Virtual Garden Tour 2000-2021

Discussion in 'How's It Growing?' started by Margot, May 15, 2020.

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  1. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I like those irises too.
    Nik's posting followed by Margot's reminds me of this cartoon that's going around on Facebook:
    Extreme polar vortex weather expected to ease – BC Local News
    Really, I'm replying so that the few people who already saw Margot's posting as a separate thread will know that it's here, moved at her request, as she'd meant to post it here.
     
  2. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Alpine plants are wonderful for late winter colour. Here's my Saxifrage 'Romeo' which started blooming in early January.
     

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  3. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Beautiful things come in small packages.
     
  4. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    How often do you repot your Alpines Margot?
     
  5. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    To tell the truth - never. But I am no authority about alpine plants; just a perennial novice. People who plant alpines in tufa or crevice gardens do not transplant them either . . . the goal is to provide the conditions for survival and success right from the start by trying to replicate the environment in which they would thrive in the alpine regions from which they come.

    Here are websites for the 2 largest alpine garden societies in BC:
    Alpine Garden Club of BC: Alpine Garden Club of British Columbia
    Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society: VIRAGS home page
     
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  6. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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  7. Nik

    Nik Contributor

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    Well, winter seems to be winding down finally. Some remaining melting snow on top of lichen in the back yard. Few more weeks and spring will be here. I still have not seen any flocks of robins, the sure sign that spring has arrived in the area.
     

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  8. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Spring is on the way N, the thaw has started. Hope the Robin's arrive very soon.
     
  9. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Back on December 12, I posted a picture of my Corylus (Harry Lauder's Walking Stick), saying that I like to watch the lengthening catkins as a way to mark the progress of winter to spring. I thought you might like to see how it looks almost 3 months later.

    I'm feeling optimistic that spring has arrived even though the weather leaves much to be desired.
     

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  10. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    How big is your tree Margot? We love ours, but it's in a pot so rather small. Yours is amazing....
     
  11. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    'Harry' was here when we moved in 15 years ago . . . he'd have been no older than five at the time and I was able to move him into his current location. I've grown to love him more and more as the years go by because, not only is he very handsome, there aren't all that many plants that thrive here where I live. Tough neighbourhood. Right now, he's 7 feet tall and about 9 feet wide with a preference it seems to grow wider rather than taller. He's a hard guy to prune. I have seen two 40+ year-old specimens in the area; slow-growing but magnificent as they age.

    One thing I learned about Corylus avellana 'Contorta' is that root suckers can be a problem depending on how the tree was propagated. Happily, mine seems to have been grown on its own roots rather than grafted.

    PS Forgive me - I usually try not to anthropomorphize plants, even the ones I love.
     
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  12. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Good morning Margot, thanks for the information on Harry. He is a lovely tree without doubt. Nothing to forgive about giving him a pet name, it all adds to the personality of your garden.
     
  13. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Thank you @Acerholic but I never give my plants pet names except in the case of 'Harry' Lauder's Walking Stick or maybe Rose or Lily or Iris or Heather. (At the same time I cherish the plants given to me by wonderful old friends - 'Barbara's Daylily', 'Diane's Hellebore', 'June's Narcissus' etc.)

    Segueing just a little: To me, naming plants or referring to them as 'he' or 'she' is a bit disrespectful because it infers a need for them to be somehow like humans in order for us to relate to them or to earn our respect.

    I know I'm a bit off the deep end here but I am one of those who resented the book "The Hidden Life of Trees" although it resonated deeply with many people who could only understand trees from a human perspective. In my opinion, trees (and other plants) deserve respect for their own unique adaptations however similar they may seem to be to us mere humans.

    On Accuracy in Science Storytelling
     
  14. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Thanks for the link Margot, a lot of discussion either way. But you are right in that the scientific name 'should always be used' and especially on a botanical forum. But for the personal and of course memories of how plants etc came to be in your garden, there is no reason why this should not be shared, as long as it is always shown that it is a 'pet' name only and not the correct name. It is too easy for names to stick as can be seen by so many synonyms in the maple world for example.
    A very good posting Margot that has thrown up more discussion.
     
