My thought was that you had lost your marbles - Joy Bishop On 1 Jan 2013, at 21:06, "John T Lonsdale" <j...@johnlonsdale.net> wrote:
> I guess my English sense of humor was a bit too subtle – so before he sends > the boys round, I should point out that the only ‘virus’ Panayoti introduced > to the garden was his infectious enthusiasm for cacti, succulents and other > xeric treasures. > > Best, > > J. > > > > John T Lonsdale PhD > 407 Edgewood Drive, > Exton, Pennsylvania 19341, USA > > Home: 610 594 9232 > Cell: 484 678 9856 > Fax: 315 571 9232 > > Visit "Edgewood" - The Lonsdale Garden at http://www.edgewoodgardens.net > > USDA Zone 6b > > From: John T Lonsdale [mailto:j...@johnlonsdale.net] > Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2013 1:13 PM > To: 'cyclame...@yahoogroups.com'; 'Trillium Enthusiast Discussion List (and > other Woodland plants)'; 'Alpine-L, the Electronic Rock Garden > Society;postings copyright by authors.'; 'Pacific Bulb Society' > Subject: 2012 Images Added to the Edgewood Gardens Web Site > > Happy New Year! > > The good news is we made it through another year, albeit a crazier one than > normal, so less ‘free’ time and fewer pictures taken. The bad news is that > the virus introduced here by Panayoti Kelaidis 6 or 7 years ago has continued > to spread. 5 areas of the garden have now been infected, meaning that they > have had to be turned over to the cultivation of hardy cacti, agaves, > succulents and other ‘xeric’ plants. Actually, I had grown weary of doing > battle with various aril and Juno irises so it really wasn’t that hard a > decision to turn their quarters over to the expanding collection of cacti. > Despite their beauty the irises took up a lot of real estate, and were > rewarding for a very fleeting period every year. Their homes were tailor > made for the cacti, which not only have spectacular flowers, they offer > year-round interest with their amazing forms and spines of many shapes and > colors. For a few pictures see http://tinyurl.com/bbx9asu and > http://tinyurl.com/bfdrv3v. Perfect drainage and dryness at the roots in > winter is at least as important as protection from the cold. Three of the > ‘cactus patches’ are unprotected year-round; the one in front of the porch > has 8’ x 4’ polycarbonate covers from early December to the end of February, > and the long bed down the south side of the house has polycarbonate covers > over the same period, and a wrapping of frost blanket during January and > February. The blanket provides about 10F of protection and really works, > providing a home for the more borderline temperature hardy plants. There are > hundreds of species and forms/selections that will grow very happily in these > conditions, including many that I doubt have ever been seriously attempted in > this region. They are not trouble free (some die), they have their own likes > and dislikes that need learning, and they certainly fight back, but they are > so rewarding. Best of all, you can only get one or two rare Oncocyclus > irises for a hundred dollars but you can get about 20 cacti! I’ve also > started growing a number from seed, and that is also fun once you learn a few > tricks, including how not to sunburn them. Other treasures, such as > Asphodelus acaulis, love the same conditions and have been outside without > protection for 3 years now (http://tinyurl.com/acawvlf). Nananthus > transvaalensis is one of my favorite succulents (http://tinyurl.com/aqtlyyb). > > Superb cactus and succulent suppliers include Beaver Creek Greenhouses (Roger > Barlow; http://www.rockgardenplants.com), Miles’ to Go > (http://www.miles2go.com/), Sunscapes (Bill Adams; http://www.sunscapes.net/) > and Mesa Garden (www.mesagarden.com/). High Country Gardens was also great > but has sadly just closed. > Some other nice combinations this past year were Gazania linearis > self-seeding into Delospermas (http://tinyurl.com/bggnxt4), and back-lit Iris > albicans and Pulsatillas in seed (http://tinyurl.com/aunehpc). Edgeworthia > chrysantha in several forms (http://tinyurl.com/ahtw9s6) continues to be the > best shrub in the whole garden and Epimedium Domino in the same link is one > of Darrell Probst’s very best introductions. The ‘orange’ form of Claytonia > virginica is stunning (http://tinyurl.com/b2kfefm) and I’m happy to say it is > self-sowing all over. Galanthus reginae olgae Fotini is amazing and happily > seems to be doing well (http://tinyurl.com/bjjjqpc). > Hurricane Sandy came and went, and left us with a lot less damage than many > people – although we did lose a 70’ northern red oak when the 60mph winds > went around to the north – something our trees are not used to > (http://tinyurl.com/bepvk2s). On its way down it destroyed a couple of large > American beeches, but everything missed the power lines and the house. > Cyclamen hederifolium continue to take over the hillside – there are tens of > thousands of them now and they look great for nearly 9 months of the year > (http://tinyurl.com/bepvk2s). C. rhodium was also lovely this year and is > great because it flowers so late, C. hederifolium ‘Stargazer’ plants are > getting big enough to look weird and you can see the flies on Dracunculus > vulgaris (http://tinyurl.com/axnls5c). A white seedling of Iris brandzae > showed up (http://tinyurl.com/a9htsnf). > The Homeland Security personnel are getting longer in the tooth. Sadly we > lost Felix this year, just before he reached 17, and he was very happy right > to the end (http://tinyurl.com/aqr858f). Tammy is 22 in May but still > enjoys the outdoor life (http://tinyurl.com/axl5q23). Ali’s cat Kingston has > been coming for ever longer ‘vacations’ (http://tinyurl.com/arbne4a). > Calico continued to pack on the pounds, in anticipation of the end of the > world cutting off her food supply (http://tinyurl.com/b5g2vld). > > Please enjoy the images, feel free to drop me a note with any comments, and > let me know if I’ve messed up any of the names. > > Thanks and all the best, > > J. > > > > > John T Lonsdale PhD > 407 Edgewood Drive, > Exton, Pennsylvania 19341, USA > > Home: 610 594 9232 > Cell: 484 678 9856 > Fax: 315 571 9232 > > Visit "Edgewood" - The Lonsdale Garden at http://www.edgewoodgardens.net > > USDA Zone 6b > > _______________________________________________ > Trillium-l mailing list > trilliu...@science.uu.nl > http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/trillium-l
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