Bulletin - Summer 1994 - North American Rock Garden Society

elict dating to the end of the FirstWorld War, when Czechoslovakia wascreated in part from Hungarian territory.Now, of course, the daphne mustbe listed as Slovakian.Whatever its nationality, Daphnearbuscula is a marvelous rock gardenplant with clusters of tubular lavender-pinkflowers appearing in Mayand often again in the fall. It doesn'tseem to set seed in cultivation, but it iscertainly hardy at least into USDAZone 4 and is easy to grow. Limedoesn't appear to be a requisite.Certainly most of the bushes we sawwere rooted directly into the cliff, butsome also seemed to be growing in thelayer of humus overlying the limestone.This was acid enough to supportmountain cranberry, Vacciniumvitis-idaea, although lime-lovingPrimula auricula and Gentiana clusii, atrumpet gentian in the acaulis group,grew there as well. As the King ofSiam said in the musical comedy, "It'sa puzzlement."Curious to see what was going on inhis domain hundreds of feet below, Dr.Turis disappeared over the edge of thecliff while the rest of us ambled back tothe bus. Frank had borrowed cupsfrom the hotel and had rigged animmersion heater to make coffee, completewith fresh cream from the busrefrigerator. Sitting on the thyme, westrained particles of coffee beansthrough our teeth (in these parts,"Turkish" coffee is made by pouringhot water over regular grind) andpassed around Frank's pictures of hiswife and two children. Eventually, Dr.Turis came bounding up the trail toreport that soldanellas were stillblooming, in mid-July, in the gorge,where patches of snow and ice werestill melting. Somehow, I wasn't surprised.In this charmingly enigmaticpart of the world where revolutions arevelvet and even the Communists triedto preserve the land, why shouldn'tdown be as good as up, or alpine plantsgrow happily in the woods?Along with an acre of garden in Georgetown, Massachussetts, Joan Means shareswith her husband, Bob, an interest in searching for great plants in their natural settings.Joan reports that for the first time this spring Boykinia jamesii bloomed in hergarden. Nine cherry-red flowers appeared on a single flowering stem of the PikesPeak form, and Joan is thrilled!Drawing by Rebecca Day-Skowron168 Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society Vol. 52:3