"Sphalmanthus resurgens" I photographed this amazing caudiciform in the greenhouses of Peter Liekkio north of Seattle. It is a plant that has haunted me for over 40 years as you will see! Honestly, it's basically a blob with some delicate green leaves--why should it taunt me so!? Phyllobolus (a.k.a. Sphalmanthus) photographed at the cemetery in Matjiesfontein Here is one of dozens of photographs I took all over South Africa of plants closely related (if not identical) to Peter's blob: these have been known as "Sphalmanthus", and then "Phyllobolus" although lately they'v ..read more

It is with great sadness that I post this small tribute to Gary Whittenbaugh, here badly shown holding up a very appropriate sign at one of his famous "Rendezvous" at Oelwein--the town where he and his brother Tom have lived. Gary Whittenbaugh not only created (along with his brother Tom) this amazing gem (seen across from his neighbors)--an extravaganza of conifers (obviously) but a wealth of alpine and woodland plants as well. Just a few shots to give you a taste of the remarkable transformation they wrought on a modest patch of land in Oelwein. Just about every plant was careful ..read more

Anaphalis cinerascens Pearly everlasting is pretty much the same in Europe or the US--neither places approach China for variety or charm in the genus. Aster sp. ign. There are a LOT of asters here... Cassiope pectinata and Bergenia purpurascens I wish we could grow Cassiope as easily as we grow Bergenia! Corydalis sp. ign. There are a LOT of blue corydalis in China. Juncus concinna In Sikkim we found something very much like this identified as Juncus thomsonii: synonyms or truly distinct? Koenigia forrestii So strange to think this pl ..read more

Androsace delavayi Third in a series of pictures taken on June 24, 2018, I hope the pics speak for themselves! These are only the tip of the iceberg, I fear...there will be more! Androsace delavayi Allium sp. (aff. victorialis?) Allium sp. Anaphalis uniflora Anemone demissa (lavender form) Anemone demissa (lavender form) Anemone demissa (White flowered form) Arenaria polytrichoides  Cassiope pectinata Cassiope selaginoides Cremanthodium campanulatum ..read more

Lilium euxanthum Not one, but two miniature yellow lilies grow abundantly on Baimashan: They are distinguished by ecology (this species grows on the granitic soils, the other over limestone) and the petals on the granite loving species are not conjoined (as you'll see). Both are as cute as bugs ears: I have dozens of pictures of them and had a devil of a time picking which ones to show on the blog! Lilium euxanthum Here, growing with Rhododendron calostrotum ssp. keleticum--a tiny shrub that made unbrelievable masses as you will see...most of them peppered with this lily ..read more

Anaphalis nepalensis v. monocephalus 4315m This unassuming plant launches a rather lengthy series of pictures (that may take quite a few blog posts to accommodate!) from what maybe (if not my favorite, way ahead of most all) the most wonderful places I've ever been. I've been lucky enough to visit Baimashan on several different trips on different years: every hike saw an amazing new suite of plants--utterly different on the limestone areas mostly to the East of the pass--and the granite areas mostly on the West side. I hope I live long enough to return and spend more time on what has to ..read more

Cary West, owner of Southwest Gardens Since practically every tree, shrub and herbaceous plant in the Denver metropolitan area has been planted deliberately [except for weeds], we have a LOT of garden centers. But only one specializes ALMOST exclusively in succulent plants.  Okay, they do have a few orchids, and occasionally some annuals (especially if they're a tad succulent!). By and large, Cary limits himself to plants with crassulean acid metabolism, if you catch my drift! I drop in regularly--and have known Cary for longer than either of us care to admit--somehow ..read more

Crassula columnaris near Sutherland  Some plants are rather common...and this tiny, columnar crassula is widespread in on the West and Northern Cape provinces in a wide variety of semi-arid habitats. It is monocarpic (dies after it blooms) which is not a popular trait in gardens nowadays. Even so, How I would love to have this on my crevice garden! If I live long enough, perhaps I will--and these forms from near Sutherland would certainly tolerate our horrible Colorado winters better than any other selections. I can dream, can't I? As I said the plant isn't rare: why then do I ..read more

I don't know about you, but when I stop to gas up, I don't expect to find a variety of pincushion flowers (Leucospermum) in gallon pots for sale for under ten dollars a pop. Which is precisely what happened when we stopped at this gas station cum agricultural supply store that happened to have some posies for sale in Stanford, South Africa... Of course, I had to check out the posies--and found a pretty vast nursery wrapped around the whole shebang full of treasures. I realized at some point I better take some pics: I wish I'd taken ten times as many--the place oozed treasures. Like a whole ..read more

Ferraria crispa Watercolor painting by Mieko Ishikawa in first room of the Hannarie Wenhold Botanical Art Gallery at Grootbos Nature reserve...which is a remarkable place for many reasons. Ferraria crispa: the original! I thought it was clever that they had a specimen of what had been painted by Ishikawa next to the painting! Road to Grootbos Grootbos ("Great Woodland" for the Milkwood forest it contains) is a unique location for a many reasons. Their Website (click on that to access it) conveys much, but by no means all there is to know about the plac ..read more