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| Fritillaria pontica |
Sunday night Marcia and Randy Tatroe invited us over for dinner, and in the gloaming I wandered through their garden, noticing more and more
Fritillaria pontica here and there: "Oh yes, they've been seeding everywhere" Marcia tells me. I'd
recently posted about how Fritillaria acmopetala had done the same at Denver Botanic Gardens...but in fact there have been a number of frits that have proved quite fertile hereabouts!
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| Fritillaria pontica |
A closer look at the Tatroe's ponticas--they're growing quite a few places in their garden...
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| Fritillaria pontica |
And here's my (hopefully) burgeoning patch. I can assure you I'll scatter their seed widely if it sets!
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| Fritillaria hermonis ssp. amana |
Growing alongside
Fritillaria acmopetala in Woodland Mosaic at Denver Botanic Gardens, this similarly gloomy fritillary has proliferated just as much. I need more of it at home! (I'll be watching the seed ripen this summer...)
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| Fritillaria hermonis ssp. amana |
Here it is in my garden, where the bulblets are splitting, but where it's not self sown--but persists--in too sunny a spot. These need woodland conditions to prosper here!
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| Fritillaria hermonis ssp. amana |
An even better shot...
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| Fritillaria meleagris |
Growing with the other frits, and also in its own pure colonies, the commonest of the little fritillaries that grows all over Western Europe grows well in Denver too in a woodland garden with supplemental watering...
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| Fritillaria meleagris |
Closer view...
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| Fritillaria meleagris |
And in MY garden, where it's spreading a bit--but not enough!
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| Fritillaria pallidiflora |
In the interest of completeness, I must mention that
Fritillaria pallidiflora has naturalized in Bob Nold's Littleton garden, again in a woodland setting. I've never timed my visit quite right to see these at their peak there, but Bob posts extremely irritating (and beautiful) pictures of them on Facebook faithfully this time every year--masses of this wonderful thing. Grrrr. I have a few that are relatively happy...but not yet naturalizing...
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| Fritillaria pudica |
And here is the ultimate naturalizer: millions, perhaps billions are blooming as I type this throughout the West where they haven't been destroyed by "progress" (i.e. human stupidity like second and third mega-mansions for plutocrats, bull-dozing for "smoother" ski slopes, roads, overgrazing by stupid Bundy-ites etc. etc.)... meadows filled with yellowbells...now that's something one might like to replicate.
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| Fritillaria pudica |
I've been fortunate to enjoy these many times in many places...
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| Fritillaria pudica |
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| Fritillaria pudica |
The best I've managed to do is coax a flower once or twice...and it never came back. Oh well...
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