[Alpine-l] Happy 2016
Happy New Year from East Tennessee, where I had daffodils in bloom
('Rijnveld's Early Sensation') on Christmas Day and record high temperature of
75
degrees. So much rain that there were rivers running across both the front
and back yards. Friends from across town couldn't get here for Christmas
dinner because of roads under water. Snowdrops and Lenten Roses are also
blooming and most other bulb flowers are coming up. Weird Weather!!! This,
after below zero temperatures, ice and snow the last two years. The yard
was full of robins this morning, and I've been hearing frogs peeping in the
creek nearby. (It is supposed to return to normal temperatures the first
week of the new year.)
Pardon the unprofessional dialog, but I miss the back and forth we used to
have.
Elin Johnson___
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[Alpine-l] Cyclamen
I, too, miss the conversations on Alpine L. I was stunned by the size of the Cyclamen bulbs. I thought my four-inch bulbs were enormous. Oddly, though, the blooms seemed not to be comparatively larger. How strange! The point was made that she was protecting the bulbs from wet. Here in Tennessee we have forty-odd inches of rain a year, a lot in the winter. I have lost some of my bulbs and that may be the reason since they are doing so exceptionally well in a much dryer climate. Incidentally, I planted my bulbs about an inch underground, but they move to the surface and are easily seen with about half the bulb above ground. Elin Johnson ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Thanks
Thanks to Cliff Booker for a Christmas trip to Italy! What a nice gift. Elin Johnson___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
Re: [Alpine-l] International Rock Gardener 45 September 2013 ISSN 2053-7557
Thank you. I thoroughly enjoyed this photographic journey! Elin Johnson In a message dated 9/26/2013 7:29:13 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, youngs.aberd...@btinternet.com writes: http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2013Sep271380237181IRG45September2013.pdf ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] New Garden
What a wonderful list of plants. I can't wait until next summer to see them bloom. I hope you will keep us up-to-date on progress through the year, Kyle. Elin Johnson___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Trough Gardens
Your troughs are lovely, Shirley. The troughs themselves are wonderful--they match!! I have a lot of troughs, but none of them match. Thanks so much for sharing the picture! Elin Johnson___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Miniature Garden
Talk about perfection to shoot for! That's wonderful. And I had just bought plants Thursday for a miniature garden. (I could only dream about those beauties.) Wish I had a list of the contents. Elin Johnson___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
Re: [Alpine-l] International Rock Gardener e-magazine
Knoxville TN had the highest temperature ever measured here yesterday of 105 F, and I measured 107 F. on my back porch. We are in serious drought, and I'm being hard pressed to keep trees and shrubs alive, let alone anything else. Having whined, I'd like to commiserate with those with much more dire problems. I'd like to hear from Bob Nold and the folks at the Denver Botanical Gardens as to their situation. Are our Colorado friends okay? And I'm sure some of our members were affected by the awful storm in the DC area recently. I, too, had been wondering if we still had a viable group--missed hearing from everyone. Elin Johnson Sweetwater, TN In a message dated 6/28/2012 7:01:35 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, uuall...@gmail.com writes: 100 degrees here, Air Quality Index reported as 139. -- Larry Wallace Cincinnati ___ Alpine-Al mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Seed Viability
I noticed that report, Jane, and looked carefully at the picture to see what such a wonder might look like. I said to myself, That looks like a Silene blossom. Then I read further in the AOL report, and it is in fact a Silene. Maybe 30,000 years is not so long Elin Johnson___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Winter
So nice to have Alpine-L messages again. Last year we had a lot of conversation in mid-winter that I really enjoyed. (Or was that year-before-last?) Anyway, hello to everyone from Tennessee, and Happy 2012! I moved in September to a new home that is on the edge of town with all my collection of mini hostas in pots. Day before yesterday I saw a deer at the edge of my property, so I'm probably going to have a problem. However, my rock garden plants are going to be delighted--I have a great deal of sunlight. There's about an acre, and it was almost a clean slate except for a 100-year-old eastern red juniper (called a cedar here) that is beautiful and two young oak trees in the back yard (probably 20 feet tall) that are going to have to shade all my hostas and ferns. I spent the fall getting started--built some raised beds in the front yard and moved plants, and moved plants, and moved plants!!! And moved rocks, and moved rocks, and moved rocks!!! The front bed is going to be pretty. I planted several miniature conifers with rock companions nearby and small plants like pink oxalis, small aquilegias and clumps of species tulips. The signature feature is a Japanese maple, 'Tamukyama' that I had moved from my previous home. It is going to have a lot of sun, but it had been used to sun for most of the day anyway. And I planted two Salvia greggii cultivars there. They will be joined by Salvia guaranitica next spring. Since it is questionably hardy here I thought it would be best to wait until then to move it. I was also able to have my adored Acer japonica 'Aconitifolium' to my new home. It was already probably ten feet high, so I felt lucky I was able to find someone to move it for me. The old garden was so steep that using big equipment was impossible. He kept a really large root ball, so I think it will be okay if I keep it watered well next summer. It will be shaded in the afternoon by the big cedar. This one has the most spectacular fall foliage I ever saw. I'm going to miss the rest of my Japanese maples, though. They were way too big to move--Seiryu, Beni Komachi, Butterfly. Oh, they were wonderful! I have a number of troughs mostly planted with miniature hostas. I think I'm going to put some of the hostas in other pots and put the troughs out in the sun. Anyone have suggestions for plants where we have humidity and a lot of rain? I couldn't have accomplished nearly as much as I have if it hadn't been for this weird warm winter we are having--I was interested in the comment from Minnesota. We don't always have snow here, but we don't have sustained days in the high 50's and 60's either, which has been the case this year. We've only had brief periods of cold, and my daffodils and crocus are coming up. Did I mention that I moved some of my cyclamen and galanthus? I have snowdrops in bloom under the breakfast room window! Elin Johnson Sweetwater, TN P.S. Please excuse my spelling if I have made mistakes. ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Spring is just around the corner
