I'd like to share with you all some plants that are currently flowering in the garden, or have just recently flowered... it's been a good spring so far. Allium crenulatum 'Olympic Sunset' has been in bud for 2 months, teasing me for such a long time, the sheathed bud swelling to an improbably plump size. Here's a view early on, showing the neat falcate leaves and nestled buds. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… The buds finally started opening a couple days ago, and it'll be a couple more days before peak, but here are two ciews of this beautiful little allium from Washington state. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… Thanks Jerry! Can you tell us anything about where this plant was found and who named it? The flowers have a peculiar scent, a sort of chemical or turpentine aroma (one must lie on one's belly to get low enough to sniff the flowers). Another Allium needs identification, but I haven't had time to attempt keying it yet, so if anyone can offer a guess, let me know. It was labelled Allium "auctum" which is generally considered a synonym of A. nigrum, or even A. decipiens, but it is neither. This large flowered dwarf beauty has taken over 10 years to flower from seed. It has 3 broad grey leaves, and a grapefruit sized head of of large starry lilac flowers accented with purple ovary and stamens... WOW! Looking through Janis Ruksans' powerpoint slide show on Allium, it looks somewhat similar to Allium akaka. Take a look, the following views taken this past weekend, and the last shot taken yesterday (5/30/08). The flowers have a mild sweet scent. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… Next are two views of Allium decipiens. This plant really gets around by seeding far and wide... not sure how the seeds disperse so broadly. For one of the taller alliums, it's never a bother when it seeds in amongst something smaller, as the pair of glossy green leaves are small and unobtrusive, quickly drying up and disappearing after it's May through early June bloom. The smallish dense heads of lilac flowers are pleasant. You can notice in the two views, how this species behaves in a heliotropic manner, the buds always chasing the sun position, thus leaving the stems bent and crooked near their summit. Mildly sweet scented. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… One of the very first alliums to bloom in the spring is A. zebdanense, yet while early, it is still in bloom although near finishing for the season. One of the very best and non-invasive of the popular white-flowered alliums, it makes lovely clumps in the woodland garden. It'll grow in sun too, but the foliage is paler in sun, and the growth is more attractive in shade. Here's a view of plants growing in a sunny spot, growing up amongst chives and other allium species: http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… In the following view, we see the graceful habit of a small clump of this species growing in a shade garden, the buds unopened. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… And lastly, here's a view back in the sun, with A. zebdanense growing among beautiful dense clumps of blue-speared foliage of Allium antyncolicum, a chive relative from Mongolia. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… The giant among the giant alliums, is A. altissimum, with stems that top out at over 5' tall. This is my favorite of the big types that increases slowly but reliably. It shares the same heliotropic sun-chasing tendencies of A. decipiens, often resulting in whimsical bends and turns in the sturdy, non-flopping wand-like stems. The big balls of lilac-purple won't be showing until another week or two, but its foliage is attractive, looking rather lettuce-like and "juicy" succulent. Here's a view of the foliage, with the ascending stem of another species, Allium chelotum from Iran, growing right behind it. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… The following two views are from June 2006, showing the coiling stems in full flower. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/Allium_altissimum_1.jpg/ http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/Allium_altissimum_2.jpg/ Speaking of Allium chelotum, this is a seldomly encountered species. My bulb came from Arnis Seisums, the original stock from the Elburz Mts of Iran. It flowers reliably yet has not increased which has me worried that I might lose this beauty. It has just finished blooming, but was quite a sight for about three weeks in May. The flowers are decidely pink, accented with thick beet red pedicels: http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… Here at full anthesis, the expanded flower head is really attractive with the protruding stamens and dark ovaries. Notice on the left are stems of Allium altissimum that quickly shot up and exceeded the 3' (1 meter) stem on A. chelotum. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… In this last view, notice the sun-chasing buds on Allium altissimum, a good view with which to compare the size and aspect of both species. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… Blooming for many weeks, and still attractive with dark red fleshy capsules after flowering, is Allium karataviense 'Red Globe'. The dark red globes of bloom are enormous, a striking complement to the blue-gray foliage. Here are three views, from buds just breaking, to full anthesis, and finally to seed capsule stage now: http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… A few Iris to take notice about. The first is an Aril bred Iris (thanks Jim), a single fan that has grown ever so slowly and finally decided to bloom. It is Iris 'Lancer', a striking beauty to be sure. Oversized grape-blue flowers with a deep wine colored spot on the falls, and a light grape fragrance. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/Iris_Lancer_2008a.jpg/ http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/Iris_Lancer_2008b.jpg/ Not a great photo, you'll get an idea about the unique form of Iris cristata 'Dick Redfield', where there are 6 falls instead of three falls and 3 standards, yielding a distinctive appearance to the flowers. This was planted out last year, so it is still small and only had a total of three flowers. Here's a view of a single flower, which is also beautiful on account of the strong contrasting coloration. It is available from Garden Vision epimedium nursery (mail order). http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… And last, just to tease Jim Waddick, as he mentioned having difficulty growing Iris cycloglossa in his area, here are three photos taken close to dusk last night (5/30/08) after I got home from work. This plant always surprises me, because it is so slim and economical of foliage that it doesn't seem possibly that it can suddenly burst open with such sumptuously large flowers. A plant in full bloom almost doesn't look real. The flowers are spicy sweet scented to boot! This year there are 8 flowering stems. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… To close out this message, I have selected a non-bulb, an easy terrestial orchid that I'm sure will be familiar to you all, Cypripedium calceolus var. pubescens. It's worth taking note that the coloration of the sepals can vary quite a bit on this "Cyp", a striped coppery-olive color on my plants, compared to the darker brown coloration often seen. This spring has been an extraordinary one, and everything is flowering better than ever, and this cyp presented itself with such glorious flowers, that I had to share a couple of views taken last weekend. http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… ...and a smaller flowered form with darker sepals: http://plantbuzz.com/buzz/… good growing to you all, Mark McDonough Massachusetts, near the New Hampshire border, USDA Zone 5 antennaria@charter.net
