Alpine and Rock Garden team blog

The daffodils flowering in the Davies Alpine House now are normally among the first species of Narcissus to appear at this time of year but they have been out for over two weeks already and some, like the paperwhite, have been blooming since early November. The paperwhite, N. papyraceus, comes from the Mediterranean region and produces masses of small white, scented flowers, with up to 20 on a single plant. In countries such as Spain, where it can be quite common in the south, the flowers are picked for Christmas.

The paperwhite, Narcissus papyraceus

Another species flowering now, Narcissus romieuxii, is one of the hoop petticoat daffodils. Their common name comes from the wide, flared corona. In some daffodils the corona forms the prominent trumpet at the center of the flower and in others it can be very short like a shallow cup, as in the pheasant's eye, N. poeticus.

Narcissus romieuxii comes from North Africa and the flowers are usually a shade of yellow, some being deep yellow and others pale. It also comes in pure, glistening white. Originating from North Africa and flowering so early means this species is best kept under glass but another hoop petticoat, N. bulbocodium, does well in the garden and can be naturalised in grass, seeding around to eventually create large colonies that flower in mid spring. This group of species also includes the pretty N. cantabricus.

Left, a yellow Narcissus romieuxii, and right, the white form

More highlights

Other plants to see now include the first of the 'juno' irises. These bulbous irises mostly come from Western and Central Asia and really get going in January and February but there is one species from the Mediterranean region that flowers in December, Iris planifolia. Like some of the daffodils, this iris has been out for a couple of weeks. It is normally blue-flowered but the white form is looking particularly good at the moment.

The white form of Iris planifolia

Late November and December is normally the time to see the giant Madeiran squill, Scilla madeirensis, in the Alpine House but this year it has already been and gone. There is a closely related species flowering now though, with similarly impressive, though slightly smaller flower spikes. Scilla latifolia is from Macaronesia - the islands in the North Atlantic off the African coast that include the Canary Islands and Madeira. Unlike S. madeirensis, the flower stems are not straight but bend over and then turn up at the ends to hold the spike of purple-violet flowers upright.

Scilla latifolia

The species of Massonia normally flower in December. The genus is named after Francis Masson, Kew's first plant collector, who was dispatched to South Africa by Joseph Banks in the late 18th century. With two wide leaves, several centimetres across, lying flat on the ground and a tuft of sweetly scented flowers emerging from between them, Massonia pustulata is one of the more unusual looking plants on display at this time of year. The flowers have insignificant petals but prominent stamens holding the small yellow anthers. It comes from the Cape Region of South Africa, where the climate is mediterranean, so it is dormant during the dry summer months.

Massonia pustulata

So plenty to see now, and before you know it the snowdrops will be out and spring will be here!

- Richard -

Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’, or the coral-barked maple, is a marvellous small tree for a woodland garden, with interest for every season. Here in the Woodland Garden, which surrounds the Temple of Aeolus at Kew, we have three specimens north of the Temple Mound. Right now they are awash with autumn colour – their small, deeply divided leaves range from butter yellow, through green and orange, to fiery red.

Autumn colour of Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’ (Image: Richard Wilford)

This year’s autumn colour is different from normal –  a largely uniform buttery yellow, with almost no red or deep orange. I guess this is an indicator of the abnormally warm, dry weather we had during early October.

Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’, showing wonderful yellow hues (Image: Richard Wilford)

One of hundreds of named cultivars of the Japanese maple, the common name of "coral bark maple" celebrates the wonderful spring display. The young shoots and stems are bright coral-red, and before the leaves emerge the tree develops a pink halo. You can also see this bright red colouration on the petioles of the autumn leaves.

The leaves of Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’, showing their bright red petioles

The newly emerged leaves have a dainty pink flush, before becoming a vibrant lime green for the rest of the season, but it is in autumn that this wonderful tree steps into the limelight.

Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’

What more can I say? It’s perfect.

- Katie -

Autumn crocuses

One of the autumn flowering Crocus species that I look forward to seeing each year is Crocus tournefortii. This species is not often grown outside because, unlike other Crocus species, it doesn't close its flowers at night or in inclement weather, so they are susceptible to damage, especially from rain. We first planted it out on the Rock Garden three years ago in a variety of locations and, as you can see, if given some protection by a neighbouring rock, the delicate flowers and amazing, many-branched styles are a wonderful sight. This is an entirely island species, from the Greek Archipelago, occurring in coastal scrub.

