It's been very dry here (little rain in June and none to speak of in July) and often hot, so things a looking a bit dreary, and we are having to water. A rather challenging season, as the ants seem to sense the plants I value most and start building their tunnels under them... will have to start over with Eritrichium howardii, and the little fiends have infested a couple troughs. Up until this year, it seemed we could co-exist pretty peaceably.
Not much excitement in the rock garden...
Campanula excisa, from seed this spring, has one teensy plant in bloom in the tufa... nice to be able to tell that it is what it's supposed to be... and to at least see it bloom in the event that I kill it later. ;-)
Gentiana veitchiorum, from seed in 2012; seeds from M. Pavelka, collected at 4400m, Quinghai, China. It bloomed with one flower last year - but I missed it! Looks like it should have 5 or 6 this year.
Campanula x haylodgensis 'Plena' on the edge of the tufa; may be a little too rambunctious with time, but it's nice to have more things in bloom... though it chooses to lean away from the rock, rather than grow upright.
Silene chungtienensis, started in spring, looking a lot like Lychnis alpina (though I think it is supposed to?)... may have to try to key it out to see.
