Update on Cyp Hybrid Study

Top is Cyp. 'Emil', bottom is Cyp. pubescens. The 'Emil' will have three flowers (on 5 stems), the pubescens 1. The pubescens so far is taller than the 'Emil' and has broader leaves, which is because 'Emil''s parents are smaller than pubescens.

...And Yet More Blooms

It's a cool, rainy day and so many of the perennials in the garden are opening their blooms. Dwarf bearded iris (Iris pumila) is a plant that I highly recommend to anyone with a sunny border or rock garden. They come in a variety of colors. This plant grows only to about 6 inches tall max., and it will very quickly form nice clumps that can be divided every 2 years. I bought one plant and after 3 years I divided it into five large pieces and several smaller ones (this was 2 years ago). Then I traded off the smaller ones at the spring perennial exchange held by the EHS, and kept the larger ones. Last year I divided the largest piece again and traded the smaller pieces. This year it doesn't look like I'll have any extra pieces, but I'm sure I will next year. In one of my sunny borders I have four of my five existing clumps, which will put on quite a show this year; these are the first blooms to appear. As you can see these flower a few weeks before other irises (here irises flower in early-mid June).

Ramonda myconi is a very rare plant from the mountainous region of northern Spain. It is often called Pyrenean primrose, or simply Ramonda. Its pretty flowers remind me of shooting star (which is in the primrose family), but the two are not related. It is best grown on a slope or even vertically in rocky substrate, due to its very high susceptibility to crown rot. I just bought this plant the other day.

Lilium martagon is one of my favorite lily species. It has led to a wide selection of beautiful shade-tolerating lily hybrids called martagons.

Solomon's seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) is so-called because the cross-section of the roots looks like the seal of King Solomon. It is an awesome shade plant that will grow in FULL shade and forms clumps of graceful arching stems over time. The tiny green-tipped white flowers are very difficult to photograph. These will be followed by purple berries later in the summer.

This dwarf daffodil has been struggling to grow in a hot, sunny spot in my garden. Here is pictured the single, cute little flower it has produced.

More Spring Blooms

I have a very pretty clump of daffodils that have been in a shady bed in my garden since I was a little kid. They don't tend to bloom every year; more like every other year. I will never know why (maybe it is the shade) but when they do bloom they are very beautiful. This year the clump made 7 flowers for me.

This brooding black Iris is the darkest one I have ever seen. I just bought it a couple weeks ago. The first two flowers have opened, and as they are squished together, they just look like a mass of black petals. Hopefully I will get a better photo sometime.

Pulsatilla aurea is an alpine Pasqueflower species. The leaves are lacier and less-hairy than is typical, and it has greyish yellow, smaller flowers than other types. Quite a little novelty I think.

Many of the trees in my yard are flowering now, including this chokecherry, which a friend of the family gave us many years ago as a little cutting. Now it is a huge tree, at least 15 feet tall.

Finally we have Pulsatilla vulgaris, the most commonly-seen and grown Pasqueflower species. Its velvety purple flowers never fail to impress.

Meconopsis x sheldonii

Meconopsis, or blue Himalayan poppies, are one of my favorite perennials. It doesn't get any bluer than this. In case you have yet to see one in person, the photo doesn't lie: they are true sky blue. The unfortunate thing about these magnificent plants is that they tend to be monocarpic in my climate, meaning they die after they flower. In cooler, more humid climates, they will live for 20 or more years, flowering year after year. The M. x sheldonii that I pictured in bloom last year I had bought the year before, and it died after it flowered. This new one I recently purchased in flower, and I am going to plant it in full shade, in the coolest spot in my garden, to see if I can get it to survive. I also bought a smaller M. grandis that should bloom next year.