It's a bit of a cheat, but this Dionysia aretoides is not reliably hardy in Newfoundland (it is zone 6 but needs its crown to be kept dry in winter) so I grow in in my unheated basement window. It started blooming three days ago. It is related to Primula and is native to Turkey. The flowers are nicely fragrant. It would be a choice plant for a vertical wall.
here's a close-up of the flowers...at close view they do look like primrose flowers
What a wonderful little plant and fragrant too! It certainly looks as though it is related to primula. Hope you have many more choice plants to follow this one. I'm going to the spring Alpine Garden Society show next weekend so hope to have some photos to share (albeit of other people's plants!)
It will be a while before I have any other alpines open. The Dionysia is the only one I overwinter indoors (except a Gazania linearis which doesn't flower until July). I still have over 2 feet of snow in the garden. In the next two week I will be having a pink-flowered Dionysia arriving in the mail. I can't wait to try that one. I wish we had access to the wonderful alpines which are available in the UK.
Hi there Todd,
These are a few of my first blooms in the Rock Garden....
Aquilegia cazorlensis - one of my favorite columbines...in bud......
And in bloom the next morning.....
And this is the first real bloom on any of the new Lewisias I ordered....Lewisia X 'Edithiae'......Love it!!!!
And now for her first close-up...lol :o)
Those are beautiful pictures, Jamie, and look at all of the buds on the Lewisia!
I've got to get a camera. Several of my alpines started blooming in February, but my latest to bloom was my Iris suaveolens. It's creamy yellow with a purple beard. The fans are only about an inch and a half tall, and the plant in bloom is about 3 inches tall. The flower is so big it has obscured all of the fans. It's beautiful.
It will be months before Lewisias or Aquilegia bloom for me! I'm living in the wrong climate. Your Lewisia looks similar to Plum Pudding except it is more orange...I'd say they are both selections from the same crossing. Your Aquilegia is now relegated back to being a subspecies of A. pyrenaica. It is mot reliably hardy in my area so you are lucky...it's a real beauty.
Is Aquilegia cazorlensis an "early bloomer" in the Columbine world? I have 5 Aquilegia alpina plants and although all have a lot of foliage, none are even close to blooming.
