The Fragrant Fritillaria

I've always thought it was a little bit of an odd name, as the form I have doesn't seem to have much of an odor that I can detect. This one will always be special to me as it hails from the area of my roots, The San Francisco Bay area. One can only imagine what it must have been like when Richard Henry Dana was doing his Two Years Before the mast and he wrote that now famous description of an unspoiled entrance of the Golden Gate. It was 1836 and as he described the rolling grasslands of the Marin Headlands, with huge herds of deer one can almost picture them grazing on masses of Fritillaria of a few different species. Fritillaria liliacea certainly would have covered the open meadows and grasslands of they bay area back then. In Dana's description of the habitat, he points out that a Russian Whaler was the only other human existence in the bay as the Natives lived a days' paddle up the river. It's hard to imagine San Francisco Bay with nothing but herds of deer to dot the skyline.

This is one of the last of the Fritillaria to bloom for the season, F. affinis is still going strong and F. agrestis has all but finished.

Fritillaria acmopetala is still going in the raised beds

The rock garden is starting into bloom, Lewisia cotyledon and Viola tricolor making a show. I've been really enjoying taking pictures this year the new camera has really made a difference and thanks to some great friends, I was able to borrow a really nice Nikon 105mm Macro lens and an adapter to use it on the Sony. Not auto focus but it takes some sharp images. 

The weather has been wonderful, despite a stiff North wind that has blown through the weekend, the days were pleasant and I got a huge amount of yard work done, the burn pile is gone, the late pruning done, mulch spread and the annual flower planting started. Interesting enough, there was a light frost on the ground on Saturday morning, while the thermometer on the porch read 35 degrees. It didn't seem to bother the African Daisies I had planted out the day before. 

Mark

The Peacock

I couldn't find a good quote on rarity.........and I wish I was clever enough to come up with one, but at least tonight the words aren't coming. 

This plant is really hard to photograph, like I shot probably 30 to 40 takes to get a decent photo, I'm not sure exactly what it is, the intricacy of the standards and falls maybe making the focus not want to hit maybe? Those of you who have been around this blog for awhile, know that I've always had a bit of an infatuation with the South African bulb flora and even more so with the irids. I had quite the collection going long ago and that year that we hit 9 degrees in the greenhouse for week straight made sure that I steered way back towards the hardy end of the spectrum as I emptied out pots turned to mush and said goodbye to 7 years of hard work cultivating the collection. But maybe i'm a glutton for punishment or just like to try to push the envelope a bit, but I'm back at it. 

Moraea aristata

This is one of the rarest of the Moraea's, that all too unfortunate tale of habitat loss leading to endangered or imperiled. This one fortunately turns out to be easier to grow in cultivation then it has been to establish protected habitat. Endemic to the Northeastern Cape, but now restricted to a single population critically imperilled through loss of genetic diversity.

I've given it the same treatment as most of the spring blooming winter blooming stuff that I have from Mediteranean climates and it seems to do fine. It does seem to be quite hardy having seen temperatures as low as 20 degrees in a pot.

The sun is back in force! It was wonderfully pleasant today with temperatures into the 60's but boy did the wind blow this afternoon.

Cheers,

Mark

A few different Fritillaria affinis

"The best way out is always through"

Robert Frost

Fritillaria affinis the vancouver island form

Fritillaria affinis the driveway form

I just thought I would throw up a couple shots of the two chocolate lilies that are in bloom right now, It was a good year for the affinis forms as they had so many flowers on. The one out by the driveway is battling it out with the fall blooming colchciums in a bed made of old potting soil pretty much layed directly over a 120 year old gravel base from the highway. See my place is fronted by what they used to call old Salem highway, and if you were around before they built the I-5  you would have had to driven by illahe on your way out of town headed south for Albany, Corvallis or even San Fransisco. Sometimes it amaxes me what these bulbs can do after I coddle and care for them so much, sometimes they absolutely thrive on neglect. 

The sun finally showed up again and it dried out a bit. It's been pleasant and in the 60's for the most part this week. 

