Don’t race around the rock garden, take your time to enjoy the spectacle

The cherries at the top of the rock garden are in full flower, it must be spring

Last year I noted that the alpine team recognizes that spring is here when the cherries outside the yard are in full flower. This year the buds were showing colour by 15 March and were fully open by 21 March. By the time I took these pictures some of the petals were already starting to fall. Prunus pendula f. ascendens ‘Rosea’ is the large tree in the background and P. pendula ‘Pendula Rosea’ in the foreground. All pictures were taken on 26 March.

I wrote about the next two cherries last year, so will just include pictures this year. Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’ with a close up of the flowers.

I also wrote about the next two cherries last year, so will just include pictures this year. Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’ with a close up of the flowers.

Prunus ‘Moerheimii’ is the name now recognised by the RHS but was formally Prunus x yedoensis ‘Moerheimii’ with the first picture being a close up of the flowers.

In the Alpine Display House today, in the spring sunshine, the scent and colour was amazing

Lachenalia flava AGM is known as the golden opal flower and as one of the Cape Cowslips. It can be found in a limited area near the Paarl Mountains in the southwest Cape Provinces of South Africa. It has purple spotted leaves and the flowers can be orange – yellow. The specific epithet is from the Latin – bright almost pure yellow. Lachenalia latimerae also has purple spotted leaves. It also comes from the Cape Provinces, Oudtshoorn to the Kouga Mountains, Little Karoo to the Eastern Cape. It has mauve-grey to pale pink flowers with greenish brown markings. The specific epithet is from the Latin – wide / broad.

I won’t repeat the Greek Mythology that I covered in a previous diary entry about Iris, the Greek messenger of the Olympian gods. I have discovered that she had two half-sisters, Ocypete and Arke, known as the Harpies or Whirlwinds. Arke betrayed the Olympian gods and became the messenger of their arch enemies the Titans. You know it won’t end well. Her sisters were half woman half raptor, personified by storm winds or whirlwinds. If people disappeared in ancient Greece they were said to have been taken by a whirlwind. Iris sounds much nicer and so are her flowers.  Iris attica is known as the Greek Iris and is a tiny bearded Iris and is a rhizomatous perennial. It is native to Greece, Turkey and the countries making up the former Yugoslavia, but particularly around Athens. The specific epithet being from the Greek – Attikes, or the Latin – Atticus. Iris suaveolens can have flowers that are yellow or purple and even bi-coloured. Its home is in the Balkans to Turkey. Known as the sweet scented Iris and the specific epithet is from the Latin – sweet scented. Sometimes the Latin names are very helpful.

Iris bucharica is a Juno Iris, which is a code word for impossible for me to grow, you might enjoy more success. In the wild it enjoys very cold winters and hot arid summers, not your usual UK fayre. It’s native to Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The specific epithet is from the Latin – bucharica – from Bukhara an ancient city in Uzbekistan, which was on the Silk Road trade route.

It’s not all about Greek goddesses

Another two plants were the specific epithets indicate where they grow. Arum cretica is a summer dormant tuberous perennial. The specific epithet indicates it comes from Crete but is also found in other of the East Aegean Islands and into southwestern Turkey. Allium israeliticum is native to Palestine, Israel and Jodan. The specific epithet is from the Latin – of or relating to Israel or Israelites.

I spoke too soon in my last diary when I said that most of the daffodils were over

Narcissus ‘Angel’s Whisper’ was bred by Glenbrook Bulb Farm in Tasmania, it is a long way from home. It was a cross of N. triandrus subsp. triandrus var. triandrus x N. fernandesii. The next is Narcissus bulbocodium subsp. bulbocodium var. tenuifolius being found in South West France to the Iberian Peninsula. The variety name is from the Latin – slender leaved.

Narcissus ‘Kokopelli’ AGM is a jonquilla daffodil with 2 – 4 scented flowers per stem, It was bred in 1993 by Robert Spotts in the USA, registered in 1997 and awarded an AGM in 2004. The seed parent was N. ‘Sundial’ and it was open pollinated. Its name comes from the fertility god of the Anasazi people. They believed that Kokopelli would descend in the night and, playing his flute, walk the corn fields causing the crops to germinate. The Anasazi were the ancient (800-1200AD) cliff-dwellers in the Southwest part of the United States. Don’t laugh, we tell children there’s a tooth fairy who comes into their room at night and checks under their pillows. Nothing strange here.

There were many Primulas on show

There are lots of Primulas in flower at the moment. I was able to find out the origin of several of the named selections but not for others. One that I was able to identify, thanks to the IRG journal from June 2014 was Primula marginata ‘Napoleon’. It was found by Henry and Margaret Taylor in the Maritime Alps around old fortifications from the Napolean era. Primula x Gordon was bred by John Mercer and is a cross of P. ‘Bewerly white’ x ‘El Bolton’, the latter being a plant I included in my last diary.

