No one could say it’s green, back in the Alpine Display House today. It was full of colour

There were so many splendid plants in the display house that this diary will just focus on the many plants that were in flower. Spring is still a few weeks away but there are definitely signs that the winter is nearly over. The title of this week’s diary is another play on words, you can skip to the end if you want to find out where it came from. It was the best I could do.

The internet has again provided much of the information for my diary and I should have a standing statement that “I apologise if I’ve got facts wrong, or joined up the dots incorrectly”. It is a diary and not meant to be a scholarly document that has been extensively fact checked. All pictures were taken on 25 February.

There were more croci (or crocuses – if you prefer) open in the sun today

Crocus gargaricus subsp. gargaricus is native to Turkey. There it is found on Mount Gargarus (Kaz Dagi) in damp pastures and forest edges at 1300 – 2300m.

Crocus vernus subsp. vernus can be found in a number of countries including Switzerland, north Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Austria and Germany. The specific epithet is from the Latin – of spring flowering time. It used to be called C. albiflorus – with white flowers, the most common flower colour but it can also be purple or orange.

In the last diary entry I mentioned the role of E.A Bowles. Another one of his selections is Crocus x jessoppiae. It appeared among a batch of seedlings and offsets that he gave to a neighbour, Miss Euphemia Jessopp.  I‘ve seen it stated that it is a cross of C. candidus x C. chrysanthus; Brian Mattew has suggested it probably includes C. reticulatus. It has white flowers, violet blue streaks, clear yellow at the base. You don’t hear of many little Euphemia’s these days, or its abbreviated form, Effie. I’ll have to start another petition to bring it back.

Crocus ‘Ladykiller’ is described as an heirloom crocus, being introduced over 70 years ago. It is a C. chrysanthus cultivar, named after the 1933 film starring James Gagney and was granted an AGM in 1992.

Crocus ‘Ard Schenk’ was named to honour the Dutch speed skater Adrianus Schenk. He won a silver medal at the winter Olympics in 1968 and three gold medals in 1972 at 1500m, 5000m and 10000m disciplines and is considered one of the all-time greatest Dutch skaters. I’ll avoid jokes about getting your skates on if you want some.

Crocus rujanensis is another example of a toponym (Greek – topos – place, and Greek – nym – name) although I thought it was named for a person. The specific epithet is from the Latin – for the Rujan Planina which is in North Macedonia and Serbia, having looked at a map to find out where it was. It grows in oak and hornbeam woods and grasslands at altitudes of 350 -750m.

The next three are from Crete

My research informs me that being from Crete these species can be slightly tender for a UK garden but thrive with some shelter. This probably explains why the pots I’ve had against the house walls have persisted where the ones planted in the garden borders failed.

Crocus sieberi subsp. sieberi was collected by the Austrian botanist Franz Wilhelm Sieber (1789 – 1844) on Crete in 1822. It is a Cretan endemic growing at 1500 – 2700m on rocky slopes.

Crocus sieberi ‘Firefly’ is a selected form, made by the company of M. Thoolen BV (est 1894) from Velserbroek, The Netherlands, the selection being made in 1956.

Crocus sieberi subsp. sublimis ‘Tricolor’ AGM is a selected form of the type. It is found in Greece, Macedonia, southern Albania and southern Bulgaria.

Crocus x luteus ‘Golden Yellow’ is a sterile hybrid of C. flavus x C. angustifolius and therefore will not self-seed.

Crocus vitellinus can be found in south Turkey, west Syria, Lebanon and northern Israel. It is often found growing on limestone rocks from sea level to 1400m. The specific epithet is from the Latin – egg yolk yellow.

Crocus minimus is native to the southern half of Corsica and Sardinia and the Island of Capria which is part of Italy. It grows from sea level to 1500m often on granite, rocky or sandy places. The specific epithet is from the Latin – least or smallest, referring to the size of the flowers.

A couple of Tommies next

The British Legion states that “the origins of the term Tommy is widely disputed, the most common interpretation is that the term comes from Tommy Atkins who was a private soldier. It is known to have been used as early as 1743, however the term Tommy was chosen as a generic name by the war office in 1815”. Fortunately our Tommies have an undisputed origin.

Crocus tommasinianus ‘Whitewell Purple’ was a selected cultivar by Reverend Joseph Jacob (1859 -1926), author of a book, Hardy Bulbs for Amateurs (1924) and other bulb books and who might have been the Vicar of Whitewell according to some internet pages. The species was named to honour the botanist Muzio Giuseppe Spirito de Tommasini (1794 – 1879). He was Mayor of Triste which was in the Austro-Hungarian empire at the time, now part of Italy. C. tommasinianus ‘Eric Smith’ is a pure white form, with just an occasional hint of purple. It also has eight petals rather than the normal six. It was named by Jim Archibald for his long time business partner Eric Smith (1917 – 1986). Eric was also a notable breeder of helleborines.

