I was supposed to be (my own assignment to myself) doing Pinaceae this month, but there were so many distractions, I decided it would be better to leave Pinaceae to their own thread. This posting was originally in that thread, so that's why I started it with ... ... continuing the wet wood series, here is Stewartia sinensis. I'm a big fan of Rhododendron barbatum, and can hardly ever do justice in my photos to the great bark, but yesterday was my day. And even a cherry, Prunus sargentii, o-yama-zakura. Unrelated to anything that has gone before, here is Rhododendron aff. morii, with a red label, which means it might be that. I was attracted by the yellow flower stems. The first two photos are the same individual - now I don't know which colour is more accurate. I didn't edit either photo.
I'll continue with two rhododendrons, the only bit of continuity that will appear in this thread. This is a cultivar in the Asian garden - Rhododendron 'Wakehurst'. Next to it is Rhododendron rufum. Were it not for my attempt at continuity, I'd have started this posting on the entrance plaza with my favourite flowers, Melliodendron xylocarpum. Around the corner, I went to check out the Magnolia laevifolia but got distracted by my favourite new leaves, on Tapiscia sinensis.