Cheers, 

Mark

Erythroniums for days

“The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.” 

Friedrich Neitzsche

I got to visit the renowked plantswoman Diana Reeck this week to see her work on the Erythronium hybrid selections she has been developing. 

Diana Reeck Showing me the beds she is working on selecting through her various forms of the Walther Blohm hybrids 

Check out that beauty! I'm hoping she has another release to get on the market this year! Stay tuned. 

The weather has been all over the place this week, it was 80 degrees and blue skys and the next day it's 54 and pouring rain. But the nights do seem to be warmer now.

Cheers,
Mark

The Anatolian Fritillary

The Anatolian Fritillaria are in bloom now, this tall, handsome species that grows on rocky, limestone slopes from Turkey, and Cypress down to Palestine. I now have three distinct forms, a very light, the original "dark form" I got from Jane and now a nice selection I'm working on from seed grown from the "dark form"stock. This one is an easy, and tough plant. I've had it flower from seed in as little as 4 years.

Fritillaria acmopetala the lighter form

My second generation of seed grown form of Jane McGary's Fritillaria acmopetala 'Dark Form'

 I think this dark form seed selection is really quite stunning, especially with it's dainty yellow tips, and offset green on velvety purple tepals.

Charles Hervey Grey lists it as being introduced into cultivation from Asia Minor as early as 1834, and says it needs excellent drainage and a hot location. I've found them to be quite adaptable and they don't seem to be picky about where in the garden they want to go.

It rained good yesterday and it was 40 degrees out when I got up this morning, seems dark, chilly and more like late February out then it does mid April.

Cheers,
Mark

Fritillaria messanensis ssp. gracilis

It's been a little while since I've done a species feature post, so here we go:

Fritillaria messanensis ssp. gracilis

Listed as endemic to the Dinarides, the mountain range that separates the Balkan peninsula from the Adriatic sea. Rising a total of 8,839' above the Adriatic sea this range extends from Italy, through Bosnia, Slovenia, Serbia, Kosovo and into Albania.

This species seems to be highly variable with the illahe form lacking a greenish/yellow stripe through the center of the tepal that I have seen on some pictures. The habitat is listed as open meadows and light woodlands, I have seen pictures of it listed as a characteristic habitat that showed it growing in very rocky, almost scree like conditions. Most sources listed it as an easy plant for the open garden, it does increase well in pots as I can attest. 

Rod Leeds in his Plantfinders guide to early bulbs, states that it "grows in rocky places in open woods over limestone" Charles Hervey Grey does not list the ssp. but states that F. messanensis should be grown "on a Sunny, well drained slope" where it will flower in April and May. Mr. Leeds does go onto point out that it seems tolerant of semi-shady conditions, which he finds unusual as it's not typical in it's native habitat. 

I found it coming up in my old potting soil piles, so it does seem to do fine without the protection of a greenhouse or the coddling of a pot. 

The Rain has been consistent with only one dry day this week, The willamette river is up and over it's banks in a few spots, with Corvallis and Eugene getting a dose of flooding in the lowlands. It's not like me to complain about the rain, but a dry day every now and then would be much appreciated if at least to be able to get the lawn mowed. 

Cheers, 

Mark

Bought the Bullet

"You don't take a photograph, you make it"
                                                                           Ansel Adams

Illahe From the Rock Garden.

                                                                   

I finally did, I saved up enough pieces of paper, and I took the plunge, I bought a camera, a halfway decent camera. I think this is going to help me put into cyberspace what I think I'm seeing in front of me everyday. Or at least a more realistic interpretation of what it is that I think I'm seeing. The sony A6300 was what I went with because after all Blue Collar dictates that even if you wish you didn't have to,  you still have to live within your means, But I must say for a "Starter" Decent camera, I think it does a stand up job. Makes me wonder what I'm capable of with a superstar rig in my hands! Like old Ansel said, you gotta make something .

I think I'm going to spend some serious time to photo document the collection in portrait style now that I have the decent camera to do it. I know everyone wants to see a huge pot of Frits doing the showy thing. But to really appreciate them  single flower with all the detail captured seems to really stand out to me. 

