We garden in south west Cumbria, England. We have good loam which is slightly acidic, but overlaying carboniferous limestone can grow a wide variety of plants. Being on the coast means we have a pretty high rainfall, but enjoy mild winter conditions due to catching the edge of the Gulf Stream.
At the moment Primula alpicola is in bloom in all it's varied loveliness. This is one of my favourite plants for here in the north-west of England - it doesn't mind our over-the-top rainfall, and it's seemingly fragile stems remain unaffected by wind, and it's delicate scent attracts everyone's curiosity. I was priveledged to see Primula alpicola in its home environment on the Nyima La in South east Tibet in 1995. It was sunning itself in a damp meadow at about 13,000 feet. I remember clearly sprawling on the damp grass to get a good picture of the beauty. Some Americans in our party (mainly Rhododendron buffs) noting this unusual behaviour, enquired as to what was so special about this 'weed'. I ignored the insult, and went on to bore for Britain on the subject of the genus Primula and the alpicola species in particular. (They didn't ask any similar questions again!) It comes in a range of colours: lemon, white (luna), and mauve. The 'luna form' is my favourite. Almost white flared bells look as though they were created to be part of a fairyland dell somewhere at the bottom of your garden. These are short lived perennials, but self seed freely if you plant 'pin' and 'thrum' forms together. (For the uninitiated, most primulas have two forms: look into the flower - if you see something in the centre that looks like a pin-head, then that's the pin form; if you see a ring of small dots round the edge of the tube, then that's the thrum form. If you see both at the same level, that's called a homostylus form and you don't have to worry about getting both forms - Primula japonica q.v. is supposed to be homostylus). A cousin of Primula alpicola is Primula sikkimensis. They are sometimes difficult to tell apart, but in general I would say that Primula sikkimensis is more robust and just not quite as beautiful as Primula alpicola. The colours are less subtle (yellow instead of refined lemon, for example), and the form less ethereal. But as I hinted at in the title of this piece, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and others may well disagree with me.
Primula japonica is another favourite of mine. The colours are normally deep pink with occasional whites. The orangey/yellow specimen in the picture to the right is a random hybrid, which will be removed at the end of the season!
This particular group is growing in pretty deep shade, in an area that receives a lot of water from time to time. Normally a bit more light is advisable, but they are fairly easy-going plants on the whole.
Siberian iris The plant on the left was sold to me as Iris sibirica, but I'm not exactly sure about this. I am advised that it is unwise to call anything Iris sibirica, as they are so heavily hybridised these days. The plants grow to about 60 cms, and are quite a pretty mauve colour with attractive markings on the falls. It's in good loam, semi shade, and thrives in our damp conditions.I like irises in general, mainly because they have such elegant flowers, and, (if chosen carefully with an eye to local conditions) can be very accommodating plants for your borders. Plant and forget - they will bulk up nicely over a few years, when you can split them up and give as gifts, or fill up another spot in your garden.