sugar maple, which doesn't thrive in warmer climates. Thanks for this wonderful discussion on maple syrup. I only know about this from books. But I wanted to dispel worry about sugar maples with warmer temperatures--there are a great many in my little town in Tennessee. My neighbor across the street has a huge one that turns a beautiful yellow in the fall . And then a hundred million seeds blow into my yard to join the other hundred million from the red maple in my yard. I pull seedlings year-around. Spring is well along here. The Galanthus have been wonderful. They have spread enough now to be really noticeable in several areas. There is one place under my dogwood (Cornus florida) where there is a big clump of Helleborus x hybridus that has really large white blooms, and it is surrounded by the snowdrops. That has been really beautiful this year. The white one is the first to open, but all the other hellebores are opening now--white, pink and purple. Crocus is blooming and Narcissus are budding. Some varieties are blooming in other yards, but I don't have any really early ones. But beginning next week the garden will be yellow and white. Spring is wonderful, but I have a large limb down from the oak tree after an awful storm last night. Elin Johnson, Sweetwater, Tennessee ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Sagebrush Buttercup
Thank you so much, Cohan. It is beautiful! And thanks to Carol for sharing it with us. Cohan's picture downloaded readily for me in a very short time. Elin Johnson ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Photos
I started downloading but when I realized how long it was going to take I cancelled. My sister often sends me photos taken on a cell phone and I have the same problem with them. Yes, I am still on dial-up. Elin Johnson Sweetwater, Tn ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] snowdrops
Snowdrops coming into bloom here in Tennessee, too. The buds waited under our recent snow until it melted and are now opening. Paige: The most successful in my garden are Galanthus elwesii which have spread nicely and are somewhat larger than G. nivalis. My favorite, however, came from Don Hackenberry's, and he called it 'Mighty Atom' (not). It blooms later, but is a lot bigger and more vigorous. I have transplanted it to several areas, and it spreads well. I don't know its origin. Nancy Robinson this morning sent me a picture of a lovely little one in her garden. All is not lost! Spring will come. Elin Johnson Sweetwater, Tennessee ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Griffith Buck Roses
I have the Buck rose 'Country Dancer', and it's my favorite rose. It really is disease resistant. Elin Johnson ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Praise, where praise is due
Hear, hear. I'd also like to thank Bob Nold as well as some others for their tongue-in-cheek remarks. I have laughed out loud a number of times in recent days. I'd also like to thank Bob for naming his book Columbines. I refer to it often. I might know three people who know what an Aquilegia is, but everyone knows columbines. Elin Johnson ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Rosulate violets
I have all three types of common violas. My comment did refer to the small flowered viola as opposed to large flowered pansies. I love violas, and there are currently yellow and blue ones out there under the snow. I plant them every fall and sometimes have pansies. They are beautiful in the spring, but by June our heat has destroyed them and I replace them with something else. Common violets are a major weed in my yard, and I have pulled up several million to no avail. Part of my yard appears blue in the spring. (I'm not much of a grass person.) In my original comments I started to say that their veined leaves more closely resemble a Ginko leaf than those rosettes. (Sometimes I try to make a joke, but it usually falls flat). I have a great deal of experience with the structure of the common violet. The leaves break away easily from the rather succulent-like swelling at the base, and you have to get your fingers under this in order to eradicate the plant. Now that I think about it, there could be some similarity. But they still don't resemble those very interesting plants in the pictures. I had never seen anything like them and found them fascinating. Elin Johnson ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] Names
Some years ago I established a gardening collection in our local library in honor of my mother who used to be the librarian. At the time the only books there were not only out of date but all were English in origin. I tried to cover a wide range of subjects all by American authors: pruning, pests, propagation, vegetable gardening, books on a variety of flowers. But I bought the Stearns book thinking it would be a good reference. I have wondered if anyone besides me has ever used it. Jane's remarks have encouraged me. How wonderful it would be to have your memory, Jane. Elin Johnson ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
[Alpine-l] The List
Who among us ever bought one plant? I do. Most of the time I can't afford more than one. You'd be surprised how many plants widespread in my garden started out with one four-inch pot. As to one plant I intend to order, White Flower Farm is offering the tall Thalictrum 'Elin'. I've seen it before, but I think I'm going to order it this year. (I'm a sucker for that kind of thing.) Elin Johnson ___ Alpine-l mailing list Alpine-l@science.uu.nl http://mailman.science.uu.nl/mailman/listinfo/alpine-l
