Rock Garden Bulbs

FYI Someone on the DG Propagation forum recommended The Ontario Rockgarden Society website http://www.onrockgarden.com/ for good excellent links, information and pictures of alpine and rock gardens and their societies throughout Canada and the US.

I haven't found anything about bulbs on it yet, but it gives wonderful information about growing from seed 6400 plants...

I have my own small website devoted to bulbs....not just rock garden ones, but a mixed bag. I will admit that rock gardens are my thing so I do have a tendency to slant that way. Check it out.
http://atlanticbulbs.homestead.com/Index.html

todd--I love your website! stunning photography of the blooms and a wide range of bulb varieties represented-- thoroughly enjoyed it! Is there a picture hiding there of your garden? I'd love to see your rockgarden... thanks again. t.

All the pics are from my garden...there is a link there to my rock garden website (Newfoundland rock garden society web site) that does have a pic of my rockery.

Todd--you are much too modest on DG. I stumbled upon your 'about me' page when looking at the rhododendrons...also saw the pic of your rockery, and it is wonderful but you are too shy and we would love to see more!

Beautiful photography on your pages--it gives me something to aspire too. I am going to refer to your sites often. Thanks a million. t.

I spent most of last summer taking close-ups of plants in my garden but only took a few garden shots. I'll see what I can do this spring. My garden is actually quite small...just lots packed into a small area.

Holy Smokes!,

Incredible shots of Oxalis. Wish I lived where there was some humidity and less than 250Kppm of chlorine in the water...lol. Big fan of South American Oxalis. Thank you for sharing.

I have a raised bed that I try to keep for bulbs and smallish plants. I have a shady one and one that gets a bit more sun. So, some suggestions. Primulas - there is a fantastic range for both sun and shade - try sieboldii first. For autumn colchicums and autumn flowering crocus are a must - try crocus speciosus, banaticus, goulimyi and nudiflorus. I think the best colchicum is speciosum album. Also consider alliums - thunbergii and lenkoranicum. Of course I would encourage anyone to grow snowdrops (my favourites) but there are also the snowflakes (leucojum). Other bulbs are sternbergia, scilla and zephyranthes (only for zone 7 in the US). For summer flowers there are allium beesianum, akaka, narcissiflorum or insubricum, cyaneum, caeruleum, oreophilum and cyathorum var farreri. also arisaema, brodiaea,eucomis, tulbaghia, triteleia, bloomeria, dichelostemma, rhodohypoxis and there are some small lilies such as mackliniae, nanum and formosanum var Pricei. Apologies if these are outside your zone!

DrDon, I started with hardy oxalis a few years ago and love the group. I must say the South American ones are my favourite but some South Africans are lovely too. My collection is pretty small yet...just O. adenophylla, O. crassipes, O. depressa, O. oregana and O. 'Ione Hocker'. I just placed an order for O. Beatrice Anderson, O. enneaphylla 'Minutifolia', O. obliquifolia and O. squamata. Overall, they are not easy plants to find in Canada.

Oh, by the way, I found this Rock Garden bulb list on the John Scheepers bulb site--- http://www.johnscheepers.com/tips_f.html I like Scheepers/VanEngelen for bulbs... I purchased the Miniature Narcissus Mix and others narcissus, some scilla, lots of allium and galanthus from them this year...

And welcome to DG g.! It sounds like you have a wonderful collection of bulbs in your raised bed! t.

Hi guys,
We are trying to get a Rock Gardening &/or Alpine plant forum started. If anyone is interested there is a thread in Daves Garden Forum that you could post your support....
Thank-you,
Jamie

These are some of the bulbs I will be planting in my newest Rock garden:

Anemone blanda 'Blue Star' (Grecian windflower)
Fritillaria meleagris ( Checkered Lily)
Puschkinia scilloides ( Striped Squill)

Some others are:
Muscari 'Dark eyes

Fritillaria acmopetala

Hi, Jamie--did you take the pics? I love the frittalaria acmopetala especially. Can't wait to see pics of your new rock garden ---

I planted some of the same bulbs--chinodoxa, pushkinia and lots of different muscari and many miniature and species narcissi...we'll see what comes up--(I'm not seeing much peaking out from the soil now and am getting a little nervous!)

and Congratulations on getting the 'Rockgardening' Forum going!

http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/alpine

Excellent! :-) t.

Thank-you ! A lot of people helped get it going by letting Dave know they were interested, I really appreciate that :)

I took all but one pic, and that one my sister took of my garden and emailed it to me later. I got a new digital camera, dock and printer/scanner/copier from a dear friend, and have been trying to use all of it. Naturally I am out in the garden cutting my teeth on garden shots....it has been really fun. I Love digital!!! I have only had the camera out of the box for three days and already getting pics I like. And the potential to get so much better!

Here's a pic of the front rock wall garden in this late March with tete a tete, jet fire, and jack snipe miniature narcissus blooming...the alliums, muscari, creeping phlox and violets are still to show their green---only a couple of crocus bloomed--this is my first year planting in this area and I am not too certain that it will work--but I'm trying...

Nice job on the new rockery...lots of potential there.

These just started blooming down by my mailbox. I put them in 2 years ago, trying to remember, but I think they came from Brecks & were called "waterlily" tulips.... some sort of species tulip, I think.... will try to find the name, but it's late now! wanted to post the picture, anyway.

I put in lots of little species tulip bulbs last fall, and I'm eagerly awaiting bloom time! Most have put up leaves, so I'm hopeful, but the dang voles have munched most fo the ones in one corner despite my best efforts with cat hair & kitty litter. I put new batteries in the "mole mover" (vibrating device stuck into the soil), and now it emits an continuous high buzz, so perhaps that will drive them off.

Critter--lovely little tulips and you've had them for two years? Pretty good, especially with the mole-y visitors. Let me know if your mole vibrator works, iif so, II will definitely try some of your beautiful tulips next year! ;-) t.

The mole mover is not doing the trick! Fortunately, so far they've limited their depredations to one small area, but they've eaten a dozen little tulip bulbs from that corner! I am now trying my luck with a wicked looking spiked "mole trap" and will post about its effectiveness.

Oh no...sorry to hear the mole mover is a no-go.....please let us know how the new trap does...thanks!!

Part of this clump was eaten...I wait to hear how it goes....

Jamie

C. Sorry to hear about the 'mole mover non starter'--thought it would be an easy solution!

Jamie what plant is in your picture? Are those frits, tulips and h. geraniums? mmm...just wandering--I always like to know about what everyone combines together.

I was out checking my garden today--nice spring day--to see what is coming back--very few of my newly fall planted h. geraniums made it thru the winter--I'm wondering if it was moles or drainage or something else...I'm in mourning. ;-)

take care. t.

The "mole mover" did seem to work for me last year. This year, any given thing seems to work for a couple of days but then loses its effectiveness. The mole trap with the spikes is really designed more for deeper mole tunnels & is proving hard to set in the loose soil of my bed, and if the "active" vole tunnel is right against the walkway, the gravel underlayment makes it impossible to push the trap far enough down to set it. So now I'm thinking glue traps..... Even less humane, as the mouse/vole could die slowly of dehydration, so I'd check them regularly.

Dang varmint ate another tulip today!

these are my narcissus hawera with muscari and some mole tunnels...

the moles (or something) got most of my muscari I think, and I thought they were easy to grow!