I do like a Dionysia or two

Dionysia aretioides ‘Gerben’ I believe is a selection made by Michael Kammerlander, who was for many years before he retired, the Curator of the Rock Garden at Wurzburg Botanical Garden in Germany. He named it for Gerben Tieerdsma who was the retired Head Gardner at Wurzburg. The specific epithet is from the Greek – Arete – Greek Goddess of virtue, excellence (the name of a different genus)and eidos – like or resembling.

Dionysia ‘Ganymede’ is described as a pale lilac thrum type flowers (the style is shorter than the stamen). It is a hybrid of D. ‘Charlson Petite’ x  D. archibaldii bred by Paul Ranson (PmR99/1518/1). Named after the Greek Trojan Prince who was the Cup bearer of the Gods. I don’t think the story of Ganymede would now pass the political correctness tests we now rightly demand.

There are still many snowdrops on display

When I see a plant with an unusual name such as Galanthus ‘Dodo Norton’ I hope there is information out there to explain where it comes from. I was not disappointed. It was found at the former garden of the horticulturist and author, Margery Fish (1892 – 1969) at East Lambrook Manor and was named  in 2000. Margery was self-taught and had a great impact on garden design. The owners of the garden at the time it was found, Robert and Marianne Willams thought it appropriate to name it for the previous garden owners, Andrew and Dodo Norton.

Galanthus ‘Kildare’ was discovered in County Kildare by Ruby and David Baker in 1995. They got lost while hunting for snowdrops on a tour of Ireland. It can be frustrating getting lost but not on this occasion.

Galanthus ‘Dreycott Greentip’ has a long pedicel and a split spathe. I was hoping to get more information on this selection, is it named for a place or person but I’ll need to keep looking.

Galanthus woronowii was named to honour Yury Nikolaevich Voronov (1874 – 1931) who was a botanist working in the Botanical Garden in Leningrad. It is from north-east Turkey, west and central Caucasus.

Narcissus ‘Tete-a-tete’ AGM was bred by Alec Grey (1895 -1986) and introduced in 1949. If you had raised one successful daffodil cross you would be very pleased, Alec produced more than 110 in his life time. It was a cross of N.cyclamineus x N. ‘Cyclataz’. It is still very popular and rightly so. Another of the E.A Bowles selections, Iris ‘Cantab’ was introduced in 1914 according to the Dwarf Iris Society. It has sky blue or Cambridge blue falls with a central yellow marks.

There were other spring flowering plants to enjoy

I’ve included some information on Hepatica in previous diaries, so just some pictures this time.

Hepatica nobilis var. nobilis

Hepatica nobilis var. japonica shikouryuu has a semi double lilac flower.

Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna. I like the pink and green colour combination.

Hepatica nobilis ‘Papillion’ seedling.

Scilla ingridiae var. taurica is a name that is still recognized by the RHS, but other authorities states that it is a synonym of Scilla ingridiae. The specific epithet is from the Latin – fair or beautiful and the variety name is from the Latin – from Crimea (Tauria being the old name).  

Corydalis paschei can be found in two very small colonies in southwest Anatolia in Turkey. Growing on moist rocky slopes, it has pale pink to violet-pink flowers. It was found in 1994 by Erich Pasche, who was Curator of the Wuppertal Botanic Garden in Germany and named in his honour.

On this day the US Congress passed the First Legal Tender Act 1862

Gold and silver coins were used before paper currency was introduced into the USA, as in most countries. The American civil war had caused a shortage of precious metals and the first fiat paper money was introduced to overcome the issue. This is not about buying Italian FIAT cars (other manufacturers are available). From the Latin – fieri – let it be done, government decree issued currency not backed by physical commodities such as precious metals. Private banks had issued paper notes prior to this decree, but the act allowed for a nationwide paper money, that could be readily recognised anywhere. The reverse side was printed in green ink, an anti-counterfeiting measure, used to prevent photographic knockoffs. The notes quickly became known as ‘green backs’. At the time of introduction,  photographs were limited to black and white only. Colour pictures were invented in 1861 by Thomas Sutton (c1819 – 1875) an English photographer, author and inventor, unbeknown by the Americans presumably. The first colour picture he took was of a tartan ribbon. With a name like mine, I can’t think of a better subject matter. The second picture might have been a dollar bill, but I might just have made that up.