The not so miserable Bulbmeister

Cyclamen coum

I have grown Cyclamen coum for many years and have a thrifty little colony. I knew my dear friend Bob Nold had done pretty well by them, and I made the mistake on Friday of dropping by and finding out just how well he did. This specimen, by the way, was a random self-sown seedling. If you look carefully you may see my drool marks all over it...

MORE Cyclamen coum

You may want to scroll quickly through the next half dozen or more images; I should have taken a movie--they are my attempt at capturing the enormous extent of this colony: there are hundreds and possibly THOUSANDS of these little rascals.

Even MORE Cyclamen coum

He obtained his original starts from Nina Lambert--a great rock gardener who lived in Ithaca, New York. I visited Nina and Jack (he was a professor of Landscape Design at Cornell University) where Nina had grown these with similar abundance. There are multitudinous gardens in Great Britain, Western Europe and on our West Coast (especially in Victoria, British Columbia) where this late winter cyclamen proliferates. I think Nina's forms are better than most--you can see how many are beautifully marbled. [By the way, notice the white flowered variant on the right side of this photo).

and even MORE Cyclamen coum

Cyclamen coum GALORE!

I doubt you will find a display that come close to Bob's anywhere within a thousand mile radius--and likely more.

Yes, Cyclamen coum

Mani master of the house

If you haven't met Mani, you are missing out. Not only is Mani a purebred border collie who is currently the principal publicist for Bob and this garden: if you haven't sampled Mani's prose, you must do so: here's the latest one: The Miserable Gardener

Fritillaria pyreneica

I am chagrined as I look back over my Blog Post log: I apparently have never blogged about Bob Nold, or his garden. I have a horrible backlog of things to share--which I can't begin to do. By the way, I have this Fritillaria blooming too--mine isn't as fetching!

Fritillaria pyreneica closer up

Bob retired some time ago from the Telephone company (under several names--but basically variations on old Ma Bell): He worked in the field and has a vast store of stories I wish he'd write up (or dictate to Mani--who seems to be the principal scribe of the house lately). He has uncanny and vast knowledge about a surprising range of subjects--telecommunications is just one. Obviously gardening. But he has an extraordinary ear for an eclectic range of music from popular to classical music (of which he is an amazing connoisseur). He's well read in literature, languages and philosophy--and more. He has been an inspiration and boon companion of mine, and I think it's about time I let you know about him (if you didn't already that is)...By the way, I'm a "frit freak' and I grow quite a few species. Bob grows more. Both quantitatively and qualitatively! 

Colchicum soboliferum

I grow this too: we got it from the same talented grower in Kansas: John Baumfalk.

Iris popovii (nicolai)

I have obtained and grew this and its close cousin Iris reichenbachii several times. I have even seen it in seed in the wild (Uzbekistan). Mine are long gone. Bob's is clumping up. Perhaps you can hear my somewhat suppressed groans in the background?

Iris aucheri

Another Juno he had blooming during my visit. There were many choice plants--some delectable Corydalis for instance--my camera did not do justice to. And I forgot to photograph his big, happy clump of Adonis amurensis that was in full bloom (mine are all done)...Bob has wave upon wave of flowers blooming through the season--which is especially impressive when you realize that he essentially doesn't water his garden at all (or very much at any rate). It's incredibly inspiring for me to visit Bob: his garden is chockablock full of rare plants grown incredibly well--many of which are gaining wider currency thanks to his generosity...such as Asphodeline damascena
 

Asphodeline damascena

I believe Jim Archibald collected this in Turkey years ago--there may have even been some other collections by various Czechs as well.  I remember obtaininig this and losing it. It is monocarpic, and if you don't either collect seed or have it naturalize, it disappears. This photo was taken in my home garden.

This one too: I believe I lost it several times before I finally got it to self sow--having watched how Bob grew it. I think mine came from Perennial Favorites in Rye, and I can almost guarantee they got theirs from Bob. He's been sharing this for decades--and if one could examine the DNA of the plants of this in cultivation, I have a hunch they'd probably all trace to Bob. Incidentally, Chatfield Farms (of Denver Botanic Gardens) has a spectacular display of these--last year there had to be dozens blooming. I was just informed they'd be "thinning them out" which chilled my heart. I am sure this is the only public display of this species at a botanic garden anywhere. The spectacle of their mass bloom is off the charts. Modesty be damned...(Incidentally I finally have a couple dozen on my crevice garden: I will be sure the spectacle lives on!). Bob has a spectacle of these every year, btw.

Bob Nold and Galanthus bounty

Here is the man, with one of several flats full of treasures he was sharing with me (something he has done systematically with me, Denver Botanic Gardens and some other lucky souls for decades, incidentally. Last month he brought a groaning flat of his special "weedy" strain of giant snowdrops--a hundred or more--to the meeting of our Rocky Mountain Chapter which were given away--willy nilly. Alas, the recipients didn't know how special it was (the organizers forgot to give Bob 30 seconds to tell the crowd). I hope he writes up a short note for Saximontana so those who got them know how special they were. Bob showed me a 4" pot brimming with a snowdrop that only sells for three figures a bulb: he reckoned the pot contained multi-thousands of dollars of bulbs. Pretty cool, eh?

