One man went to mow

One man went to mow, went to mow a meadow… (it was actually a team event)

I took the following pictures on 24 August, while the alpine meadow has had its main cut of the year. The meadow will be given a further trim in February, before the spring bulbs appear. Unfortunately, the bailing machine was not available this year. The grass had to be raked and collected by hand. Whenever I see the meadow being cut I know that summer is coming to an end and the old nursery rhyme creeps into my head, like an ear worm. It is over a 100 years ago that the Germans coined the term öhrwurm, earworm – which described the experience of a song that sticks in your brain. If you find yourself humming it all day, I apologise. This cut is always done just before the Wisley flower show. The rest of the rock garden continues to look splendid on a warm late summers day.

You have to look a little harder to see alpines in flower now, but they are there

A couple of Gypsophila were in flower in different parts of the rock garden. Growing in the crevice garden, G. ‘Graham Gem’ has pale pink flowers. The genus name is from the Greek gypsos – chalk and phileo – to love. Gypsophila tenuifolia has white flowers and the specific epithet is from the Latin for slender-leaved. It is native from North East Turkey to the Caucasus growing on rocky slopes in alpine meadows at 1600 – 2700m.

Some summer fruits on the crevice garden

Hylotelephium ‘Plum Dazzled’ and H. ‘Cherry Tart’ are two of Chris Hansen’s introductions, an American breeder from Michigan.  At the end of ten years of trials, he selected just 3 plants from 4000 seedlings. His third introduction, which Wisley doesn’t have yet is H. ‘Dazzleberry’. They are interspecific hybrids (two species from the same genus), the exact parentage not having been declared. H. ‘Plum Dazzled’ is described as having smokey grey-blue foliage.

The genus name is from the Greek hylo – a forest or woodland and Telphus – King of Mysia, son of Hercules. Older readers would have know these as sedums.

Autumn stirs on the main rock garden

Colchicum x agrippinum AGM was the plant of the month in 2022 for the NARGS and I approve their choice. It is a cross between C. variegatum x C. autumnale. It was named after the Roman empress Julia Agrippina, the mother of Nero and fourth wife of Claudius. There will be more flowers on show later but these were the first I noticed.

Eurybia x herveyi (syn. Aster microphyllus ‘Twilight’) has pale lavender-blue flowers and can be found in bloom from August to September. It was described by American botanist Jonathan Dickinson in 1817. The plant was used by Native American tribes for medicinal purposes.

Liriope spicata is known as the creeping or spiked lilyturf. Its native home is eastern Asia where it thrives in dry shade. In Greek mythology, Liriope was a water nymph and mother of Narcissus. She was told by a prophet that he would reach old age if he failed to recognise himself. We all know that that didn’t end well. At least we got another nice flower for the rock garden from this Greek tragedy. The specific epithet is from the Latin for spiked, the species having an elongated inflorescence of sessile flowers.

Bistorta vacciniifolia (Syn Persicaria vacciniifolia) is at home in the Himalayas and seems equally at home at Wisley. The genus name comes from the Latin bis – twice and torta – twisted, referring to the twisted appearance of the root. The specific epithet means Huckleberry leaf, Vaccinium being a genus of Huckleberry. Originally the spelling was vacciniifolia (with a double ii). It was corrected in accordance with Article 60.10 of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants. It’s a fun read and a cure for extreme forms of insomnia, allegedly. Everyday is a school day and my ignorance is diminishing daily, but there is still a very long way to go.

In the Alpine Display house you can indulge in some chocolate and it’s calorie free

There are probably some rules that I’m breaching on false advertising, Sempervivum ‘Chocolate’ was raised  by Alan C. Smith in 1980. I like the dark colouring. Another British variety raised in 1953 by Nicholas Moore is S. ‘Bronze Pastel’ a descendant of S. marmoreum.

S.‘Reginald Malby’ was introduced in 1972 in the UK, as ‘Malby’s No 1′. Mr. Reginald Malby (1882 – 1924) was the official photographer for the RHS and author of several books such as “The story of my rock garden” and “With camera and rucksack in the Oberland and Valais” (1912). I’m sure he would have been amazed to see a digital camera with zoom lens, compared to his camera with bellows, tripod and glass plates. The things we take for granted, snapping a few pictures at the top of a mountain, would have been a feat for him. S. tectorum atropurpureum is a hybrid originating in the Jura mountains on the French / Swiss border. It is described as having dark mahogany rosettes with brown tips. The almost black colouring appears in its second year.

Next up, two Sempervivums raised by Martin Haberer from Germany. The first is ‘Corona’ and was introduced in 1985.

The second, ‘Midas’ was introduced in 1978 and is described as a S. montanum type.

Acis autumnalis ‘September Snow’ has lovely white bells, which you would have never guessed from the name. The genus name is linked to more Greek Mythology. Acis was a Sicilian shepherd and the lover of the nymph Galatea. In jealousy, Polyphemus crushed him with a huge rock. His blood was turned by Galatea into a river. Sometimes I’m frightened to go into the rock garden, it’s clearly a dangerous place. Again, no prizes for working out the specific epithet is from the Latin – of the autumn (growing or flowering).

Another sign that the seasons are turning

Scilla autumnalis (syn. Prospero autumnalis) the autumn squill, is a native in the UK, the Mediterranean region, Portugal, Morocco, Turkey and the Caucasus. At Wisley it flowers at the same time under glass as it does in the garden. It has stems 15cm tall, the leaves being a similar size.

The Hypoxis are back in flower

I’m not sure if I could tell the following plants apart if they weren’t labelled. The first is Hypoxis cribbsii. When Paul Cumbleton wrote about it in his diary he said that he could not find any references to it in literature. The internet search engines of today have not revealed any further information. I’ll keep looking.

H. costata is from the summer rainfall area of the Eastern Cape, the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal to Mpumalanga. The specific epithet is from the Latin for with a prominent mid-rib. It grows at 2050 – 2400m, on stony grassy slopes. I had assumed that all Hypoxis came from South Africa but H. hirsuta is from North Eastern America, around New England, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The Cherokee people made a leaf infusion as a heart medicine. It is known as the common star grass in the USA. The specific epithet is from the Latin for rough-haired  or hairy.

The Tulbaghia collection has been put into larger pots

Pots of Tulbaghia have been placed outside the Alpine Display House. It was felt that they needed more room than in the smaller pots they had been growing. These larger pots wouldn’t be placed inside as they would be too big to plunge. Linnaeus chose the genus name in honour of Ryk Tulbagh (1699 – 1771) who was the governor of the Dutch Cape Colony (1751 – 1771). Its common name is the society garlic, as the plants can be used in cooking, to give the flavour but without the side effect of a garlic breath. I’ve not tried it, so can’t confirm this! They grow from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa to Zimbabwe.

As the name suggests, T. violacea var. maritima can be found growing near the coast.

T. ‘Fairy Star’ was a chance seedling found in Bob Brown’s Cotswold Garden Flowers nursery, by a family member. It flowers from May to October and is 35cm tall.

Only one from the cushion house for this diary

Erodium corsicum is growing directly in the tufa and I think this one has self-seeded. The AGS encyclopaedia states that it can have white to pink flowers with deeper veining, unblotched. It comes from Corsica and Sardinia where it grows on rocks near the sea. In cultivation it requires winter protection and is therefore best grown in an alpine house.