It must be SAMBUCUS racemosa 'Sutherland Gold' ;-) Another from the same family which is spectacular is SAMBUCUS nigra 'Black Lace'.
Maples, now elderberry : you're starting a new collection, are you ?... ;-) The wild species is very common here, I have one that grows in my compost. Funny to know that the flowers are edible (herb tea, cakes,...) but the rest of tghe plant, the berries, leaves and bark is toxic.
The berries are fine if cooked and processed appropriately, elderberry syrup is very popular. Elderflower cordial, now that is the best non-alcoholic drink ever when freshly home-made! The taste of late spring/early summer in a glass.
Years ago, I was given a few tubers of pink cyclamens by a friend who had hundreds of them below a huge yew. They're now established, and seeds have disseminated, some of them more than 20 metres from their intial spot. I found this white one a couple of years ago, one of a kind : There's even one, on the other side of a "pathway" that found its place under a stone where apparently I ran out of cement : I think I'll just remove the rock and add some soil... Done :
I like the white ones, they make a nice contrast. The ants take the seeds back to their nest, eat the sugary outer layer and then throw out the actual seed. A pretty cool dispersal tactic.
;-) Funnily enough, I haven't seen so many ants this year, except maybe some very small ones in the bucket where I keep my "to be composted" waste (vegetable peels, coffee dregs, orange skins,...). I'm pretty sure ant cities are here, wating for the next season to appear. Have a look at this video. I don't live in the tropics, but there's a whole secret world below our feet... PS: in the distance, you can see another mound, and there are others around. Most of them are related, one way or another. Like us on the internet... ;-)
Yeah... In the south of France, not so often here, I saw huge ant "pyramids", like 2 metres wide and 1 metre high, built with pine needles. You can imagine the kind of network below. One of my fantasies is, when I die, put my body on an ant house. Then, several weeks ago, you can collect clean bones. Crush them into a powder if your soil is too acidic. Keep some long bones to make candlelight holders. Keep my skull for paper weight. <LOL>
With a last nod toward morbidity, I found out recently that cremation ash isn't good for plants, unlike fireplace ash. So Alain, I wonder if your fantasy will turn the place into Mordor, lol. And it would require a very good friend indeed to use that paperweight! I noticed lots of white cyclamen among the pink this year, is it a reversion perhaps? I always considered pink the "default" color. I don't ever recall seeing the white before. These pretty variegated ones (no leaves to be seen now, of course) began in a completely different bed. They are pushing out inro the lawn, I've dug up a couple of places to give away, but otherwise don't see much option except to just mow them. It will be interesting to see whether the white ones keep the variegated leaves. P.S. I have a couple of little sambucus, 'Nigra' and a bright yellow dissected one, the name escapes me. How big should these be before planting out? Currently in 5l, not completely hardened off yet.
With Cyclamen hederifolium I have not noted any correlation between flower colour and leaf patterning. The white is a natural variation I think. Some of the other species have much plainer leaves but hederifolium is considered the strongest growing type and tends to out compete them if they are planted in the same area. Even Cyclamen coum loses out in a head to head. Just starting to see leaves here.
ALBIZIA JULIBRISSIN 'SUMMER CHOCOLATE' Am interested in any experiences with this plant? What’s a bit odd is the trunk is quite slim for the height of the tree..also no leaves on the trunk..maybe they cut them off to force tall growth..there’s a small pair of leaves at the bottom..am hoping some buds will emerge on the trunk over the coming years..I think it’s going to be winter sensitive!
I love the way these leaves close up at night. I've seen this very pretty cultivar advertised, if it's like the species it will want to get quite big. They generally have bare trunks, naturally. My experience is that they like very sharp sandy soil, and are salt tolerant. You often see them in Bretagne or on the coast here; they grow nearby, but I have failed miserably (3 strikes) in the garden here, I think the soil is too heavy and wet in winter. They have a very long blooming period, some people find them a bit garish but I love them. We had a very big one in a house I lived in outside NY, as a teen. I really loved the tree. The more acidic the soil, the darker red/pink the flowers. Even the cultivars selected for dark flowers wash out in chalky soil.
I think so too. Years ago, I bought one for my sister who lives near la Rochelle. They have very mild winters there, and there are many trees like albizzia, Lagestromia, pomegranate, etc. But though she was a couple of miles inland, they can have some strong winds, and where she planted it was probably not the right spot : it died in the winter. I have a feeling they don't like cold winds... Even here, where it is much colder in winter, there are many mature Albizzia (up to 5, 6 metres tall or more if they're in a rather protected garden - like, with other trees around, or not far from a wall and a fence), but I haven't seen any big "chocolate Albizzia". On a mature tree, the pink flowers must be quite a sight againt the dark brown foliage.
Thanks for the info, very helpful..I should have done my homework in advance of purchase..but you know when you’re taken by something!
Thank you Alain, very interesting and helpful..sorry to hear your sisters one died..my garden is very well protected from wind due to its unusual location..hopefully I can find a good spot..I’ll do my homework and find out about sun tolerance..I was surprised to hear from Emery that it’s salt tolerant..looks positively prehistoric!
There are hundreds of sedums, I had found a link to a specialized nursery, I think it was in N-W USA, or maybe Canada, but I couldn't find the link again. They can make nice companion plants for Bonsai. I have several sorts, since they're very easy to reproduce, we exchange them between local bonsai fans. The green one at the top is ubiquitous over here, it grows naturally everywhere. The 3 ones in the top left of the tray have blue tones in the spring. Some dwarf sempervivums also make nice companion plants, especially when they flower :
@AlainK - snap!! I had a shallow pot about 55cm across ..bit shallow for my style of JM keeping so filled it with similar
It looked better in July..we had a random hail storm in June and the plants covered in spiders web like material really didn’t like it
Beautiful composition. I think I know what you mean : it happens on big sedums (up to 30 cm tall) like this one that self-sowed in a discarded pot. When they're covered with this kind of web, the leaves are eaten, or deprived of sap.
