Bloom and grow (May 2015)

My mission to buy a new plant for the garden each month with the proviso that a. it must be in bloom and b. something I've never tried to grow before just got harder!  Pickings may have been slim last month but this month it was the complete opposite.  Too much choice (?) and I suspect it will get all the more difficult over the next couple of months too.   Choices, choices, choices!  

So just what have I treated myself too?

Having admired from afar, this year and last, the Camassia that many of you grow I was on the lookout for some of those.  I particularly liked the blue varieties but the first nursery I visited only had a creamy white variety for sale.  This was not what I wanted so rather than buy for buying's sake I had a quick scout around to see what else Binny Plants had for sale.  I didn't have to walk far. 


Firstly, Pulsatilla vulgaris Papageno.  This wee plant is described as a choice form of our native pasque flower.  Native, in bloom and new to me - PERFECT! I claimed 3 wee 9cm pots. It prefers a sunny, well drained site.  The front garden should be ideal.  Flowers are usually purple but according to some online sources, they can range from deep red through to white.  2 out of the 3 plants I bought opened the purple you see below and the third was more of a red. Despite this difference I will plant all three together and hope they spread out and make a fine display.  

Pulsatilla vulgaris Papageon

My second purchase was something that will take a bit of shade.  I am always attracted to blue
flowers, the pretty powder blue blooms of this Anemone caught my eye. Let me introduce you to Anemone trullifoloa - isn't it a pretty wee thing?  Ok, I do have other anemones growing in the garden but not this particular species, so I figured it fitted the criteria. 3 more wee pots added to my trolley.  Native to parts of China, Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim where it grows in streamside in forests and alpine meadows.  It will neither like dryness in summer nor watering in winter.  I read that as meaning that it will not tolerate winter wet. Which is why I think the side garden is more suited to get it too thrive.  I have tried it out along side a few other plants in the garden and think it looks best planted with either white or yellow flowers.

The foliage has an almost velvety feel.  To me it kind of resembles the familiar buttercup foliage.  Which is not really surprising since they both belong to the Ranunculaceae family.  I won't hold that against it though!   The large Dicentra (Lamprocapnos) spectabalis, is perhaps too large therefor I may try to source a smaller white flowering Dicentra.  I am fairly satisfied that they will all look equally as beautiful planted under or near by my Acer shirasawanum Aureum in the side garden.  I am also seeing a single white peony with a huge yellow centre in bloom nearby.  That will of course be another shopping trip.  And more than likely the subject of my post next month.

Also coming home with me this visit was Lathyrus transsylvanicus.  Another species new to me.  It had pretty orange pea flowers, note the word HAD.  I somehow managed to snap the blooms off on the way back to the car.  So I've no blooms to share with you.  Good news is that it has now produced more buds.  I am hoping those open before my EOMV post in a few days time.

My last (intended) purchase of the day was one not for blooms but it was the foliage that caught my eye.  I thought I'd share it with you anyway.  A few good sized pots of Lilium leichtlinii were offered for sale.  I just couldn't help myself!  The foliage of this Asiatic lily is quite effective don't you think?   I like the mottled effect.  I'm sure the blooms with be even more impressive.  Where it is going to live is anyone's guess at the moment but I'm sure it won't take me long to find it a home.

Lilium leichtlinii foliage

      

Conveniently placed on the trip home Dobbies GC was my next port of call.  I needed some string and few other garden related bits and bobs.  Stuff that Binny Plants do not sell.  It had not been my intention to venture off into the plant sales area.  I truly meant that.  I was not buying anymore plants today!

A passing glance through those huge glass partitions was all it took.  I was smitten!  Should I? Shouldn't I?  I just knew that if I hadn't bought it, it would have played on my mind and I'd eventually return to buy it.  How disappointed would I be if I returned and there was none left?  This has happened to me, often, I wasn't taking any chances this time.  I snapped up what I considered a 'good looking' specimen.  I just wish my photography skills to show it off at it best.

Cornus x rutlan Ruth Ellen

Ruthie - she already has a nickname you'll notice.  Another sign that I have grown quite fond of her.  According to the label, she can be kept compact through pruning.  The label made no mention of her eventual height and spread.  I also found that the Eurodogwoods web site does not either.  Checking a few sites on the web.  I can expect her to make a height of around 12ft/3.5m which is fine but the spread kind of scared the proverbial out of me!  18ft/5.5m!  So do I keep her in check via pruning or do I just enjoy her for a few years knowing full well the time will come when I have to find a replacement.   I could have of course taken her right back to the store and tried my hand at getting a refund under the pretense that their label was lacking.....as if that was ever going to happen!  

My plans for finding a spot in the garden started on the car journey home.  The corner you see in the background would allow me to enjoy the blooms from the house, the fencing and trellis would possibly provide a bit more shelter and it is a reasonably sunny site, with good soil.  Yes, my mind was made up.

Or was it?

The more I've thought about it this last couple of weeks, the more I began taking notice of her oriental look.  Since one of her parents (Cornus kousa) was from that part of our planet, that's hardly surprising is it?  Might she be better suited to the side garden?  Along with the Japanese maples and Magnolia stellata, might there be an oriental themed garden forming in my head?  Even the Anemone mentioned above could qualify.  When I say 'Oriental Themed' what I really mean is a loosely based 'Oriental Theme'.  I am not sure my often impulsive way of gardening would allow me to be as focused on plant choices as I'd really need to be to label it an oriental garden.  We shall see what transpires over the coming weeks/months.  She should be perfectly happy in the pot for now, providing I am vigilant about watering.

Oh and before I go - the Camassia?  Did you think I'd forget?  Thought not, you all know me too well.  I did find some the following weekend and I am pleased to announce that these blooms are as equally lovely in the flesh as they are in many of the images I have seen.  Thanks for reading and apologies for making this a long one!

Camassi cusickii