Gordon's Garden Diary

31 Oct '08 6:06 am

Lovely shots of all your treasures! Your Rosa glauca is obviously very happy. Mine is alive (I was looking at it the other day) but hardly thriving. And last year I didn't manage to harvest a single hip from it. I missed the moment and they were both gone Sad

The previous year, the first time I tried my own seed, I didn't have any germination, although I grew the two I have from seed I imported. I have this dream of successful Rosa glauca... perhaps one day!

Seeding fungus... now there is a though! I need to investigate the implications...

31 Oct '08 2:54 pm

Hi, Jack - I was wondering . . . if you'd like some Rosa glauca seeds, I could send you some. Perhaps you'd have better luck with seeds from a different source, and, as you can see, I have lots of them! Just let me know.

By the way, I saw some big, sloppy SNOWFLAKES on my windscreen this afternoon. Winter is on it's way here!!

Cheers!

gordonf

5 Nov '08 11:49 am

HI everyone! It's been a beautiful Autumn day here in coastal British Columbia, with a brisk wind from the ocean and lots of sunshine. Needless to say, I was out cleaning up the garden and - wait for it - buying a new plant!! It's a new Heuchera called "Paris" and I bought it because the flowers are bright pink in colour (most are white or pale pink or red) and secondly because it's still in full bloom, growing outside in its pot. Nearly all of the other Heucheras here have quit blooming some time ago, so this one might be a winner for late fall. Also, it's hardy up north, in case I finally do move there!

For those of you who have been following my quest to move north into the Interior of the province, you'll know of what I speak! Others can look back to earlier posts.

I took 4 pictures today to show you that although we are well into Autumn here, and the Autumn winds have blown many of the leaves away, my little protected garden still shows some life. Also, I have a little trick to play on you among the pictures. See if you can find it (I'll explain tomorrow)!

So, of course, there's a picture of the new Heuchera in its place of honour where the afternoon sun will shine through those wonderful flowers. Then there's one of my Russian Olive tree (my stand-in for a Eucalyptus). You can tell from the way in which the leaves are hanging down that they will soon will be gone, but not yet! There's the promised picture of my big bonsaied pine tree, newly pruned of downward-hanging needles, and last, there's a picture of the Fuschia magellanica still in bloom.

I hope you enjoy them. And don't forget to look for the trick!!

Cheers!

gordonf

5 Nov '08 10:59 pm

You've pumped up the saturation on all the pics?

Gordon I love your bonsai! And your entrance light is quite Japanese in the background of the pic.

Hope you have a good runout on the year, and that all your plans come to fruition in the summer!

6 Nov '08 5:23 am

No-I can't figure out the trick either.I will have to remember to call in tomorrow.
Thanks for keeping us up to date with your moving plans.I would have thought your beautiful garden would have sold your place,but news here is that property sales have slowed to a halt in North America.

6 Nov '08 6:36 am

I love trickery type things. Sadly, I am also useless at solving them! Can't wait 'til all is revealed.

Gordon what are those round ball things in your olive tree - are they bird nests? Is this tree really that silver? It's lovely.

6 Nov '08 7:17 am

Hi, y'all!!

Well, I guess a bit of fun creates lots of interest, eh?

No, I didn't increase saturation on the pics, although as I always do, I sharpened them a bit. But that's not it.

The round ball things on the olive tree are wicker ornaments. Unfortunately, they have no hooks so I have to put them up with fishing line. The sharp edges on the wicker keeps cutting the line and causes them to fall off, so they get moved around pretty often. They grab one's attention, don't they?

Yes, the leaves really ARE that silver and at night with the lights in the tree they positively glisten!

Keep guessing and look REALLY closely at the pictures - perhaps you'll see the trick!

Now I'll go out and take a picture that will reveal all; log in again later! Very Happy

Cheers!

gordonf

6 Nov '08 1:55 pm

Hi again, everyone;

Well, between downpours, I went outside and took a few more garden pictures, and here they are. First is another one of the bonsaied pine tree. Take a close look at it, then compare it with the last one and see what you think.

Then there's a close-up of one of those balls that hang on the olive tree.

Next is one of a bunch of my seedling Mountain Ash (Sorbus) trees in their Autumn finery.

Last is a better shot of one of those solar-powered lamps and, in the background, one of the clematis vines laden with seed-heads - cool, isn't it? None of the other clematis vines have anywhere near the number of showy seed clusters, and these ones hang on nearly all winter!

Have you figured out the trick yet?

It's the bonsai. It isn't growing in that tiny, flat pot shown in the first picture but in a much larger wooden pot, shown in the second, newer version. A friend commented about the optical illusion the other day (I hadn't noticed it), so I thought it might be good fun to share it with you folks - maybe you can try the same thing in your gardens.

Cheers!

gordonf

6 Nov '08 4:38 pm

I'd actually wondered how you stopped your carefully groomed bonsai from blowing over and getting damaged - but I hadn't stopped long enough to say that short of nailing the pot to the railing we were looking at a physical impossibility!

Sorbus is one of the genuses (geni?) that I have had zero germination success with despite several attempts, and I've never seen even a poor example in SA. How I'd love to grow them! But I fear our summers are too hot, or otherwise our day-night ratio doesn't change sufficiently. However if the problem is germination... then what? Mycorrhizal fungi? Or do they only kick in after root development has started? I'd love to find a non-scholarly book on germination trouble-shooting.

6 Nov '08 5:20 pm

Hi, Jack,

I grew my sorbus(es?) from seeds that I harvested from a tree in front of a lawyer's office last winter. I planted them and left them outside where the frost could hit them. They germinated extremely well (32 out of 32 seeds). Oddly, though, some have grown mush faster than others. As you could see, some are now nearly a foot (30cm) high, while others are only 3 inches (7.5cm) tall! I do believe, though, that they need that freezing/stratification process to set germination into action. Perhaps that's the problem where you live. You could imitate it by keeping the seeds in the refrigerator, after planting, for a few weeks, and, being a bachelor, you could probably get away with that! Very Happy

I'll bet, though, that if you do get them to germinate, they should do well on your mountainside. After all, the maples do well there and they need similar conditions. Give it a try (I'm a sucker for trying new seeds!!)

All the best,

gordonf

Gordon's Garden Diary

Hi there Gordon!

Rosa glauca seeds

November 4 Pictures

Trick?

trick?

Tricks - yay!

Solution!!

The REAL Solution

Of course!

Sorbus Germination