A perfect crevice garden

Phlox nana

I cannot say how surprised I was on a quick visit to see the Santa Fe phlox thriving so gloriously: blooming at the end of July! This was just one of the numerous surprises I found re-visiting what may be one of the finest rock gardens in the world!

Phlox nana

Here's another--different--colony of the phlox in Cheyenne (a much colder climate than Santa Fe!)

Grand Conservatory!

There are cities in American a dozen times larger than Cheyenne that have NO botanic gardens: the Great conservatory and the crevice garden are just two of innumerable wonderful facet of this gem: Wyoming cherishes and has generously supported this fine institution.
 

I'm not a huge fan of garden art--but this grizzly rather appealed to me: and a few of the innumerable pots around the place

But the crevice garden--another Kenton Seth creation, although Jacob Mares (a staff member at Cheyenne) was understudy in the first phase and went on (as you will see) to artfully expand the garden! By the way, the shrubby plant front and center if Junellia succulentifolia--a fantastic Patagonian that obviously likes Cheyenne!

I was shocked to see an Agave and Escobaria sneedii (from zone 7 southern New Mexico) thriving in zone 4 Cheyenne: crevice gardens create incredible microclimates.

End of July and Eriogonum kennedyi and Pterocephalus depressus looking awesome!

A fine sprinkling of Plant Select throughout: here it's Eriogonum umbellatum 'Kannah Creek'

Another huge clump of Escobaria sneedii--which comes from the New Mexico-Texas borderlands for God's sake!

The native Draba oligosperma knitting two boulders together

And what a treat to see Monardella macrantha 'Marion Sampson' glowing here--a plant from Southern California and northern Mexico! (Albeit from high altitudes!)

I suspect you would have to go to the Coruh valley of the Kaçkar mountains (that is if it hasn't been flooded yet by the multiplicity of stupid dams being built there) to find this glorious of a Campanula coruhensis.

Uber rare Penstemon debilis known only from a few extremely steep screes near Rifle is thriving here!

And there are Acantholimon galore, in many species! This one resembles A. halophilum...

More Monardella under the rude shock of Kniphofia hirsuta (one of the dwarfest and cutest torch lilies)

Yet MORE acantholimons and buckwheats!

Yet even MORE acantholimons and buckwheats: this big white one is E. jamesii of the southern Rockies.

I mentioned the garden had been artfully expanded by Jacob: well--here's part of that expansion!

I believe this is Acantholimon glumaceum.

And what a perfect spot for Cylindropuntia whipplei 'Snow Leopard' poised upon a amat of globularia...

Look how much seed is setting on Delosperma congestum! Obviously happy!

Cyclamen purpurascens just starting up: look at that corm!

More Eriogonum kennedyi!

More of all manner of cushions and monardella...

Can't resist photographing 'Marion Sampson'

And some variation of Acantholimon ulicinum still in bloom1

Euphorbia spinosa

Never dreamed this would grow in Cheyenne!

Astragalus angustifolius

And what a massive clump of this gem!

The designer of Cheyenne's spectacular rock garden has just co-authored a book which is HOT! It is now available in the USA: check your favorite mail order bookstore: I'm sture you'll find it!

And congratulations Cheyenne Botanic Garden for funding and creating a perfect rock garden!

Click on this URL to see a panorama of the crevice garden:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2WdbRVlQI0

A gardener's garden

Don't get me wrong: anyone walking past the Demarie garden will be impressed. But horticultural muggles won't have a clue what a tour de force Ernie (and Grace's) creation is.

 But only experienced gardens can grok the full force of this multifarious, outrageous masterpiece! I know I have learned more from Ernie than any gardener living today, and my garden is bristling with his gifts.

Crinums are common passalong plants in the South: in the Demarie garden they self sow and vary from pure white to deep pink.

Ernie does not eschew commom plants: never have I seen Silene armeria growing so vigorously and large in every shade from deep pink to pure white. And who doesn't love Dianthus barbatus? I'm so un-muggly I forgot the common name!