Crocus tournefortii

Crocus speciosus, or the ‘Showy Crocus’, is one of the easiest to grow, as it doesn’t mind sun or semi shade and will naturalise in grass and beneath shrubs. Like C. tournefortii, it has a much-branched, bright orange style in the centre of the flower, which contrasts brilliantly with the deep lilac-blue petals. Found from the Crimea, through the Caucusus to Turkey and Iran this species inhabits woodland, pasture and alpine grassland up to altitudes of over 2300m.

Crocus speciosus

Early snowdrops

The first of what I consider to be next season's snowdrops is already up, but it is not as early as you might think. Galanthus reginae-olgae is a predominantly Greek species, discovered in the 1870s in the Taigetos Mountians of the Peloponnese, and usually flowers through October. They are a reminder of what is to come in a few months time, when the Galanthus elwesii begin to flower, the first ones appearing around Christmas time. Galanthus reginae-olgae is a reliable and beautiful species for a sunny warm spot. The flower stems extend and the flowers open before the leaves emerge, making it appear more delicate than perhaps it is.

Autumn-flowering Galanthus reginae-olgae

Last of the Roscoeas

As Galanthus regiane-olgae can be called the first of next season's snowdrops, then Roscoea purpurea ‘Red Gurkkha’ is one of the last of the roscoeas for this year. There are almost twenty species of these hardy members of the ginger family growing out on the Rock Garden, but most are not so late flowering; their peak blooming being between May and August. Not only does this form exhibit red colouration of the 'stem' or leaf bases, it is the only true red flowered form in this noteworthy genus. It was found in one location in Nepal in 1992, growing in open scrub, on a steep terraced slope, and was first exhibited by Kew at a Royal Horticultural Society show in London's Vincent Square in 1994.

Roscoea purpurea 'Red Gurkha'

Red hot pokers

The red hot pokers from the mountainous regions of South Africa are always exciting to see as we move into autumn. They hold forth upright, dramatic flowers, forming strong stout spikes which are topped by flowers of hot colours. Kniphofia caulescens comes from damp grassland in the Drakensberg Mountains in Lesotho and has been growing outside on the Rock Garden for three years, going through our last few cold winters without any trouble. I think it is helped by its sheltered position beneath a pine tree.

Left, Knifophia caulescens and right, Knifophia triangularis

I have a soft spot for Kniphofia triangularis as I remember it being one of the first plants I planted out on the Rock Garden when I came to Kew, ten years ago. It produces more flowers than K. caulescens and they also last a bit longer, well through October, and on a dull day they really make me smile as they are a burst of fire just before the days get noticeably shorter and more grey.

Red hot pokers on the Rock Garden

Dramatic irises

Moraea reticulata is a dramatic member of the Iris family (Iridaceae) and its route to the Rock Garden was via Kit Strange from the Alpine Nursery. She soon realised that it was too large and unruly for pot cultivation and so we decided to try it out on the Rock Garden. Here, in a south facing spot, it thrives and has more room to be admired. This species grows from a corm and has a very limited distribution in the wild, only being found in the mountains south of Queenstown in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Plants are usually solitary and are found on steep grassy slopes, flowering in the wild in March to May (South African autumn). It is easily recognized by its channelled leaves and very characteristic cataphylls - a papery tunic that surrounds the corm and extends upwards well above the ground, forming a grey or brown fibrous network around the leaf and stem base. Moraea reticulata begins flowering in September here and has successive flowers right through October and sometimes into November.

Moraea reticulata

Cyclamen

Richard blogged about Cyclamen recently and whilst I was out taking photographs for this blog, I took these images of Cyclamen africanum and Cyclamen graecum, both flowering away whilst their tubers are quite exposed, well out of the soil. These species are often described as requiring protection from frost, but they have been happily growing and reliably flowering for several years out on the Rock Garden. We plant them in higher bays facing south or well drained cracks and crevices, where they thrive.

Left, Cyclamen africanum, and right, Cyclamen graecum, both flowering from exposed tubers!

And finally...

Finally for now I should mention another South African plant that is looking good. On the Rock Garden the nerines are in full bloom, especially Nerine alta by the south door of the Davies Alpine House, and N. undulata, which can be seen further into the Rock Garden.

Left, Nerine alta, and right, Nerine undulata

These fantastic autumn flowers are just some of the highlights at this time of year so make sure to try and visit the Rock Garden in the next few weeks. 

