On the Pacific Bulb Society (PBS) list recently some of us exchanged reminisces about seed once available on commercial seed lists. Some of us are old enough to remember when Park Seed offered Worsleya and Hippeastrum calyptratum (both tropical bulbs). In a suitable climate, both of these could be rock garden plants; the Worsleya grows on the sides of mountains, and the Hippeastrum grows on trees.
But those are not the plants I want to talk about now. Those same old Park Seed catalogs also offered Colchicum luteum and Ramonda myconi. The colchicum has more or less disappeared from the trade recently, but Ramonda seed is frequently on offer. Ramonda intrigues me. There is a picture in Parkinsons Paradisus of 1629 which seems to be this plant. Did Clusius a generation before Parkinson know this plant? If so, that would mean that this plant has been in cultivation for about 400 years. I cant help wondering how it might have been grown back then. And that brings me to another puzzle: how long have Europeans been building rock gardens? Does anyone know? I would like to learn more about this. Jim McKenney [email protected] Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7 My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org
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