| Brads Garden in Smithville, TN |
| Hello, my name is Brad and I grow a lot of plants, wildflowers, annuals, bulbs, perennials, but mostly gesneriads. Gesneriads are a large family of mostly tropical and sub-tropical plants, including Saintpaulia (African Violets), Achimenes, Nematanthus (Goldfish Vine), Aeschynanthus (Lipstick Vine), Streptocarpus (Cape Primrose), and Sinningia (Florist Gloxinia). I mostly grow and hybridize in the family Sinningia, they are fascinating plants from the size of a quarter to 4 foot tall, most fall between. I have been growing native plants for over 30 years now and have a few really nice ones, so be sure to look at the pictures. Recently, I have started collecting some of the Impatiens and Begonia species, they are very unusual and not what most people recognize, as I get more pictures I will be adding details about them. |
| ©copyright Brad Walker, September15, 2011 |
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| The Tennessee Gesneriad Society Show 2011 Check out the show! |
| Sinningia (curtiflora X warmingii) X self - one of Mauro crosses. I bought the seed several years ago and this is the first time it bloomed. Large, floppy plant with small manage a couple of crosses, hope the color comes through. |
| Sinningia lindleyi - the blooms on this plant are green with red stripes in the throat. I grew it from seed from Mauro, it didn't bloom till it was three years old. It isn't a very impressive plant, but nice bloom, could be interesting in breeding. |
| Sinningia schiffneri - large fuzzy plant with small bright white flowers with purple spotting in throat. My evil cat broke the only stem with my crosses on it. I did get some self seed. |
I am rebuilding my website and updating, check misc. gesneriads now.
| Sinniniga barbata 'Nova Esperanca' - very different bloom from the normal S. barbata, being highly spotted. I think this may be a hybrid between S. barbata and guttata. |
| Above and clockwise - Columnea 'Light Prince' - beautiful foliage plant with light green leaves variegated with white. It surprised me a month ago with little buds showing (right), they have started elongating and they being covered in bright red hair. The plant is covered in buds at this point, will take more pictures when in full bloom. Bought this plant on the way back from 'Tennessee Gesneriad Society' plant show 2011, at Lowe's in Murfreesboro, TN. They often carry different vines, several of which are gesneriads. |
| Above - Columnea 'Sunrise' - The first open bloom, nice bright orange and yellow. It has lots of buds coming on. |
| Above - Columnea 'Sunrise' same shot a couple of months later, now a big white pearl in orange bracts. Crossed it to Columnea 'Aladinn's Flame' and reversed the cross. |
| January 15, 2012 and already have snow crocus blooming along with Snowdrops. |