Rock garden in late July.

Here's my overgrown rock garden.....the little allium is A. cyathophorum 'Farreri'. Pretty but self-seeds like the dickens.

My Campanula poscharskyana next to Salix candida

Part of my potted Oxalis collection

I use alpines around the edges of my perennial border....seeing as there is no room left in my rock garden!

Campanula cochlearifolia, another somewhat invasive plant but looks good growing among the rocks.

Campanula 'Birch Hybrid'

Helichrysum milfordiae...a plant from South Africa with small fuzzy roseetes and nearly stemless flowers. Very choice.

Lychnis flos-jovis 'Nana'...grows 6-8" tall with very silver, fuzzy leaves in the spring.

One of my encrusted saxifrages. Most are now past but this one is lingering.

Oh Todd... they are all so fresh & just gorgeous. Its good to have
you back! I hear the NARGS meeting was a smash hit! Congratulations.
Tam

All of your Campanula varieties are just gorgeous, and the Oxalis are superb. Do you keep them in pots because they spread too much or because they have to come inside in winter?

I don't trust keeping the Oxalis outside although I am told they are perfectly hardy here. I'll wait until they are big enough to divide then place one outside to see. They are too nice to risk loosing them.

I took a pic of my new wall garden last evening. It is starting to fill in nicely now.

Very nice. Beautiful design, and I can already see one of the semps creeping between the stones. I like your Spiraea too.

Todd,

Have you been growing the Helichrysum milfordiae long?? I have it on my list for next year, and was so happy to see your picture of it. It is as special as I was hoping it was!! All the plants look great, and I love your new wall!! What is the soil mix you used there and in the plantings you do at the front of beds and borders?? I have started doing this as well after seeing how well it can work in your landscape, what a great way to tuck 5-10 alpines/Rock garden plants here and there....great technique!!

Thanks for keeping the pics coming in our long, HOT summer!!
Jamie

** My new Japanese Maple Acer dissectum 'Green Mist' with a Hosta 'Fire and Ice'**

Hi Jamie; is that a Rodgersia I see in the foreground? That I don't have...gets too big....it would take up the space of 10 alpines! LOL! Helichrysum milfordiae is a gem. You would have no problems. We are on the border here for hardiness and the 4 months of snow cover doesn't help. Rain in itself does not seem to bother it much. If concerned about rain, prop a sheet of hard plastic or a pane of glass over it in winter to keep the excess rain off the crowns. I've had mine for 8 years...it can spread fairly fast but mine keeps getting knocked back so it stays in bounds. Whenever a section dies, I fill it with gravel. Now my clump looks like 4 clumps growing nearby each other. It roots quite easily from divisions. Go for it!

Todd ~

It sure is Rodgerisia, I love the bronze foliage as it emerges, and the flower stalks are quite nice!! It stays very nice size, and healthy in its pot....It really thrives there - puts out new foliage all season, and flowers more than once in its container as well. Much better than the one in my shade garden!!

I am definitely getting the Helichrysum milfordiae!! With a glowing report like that I can't wait for March!! What other alpines do you really like, that may not be as well known to some of us just starting out?? With a job like yours, and with the many plants you have grown and are currently growing, do you have any plants you wish were better known?

One other thing....could you post a pic or two of the little clusters of alpines/rock garden plants you have planted in front of your other plantings?? I would really appreciate it, as I don't seem to be able to find the thread that has those pictures. Thanks in advance - I just had a couple questions and would love to see them again! :-)

Thanks again ~
Jamie

Jamie, I think these are the pics you are referring to...this is the rhodo-azalea bed with its small rockery in the front.

A close-up of the plants in that little rockery.

I wasn't sure if I posted this pic....its a section of my alpine wall with a lovely combo based on foliage as much as flowers.

Todd ~

Yes, those were the pictures I was looking for......I had forgotten how lovely they were! I really do like the way you plant those smaller gems in front of a bed or border. What a great way to tuck 10+ small rock garden plants in a spot they will be appreciated!!

I love the wall planting! Great use of foliage contrasting textures and colors....I think that draws my interest more and more as I continue gardening....foliage is so very important, and you have done a masterful combination there!

Thank-you for posting those pics, and for doing it so quickly - much appreciated!

Jamie

You are figuring out how to make the most of limited space yourself! I especially like your pea-gravel...so much cleaner than the crushed granite we get locally around here. Is the silvery plant in the center of your pic a sedum of some sort....I don't recognize it.

Hi Todd ~

You hit the nail on the head!! I have been trying several things this year to make the most of a corner lot that - while not at all small - will be my gardening spot for many years. As I tear up sod and make new borders and pathways and beds, I want to get the most out of each area as possible. My latest project is an unused side yard - I am turning it into a rose garden, with perennials interplanted, and alpine/rock garden plants in front....hence the request for the pictures... :-)

The plant in the above pic is a sedum....I will post the name in a few hours when I get home from work. The name escapes me right now.

Thanks again Todd!
Jamie