- Joanne -

A bulb is an adaptation to survive long periods of drought. Tubers, corms and rhizomes perform a similar function, storing water and nutrients underground, and waiting for the drought to break so they can grow and flower. Seasonal droughts are typical of the Mediterranean regions of southern Europe and North Africa, as well as parts of California, Chile, South Africa and SW Australia. In the garden these autumn bulbs, corms and tubers provide a boost to the flowering season late in the year.
 

Cyclamen graecum on the Rock Garden

Cyclamen can be seen in many parts of Kew, the most common being Cyclamen hederifolium, but on the Rock Garden you can find the less hardy C. greacum, which comes from Greece and Turkey. It does well in a sunny, south-facing position, where it can make the most of the autumn sunshine. Even less hardy, but still surviving outside in the most sheltered spots at Kew, is the North African C. africanum. For another African species you will have to go inside the Davies Alpine House, where you will see several pots of C. rohlfsianum, a species endemic to northern Libya and not hardy enough to grow in the open.
 

Left, Cyclamen africanum on the Rock Garden, and right, C. rohlfsianum in the Alpine House

 
Back outside on the Rock Garden, look out for the fantastic magenta-pink flowers of the South African Gladiolus carmineus. This plant comes from Western Cape in South Africa, an area that has a Mediterranean-type climate and is home to a huge range of bulbous plants in the Cape Floral Kingdom, one of the World's biodiversity hotspots.
 

South African Gladiolus carmineus on the Rock Garden

 Also from South Africa is the genus Nerine. These bulbs are mostly just emerging outside at Kew but in the shelter of the Alpine House, the delicate blooms of Nerine filamentosa are open. This species differs from the other plants mentioned here because it is a summer grower, appearing in the summer rainfall region of Eastern Cape, although the flowers bloom at the end of its growing season, in autumn. In a couple of weeks the more robust Nerine bowdenii will be flowering outside in the gardens. 
 

Nerine filamentosa flowering in the Davies Alpine House

Another plant that is flowering earlier inside the Alpine House than outside on the Rock Garden is Sternbergia lutea. On the Rock Garden, the blooms of this Mediterranean bulb are just opening but in the Alpine House they have been open for a couple of weeks. The impressive, bright-yellow, goblet-shaped flowers emerging from their large terracotta pots, make a real impact on the glasshouse benches.
 

Sternbergia lutea in the Davies Alpine House 

There are plenty more bulbs on the way. Over the next few weeks the autumn flowering species of Crocus will be blooming inside and out, brightly coloured Oxalis will appear, and in a couple of months the giant squill, Scilla madeirensis will make a dramatic return to the Alpine House. 

- Richard -

In Armenia most people use the countryside as an extra larder. In many places, where farming is non-existent, people harvest mushrooms to sell by the side of the road to subsidise their income. 
 

Collecting wild herbs (Image: Guy Moore)

They mainly sit by the one main-road, which goes through the whole of Armenia, and will sell the fresh mushrooms to people in passing cars and hungry lorry drivers. In the towns you can find little markets where people meet to sell and trade their herbs with each other.
 

         Selling and trading wild and cultivated herbs and vegetables in an Armenian market 

The plants they are selling are as diverse as the people selling them. You get all the usual vegetables, like radishes and onions, but soon you discover that there are more exotic herbs on the menu. Small tender shoots of polygonatum are for sale, in handy little bunches, which no-one who knows the plant in the UK would think of eating.
  

Mallow-like wild vegetable
 

Nice young leaves of a mallow-like plant were being sold, alongside large young shoots of Heracleum for pickling. Nothing it seems goes unnoticed in the countryside that might be of use. Allium paradoxum, which in this country is a pernicious weed, in Armenia they use extensively in cooking, thus controlling its rampant move across the countryside. Not a single herb which can be used medicinally is left untouched.
 

Left, Young shoots of Heracleum on sale, and right, Allium paradoxum
 

Thyme, for use as a tea, is also very popular and a complete mountain range has been named after it called the Urtz, which is situated in the middle of Armenia. Most of the herbs are cooked by first frying, and then adding to beaten egg, making a sort of vegetable scrambled egg. Other herbs are prepared with a salty brine, in which they are cured for a couple of months before being eaten as a compliment to meat and other vegetables. It seems that collecting herbs and vegetables in the hills is a family event; mum and daughter going out and collecting the herbs for their own use, and also teaching the new generation which ones are good to eat and what to do with them. 
 

 Wild medicinal herbs for sale
 

This is my last Armenian blog. The trip was sponsored by a travel scholarship from the Alpine Garden Society which sponsors several alpine related trips every year.

- Kit -