Bob has written three books. They are all classics, and (miraculously) they are still available for sale. While not in print, you can obtain these from Abebooks. There is even one paperback copy available for only $16.64 (plus free postage!). There are a few other copies [some hardbacks!] available for roughly twice that price, then the price skyrockets. I'd pick it up soon if I were you (I have one already:  I did write the foreword after all).

Miraculously, his two other gardening monographs are available at absurdly low prices (they are not likely to be superseded any time soon: they are pretty much the last word on both genera). Click here to check out Penstemons.

Check out the prices on this Columbine book; absurd!

Mani again

I admit Mani is quite charming. I harbor a LITTLE annoyance with him for consistently garnering dozens of  comments on ever Blog Post, where I'm lucky to get one sometimes. He got 18 on that last post. But I forgive him only because I know that because of him (and a bounty of plants--and some other special people), Bob Nold isn't nearly as miserable as he makes himself out to be! 

Tree love

 I'm not sure if I should be proud or a bit self-conscious that as a fifteen year old I was spending untold hours sketching trees with pen and ink. I just ran across this "Spring Pastoral"--by no means my only tribute to trees as a young person. Signed in Greek no less. Somewhere in my voluminous personal archive I even have a "Trees of Boulder" I wrote and illustrated at a much younger age. Grade school if I remember correctly--I think I was ten then.

Truth be said, everyone on the planet is an dendrophile, if not a practicing arborist. If you think you're not, you haven't looked to see how much your existence is intimately, profoundly enmeshed in the world of trees which provide so much upon which our welfare and existence depends. Let's not even speak of their beauty, bounty and wisdom. Just read your Zhuangzi (莊周): it's rife with clever trees!

                     

Here is another from the year before...signed in English this time ("Pete Callas"-- my legal name at the time--not even an alias!).The clouds are cringeworthy to my eyes now, but I rather like the slanted peak trying to turn its back on us, and of course, the fastigiate firs/spruces aren't too bad, although the aspen are a tad stodgy. The two shrubs perched above the cliff are obviously a bonus.

All this is preamble to my pitching something near and dear to my heart. Like every sensible person on the planet, I've always loved trees--but in my case this love was elevated by some of my dear friends--especially Sonia John--when we dreamed up a symposium we've staged a dozen years now to promote appreciation and serious learning about trees. The theme underscoring the Tree Diversity Symposium sponsored by Denver Botanic Gardens is how important our urban forest canopy is--and how threatened by disease, climate change and especially ignorance and complacency. Let's plant more, better and more varieties of trees please! Dozens of the world's greatest arborists and tree scientists have graced this conference over the decades: this year is better than ever.

Click on the text below and you will be transported to the page on DBG's website where you can learn more and please sign up: the conference is just a week ahead. There's still room for more. If you do, I don't know if I should post more of my juvenile sketches, or promise to spare you from them!

Urban forests throughout the world are under increasing threats of pests, diseases and the effects of climate change. In the Intermountain West, swiftly changing weather conditions and an arid climate challenge us to create diverse urban forests. Our 12th annual Tree Diversity Conference brings together experts from around the world to explore the relationships between species diversity, landscape design and horticultural practices. Join us to engage in a discussion of strategies, successes and solutions to creating a diverse urban environment.

Way too early of spring!

Fritillaria korolkowii

I finally shelled out the King's ransom for this honker: grew it a decade before it was wiped out by a late season Polar Vortex. Let's hope that doesn't ever happen again!
 

Rabiea albipuncta

Started blooming late January.  Would love to see this in the wild!

Prunus dulcis

At peak bloom on a toasty winter day,,,

Same tree from another angle three days later, after 8" of wet snow and a low of 22F overnight...

And here a few hours later: miraculously the flowers came through!

Iris x histrioides 'Polar Ice'

One of the myriad Iriodyction section irises I've planted. Impossible to have too many: cheapest thrill on the planet.

Narcissus hispanica  ssp. bujei

One of countless treasures I've obtained from Ilbabe Rare Plant Nursery in Oregon.

Colchicum filifolium

A gift (at least 30 years ago) from the one and only Lee Raden who had a magnificent alpine house and garden in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.  It persists and spreads and reminds me each spring of that dynamo.

Colchicum soboliferum

A gift of John Baumfalk of Newton, Kansas this is almost as vigorous as the last species.

Colchicum soboliferum

Another view

Iris reticulata 'Painted Lady'

One of several colonies of this gem. It is wonderful close up: Check out this blog post and scroll down to see a much better closeup.

Erythronium caucasicum

Always the first to bloom. We collected seed of this in Imereti, Georgia. Hope something came of it: I yearned for this forever...

Claytonia megarhiza

I have a long story about a plant of this I brought back from Pikes Peak (it bad fallen onto the highway--didn't collect it, honest!) planted at Eudora and dug up again so the Museum of Nature and Science could make a plaster cast for an exhibit. It did not recover so it's good to have it back from Michael Barbour (seed grown this time.

