Orienpet Lily ‘Anastasia’
Well, if you had to pick a theme flower for this month’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day it would the lilies. Despite the dry weather we have been experiencing, they are exploding all over the yard, especially the hybrids between orientals and trumpets (aka orienpets). They are tall, fragrant, floriferous, and individually stunning.
Orienpet Lily ‘Anastasia’ single bloom
In the house they make quite a display too.
Orienpet Lily ‘Anastasia’ in the house
Here are some others of the lily orienpet persuasion.
Orienpet Lily ‘Scheherazade’
Orienpet Lily ‘Scheherazade’ single flower
Orienpet Lily ‘Pretty Woman’
Of course, even the old-fashioned orientals are pretty spectacular.
Oriental lily ‘Time Out’
Oriental Lily ‘Casablanca’
Oriental Lily ‘Muscadet’
And then a new one added to collection this year is Lilium henryii hybrid.
Lilium henryi hybrid ‘Madame Butterfly’
There are course still many annuals and some of the standard perennials, but one of the species that has asked for special recognition is the Crocosmia. These wonderful bulbs from the iris family are durable, productive and beautiful, year after year.
Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’
Crocosmia × crocosmiflora ‘George Davison’
Another new plant for us is the popular anemone ‘Wild Swan’.
Anemone ‘Wild Swan’ front
It is especially characterized by the purple markings on the back of the petals.
Anemone ‘Wild Swan’ back
In the greenhouse we have several noteworthy arrivals. First a very unusual Pineapple Lily.
Eucomis vandermerwei
This is only found in the wild between 7000′ and 8000′ in South Africa. At some point I might experiment with growing it outside.
Also from South Africa is member of the Amaryllis family, Cyrtanthus elatus x montanus.
Cytanthus elatus x montanus
A little Cyclamen is flowering from seed planted in 2013.
Cyclamen hederifolium
And a welcome returnee is this rain lily.
Habranthus brachyandrus
One of the fun things for me is finding the unusual animals that populate the yard, if you take the time to notice them. Last week it was this wonderful dime-sized spider that caught my eye.
Jumping spider from the greenhouse
A Higher State (Steppe to Alpine)
Steamboat Lake and Mule’s Ears (Wyethia mollis)
We just returned last week from a spectacular trip to Colorado that was focused on the North American Rock Garden Society‘s (NARGS) annual meeting. The theme was ‘A Higher State — Steppe to Alpine’ and it was in two locations, the Denver Botanic Garden and Steamboat Springs over 5 days. It had been a while since we had been to Colorado, so we met with friends and family in Boulder and Golden beforehand. I’ll try to give a brief overview of what was a wonderful and relaxing exploration of mountain wildflowers.
Hiking just outside of Boulder we encountered this lovely Calochortus.
Calochortus gunnisonii
The NARGS meeting began at the Denver Botanic Garden where we got a personalized tour of the rock gardens by Mike Kintgen who oversees the Alpine collection.
Mike Kintgen at DBG
Their garden features a crevice garden which has been established for several years now (long enough to see several successful cushions)
Crevice garden at the DBG
They manage to grow the wonderful Devil’s Claw that we first saw in the Dolomites last year.
Physoplexis comosa in a trough at DBG
The Denver Botanic Gardens are not to be missed if you are in Denver. In this season they have a spectacular display of Foxtail Lilies.
Through the looking glass
A Sea of Foxtail lilies
On our way to Steamboat Springs we stopped at the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Vail which has newly constructed tufa wall for optimum planting of tiny alpines.
New Tufa bed at Vail
And the outside part of the gardens is quite nice as well.
Betty Ford Alpine Garden
In Steamboat Springs we visited local gardens including the Yampa River Botanic Park which right along the Yampa River in a very pretty setting. They have built a stunning crevice garden there.
Crevice Garden at the Yampa River Botanic Park
Another view of the Crevice Garden
Panorama of the Crevice Garden at the Yampa River Botanic Park
I fell in love with a little Stachys planted in one of the crevice locations.
Stachys lavandulafolia
We also took several hikes in the trails surrounding Steamboat Springs. We drove out through countryside that really summed up what steppes are all about.
Steppes near North Park
Just along the side of the road we saw beautiful Lewisia and Shooting Stars.
Lewisia rediviva
A sea of Shooting Stars
Shooting Star (Dodecahedron puchellum)
One stop near a trailhead into the Zirkel Wilderness area produced a bevy of these very small Ladyslipper Orchids
Ladyslipper Orchid (Cypripedium fasciculatum)
We stayed a few days past the conference and on the last day of hiking we walked up a ridge near the Rabbit Ears pass area. The views were excellent, but it was remarkable how you had to pay close attention to see that the hillside was covered with wildflower treasures.
Windy Ridge rich with wild flowers, especially Glacier Lilies, Lewisia, and Larkspur.
Erythroniums galore
Glacier Lily (Erythronium grandiflorum)
Lewisia pygmaea
Lewisia pygmaea (White form?)
Delphinium nuttallianum
And a final sighting on this ridge was a very nice ground orchid.
Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata)
All in all, a wonderful trip, with a suitcase full of tiny treasures brought back to Maryland from the plant sales at the conference. My thanks to Laporte Avenue Nursery and Sunscapes Rare Plant Nursery.
Also, I should mention that the Denver Botanic Garden has published a very nice book on this region of the world (and similar) entitled ‘Steppes: The Plants and Ecology of the World’s Semi-arid Regions‘. Check it out…