Fritillaria are so structurally significant in form, and what color even is that?????
 These shots are with the kit lens a 16 to 50mm. I don't love the focus range on this lens, I feel like I want to get closer.  But i'm probably going to try to save more pieces of paper for a really good macro lens. I know you can do a lot of great plant photography without one, but personally I really love the intricate, up close details of flowers. There is an entirely new world visible when you take a closer look. 

Joseph Halda's Iris bucharica collection at dusk on a April evening. The best thing about the A6300 is it's compact size, I think if I ever win the lottery I'm gonna travel and do some serious botanical exploration. This camera offers the travel requisite size requirement. 

So in true disclaimer fashion, All of these pictures were taken on a brand new, straight out of the box Sony A6300 with the kit 16 to 50mm lens, in a one hour window on the same nigth , nothing fancy about it really, and no post processing whatsoever, I just loaded them onto the blog. I have read that no good photographer doesn't post process the images, but It's a little like the music I make, I spent a lot of time just playing a guitar straight through an amp with no effects so you only hear the product of your fingers and your brain. Not that adding to the mix is a bad thing, i'm just pointing out that these are organic and raw photo's straight out of my new decent camera. Probably soon I'll learn how to use effects and make digital corrections but for now, what you see is what you get. 

Beautiful Oregon Spring mix of wet, rainy, misty, drizzle, coupled with downpours, soakers, and squalls. Once or twice the sun came out. I have the sulphur duster on the ready as the humidity has been over 100% for like 3 weeks in a row now. Hopefully a little dry weather will let me get the cover crop on the veg garden, and some tillage on the new berry rows I'm planning for this season. 

Here is to many better photo's! Finally I feel a little better equipped. 

Cheers, 

Mark

Fawn Lilies in Season

"I think there is a difference between the American Dream and the American Day Dream, in one you work hard to pull yourself, up by the bootstraps, and never give up the pursuit of it, in the other you chase the dreams of others, the movie stars, the influencers, the corporate wealth horders and the lot, by mass consuming what they are selling, but then the buzz of the time clock, reminds you that break time is over and its time to get back to work "

Mark Akimoff

Erythronium "Jeanine"
The Hoog introduction, by they breeding work of  Mr. Eaden of two California natives produced such a deep sulphur yellow color. It is pretty dramatic offset by The Scorpiris beauty Iris X 'Marjeh'.

Erythronium 'Pacific Sunset Strain'
This is the pink of Diana Reeck's introduction via Walter Blohm's breeding work. The Erythroniums hybridize well, as it seems to be one of those spring ephemerals for which much breeding and selection has occurred. I'm probably not going to have time to make any crosses this year, but my passion for breeding lies with the Fritillaria as it seems so much less has been done with that group of plants. 

It's been raining cats and dogs, I think we are up to a 1.5" this weekend alone, soggy lawns and now the white fleshed nectarine is starting to bloom and it doesn't look like much will be flying for pollinators this week. 

56 and pouring rain today, the ditch is full and flowing hard. 

Cheers, 

Mark

Damn I missed April Fools

“If you’ve never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.”

— Audra Foveo

Gosh darn, April fools came and went and I wasn't pranked and I didn't post a blog entry and life just seemed to go on as if it were a day no different from any other day really.

Fritillaria pudica

Here we are in April and the Fritillaria are in full swing, The rock garden is just starting to get a few flowers and I'm thinking I really need to start propagating alpines again. I actually went and bought a case of anderson rose pots.......this could be the start of something.

The pasque flowers are crushing the early season show in the rock garden

Illahe from the rock garden, that's a 105 year old house framing a 5 year old Pasque flower. 

I know only a fool would think we are frost free at illahe on April 3rd. But there was something about today the warmth that almost feels like it has taken root that could make a person feel that maybe this is going to be a long, long growing season and maybe it has even truly begun?

It was 62 and cloudy today.

Cheers, 

Mark