Primula sibthorpii

From seed collected in Georgia (Caucasus)

Narcissus bulbocodium 'Citrinus'

My similar 'Arctic Bells' bloom much later.

Arctostaphylos patula

Deer have devastated a new plant of this elsewhere in the garden.

Fritillaria korolkowii

A glimpse of my second plant of this fritillary. Way too early, alas...

Invitation to a voyage: Japan!

Pinus parviflora 'Miyajima'

I always make a bee-line to this 400 year old bonsai gifted to the United States by Masaru Yamaki in 1976 whenever I visit the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. (the gemstone in the diadem of that great public garden.) It survived the atom bombing of Hiroshima and dates back to 1620. This encapsulates just one of innumerable touchstones throughout my life, and you too likely have had a sort of distant love affair with Japan as I have. It dates back at to when I was at least ten years old as I relate in another blog post, when a beloved relative gave me a book of haiku. It launched my lifelong love and study of East Asia, including eight years of studying both ancient and modern Chinese. And writing a lot of haiku too, come to think of it!

Chaenomeles japonica

Of course, as a life-long gardener, the extraordinary richness of Japan's flora is one of the chief reasons for wanting to visit Japan. I did a quick search of my plant database, and dozens of plants with "japonica" showed up, this flowering quince exemplifying how spectacular these can perform--even on our Continental steppe climate!

John Shors

Then I met this gentleman--an author of a dozen or more novels translated into dozens of languages who is CEO of his namesake travel company which conducts tours worldwide. John lived in Kyoto for three years, and elsewhere in Japan as well--and has conducted many tours to that country. He offered to do so for Denver Botanic Gardens as well, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to finally visit the islands I have studied and yearned to see all my life! John has designed a tour to visit the finest Japanese gardens, staying at fine venues at the very height of fall color in Japan. 

Acer palmatum at Denver Botanic Gardens

Every autumn I make a point of visiting our small grove of Japanese maples in Plantasia to admire their fiery color. This November I expect to see whole mountains ablaze--and hope you will join us on this quest! Click here for more information about this trip: Travel to Japan with Denver Botanic Gardens
 

Cody: my sweet Wyoming home! [a special opportunity to check it out!]

One of many dazzling routes out of Cody, Wyoming

 FIRST of all, that's not the Beartooth in the distance at all: it's Pilot Peak. You can spy the real  Beartooth in a previous blog I wrote...(the turnoff to get there is just to the right around the bend from this picture above).  I shall come clean and let you know, rather than my usual "information packed" blog posts that you're used to (although I promise some pretty good dope herein as well!) this is a shameless piece of promotion for a trip planned for this July led by none other than Mike Bone, Associate Director of Horticulture at Denver Botanic Garden--and Curator of Steppe Collections to boot. Mike and I have led tours to Cody many times, most recently last summer....

A freshly sprinkled Mike Bone in his native Propagation habitat

I am lucky to work with over 300 dedicated and talented staff--and Mike has been exceptional among them (I have sung his praises in an entire blog post devoted to him.) Mike is in Lesotho (for the 3rd or 4th time I believe) as I type this--he has been the most devoted plant explorer on our staff: I would go with this man anywhere: he has extraordinary skills of organization, logistics--and fantastic knowledge gained from his long tenure in our Green Industry and worldwide plant travels. He is also a people person: anyone who meets him will be won over by him. He and at least one other of my colleagues will lead this trip.

Primula pauciflora (I prefer Dodecatheon watsonii!)

Of course, as a flower lover, the floral displays in the Bighorns, Beartooth and Absoroka mountains of Yellowstone National Park are second to none. Each day of this tour will bring a whole new suite of plants, and let's not even talk about the scenery! (I have many blog posts about this area--check THIS one out to get a taste.)

I have conducted at least a dozen tours to this area for the North American Rock Garden Society, Denver Botanic Gardens, our local chapter of NARGS and for the Ratzeputz gang--an International group of keen Plantsmen. And I've botanized here on my own at least that many times. I believe this is the premier destination for anyone to really get to know the best of the Rocky Mountains.

The Retreat Center which provides home base for the trip is elegant and impeccable--and the food delicious. The views of the Cody Valley from the Center are stunning

View of Cody from the TAC Retreat Center at sunset

My recommendation? Just do it! Registration will open in the next week or so, but Click here to let Mike know you're interested n coming

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

An alpine plant nursery is born!!!

Lewisia cotyledon (compact form)

It's not hard nowadays to be discouraged...global warming, political divisiveness...you name it. And we gardeners always have things to complain about--mostly about how all the best nurseries are closing down. Well, new ones are opening up nowadays as well: I have blogged about Michael Barbour's amazing garden before: I am posting pictures of it I took two years ago.  I will leave these unlabeled for a few days (too much work in my hopper right now)...but they do speak for themselves. And HERE is the link to his nursery: Rock Alpines great prices and superb plants. I'm putting an order in pronto! You better do so too!