Seldom seen and even less seldom kept compact with the large glossy yellow bloom hovering just above the grit top dressing. This species along with the similar C. nevskii and C. aitchisonii form a triad of gems likely to tax the skills of any Corydalis enthusiast.
A personal favourite and soon to appear in the "portraits" section. Good light as with C sewerzowii an absolute must. The deep purple lips contrast with the paler tones throughout the rest of the flower.
A scarce species hailing from S Turkey and what a potful! Pale lilac flowers with large white zone and perfect on the day. Obviously raised from seed - note the white variant, even rarer still!!
The black anthers on this subspecies are particularly striking. White flowers with a yellow throat, strongly striped purple on the outside.
John Dixon popped along and produced FIVE pots smothered in flowers whilst transporting his daughters to the swimming pool. Such is the laid back atmosphere of non-competitive shows! I doubt whether so many flowers have ever been seen in one place (outside of Afghanistan!!)
Dionysia curviflora x tapetodes (MK 8809/2) is proving to be one of the most amenable and reliable of the current vast range of hybrids. If you want one Dionysia to oblige without too much effort, this is the one.
The highlight of Norman Stevens display, this must be one of the most beautiful of all flowering plants. If you're wondering why the flowers are looking a little tired, they had just had "sex" with the next door neighbour! Taking plants to shows give you the opportunity to cross pollinate plants with someone else's clone. Any chance of a few seeds Norman?
Seldom seen member of the reticulata section with very brightly coloured with deep blue violet falls. Responds best with a bulb frame / alpine house regime rather than the open garden.
Show plants do not have to great rarities and this cross (I winogradowii x histrioides) was freely available on the Nursery stands. The yellow flowers veined blue throughout make this a strong contender for early alpine house (or garden) colour!
Another firm favourite for early spring colour. Hailing from Southern Turkey and freely available in the bulb catalogues.
A scilla I'd never come across before and named as labelled. Broad leaves and particularly cute flowers pale blue with strikingly contrasting deep blue anthers.
The number of plants displayed was disappointingly small but I'm sure you'd agree from this even smaller selection, they were well worth seeing. Four weeks to go until Loughborough show proper......
If you have come here via a search engine and would like to browse the "Alpines for the Enthusiast" website, click on the link below.....