Our greatest common bond is Africa (we both went to South Africa the first time in 1994 a few weeks apart. The Demarie garden is chockablock full of Africans.

Iris giganticaerulea

 

You'll catch a better view of this gem in the next frame.

 

Iris giganticaerulea

 

 The largest flowered native iris which I was surprised to see growing so well in ordinary loam (i.e., not in a bog). needless to say, I begged a piece!

 

I can't help myself--I'll keep going back to these views!

Hypoxis cf. hemerocallidea

 

As you would expect, Ernie would grow lots of these classic South African herbs...

More views...

Erythrina zeyheri

 

I amvery jealous that Ernie grows the famous "plowbreaker": it wasn't in bloom yet

Chlorogalum sp. ex California

Acanthus sennii (couldn't believe this is hardy!)

Silphium sp.

 

Not sure what species this was--but beautiful foliage!

 Yes,,,more colorful shots: the garden does this all growing season!

And more...

And more...

And even MORE...

Opuntia spp.

 

Ernie delighted me by having quite a few Opuntia: I admire brave gardeners!

Dracocephalum aff argunense

And more shots of garden color!

Senecio sp.

 

One of pink/purple South African groundsels: I believe he got one or more of them from me and I've gone an lost them! He even has a blue one that's hardy.

Rhodohypoxis baurii

He's growing this outdoors....grrrr.

Ernie Demarie

 

Ernie simply glows with enthusiasm and generosity. He is a national treasure.

Gerbera jamesonii
 

Let's not discuss this plant...at least not until I get it going...

Gerbera jamesonii

Gerbera cvs.

He's even growing the fancy hybrids outside. As perennials!

Diascia cvs.

 And of course there are twin spurs...

Kniphofia hirsuta

 

 Ernie grows many red hot pokers, but only a few were blooming: this one in several spots.

Opuntia cv. ex Beaver Creek

Same plant photographed a few hours later when the sun came out more. This is why we garden friend: the garden is never the same from moment to moment: especially THIS one!

Helichrysum sp.

I have an irrational love of all everlastings.

Ernie and Kniphofia thompsonii

 

Here he is next to one of the other Kniphofias in bloom: not sure I could grow this one.

Dianthus sp.

 

I have a vague recollection of the name and story of this--I expect Ernie will fill us in (I expect copious notes from him after he reads this blog post). I believe it's east Asian. I know it's a winner.

 

 Here's the same Dianthus hob-nobbing with a yellow daphne from China I believe Ernie brought back.

Clematis cf viorna

  We share a love of our native clematis.

Alstroemeria aurea

 The alstroemeria display was just starting...

 

Some people collect garden gnomes...I take pictures of garden frogs.

Cheilanthes cf. fendleri

 

I was delighted to see our local dryland fern thriving for Ernie...

Artemisia cf. pedemontana

 

He's lost the name of this little sagewort in the frigida complex: there are a lot of look-alikes here...

 

As you can see, there are all manner of containers and corners in this garden!

 A fascinating rose...

Jan, Grace and Ernie at dinner

Despite VERY short notice of our visit, we had a wonderful dinner prepared for us, and we stayed over in the mansion!

Osteospermum jucundum

 

 I once grew tons of these and had them set copious seed and hybridize with colors from white to deep purple. Ernie still does.

Delosperma spp.

I keep being told Delosperma doesn't grow well in the east. Apparently it does for Ernie...

Haplocarpha cf. scaposa

 

One of my favorite South African composites Ernie grows all over the place...

Kniphofia hirsuta...again!

Amorphophallus ongsakulii

Look at that smile!

Amorphophallus ongsakulii

A shot later in the day...

 This prickl pear is a lolapalooza!

More shots!

Kniphofia thompsonii

Another shot of this gem...

Clematis texensis

The real texensis.

.

 

There were giant Crinum everywhere...

Zingiber mioga

 I finish with these patches of hardy ginger: He dug pieces of the taller Far Reaches form (far left) ajd the shorter one he's grown longer (right hand side) which I potted up and both are sending up new shoots--will I too one day have a commercial sized planting of ginger thanks to Ernie? Perhaps...perhaps...