Real gardens;
Jane McGary (Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:00:28 PST)

When I write about or speak on my bulb collection, much of which is housed
in cold frames, I always say, "Of course, this is not gardening. It's an
adjunct to gardening." By this I mean the caged collection is a place to
nurture rare plants in safety until I have enough increase to try in the
garden, and also to distribute to other people around the country, most of
whom will take a chance and plant these bulbs in the open garden.

Unless one's obsession is Dionysia or Porophyllum saxifrages, it's likely
that a collection will eventually spill over into the landscape garden. But
I do think it's a mistake not to have a systematic way of maintaining
possibly difficult plants until that happens, if you have room. I certainly
would not put some of my crocus species into the garden where mice, voles,
moles, and chipmunks might likely eat them up, however well the plants
might grow there until eaten. On the other hand, I recently moved most of
my Corydalis species and selections into the garden because the bulb frame,
dry in summer, does not suit the woodland types, and as far as I know they
have no predators here.

Regarding Marguerite's wondering about bulbs she could plant in her upland
southern California garden, many of the species she mentions have a growth
cycle not suited to her climate (Habranthus, Ipheion). If I lived there I
would look more at Mediterranean and Turkish species, and species from
western South America rather than Argentina (northern CHile is southern
California in a mirror). Gophers are likely to be a problem for her (I've
rarely seen them here, and the dogs quickly catch them), but there are a
lot of pretty genera that have unpalatable bulbs, such as Narcissus and Scilla.

We've just had our winter cold snap, only down to 19 F/minus 6 C here with
severe wind, but with the frames shut the wind doesn't get to the plants
much, and I've seen crocuses open during the coldest day (when it's very
cold here, it's clear). However, the Cyclamen in the garden are looking
quite miserable, even those in the lee of shrubs. I think they will
recover; definitely the hellebores will, though they're presently flat on
the ground.

Jane McGary
Northwestern oregon, USA