Virtual Garden Tour 2000-2021

Discussion in 'How's It Growing?' started by Margot, May 15, 2020.

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  1. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    I'm glad you found this thread. I know from reading your previous posts that you must have many beautiful plants.

    Hope you can share others as the season goes on.
     
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  2. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    Thank you Margot. I thought I would add a couple of photos that I was able to take in early Feb of this year at Bloedel Conservatory - ficus aspera (variegated clown fig). I donated the tree to the conservatory about 2 years ago and it was finally put out on display just before things were shut down due to COVID. The reason I gave it to Bloedel was that I wanted to share this rare and beautiful tree with people and knew the people working at the conservatory would be able to care for it.

    IMG_2786.JPG IMG_2787.JPG
     
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  3. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Nice. I saw one in Hawai'i six years ago, in a botanical garden. I posted some photos on flickr: Search: ficus aspera | Flickr
     
  4. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I even recognize that from UBCBG: Rhododendron stenopetalum 'Linearifolium'. I love the skinny hairy leaves, and those flowers are pretty strange too.
     
  5. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Much of the colour in my garden these days is from shrubs that are starting to wind down. Many more are coming in bloom but, right now, these are the nicest flowers I can find.
    #1 Alpine Dianthus - the fellow who gave it to me doesn't know the botanical name . . . do you?
    #2 Lewisia cotyledon - still sported a few blooms last December and has been blooming again for at least a month.
    #3 Rhododendron 'Anah Kruschke' - inveigling its way in among all shrubs nearby and I love the wild effect.
    #4 Rhododendron 'Hachman's Charmant' - I somehow managed to plant this beauty behind a faster growing rhodo so never see it unless I go and seek it out.
     

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    Last edited: May 23, 2020
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  6. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    First I found a fringed cultivar, but I think this Dianthus arenarius is likely to be it.
    dianthus arenarius - Google Search
    That is very cute.
     
  7. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Thank you Wendy! I think you've pinned it down. I wasn't getting anywhere researching alpine dianthus and it doesn't seem like this is an alpine after all . . . likes dry meadows, so I read. It is a most satisfying little plant. What's that line from an old song? "No fuss, no muss, no bother." :-)
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2020
  8. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    My wife and I this morning did our early walk along the River Itchen in Hampshire. We came across three lovely wild growing plants. Pyracantha, Bearded Iris and a Wild Rose. The latter was filling the air with lovely scent. So thought I would share these with this thread.
    The last photo I took sets the scene of the River Itchen in May 2019. Too busy this morning to get an empty photo today. Hope the photo puts you there !!!
     

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  9. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    This is my Davidia involucrata ( known as the handkerchief, ghost or Dove tree).
    With my wife and I, my eldest granddaughter in November 2013 age 7 collected seeds from under a 100 year old handkerchief tree at the Mayors garden in Winchester UK.
    She planted the seeds in a pot in my back garden and after three years they sprouted to what you see today planted out in the ground. We will not see the bract and purple head flower for at least another six years, so patience is required.
    I myself will always love this tree for sentimental reasons, but also the wonderful leaf structure and colour.
    Anyway here it is at 5ft tall and I will post photos when it is in flower. Fingers crossed !!
     

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  10. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    Good luck on the tree; mine is now around 8 years old and about 9 ft tall and I'm still waiting for it flower (it was purchased during Van Dusen's plants sale in 2012 and was only about 6" tall a the time)
     
  11. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Hi @pmurphy, I think you will be posting photos of the flowers first. But I will enjoy yours just as much.
    Fingers crossed for both of us. Nice talking to you.
     
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  12. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    On the theme of trees, this is Sorbus aria Lutescens Whitebeam this evening in my garden. I do like how the light at this time of day can show the leaves at their best.
     

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  13. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Until I saw my first Dove tree about 30 years ago, I hadn't even heard of them. I was driving along a back street in an old Burnaby, BC neighbourhood when suddenly I beheld this vision of a huge tree covered in dazzling flowers. It's a good thing no one was driving behind me because I slammed on the brakes and pulled over. The house where the tree was growing was for sale . . . the area had recently been re-zoned for apartment towers. Seeing that tree and wanting to protect it was the beginning of my involvement as an ordinary citizen to advocate for the preservation of special trees in the City. I think that particular tree was spared but it's been a long time since I have checked.
     
  14. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    In South Wales we bought a young tree...took 16 years before we saw any flowers!
     
  15. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    FYI, Butchart Gardens has an enormous dove tree on the grounds - saw it about 6 years ago when we visited the Island
     
  16. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    I'm surprised. They're used as street trees in Vancouver, and I've seen several young trees with flowers. Of course, I don't know how old they are when they are planted, nor how long before I saw them they were planted, but certainly they have been flowering a lot younger than 16 years.
     
  17. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    For what it's worth, I've read on several websites that Davidia involucrata may take 10 years to bloom and they do not bloom reliably every year.
     
  18. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Good morning, found another cute shrub rose along the River Itchen near Winchester in England this morning. Tiny, but full of lovely scent.
    I took the photos for my wife, but thought I would share them aswell.
     

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  19. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    I took a wander in my gardens and found a few more plants that are just about finished flowering for the season. Most are tiny and you have to look for them but I consider them "tiny treasures".....

    IMG_2888.JPG
    saruma henryi - upright wild ginger (native to china)
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    epimedium rubrum - fairy wings
    IMG_2897.JPG
    lysichiton americanus - western skunk cabbage (an interesting plant despite the scent)
    IMG_2946.JPG
    asimina triloba - pawpaw 'mango'
    IMG_3003.JPG
    rubus arcticus - arctic bramble
     
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  20. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    @pmurphy , couldn't agree more, lovely.
     
  21. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    The dove tree cultivar selected by Sonoma Horticultural nursery in California and circulated in commerce in later years flowers in a 5 gallon pot size when clonally propagated.
     
  22. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    Couldn't resist one more image today:

    Persicaria microcephala 'purple fantasy', aka purple fantasy knotweed. This plant can be invasive as it spreads from almost indestructible rhizomes so you must keep on top of it. But this is also another "tiny treasure" as it forms "pompoms" less than 1/2" in size that open into a profusion of dainty flowers. You really have to get "up close and personal" with this plant to enjoy the flowers.

    IMG_3025.JPG
     
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  23. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Gorgeous - well worth the trouble of bending down to see.
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2020
  24. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    The frequent rains we have had this spring have certainly brought out the best in many plants (not to mention slugs and weeds).

    Before it starts raining again, I managed to photograph these three.

    1. Acer 'Seiryu' - temporarily 'weeping' until it dries off.
    2. Cistus x hybridus - this is dying back from old age I guess; must start another cutting.
    3. Enkianthus campanulatus 'Red Bells' - fading now after blooming for weeks.
     

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    Last edited: May 25, 2020
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  25. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Here is my Sambucus Nigra Black Lace in this afternoons sun in my garden. The flowers have a lovely musk scent. The black lace like leaves glow in the sun. It thrives on my clay soil. This plant is deciduous.
     

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