Flowering this week September 2
Jane McGary (Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:46:29 PDT)

An ongoing experiment here is seeing what bulbs will grow well in
dense turf, where mowing begins around the end of June when the
Narcissus foliage withers. The fall bulbs have begun to pop up
through the perennial grass, which has mostly turned brown after an
August that saw no measurable rainfall here (I did, however, run a
sprinkler on the area once a week). Acis autumnalis (formerly
Leucojum autumnale) raises its red stems and snowflake bells here and
there; it seems too delicate to flourish in turf, but its bulbs are
substantial and multiply very fast, so it's a good choice for
experiments. The colchicum that opened today is Colchicum x
agrippinum, a hybrid of C. variegatum that's hardier than its parent
but has the same strongly checkered flowers; it's another fast
increaser, perhaps because it's sterile. No Cyclamen hederifolium has
made its way out into the lawn yet, but in a few years I expect it
will, as the seeds are distributed by ants; just now it's putting on
a show in the bare area surrounding two very large Douglas firs,
where little else will grow. C. hederifolium subsp. confusum was
planted into a border to keep it separate, and has just opened its
first flower.

Prospero autumnale (syn. Scilla autumnalis) is an active self-sower
and has popped up here and there. Scilla scilloides (I forget what
its new name is, and don't know if it's one of the scillas that are
accepted under other names) has been in flower for a couple of weeks
in an irrigated border. The same area holds several species of
Eucomis, now concluding their summer season: E. bicolor, E.
autumnalis, E. pole-evansii, and some of the purple-leaved cultivars.
In a nearby bed the selection Acis autumnalis 'September Snow' is
doing well: it is a robust variety whose flowers lack the tinge of
pink seen in the typical ones. The first hybrid colchicums are
opening in the garden, here and there.

In the bulb house only colchicums and a stray Acis autumnalis subsp.
oporanthum are open now, though the "moist side" has been watered
occasionally and the "dry side" received a faint sprinkling to
maintain a little humidity. A deep color form of the large-flowered
Colchicum bivonae is most prominent. Colchicum hierosolymitanum
continues to produce flowers, including four from one corm; they're
small but have nice substance. The first of the Merendera group (now
included in COlchicum by some botanists) has opened too--M. montana
(or C. montanum), called espanta pastores iin its native Spanish
mountains because its appearance warns the shepherds to move their
flocks from the high pastures ahead of the coming snows.

To encourage bees to frequent my new garden, I've planted a lot of
native Pacific Coast annuals and some other "bee plants," especially
near the bulb collection. Phacelia has been especially successful
early in the season, and now the non-native annual Cynoglossum
amabile is attracting pollinators. The biggest draw, however, is a
plant that I wonder if many Mediterranean-climate gardeners know: the
perennial Campanula versicolor. I collected seed of plants that were
still flowering in October in the Peloponnese, where they were
growing in a dry stone wall. The one plant I raised is now settled in
a dry stone wall surrounding a sand bed where the temperature is
moderated by a large black water storage tank in the center, and it
has produced 8 or 10 tall scapes with hundreds of large, widely open
flowers that just keep coming. The pale lavender flower is
distinctive among campanulas in having a deep violet central zone,
which apparently is irresistible to honeybees. I hope to get plenty
of seed from my plant and if so will distribute it through the NARGS
exchange. It may be a little tender for many North American gardens
but would be a terrific addition where it's hardy. It looks rather
closely related to C. pyramidalis, which is a biennial I've grown in
the old garden, but is shorter (stems about 30 to 50 cm) and bushier.

I bought some tuberose bulbs (Polianthes tuberosa) to grow in a pot
this summer, but only one has flowered. Can anyone tell me how well
this species survives winters in the open ground? My summer-dormant
bulb house wouldn't suit it, but the new garden is in a "banana belt"
and has some especially sheltered spots, including a corner near the
front entry where a Bomarea is flourishing after one winter in the ground.

Jane McGary
Portland, Oregon, USA