Re : the quiet gardeners/ romneya coulteri/fragance

Hi Chris and the others ones
I just left home 3 days and I got 42 messages! So I did'nt expect so many
mail but now, I know that you're here, my overseas companions.
Yes, Chris I can tell you that I'm moving to Montpellier which is on
mediterranean seacoast 1 hour and half drive from marseille. But I pretty
like too Basque region with its big pines and sand dunes near the beach. The
climate in montpellier is drier than in Biarritz, so I 'll have to choose
drought resistant plants.
Thank you, everybody for the answers about romneya coulteri which had
confirm what i suspected. I think that I'll be busy in february with the
digging up and potting the roots. My clump is 15' wide.
Even during winter, I always have something to do. I don't clean up the
garden except for the front garden because I suppose the old stems are
protecting the plants from the cold winds and also because it's much more
easier to do that in spring. So now, i'm working inside home, cleaning up
the seeds pods for the exchange list of the societe nationale d'horticulture
de france where I'm working as benevolent. I'll have to send the catalogues
to our subscribers and this means that I have to go to Paris once a week
meeting other people in our office (I'm living 1 hour and half drive from
paris)
I write some articles too for our journal in a local gardening society and
planning for spring gardens visits and lectures. That take a lot of energy.
We are very excited to have invited Helen Dillon (famous irish gardener) for
a lecture in snhf in february 2001.
On viola subject, I confirm that viola 'Freckles' is my preferred one. There
is another one, a french hybrid called 'Etain' (pewter in english) which is
a gem, big flower coppery yellow with a purple margin, but, infortunately,
it's sterile. There is, too the tricolor'Bowles Black', but for me they
don't seed themselves a lot.
About fragance, I choose plants for it when possible, and  I have viburnum
bodnantense flowering from now till march with a nice scent so you can make
flowering arrangement with all wintertime. I do have a nice lathyrus
(annual) called odorata 'matucana' which is an old variety in blue/purple
bicolored form. For me it's the very best one. And, ending with the subject,
I love the orange scent of the houttuynia cordata 'Flore pleno'(green
foliage) and 'Chameleon' (variegated foliage).
I must stop my chat now because as you know, we french people are fond of
food, and i must prepare the lunch for my husband and I;
I hope for all my overseas companions a very happy thanksgiving day!
chantal in Ermenonville,France, zone 7.



----------
>De : Christopher Lindsey <lindsey@mallorn.com>
>À : perennials@mallorn.com
>Objet : Re: the quiet gardeners/ romneya coulteri
>Date : Lun 20 nov 2000 3:53
>

>> My mailbox is empty since a long time, so I 'm wondering what's
happening.
>
>Here in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois (USDA zone 5b) I'm running around trying
>to get all of my plants either in or out of the ground (as applicable). 
>Yesterday the ground was frozen, but today things thawed enough to get
>my bulbs in.  :)
>
>Winter is early this year, as we're expecting temperatures around 15F
(-9.5C)
>tomorrow night with windchills around 0F (-18C).
>
>Once I get everything settled in and it's too late to work outside I'll
>probably start perusing catalogs and making next year's wish lists, so
>I know I'll be busier on the list.  :)
>
>> Next year, I'm gonna move to the south of France and I'll have to move my
>> plants too! I have a huge bush of romneya coulteri and, of course,
everybody
>> wants a bit of it. I've heard it is very difficult to propagate and that
one
>> have to divide it from the roots. How can I do and when?
>
>Wow!  Do you mind if I ask where you're moving?  My Mom was born in
Bordeaux
>and raised in Biarritz, so I have lots of family in the Basque region of 
>France.
>
>Chris
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
>message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS


---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index