Of pigsqueak and Megasea...Queen of Bergenias

George Orwell once wrote a book Keep the Aspidistra Flying, a condemnation of Victorian bourgeois values symbolized, epitomized and practically embodied by Aspidistra, a dusty, indestrucible and usually quite prosaic houseplant that was universal in Victorian houses... had George been a bit more of an outdoor gardener, he might well have picked Bergenia instead. These dusty, musty, often slug-nibbled, plasticky mostrosities are universal in English "rockeries", and everywhere in rocky strewn cities on the left coast: as thick as wheat in Kansas, bergenias are everywhere in Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, San Francisco etc., clambering and slopping onto pathways and over rocky walls wherever you look. Any self respecting gardener rightfully might eschew them...

But not me: I love bergenias. Given the right spot, and a little T.L.C., they can be cheesecake in the garden. I grow a dozen species and special forms and have barely made a dent in this genus. But I only encountered this queen of Megasea (a dreadful old scientific name that has been superceded: but I love the nautical idea of a "Mega-Sea" nonetheless) a few days ago at Suncrest Nursery in Watsonville, possibly the finest wholesale nursery in the world. (At least, that's how I feel about it: I am astonished how much in the way of really unique and choice plants they crank out)...they had a number of bergenias, all choice, but this amazing species, with the largest, nodding flowers of the genus, and such a graceful habit stunned me. How can I have lived my stuffy, Victorian, bourgeois little life so long without it?

This is Bergenia emeiensis, from Mt. Omei, in Szechuan. The climate there is none to rigorous, but something tells me this plant will do just fine in Denver. I am coming home with a gallon pot, and Orwell be damned, it shall get pride of place in my rock garden. Although I confess, I am drawing the line at Aspidistra! No mother-in-law tongues for me!

If you beg, I might tell you what other treasures I brought back from Suncrest, from Annie's and elsewhere...or you can just let me sit here and titter and gloat all on my own. Haw haw, heee heee ho ho...