Saxifraga White Star
Saxifraga White Star is thriving in the dappled shade.
We don’t have a rockery, however a flat area of the woodland garden seems to have become home for a few of these alpine plants. Saxifraga White Star is thriving in the dappled shade. The tightly packed pin cushion like foliage is smothered with pure white flowers with a light green eye. Flowered from mid April through till the end of May. The total height of the plant is no more than 12 cm and has a spread of about 30cm. This fully hardy Saxifraga is the most striking of the white ones which we have had in the garden. Saxifraga is no doubt a plant for the rockery, however if it is surrounded with a layer of grit and planted in a sunny or even a semi shade position it should do just fine. Unfortunately I have not found White Star available for mail order, our plant came from
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Peter Pan another Saxifraga planted in the garden in early Spring. This one with deep pink/red flowers bloomed for a good six weeks and more. Forms a perfect pincushion and a height of 10cm and spread of 30cm. Do remember to mulch with grit which will prevent the plant from rotting.
Mail Order
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One of my page links on our Aberdeen site is (An A to Z of our plants) This is something which I do mainly to keep a record of all the plants which we have in the garden at the moment, in the past and also those which I have photographed in friends gardens which I know to be hardy in the Aberdeen area.
I perhaps should not say this, but between ourselves, I am not half pleased with myself regarding this. You may want to take a look, if you click on the thumbnail the picture of the plant will open, click on details and it will take you to my blog entry about that particular plant and generally how it performed in our garden.
Why am I so pleased with it. Well about ten years ago when in my mid fifties, people would say, you should get a computer. My response was always, thats for younger folks, I could never get my head around those contraptions. Well as you can see, I gave in to it and here we are thoroughly enjoying it yet trying to limit the time spent in front of the screen so as not to get too obsessed.
As I am not an expert in this field, if you think there is a way in which I could improve the page which I talk of, please get in touch with me.
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Here is a few plants flowering in our garden at the moment.
The Hydrangea Petiolaris is particularly good this year, Purdee is not very impressed.
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This late flowering Rhododendron was in flower on the 10th of June in our woodland area. Unfortunately I don’t have a name for this one.
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This red Rose Dublin Bay flowering in a friends garden in Aberdeen on the 20th of June. Also the HT below Angele Pernet which I planted in their garden last Winter looks very beautiful.
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Not everyone likes yellows in the Summer garden, but the Buphthalmum salicifolium in the round garden gives a good show every year.
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Here below we have a couple of pictures of garden birds which visit regularly.
harmony with the goldfinch and the chaffinch.
Ah, wonderful, the greenfinch and great tit are equally enlightened.
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The Siskin and Chaffinch are also happy enough to share.
If you happen to leave a comment I will be sure to visit your site and do the same
Hi Larry, the ‘Mossy’ Saxifraga do really resent dry conditions with sunshine, so here in East Anglia they thrive in the shade of a north facing wall in very dry soil. The other problem with them is that they are irresistible to Vine Weevil larvae which makes them fall apart as their roots get eaten through – the nematode predator is good at killing the grubs – just water them in with a watering can.
Yes Frances, Myra also always refers to yellow as the sunshine colour. The deep purple Rhododendron which I don’t know the name of is a beautiful colour, I wonder if your monitor is showing it a bit more blue than it actually is.
yes I’ve read on a few blogs lately people don’t like yellow, I love it, I think of it as the sunshine colour, it’s pink I’m not so keen on and I seem to have rather a lot of it in the garden, my fav colour is blue and blue and yellow look great together (IMO), perhaps yellow is not liked so much because a lot of wild flowers (well here anyway) are yellow,
I forgot to say I love your rhododendron the flower is a beautiful blue, I haven’t seen a true blue before in a rhoddendron, Frances
Glad you like the Bupthalmum Frances, not so many of us like yellow in Summer.
a lovely array of plants flowers and birds Alistair, my fav is Buphthalmum salicifolium I never knew there were yellow oxeye daisies before so now I’m on the look out for some, Frances
Thanks Martin, not exactly a whizz though.
I think your A – Z is great – you are a computer whizz compared to me! Well done!
Yes catmint, that instrument was pretty cool way back in the 50s and 60s.
dear Alastair, and I always thought saxiphragia was a musical instrument, ha. Fabulous photos of the birds and close ups of the flowers. Congrats on accepting the online challenge. I too am on a steep learning curve, alternating between frustration and elation. And yes, I can relate to the challenge of getting the balance right between the screen and real life. cheers, catmint
Jennifer, given time I am sure your Petiolaris will equal ours.
I have tried a few times to get Saxifraga to overwinter with no luck. I put this failure down to poor drainage. When I next get brave and give Saxifraga another go I will be sure to mulch and address the drainage. Your Hydrangea Petiolaris is spectacular. I have a much, much smaller one. One day I hope it will look as wonderful as yours does.
Now that you mention it Esther Purdee has been eyeing up the Saxifrage.
Don’t let Purdee see your saxifrage. We had a lovely, bright red one last year. Our cat used it as a cushion and it is now nothing but a mushy blob. I thought it might revive. It hasn’t expired completely but it hasn’t flowered either.
Yes. Computers are for all ages – and it’s exciting every time one thinks of something new.
Esther
Bridget, I like the idea of free plants for other places.
It is a great Hydrangea once it gets going Michael.
Thanks Masha, I had been looking forward to seeing the Angele Pernet in flower.
