The Beauty of Native Plants

Native plants can bring so much beauty to your garden, sometimes beauty you wouldn't expect. Corydalis aurea (golden corydalis) is one of those native plants that triggers people to say "THAT is a native plant!?". Corydalis are popular collectors plants that are just coming into the mainstream gardening world. They are closely related to Dicentra (bleeding heart), but grow generally lower to the ground and have more tubular flowers. The ferny, blue green foliage and yellow flowers of this species are to die for. Pictured is one of a number of seedlings generated from the mother plant just before it died last year. It was a huge plant rescued from a construction site just outside of town that suffered from severe transplant shock. Luckily I have these seedlings to be assured that the plant's death was not in vain. They are forming a beautiful carpet of blue-green and yellow in my new rock garden.

Woodland Waterlily

The tiny, double white flowers of Sanguinaria canadensis f. multiplex 'Plena' (double bloodroot) remind me of little waterlilies. Previously considered a rare collectors plant, this plant, although still a specialty item, is now much easier and less expensive to obtain. Both the Latin and common names come from the red, blood-like fluid that drains out of the rhizomes when cut.

A Work in Progress

Here is the newest section of my alpine/rockery garden, which I started work on last fall. Now that the ground is thawed, I have started the continuation of the project. I have put in part of the path, to make it easier to work in the mud, and some fencing to keep the dog out. When this section is finished, Sempervivum and various mosses and other carpet-forming plants will fill in the empty gravel between stepping stones.

Signs of Spring

The alpine garden is always host to the first emerging plants in my yard. I am expanding this section of my garden currently, and there are many new plants that were put in last year that are emerging. From top to bottom:

1. Aquilegia jonesii (Jone's columbine) is a rare alpine species that grows to only 4" in diameter and 2-3" tall but covers itself with large soft violet-blue flowers in the spring. Always one of the earliest plants to emerge in my garden, the blusish lacy leaves are a welcome sight.

2. Pulsatilla patens (prairie crocus) is a native plant in my area and new to the garden as of last year. It is supposedly among the earliest spring flowers and so far it is living up to its reputation.

3. Sempervivum spp. (hens and chicks) is an evergreen and as such is always among the first visible greenery in the garden after the snow melts. I love these plants because they come in so many different forms and they are easy to grow. I added many new ones to my expanding rockery garden last year and many more will come this year.

4. Lewisia rediviva (bitterroot) is a native plant for my area and another new addition to the garden as of last year. It is a bit of a collectors plant, but I think it belongs in everyone's rock garden. Soon its enormous pink flowers will make this foliage invisible. Above and below the plant in the photo you can see seedlings of Corydalis aurea (golden corydalis), the offspring of a plant I rescued last summer.

5. Species tulips are in my opinion undervalued and I actually like them more than the more common hybrids. They are fantastic rockery plants and I added a couple new species to the rock garden last year to join the existing T. tarda. Pictured is Tulipa pulchella, which will soon have pink flowers.

EDIT: I had forgotten that Pulsatilla patens flowers before the leaves emerge; therefore that plant won't be among the first spring flowers in my garden this year, because it is already producing leaves! Hopefully next year we'll see some flowers.

Some of my early started bulbs (top) and vegetable seeds (bottom) are spending the afternoon outside in the warm sunlight, in my cluttered potting area. This year I am expanding my vegetable garden, and I am bringing in lots of new perennials for the new flower beds.

Spring Clean-up

It has been mostly quite warm the past week, with above average temperatures (although we went from afternoon thundershowers the other day to morning snow yesterday), and with the snow melted and the ground thawed, I've been doing some spring clean-up around the yard, and starting work on the landscaping that I started in the fall. By the end of May I plan to have the yard completely revamped, with a new pond, and a new alpine/rockery garden. Once it's all finished, there will be little lawn left, most of it replaced with native plants and low maintenance perennials, although as one might expect from me there will be no shortage of exotic and unusual plants.

Pictured above, the main Cypripedium bed may look barren right now, but in 6 weeks time it will be full of orchids about to bloom. I can't wait!

Every Challenge Has a Reward

Paph bellatulum, pictured here, is one of the more challenging Paph species to grow. It is from subgenus Brachypetalum, which is well-known as a difficult group of plants. It's worth the effort though, to see such unique beauty. The whimsical spotted flowers of this plant droop over the edge of the pot or rest on the leaves, unlike most Paph flowers, which are borne on erect stems. The key to growing Brachys is good quality water, strong light, good air movement, and careful watering techniques as they are prone to crown rot. They should be potted in a coarser medium than most Paphs and should dry out a bit more between waterings. Some sources suggest calcium supplements as well, though I have yet to use one.

Eye-Popping

This is Phrag Memoria Dick Clements, one of the earlier Phrag besseae hybrids and likely the first red hybrid. While I have never been a huge fan of the form or smallish size of the flower, it does have really nice color, and it is easy to grow.

Starting Early

Spring is definitely here where I live - it is 14 C outside and the snow is melting away! Soon early spring flowers will poke out of the ground, but inside seeds and bulbs I have started early are already poking through. This year I am expanding my vegetable garden, which will boast a full array of classic and ethnic veggies. I have also purchased a number of new and exciting spring bulbs, including lilies, columbine, trillium, dinnerplate dahlias and more. All of these plants are growing with a couple tropical orchids in my new coldframe, which is currently sitting in my bedroom until it warms up outside a bit more.

