Please be kind and think of these as "before" pictures. I've just started planting alpines and they are therefore quite small and aren't doing much. Some of the plants (aubrieta, gentiana, and iris) in this first trough already bloomed, and the only things blooming now are the dianthus, calcarea, and rhodohypoxis. In time, I hope, you will see some "after" pictures with more results.
Here's another trough with shade plants.
Another sun trough. By the way, I was holding the camera straight. I can only conclude that I'm crooked.
Another shade trough. This one didn't have rocks and a top layer of gravel in it yet when I took the picture. It does have a nice double anemone in it, though, which I'll post also.
Wow Zuzu, those planters are BIG! I know you described them earlier, but when you see them, and how many plants can be tucked in one...no wonder you love them...;o) I can't wait for our little plants to grow into their containers....next year will be interesting...to pull up these threads and compare....how fun!!!
Jam
Here's a closeup of the sweet anemone.
Here are Waldorf and Vanilla in the solarium, taking a break from ripping the catdoor frame to shreds.
The primulas put on a magnificent show a month before I bought the camera, but here's one that isn't quite finished. It's Rapp Purple, a nice double auricula.
If the purists will forgive me, I know these next few pictures don't really belong in the alpine forum (as if the cats do), but we're all gardeners and I imagine we like most types of plants.
I had mentioned in another thread that I have great soil. Here are a couple of illustrations. In this first one, the Melianthus behind the iris (you can see how wide it is by the maroon flower spikes) was just planted last fall. I bought it at the flea market for 50 cents and carried it home in my purse, so you can imagine how small it was then.
In this second illustration of my great soil, the white rose in the background that's making such a valiant effort to devour the persimmon tree was not even planted. I spilled a wheelbarrow of pruning debris as I turned that sharp corner a couple of years ago and I obviously missed a twig or two when I cleaned up the mess.
I'm including a picture of my new fence because I love it.
Here's a view of one of my wisterias from the street in front of my house. Can you believe how big it is? There's actually an scrub oak underneath, which is really ugly. I tried to kill it several times, but it kept coming back from the stump, so I finally let it grow and bought the wisteria to cover it. Regrettably, the wisteria had almost finished blooming by the time I got the camera, but you can still see the size and imagine how it looked when it was covered with blooms.
My last picture today is of some roses near the screened porch. I love roses and I have more than 300. The gophers kill 30 or 40 a year, but I plant about 30 or 40 new ones each year, so it's a tie. These are, left to right, Flutterbye, Penelope, and Playboy, with Red Blaze in the back.
great pictures! your enthusiasm is reflected in the bounty of your garden, that's for sure!
Gee Zuzu, your garden is so advanced! Mine won't look like that until July! Your planters will be overflowing in no time.
Jamie, what is the silvery plant at the top of the rock in your pic? Your Lewisias look fantastic. One of mine is just showing buds in the coldframe, but still won't be open for another month or so. I need to live in a warmer climate!
Hi Todd ~
The silvery plant is Sedum spathulifolium 'Carnea - Improved'. And I can't wait to see your Lewisias...about the time mine are going out...yours will be coming on....great timing, huh
Jamie
Zuzu,
Great pics, great plants, and what pretty furry friends you have...;) The Melianthus is amazing, and a rose that grew that much from a spilled clipping? Too much!! I can not believe that...do you have Jack and his Bean Stalk in there too???
Loved the double anemone, and the table full of Lewisias was a sight to see, glad to see they are all waiting patiently for you!
I am so glad the camera is working out for you, and you sure have plenty to practice on...LOL
Jamie
I'm waiting to re-lay my patio then I can get some sinks planted up for my alpines. I have 2 white glazed sinks that I plan to coat with hypertufa then I can really get going. It's great thinking of ways to plant alpines and the good thing is you can get a lot of plants in a small space!
And they don't get lost among the bigger plants, which would certainly be a constant hazard in my garden.
I really can't grow alpines in the ground here. I have too many gophers and my soil is too rich for them. The mixture in my containers is very lean--cactus mix blended with aquarium sand and gravel. I think I also shouldn't have too many rocks around my alpines. They hold in the heat, and it's already hot enough in California.
I really wanted to plant in hypertufa, but I didn't want to make the containers myself. No one sells them here, and redwood is so plentiful that I just had my handyman make me seven big redwood containers. I think the only drawback will be the insects wood attracts. I'll have to be extra-vigilant to keep the earwigs and sowbugs at bay.
zuzu---I thoroughly enjoyed the pics of your alpinus troughs and then the great shots of your beautiful garden. How fun it must be to garden in Sebastopol!
It was like taking a little garden tour vacation for me to look at your pics and enjoy the sunshine in your rose garden. :-) t.
Zuzu - gorgeous pic's! Waldorf & Vanilla sure do look like they enjoy their place too.
Are those tiles in your fence? It is quite beautiful.
Here are a couple of the troughs I made with a friend last year. Not much going on there
yet - give 'em a few years to fill in too..
Nice troughs, Tammy. How about some closeups? What's the pretty little yellow-blooming clump in the trough on the right? I love the wall behind the troughs. Is it a dry wall? Can you stuff Lewisias between the rocks?
The panels in the fence are stained glass, not tiles.
Waldorf and Vanilla are happy as clams. They both came here with sad stories. Vanilla, in particular. He was thrown out of a car into a busy intersection when he was a few days old. He landed on his face and was brought to my house half-dead and nearly faceless. He recovered nicely, however, and was Mr. December in Sharon Beals' 2004 "What Cats Are..." calendar. Quite a success story--from castoff to calendar cat.
I'll try close-ups in a few days. Work does get in the way of my hobbies!
The little yellow-blooming clump is draba rigida I started from seed. maybe
v. bryoides - I'll need to check my records to be sure. The wall is not dry-laid.
Just a really nice job of a mortered wall. This place is a 200yr farm (well - no
longer "farmed" on my parcel but I am surrounded by farms). There are lots
of old drylaid stone walls shaded by very old walnut trees. A previous
owner put in the newer stone walls & a neat well. Here's a shot from a bit
further back - I'll take more this weekend.
And poor Vanilla! We get lots of strays & abondoned cats out here. Just love
'em all!
Hey, that's weird. I posted a reply to this yesterday, complimenting you on your walls, your containers, and your Lewisias, and it isn't here. I must have just clicked on preview and then never clicked on send. Either that or it's floating around somewhere in the California Gardening forum, confusing everyone there because it's apropos of nothing. Anyway, I love your walls, containers, and Lewisias.
