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Saxifraga White Star — 46 Comments

  1. Hi Larry, the ‘Mossy’ Saxifraga do really resent dry conditions with sunshine, so here in East Anglia they thrive in the shade of a north facing wall in very dry soil. The other problem with them is that they are irresistible to Vine Weevil larvae which makes them fall apart as their roots get eaten through – the nematode predator is good at killing the grubs – just water them in with a watering can.

  2. Yes Frances, Myra also always refers to yellow as the sunshine colour. The deep purple Rhododendron which I don’t know the name of is a beautiful colour, I wonder if your monitor is showing it a bit more blue than it actually is.

  3. yes I’ve read on a few blogs lately people don’t like yellow, I love it, I think of it as the sunshine colour, it’s pink I’m not so keen on and I seem to have rather a lot of it in the garden, my fav colour is blue and blue and yellow look great together (IMO), perhaps yellow is not liked so much because a lot of wild flowers (well here anyway) are yellow,
    I forgot to say I love your rhododendron the flower is a beautiful blue, I haven’t seen a true blue before in a rhoddendron, Frances

  4. a lovely array of plants flowers and birds Alistair, my fav is Buphthalmum salicifolium I never knew there were yellow oxeye daisies before so now I’m on the look out for some, Frances

  5. dear Alastair, and I always thought saxiphragia was a musical instrument, ha. Fabulous photos of the birds and close ups of the flowers. Congrats on accepting the online challenge. I too am on a steep learning curve, alternating between frustration and elation. And yes, I can relate to the challenge of getting the balance right between the screen and real life. cheers, catmint

  6. I have tried a few times to get Saxifraga to overwinter with no luck. I put this failure down to poor drainage. When I next get brave and give Saxifraga another go I will be sure to mulch and address the drainage. Your Hydrangea Petiolaris is spectacular. I have a much, much smaller one. One day I hope it will look as wonderful as yours does.

  7. Don’t let Purdee see your saxifrage. We had a lovely, bright red one last year. Our cat used it as a cushion and it is now nothing but a mushy blob. I thought it might revive. It hasn’t expired completely but it hasn’t flowered either.

    Yes. Computers are for all ages – and it’s exciting every time one thinks of something new.

    Esther

  8. Your saxifraga plants are very pretty, they remind me of some of my tiny geraniums – I love the look! That climbing hydrangea is truly gorgeous, and it is nice to see a picture of Angele Pernet – not an everyday kind of rose :).

  9. Your climbing hydrangea takes my breath away. I have a very young one growing up a Rose of Sharon, but it is only about 2 feet high at the moment. Yours gives me hope….

  10. I have that Saxifrage Peter Pan. As you say it flowered for such a long time this year. It also spreads so free plants for other places. Lovely pics.

  11. Hi Alistair, I love that white saxifrage. And I think you have ever right to be proud of your online plant list and all the links. My own has stalled part way due to lack of attention, but yours will be a useful resource to people for years to come, as well as acting as a record for your own purposes. Your climbing hydrangea is going much better than mine, though I shouldn’t complain, the flowers it does have just go on and on, and provide a lovely foil for the the Clematis jackmanii that shares the fence with it.

  12. Thanks DD, it is always good to see the Goldfinches, strangely enough they have become one of our most frequent visitors.

  13. Yes Holley, Purdee is always looking at the birds, fortunately she is not as successful a hunter as some of the previous cats which we have had.

  14. Thanks for the suggestion for the Rhodie Cathy, not so very sure if it has a fragrance, it has just gone over, will have to wait now. The Saxifraga do get larger and tend to stay perfectly circular. Gardeners in some areas have a bit of trouble with them rotting due to wet conditions, probably what makes them more suitable to the rockery..

  15. This is the European and British goldfinch Donna. It is only in the past ten years that it has become such a regular visitor to the garden, described as our most colourful bird.

  16. You did a remarkable job on indexing your plants. It really is a great idea too keeping a detailed record like that. Thank you for directing us to that page.

    The bird in your first image at the feeder is really a pretty one. I never saw one like it and the colors are stunning. If it is a finch, one never visited here that looked like it.

  17. Alistair, I continue to be amazed by the similarity of the plants we grow! I love your White Star…. we planted 6 Peter Pans this spring! (I would have gotten more but that was all she had left.) Do they spread much? I want them to cover the ground in front of some roses. The climbing hydrangea is lovely too – we have a couple of those as well!

    The purple late blooming rhodie may be a cawtawbiense hybrid. Does it have a light fragrance, sort of citrus? We had one that looked similar – Purple Baron – but it was not very hardy. We lost two of them over the past two winters. I’ve been looking for a hardier replacement and the deep purple cawtawbienses get high marks here.

    In any event, I love all of your little gems!

  18. What a great idea to list your garden plants! The pictures of your blooms are so pretty. I loved seeing each one. Purdee must be looking at those birds!

  19. Hi Larry, no problem with mosquitoes here, but the midges seem to bother a lot of folks, worse on the west coast we are on the east.

  20. Alistair… nice saxafrages… I had a Peter Pan but it died out this year… suspect our soil is a bit too heavy and rich for these plants as I’m not successful with them long term. Your hydrangea is excellent… ours was loaded with buds this year but somehow I missed taking photos of the blooms and they were past before I realized it. We had a heat index of well over 100 yesterday… amazing how fast things change… from cool and too wet last week, I now am finding it necessary to water the beds. We are on the edge of daylily season and true lilies. My post later today won’t have a lot new but that should all change within a week’s time or less. Do you have mosquitoes? They are ravenous and present in hordes here and I am going to have to spray the areas of the gardens we most frequent as it’s impossible to be outside even during the day. Take care, Larry

  21. just as I posted, realised I put was talking at cross purposes. The Saxifrages are lovely but Sedums were on my brain as was wondering if I should have Chelsea chopped mine to stop their straggly tendencies. Another job I failed to do in May!

  22. Tatyana, the Hydrangea Petiolaris is one of the few plants in the garden that doesn’t get any feeding, makes you wonder doesn’t it. I have had petiolaris in the garden before, but none of them have ever flowered as well as this one, must particularly like the position.

  23. Love the white sedums and goes to show they do not need a rockery to flourish. Part shady survivors too so even better for me.
    Just have to say how impressive your A-Z list is – encylopoedic knowledge gained from your own experience – the best. Proves that us silver surfers are not beyond the pale!

  24. Alistair – I know you have been blogging for a while, as your archives go back to 2006, longer than any other garden blogger I’ve seen. Looking at your A-Z really brought it home though. You (& Myra) should be proud !
    Had to explode up the photos of the hydrangea and rhododendron to have a closer look – my favourites.

  25. The white saxifraga is beautiful! The hydrangea is….. better than beautiful! It left me speechless for several moments! What do you feed it? I have two of them growing near the trees, but they grow very slow.
    Alistair, I am very, very impressed with your plants’ electronic labels! I didn’t even think about it! You should be very proud of yourself! Congratulations!

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