A couple more of Alec Stubbs selections, who lived at Grassington, Wharfdale. P. ‘Wharfdale Sunshine’ is described as having large, white eyed, pink flowers over greenish yellow leaves and P. ‘Wharfdale Ballerina’.

Primula ‘Elke Weis’ was raised by Rudi Weiss from Walblingen in southern Germany who named it for his wife. Primula ‘Lindum Pixie’ was raised by Martin and Dreena Thompson, from Lincoln. There are many different plants with Lindum in their names. Lindum was the Roman / Latin name for Lincoln.

Some of the many Primulas that I was unable to get specific information on their naming or who raised them were Primula ‘Oberan’ and P. allionii ‘Hannah’

Primula ‘Mauve Mist’ was raised from seed collected from an open pollinated P. ‘Drake’s form’ and finally Primula allionii ‘Raymond Weaster’.

Some other spring flowers

Tulipa praecox is the name recognized by the RHS but others consider it to be a synonym of T. agenensis. It is native to Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Turkey. The specific epithet is from the Latin – earlier than most/forward or early developing. Tulipa binutans is another named recognized by the RHS but other authorities consider it a synonym of Tulipa biflora. It is home in many countries from Egypt and Saudi Arabia through the Caucuses, Pakistan and up into West Siberia and parts of China.

Grape Hyacinths were abundant as well

I have found many websites that offer information on a wide variety of plants but information is not that forthcoming on named Muscari. I’ll keep looking for next year. Muscari ‘Carola’ AGM and Muscari ‘Aleyna’ are similar but I can see some differences.

Muscari ‘Ester’ AGM has porcelain blue to plan white flowers. You don’t expect to see a Tiger or any other large cats at Wisley but Muscari ‘Siberian Tiger’ AGM was very much at home.

Fritillaria conica has only been found at four sites in southern Greece. The specific epithet is from the Latin – cone shaped or conical. It is native to the South Western Peloponnese and  is found growing in low scrub on hills near the sea, in heavy soil among limestone rocks. Fritillaria carica is known as the Caria fritillary. It grows from 200m–1500m amongst stony soil which is usually limestone. It is native to the East Aegean Islands and southwest Turkey. The specific epithet is from the Latin – from Caria – a province of Asia Minor.

Crassula socialis is a greenhouse succulent. The genus name is from the Latin – thick / fleshy referring to the  leaves. The specific epithet is again from the Latin – growing in colonies, so clearly a very social plant. It is native to the Cape Provinces and is quite hardy but needs protection from wet winter. Pleione Ueli Wackernagel gx is a cross of P. aurila x P. formosana. It was registered in 1991 by H. Pinkepank. The cross has been remade several times and there are selected forms such as Enigma, Pink Pear and Pearl.

A few woodland plants

Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Star’ is a selected form, having many more petals than the type. The genus name comes from the Latin -sanguis – blood, the sap being red, leading to the plants common name, Bloodroot. It is native to Eastern states and provinces in North America and Canada. A clump forming plant which has antimicrobial properties and was used by the First Nation peoples for numerous complaints and aliments.

Anemone x lipsiensis ‘Pallida’ is a naturally occurring hybrid of A. nemerosa x A. ranunculoides and is a rhizomatous perennial. The genus name is from the Greek – anemos – wind and mone – a habitation, as some species were found in windy places, hence its common name of the Windflower. It is a rhizomatous perennial and the selected form is from the Latin – pallida – greenish / pale.

On this day in 1927

The first Mille Miglia (One thousand miles), Italian road race started at 08.00am on 26 March 1927, finishing 21 hours later. It was held on closed public roads. The start was at Brescia and the route went to Rome and  back to Brescia. It was the idea of Count Francesco Mazzotti and Count Aymo Maggi to stage the event. The route from Brescia to Rome varied slightly each year, with the first race being 992 miles, but a 1000 mile race was a more marketable title. The inaugural race was won by Ferdinando Minoio and his co-pilot Giuseppe Morandi, driving a OM655 sports car (Officine Meccaniche) in just over 21 hours. By 1938 the winning time was down to 13 hours. Stirling Moss won in 1955 with a time of just over 10 hours, an average speed of 98 mph. I’m not sure I could sit in a sports car for 10 hours, never mind drive one at 100mph. I’ll stick to growing alpines. The last race was held in 1957 which had several fatal accidents, after which, it was deemed too dangerous to continue. By the 1950’s millions of spectators were lining the route. With cars passing at over 100 mph and no safety barriers the inevitable was bound to happen. Who would have thought that it could end badly. I wonder what we do today, that will be frowned upon in 60 years’ time?