I was asked how I got into rock gardening. We lived in BC in the early 70's and spent a year wandering and working. I had a very good friend who was from the East Okanagan area, near Lumby. At that time forestry was king, and the wood came into the mills so fast the burners could hardly keep up with the waste - smoke filled the Shuswap valley so thickly it would drop the jaw of a…
We started growing peonies from wild collected, Josef Halda seed ~ 15 years ago. Regardless of the species, they can be handled in a similar fashion. Early on I would soak the seed in 35% hydrogen peroxide - a very strong bleaching agent that will soften the seed coat. Leaving the seed in for ~10-30 minutes is sufficient. Planted in a some standard seedling mix, the seeds will swell,…
The recent expeditions of Czech seed collectors to China have brought us an explosion of new material that is proving surprisingly growable. Gentians are on everyone's list of desiderata; and, the Chinese species have the added feature of blooming later, which is a reason they are still relatively uncommon in culture. They can still be in bloom when the snows arrive in late September…
There are so many beautiful plants when Spring finally arrives. Clear, bright colours and the incredibly delicate scents awaken the imagination and bring back the primary child. The time is right to strip away all those years of cultural learning and conformity - do something bold. Why not "wallflowers" - everyone disparages the lowly cabbage family, yet many worthy species of draba and…