  15. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    We've been busy lately adopting a couple of dogs whose owner passed away so I haven't been outside to check my gardens (that and I'm making myself wait until "spring" to start working outside) but today I thought I'd take a look and was shocked to see how much was blooming.
    Guess I have to revise my work schedule and get the bees outside....

    Nectarine
    Apricot
    Hellebore
    Japanese spurge
    Lungwort
    Corsican hellebore
    Paperbush
    Snowdrop (almost finished now)
    Japanese pieris
    Crocus and Cyclamen
     

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  16. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Glad you did P, beautiful photos.
     
  17. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Your photos are always so beautiful @pmurphy ! I often admire yours, Nik's, Wendy's, Acerholic's, GeorgiaStrait's and many others that put mine to shame.

    Maybe this should be a question on a separate thread but I'd be interested to know what lenses you're using. I've got a birthday coming up that I think would justify the expense of a better lens for my camera to take those beautiful close-up shots.
     
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  18. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    My Katsura tree is just starting to leaf out. Hard frosts forecast next weekend so who knows what will happen to them!!
    Katsura tree 705.JPG
     
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  19. Nik

    Nik Contributor

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    Hi Margot, I see nobody has replied to your question... so let me be the first.
    I am using only my iPhone for all my photos. The cameras on phones these days are so advanced, that in my opinion for non-professional photography they are perfectly fine.
    For any close up images I do the best I can in terms of focus, then edit by zooming in and cropping (sill on my phone or iPad).
     
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  20. Nik

    Nik Contributor

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    Not much happening over here this time of year..
    Here is an unknown Sempervivum and Sedum ‘Cherry tart’.
     

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  21. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    And I am using my Samsung S9 phone.
    It must be the photographers!
    Actually, I know that I take so many terrible photos (and do end up having to post some of them), that I take a lot of photos of something that I know I'm going to want to post, hoping for a few in focus. But then I think the ones that are in focus are all gems and I can't decide among them which don't need to be posted.
    I did use my Panasonic Lumix ZS7 (not sure of the number) the other day when I knew I wanted to zoom in on something, as it's much better than the phone for that. I also find the phone does too much processing on shots with a lot of detail. You can tell which I've used: photo numbers from the Lumix are preceded with a "P". I used to visit UBCBG with both, taking the same shots with both, but more often, I chose the one from the phone, so I stopped carrying around the camera, as my purse is already way too heavy.
     
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  22. Nik

    Nik Contributor

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    Here is an example of zooming in and cropping an image from my phone camera.
    A couple of weeks ago I cut a couple of Cymbidium stems to put on our kitchen island. They are still in very good shape.
    The flowers are quite large.
     

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  23. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Note that "hellebore" isn't a genus, when the combination being written is the botanical name the word used is Helleborus. Many years ago, before the habit of using "hellebore" in place of Helleborus became prevalent I also noticed repeated but still nevertheless incorrect usage of "peony" in place Paeonia. As in say "Peony lactiflora" for instance.
     
  24. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Ever since @Acerholic shared a photo of his Daphne odora on February 1, I have been expecting mine to follow suit within a few days. Now, 6 weeks later, mine is finally starting to bloom. It is called D. odora 'Zuiko Nishiki' which some sites tell me is hardier than most while others say less hardy. Whatever, it's hardy enough.

    I've got about 2 dozen hellebores - some blooms from the Helleborus niger crosses looking pretty ratty now, others from Helleborus x hybridus and H. ballardiae, just starting. They are a challenge to photograph - for me anyway, so here are just a few.

    'Conny', 'Sandra', Emma' and 'Tiffany' are tissue-propagated sisters in the Spring Promise (SP) series, part of the Helleborus Gold Collection (HGC) developed in Germany. I wouldn't have bought 4 such similar-looking plants but 2 (of many) were given to me by a friend whose borrowed garden was being dug up.

    Daphne odora 'Zuiko Nishiki'
    Helleborus x hybridus SP 'Conny'
    Helleborus x hybridus SP 'Sandra'
    Helleborus x hybridus SP 'Emma'
    Helleborus x hybridus SP 'Tiffany'
    Helleborus x hybridus - almost black
    Hellebore - lost its name
    Helleborus x hybridus - my favourite (I think)
    Helleborus x ballardiae HGC 'Merlin'
     

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  25. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    And let the perfume begin.
     
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