Stanleya pinnata young'un in a tight crevice.  Thoroughly watering nearby soils ensured that the root area would moisten by proximity until it could get a hold; and it has. Agave palmeri behind.

I didn't think Gentiana angustifolia, bought from LaPorte Avenue Nursery in Ft. Collins, CO, would bloom in the fall.

White flowers fade to rust on a garden-grown 7' (2m) wide Eriogonum corymbosum.

A trick from Jim Borland is to approach stab-threatening Yucca leaves perpendicularly if one needs to get in there to clean, weed, or prune. Y. harrimaniae

5 comments:

Panayoti Kelaidis said...

Wow! that's a pretty amazing series of pix!

I love the Oreoxis too--umbellifever is catching, watch out.

Can't believe you have grown the damn Hippeastrum: I have admired this in Texas where it grows as far north as Eden at least: I have been wanting to try it...and you have grown it for "many years": heck, man, you aren't even that "many years" old: tell me: does it bloom reliably? In April or May?

Very cool indeed!

Kenton J. Seth said...

Thanks PK.
Ever grown/know were to acquire that siren of alpine parsley?

Actually, that Hippeastrum blooms in June. It is in well-drained (if nutrient-drained) clay between Basalt boulders. It was given to me in high school; which admittedly, was not long ago- 2002, perhaps. It has grown slowly, not increasing in number, but has bloomed each year after having two in the ground. I forget it exists every year, and every year (If I'm around) it suprises my pants off when it pierces red out of that gurgling sea of Hedera...

This summer, I jammed one of the common 'Red Lion' cultivars nearby just for kicks.

Cohan said...

Being a couple of years old, I bet you already have the Oreoxis? If not, you may have noticed it is listed on the updated Alplains list..

Kenton J. Seth said...

Wow! I had not, yet! Thank you for the heads up. I've gone back looking for seed on that, and I can't even find Oreoxis plants in the area anymore...


-
The Hippeastrum finally died last winter. Darned inversions.

Cohan said...

Too bad about the Hipp.. a good run while it lasted... I have a couple of things here (nothing as remarkable as Hippeastrum..lol) that likely are surviving due to a few years of snow arriving before serious cold, and staying till after the serious cold... that timing is not guaranteed long term..
Hope you can get the Oreoxis going..