[JTh]

Thank you for all your comments.

I know the wild boar is normally shy, but sometimes I am going down into some places which are difficult to reach, and it seems as if that's  where they seem to live. It will not be easy to get away quickly from there, but it adds some excitement to the flower hunting.

I was hooked on  wild orchids some years ago, and got  lots of help from Zissis Antonopoulos (the 'owner'  of  the site 'Greeks Orchids Home,'  http://www.greekorchids.gr/) to identify what I was finding.

I will certainly try to order Globularia from Filippi this autumn; it seems to be perfect for our place, thanks for the info, Jill.

[Alice]

I am also very fond of terrestrial orchids and much prefer them to the tropical ones.
Jorun, do let us know how you get on with Globularia from Filippi. A lecturer at the Agricultural University of Athens did not know of any nurseries that might stock them but said that they would have some plants in autumn. I suppose I could try begging for one or two specimens.

[Alice]

Alisdair, Globularia alypum seems rather reluctant to being propagated, especially by hardwood cuttings, as you have discovered.
See http://www.actahort.org/books/885/885_9.htm and
http://www.actahort.org/books/616/616_19.htm

[JTh]

I suppose there was a small spelling mistake in the article you referred to, surely they ment they rooting and not rotting (shoots collected in August)? If the success rate was 93 %, then it was not so bad?

It would be great if they started propagating these for sale in Greece, but I suppose Filippi is a safer source these days.

[JTh]

I suddenly found that Cultidelta, Spain, (http://www.cultidelta.com/species2011-2012.pdf) has Globularia alypum on their list as well.

[Alice]

Jorun, I was also a bit perplexed about the "rotting". If it means rooting it is rather good, if it means rotting it is not so good... I thought if it was "93% rotted" that would perhaps agree with Alisdair's experience.
It would be useful to have a number of suppliers. When I once tried to order from the Filippi nursery they did not have half the plants I wanted.

[Jill S]

If you want to have a try at sowing seed then 'http://www.rareplants.de' have a number of forms in their list, but maybe this is another 'caper', liking to do it's own thing and resenting human interference.

[Sandra]

I too have tried to propagate Globularia alypum without success but will not give up as it is a beautiful plant. Thanks Jill for the link to the rare plants website - I feel like a child in a sweet shop browsing it!

[JTh]

It will be interesting to see if any of us succeeds with this bush, not much information to be found, except that I read that it likes light soil.

[Jill S]

Right now I'm kicking myself!! It's on the MGS Seed Exchange list, so if there are any remaining ..... should have checked there first, brain obviously not engaged, or if it was it was somewhere else

[JTh]

I wonder if it is easy to remove the hull? That seemed to improve the germination considerably, according to the article cited earlier.

[JTh]

I have a few more photos I had planned to post this spring.

The poppies are everywhere, of course, but have you taken a closer look at them?

I found a Sisyrinchium angustifolium at one of the local nurseries, they even gave me the correct name! I wonder how long it wil survive, it is ot exactly damp where we are, but I have to accept that some pleasures are probably short-lived.

I have never seen so many Leopoldia comosa (syn.Muscari comosum ) plants as we did this spring, they were both abundant and very large in the wild part of my 'garden'.

I did not know the consequences when I planted Carpobrotus several years ago, and I have  now started removing them, but I had to take some photos of them first, the flowers are quite spectacular. I am not quite sure if it is C. edulis or C. acinaciformis, probably the latter, the flowers are big, 10-12 cm.

I have shown photos of Salvia viridis before, and I was asked if the blue colour was common, and I can assure you they are all intensely blue/purple; there were exceptionally many of them this year. I know they are called red-topped sage, but I have never seen any other colour than this deep blue. The visitor gave a nice colour contrast.

[Fleur Pavlidis]

I find this Sisyrinchium a tough little bird. It has survived for years neglected in a barren cactus bed with little water until I weeded it out by mistake a month or so ago. Needs must I divided it into three and potted them up for planting out in the autumn and they're all flowering away unconcerned.

[JTh]

That was really good news, Fleur, I hope mine will stay as well, the flowers are beautiful.

[Jill S]

Do the leaves on the blue flowered form (looks super, another to add to list) stay healthy right to the tips? I have a very pale yellow flowered type (called 'Auntie May'?), which is quietly attractive, but the leaves always turn black towards the ends which detracts somewhat. Have never found a cure for it so have just accepted that's what it does.