This coldframe is not reliable in night temperatures that are much under freezing, which will still exist for the next couple of weeks. I hope to get a good coldframe soon that might be a reliable storage space for plants in early spring! I simply couldn't pass this one up because it was so cheap, and the other one I have like it is failing.

Paph. delenatii

This is the same Paph. delenatii that I posted on some weeks ago. The first flower on the spike was malformed, with two pouches. This one is normal, albeit a little smaller. This is a first-bloom seedling, purchased from Paphanatics last fall. It was quick to flower for me.

Spring Has Arrived

Finally my garden has seen some decent spring weather the past week, and the snow is finally receding. As more and more patches of bare earth are revealed, I know that I will have spring blooms within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I have this gorgeous Oriental lily to enjoy. Its strong fragrance fills the house, and reminds me of the summer when the lilies in my garden fill it with the same perfume. These bulbs can be forced to flower in the early spring by storing them in dry peat in the basement over the winter, or in the fridge if your basement isn't cool enough. They require several months of temperatures around 2-5 C in order to flower.

Paph Yi-Ying Green Coral

This is a new albino Maudiae hybrid, and likely my favorite of this breeding group. I love the way the dorsal ends in a sharp point, and the color is sharp and uniform. This photo was taken with my new DSLR camera.

A Pair of Paph villosums

Illustrated above are two separate specimens of the same species - Paph villosum. You can see the variation possible within this species. Paph villosum is an old standard species that finds itself in most serious slipper orchid collections. It is easy to grow and its varnished look is quite unique.

Cypripedium reginae

Cypripedium reginae, or showy lady's slipper, is a native Canadian orchid whose range extends from Saskatchewan into the maritimes, and south into the midwestern and eastern US. It was for a long time my favorite plant in the world, and it is still very high up there on my list. This is not the nicest reginae I have flowered but it remains very pleasant. I bought it in leaf at the OSA show last weekend; it flowered out very quickly (as Cyps do). It was forced out of dormancy to bloom much earlier than it normally does. In pot culture it is possible to do this by altering the plant's growth cycle. I will likely keep it this way, rather than planting it out, so that I can show it every year.

OSA Show 2009 Haul

This past weekend was my local orchid society's annual show and sale. I picked up the following plants:

Paph Yi-Ying Golden Slipper (in bud)
Paph Yi-Ying Green Coral (in bud)
Paph micranthum
Paph vietnamense (X2)
Paph druryi
Paph fairrieanum
Paph sanderianum
Paph rothschildianum
Paph emersonii
Paph bellatulum (in spike)
Paph (micranthum x jackii)
Paph Wossner Vietnam Star
Den loddigesii 'ROC' AM/AOS (in bloom)
Den New Century 'Happiness' (in bloom)
Den nobile (in bloom)
Den victoria-reginae
Den parishii
Cochleanthes candida
Leptotes bicolor (in bud)
Cyp reginae
Cyp Sabine
Otaara (LC Psyche x Ctna. Why Not)

Ecuagenera did not bring the Selenipedium aequinoctiale I pre-ordered, which flabbergasted be, especially after all the anticipation. However, I did pick up lots of great plants. There will be some photos posted soon!

Update on the Paph. delenatii

It has now been a month since the first photo was taken of this plant, on its way to flowering for the first time. Atop a now 8" spike, the first bud begins to expand.

Tomorrow is my local Orchid Society of Alberta annual show and sale, this year entitled "Orchid Dreams". Expect lots of photos to be posted from the show and from new plants!

White Amaryllis

I like to grow amaryllis bulbs during the winter; they are some of the most beautiful indoor plants and are very easy to care for, and you can store them during the summer for reuse. The good ones (like this one) have huge flowers - the flower pictured is over 7 inches across. The tall stalks can get top-heavy and sometimes need staking. To find a good-quality bulb, buy from a reputable garden centre, in bulk. Usually the cheap ones at Wal-Mart, etc. are not very good. As well, the special Christmas "kits" usually turn out quite poor. A strong bulb will be nice and big, probably around 5 inches or so in diameter. Smaller ones will have smaller flowers the first year but should get bigger if you keep them as perennials. Better cultivars and older plants will produce multiple flower stalks, as well.

The cultivar pictured is Hippeastrum 'Intokasie', from the Netherlands.

Another delenatii Update

It has now been two weeks since I first pictured this plant (in sheath), and the spike is now about 3 inches long.

It's Coming Along...

The Paph delenatii spike I posted on exactly one week ago has grown an inch. There appears to be a second bud forming underneath the large one.

Coming Soon: Selenipedium aequinoctiale

Selenipedium is a genus of only a few species of slipper orchids from Central and South America. They are gargantuan plants with small flowers, and very difficult to cultivate, so they are very difficult to find on the market. However, I think they are really special, and I am determined to become one of the few people in the world who owns one. As such, I have pre-ordered one from Ecuagenera, the only company in the world I know of that sells them, for delivery at the OSA's show next month. This species has orange and purple flowers, and grows 5-6 feet tall on slender, reedy stems. I am currently collecting information on the cultivation of this plant. More on this soon!