Your saxifraga plants are very pretty, they remind me of some of my tiny geraniums – I love the look! That climbing hydrangea is truly gorgeous, and it is nice to see a picture of Angele Pernet – not an everyday kind of rose :).
Your climbing hydrangea takes my breath away. I have a very young one growing up a Rose of Sharon, but it is only about 2 feet high at the moment. Yours gives me hope….
I have that Saxifrage Peter Pan. As you say it flowered for such a long time this year. It also spreads so free plants for other places. Lovely pics.
Thanks Carolyn, I intend to stick to it through till my dotage, god willing.
Thanks Janet, retired folks do have a lot more time on their hands. Our Clematis have also started to open.
Hi Alistair, I love that white saxifrage. And I think you have ever right to be proud of your online plant list and all the links. My own has stalled part way due to lack of attention, but yours will be a useful resource to people for years to come, as well as acting as a record for your own purposes. Your climbing hydrangea is going much better than mine, though I shouldn’t complain, the flowers it does have just go on and on, and provide a lovely foil for the the Clematis jackmanii that shares the fence with it.
Alistair, I am very glad you mastered the computer so that I can read your blog. Carolyn
Thanks Christine, it is shall we say, work in progress.
PS: I like your A-Z Directory!
All your flowers are beautiful. The photographs almost look to good to be real – especially the Rhododendron and your friends Dublin Bay rose.
Thanks DD, it is always good to see the Goldfinches, strangely enough they have become one of our most frequent visitors.
Yes Holley, Purdee is always looking at the birds, fortunately she is not as successful a hunter as some of the previous cats which we have had.
Thanks for the suggestion for the Rhodie Cathy, not so very sure if it has a fragrance, it has just gone over, will have to wait now. The Saxifraga do get larger and tend to stay perfectly circular. Gardeners in some areas have a bit of trouble with them rotting due to wet conditions, probably what makes them more suitable to the rockery..
Mark and Gaz, I think the Hydrangea is one of our most favourite plants.
This is the European and British goldfinch Donna. It is only in the past ten years that it has become such a regular visitor to the garden, described as our most colourful bird.
You did a remarkable job on indexing your plants. It really is a great idea too keeping a detailed record like that. Thank you for directing us to that page.
The bird in your first image at the feeder is really a pretty one. I never saw one like it and the colors are stunning. If it is a finch, one never visited here that looked like it.
That Saxifrage is lovely but the Hydrangea petiolaris is stunning! Purdee may not be impressed but I am 🙂
Alistair, I continue to be amazed by the similarity of the plants we grow! I love your White Star…. we planted 6 Peter Pans this spring! (I would have gotten more but that was all she had left.) Do they spread much? I want them to cover the ground in front of some roses. The climbing hydrangea is lovely too – we have a couple of those as well!
The purple late blooming rhodie may be a cawtawbiense hybrid. Does it have a light fragrance, sort of citrus? We had one that looked similar – Purple Baron – but it was not very hardy. We lost two of them over the past two winters. I’ve been looking for a hardier replacement and the deep purple cawtawbienses get high marks here.
In any event, I love all of your little gems!
What a great idea to list your garden plants! The pictures of your blooms are so pretty. I loved seeing each one. Purdee must be looking at those birds!
Lovely photos of the birds Alistair. Great to see the Goldfinchs thriving!
No worries Laura, I am forever at cross purposes.
Hi Larry, no problem with mosquitoes here, but the midges seem to bother a lot of folks, worse on the west coast we are on the east.
Thanks Laura, not past it yet.
Alistair… nice saxafrages… I had a Peter Pan but it died out this year… suspect our soil is a bit too heavy and rich for these plants as I’m not successful with them long term. Your hydrangea is excellent… ours was loaded with buds this year but somehow I missed taking photos of the blooms and they were past before I realized it. We had a heat index of well over 100 yesterday… amazing how fast things change… from cool and too wet last week, I now am finding it necessary to water the beds. We are on the edge of daylily season and true lilies. My post later today won’t have a lot new but that should all change within a week’s time or less. Do you have mosquitoes? They are ravenous and present in hordes here and I am going to have to spray the areas of the gardens we most frequent as it’s impossible to be outside even during the day. Take care, Larry
just as I posted, realised I put was talking at cross purposes. The Saxifrages are lovely but Sedums were on my brain as was wondering if I should have Chelsea chopped mine to stop their straggly tendencies. Another job I failed to do in May!
Tatyana, the Hydrangea Petiolaris is one of the few plants in the garden that doesn’t get any feeding, makes you wonder doesn’t it. I have had petiolaris in the garden before, but none of them have ever flowered as well as this one, must particularly like the position.
B-a-g Thanks for your visits to our site and your very kind comments.
Love the white sedums and goes to show they do not need a rockery to flourish. Part shady survivors too so even better for me.
Just have to say how impressive your A-Z list is – encylopoedic knowledge gained from your own experience – the best. Proves that us silver surfers are not beyond the pale!
Alistair – I know you have been blogging for a while, as your archives go back to 2006, longer than any other garden blogger I’ve seen. Looking at your A-Z really brought it home though. You (& Myra) should be proud !
Had to explode up the photos of the hydrangea and rhododendron to have a closer look – my favourites.
The white saxifraga is beautiful! The hydrangea is….. better than beautiful! It left me speechless for several moments! What do you feed it? I have two of them growing near the trees, but they grow very slow.
Alistair, I am very, very impressed with your plants’ electronic labels! I didn’t even think about it! You should be very proud of yourself! Congratulations!