NARGS Rock Garden Quarterly: Spring 1998

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Rock Garden Quarterly

Bulletin of the North American Rock Garden Society

Volume 56 Number 2 - Spring 1998

Features

Sand Beds: Home for the Western and the Dry
by Michael Slater

The author, an active member of the Delaware Valley Chapter, NARGS, who gardens in southeastern Pennsylvania, tells how he creates sand beds to satisfy plants native to the dry west. Complete instructions for making a dry sand bed, siting and feeding are given. Control of weeds and pests is dealt with. Mike gives a list of plants that have done well in the Slater garden and comments on individual plants, their virtues and his preferences. Some color photographs show details of the plants.

Dry Sand Beds: A Retrospective
by Norman C. Deno.

Dr. Deno gives a brief account of his experiences of thirty years of growing plants in his dry sand beds in State College in central Pennsylvania. He tells about plants which performed well and about frustrations.

Townsendias: Halcyon Daisies of the Rockies
by Panayoti Kelaidis.

In a detailed article Panayoti Kelaidis of the Denver Botanical Garden describes twenty species of the genus. Many are illustrated in color photographs. The descriptions are divided into stemless miniatures of the Great Plains and Northern Sagebrush Steppe; the highly local stemless miniatures of the Southern Colorado Plateau and Great Basin Desert and Steppe; and the biennials with stem leaves of low to middle altitude. Cultivation of each species, as well as appearance in the wild, is covered.

Lithosol Wildflowers of the Columbia Basin
by Douglas N. Reynolds

A hair-raising account of the geologic history of the Columbia Basin gives the reader exactly the background information necessary to the understanding of the needs of these gorgeous wildflowers the author calls the "Lithosol Wildflowers of the Columbia Basin". The description of the floods (in Washington mostly, but a little in Oregon and Idaho) had me breathless even before I turned to the photographs. This eight pages of text are accompanied by no less than eight full pages of color photos illuminating not only the various wildflowers, but their habitat as well. And the plants received such narrative treatment that the only question remaining is: "How soon can we get some seed?"

Penstemons for Eastern Canada
by Todd Boland

This is the kind of article we all need: a thorough discussion of an entire group of plants, with an eye to the climatic limitations endured by the author. By this review, as it goes through the Groups within the species Penstemon, even a gardener of an entirely different climate will be able to make better choices of penstemons to try, thus saving those many years it usually takes to get the species most likely to thrive. Although short, this account covers the wide variety of types of penstemon and precisely tells of experience with many species. Some of the author's results are illustrated by enticing color photographs. (Just skip the center two pages of photos, and apply them to the following article!) And get ready to make more room for penstemons.

A Rare Color Variation in Three Species of Lewisia
by J. S. DeSanto

The historic record of the color variants reviewed here is augmented by information about their geographic distribution. Interesting details about favorite species are what enriches our gardening experience. When they are as well described and illustrated by good color photography as this, one is quite likely to adopt another favorite.

The Way We Store Seed - Should We Change It
by Norman C. and Janet L. Deno

Here is a call to action. It describes the current level of knowledge regarding seed storage, gives a number of specific examples, and offers reasons that our methods may be considered inadequate. The given examples provide valuable insight about determining, with better probability of success, which storage procedure may be optimum for seeds of the species at hand. And the Deno record of thorough research into germination requirements should attract plenty of positive response to this request for input on another topic of great interest to professional and amateur plants people everywhere.

	Sand Beds: Home for the Western and the Dry by Michael Slater The author, an active member of the Delaware Valley Chapter, NARGS, who gardens in southeastern Pennsylvania, tells how he creates sand beds to satisfy plants native to the dry west. Complete instructions for making a dry sand bed, siting and feeding are given. Control of weeds and pests is dealt with. Mike gives a list of plants that have done well in the Slater garden and comments on individual plants, their virtues and his preferences. Some color photographs show details of the plants.
	Dry Sand Beds: A Retrospective by Norman C. Deno. Dr. Deno gives a brief account of his experiences of thirty years of growing plants in his dry sand beds in State College in central Pennsylvania. He tells about plants which performed well and about frustrations.
	Townsendias: Halcyon Daisies of the Rockies by Panayoti Kelaidis. In a detailed article Panayoti Kelaidis of the Denver Botanical Garden describes twenty species of the genus. Many are illustrated in color photographs. The descriptions are divided into stemless miniatures of the Great Plains and Northern Sagebrush Steppe; the highly local stemless miniatures of the Southern Colorado Plateau and Great Basin Desert and Steppe; and the biennials with stem leaves of low to middle altitude. Cultivation of each species, as well as appearance in the wild, is covered.
	Lithosol Wildflowers of the Columbia Basin by Douglas N. Reynolds A hair-raising account of the geologic history of the Columbia Basin gives the reader exactly the background information necessary to the understanding of the needs of these gorgeous wildflowers the author calls the "Lithosol Wildflowers of the Columbia Basin". The description of the floods (in Washington mostly, but a little in Oregon and Idaho) had me breathless even before I turned to the photographs. This eight pages of text are accompanied by no less than eight full pages of color photos illuminating not only the various wildflowers, but their habitat as well. And the plants received such narrative treatment that the only question remaining is: "How soon can we get some seed?"
	Penstemons for Eastern Canada by Todd Boland This is the kind of article we all need: a thorough discussion of an entire group of plants, with an eye to the climatic limitations endured by the author. By this review, as it goes through the Groups within the species Penstemon, even a gardener of an entirely different climate will be able to make better choices of penstemons to try, thus saving those many years it usually takes to get the species most likely to thrive. Although short, this account covers the wide variety of types of penstemon and precisely tells of experience with many species. Some of the author's results are illustrated by enticing color photographs. (Just skip the center two pages of photos, and apply them to the following article!) And get ready to make more room for penstemons.
	A Rare Color Variation in Three Species of Lewisia by J. S. DeSanto The historic record of the color variants reviewed here is augmented by information about their geographic distribution. Interesting details about favorite species are what enriches our gardening experience. When they are as well described and illustrated by good color photography as this, one is quite likely to adopt another favorite.
	The Way We Store Seed - Should We Change It by Norman C. and Janet L. Deno Here is a call to action. It describes the current level of knowledge regarding seed storage, gives a number of specific examples, and offers reasons that our methods may be considered inadequate. The given examples provide valuable insight about determining, with better probability of success, which storage procedure may be optimum for seeds of the species at hand. And the Deno record of thorough research into germination requirements should attract plenty of positive response to this request for input on another topic of great interest to professional and amateur plants people everywhere.