First Time at Heronswood

I had never been to Heronswood, and I missed the May open garden despite planning to go, so I decided that I would not miss going this July.

You know what?  My alarm didn't go off (we tested it after I did wake up).  And you know what?  I went anyway.

We arrived close to 1:30, just after the event's halfway point.  First thing, I made my customary list of all the plants I might want from all vendors.  Then I crossed off all the plants that would drive me (too far) over-budget over an excellent lunch of fry-bread.  (The place is, after all, now owned by the Port Gamble S'Klallam tribe.)  Then I bought the plants.

Impatiens mengtszeana and I. puberula from Keeping It Green, Echinops ritro 'Taplow Purple' and Sarracenia leucophylla 'Tarnok' from Sundquist, Eucryphia x nymansensis 'Nymansay' and Eucalyptus neglecta from Celestial Dream, Geranium palmatum from Windcliff Plants, Rhaphithamnus spinosus from Longbranch, and Berberidopsis corallina, Grevillea victoriae 'Murray Valley Queen', and Myrceugenia ovata var. nanophylla from Desert Northwest.

My plants, my babies.

After a stop at will call, it was off to the more exciting part of the trip: touring the garden.



Supposedly, the last admission to the garden was at 3, but we got in at 3:20 or so.  Ha!  As it was afternoon, in the shade, and apparently my camera lens was dirty, some of my photos are downright crap.  The following are only moderately rubbish.

There were plenty of interesting plants starting down the main path.

Variegated Filipendula

Schefflera taiwaniana

Podophyllum delaveyi

Astilboides tabularis, a personal favorite

Osmunda regalis, and a Rodgersia

Paris quadrifolia

Metapanax davidii

 One of my beloved Chileans.

Hydrangea serratifolia

And a Taiwanese impostor.

Hydrangea integrifolia

Another Chilean, another favorite of mine.  Bought one at the Calvert Greenhouse last week.

Lardizabala biternata, having trouble twining up a Doug fir

The new growth of Lardizabala

I kept an eye out for its even rarer (in gardens) relative Boquila trifoliolata, but none did I find.  Drat and dangnabbit.

Is it weird that I loved the paths almost (almost) as much as the plants?  They were so darn comfortable to walk on.

Atrichum sp. and some other moss I should know

And out into the burning sun.

A very nice, frilly selection of Thalictrum aff. flavum

Geranium phaeum of some sort, playing nicely off an Acorus gramineus

Why is it that no matter how many times I sow Datisca seeds, and from however many sources, none ever come up?

Rheum australe (read that one off the map) in front of Datisca cannabina

Dendropanax trifidus, or one of its hybrids

I think that it's in the rules that everyone has to take a picture of this Hebe.

Hebe ochracea 'James Stirling'

The famous Hebe from the other side, with some of the ubiquitous Campanula lactiflora

Lagarostobos franklinii, I think

The boring Saxifraga umbrosa with an exciting, though unidintified, bramble

Eucryphia x intermedia, probably 'Rostrevor'

Decaisnea insignis, yet to show its blue

I need this Lobelia.  I mean, I need this Lobelia. It was shown off to me last year at Far Reaches, but I didn't then realize how much height it got from L. excelsa.  Now I'm hooked.  (As if being both Chilean and a Lobelia weren't enough.)

Lobelia tupa x L. excelsa, not yet in bloom

This Gunnera has fat infructescence branches, which puts it squarely in G. tinctoria.  The big plant out by the parking (no photo) had long, wispy branches, even though the fruit was starting to mature (see a comparison here).  That's why I called that one G. manicata, one of only two verifiable specimens of that species I've seen in this state.  Dan Hinkley thought that he remembered growing the plant out front from seed collected in Chile (G. manicata is from southern Brazil, one of several strangely hardy plants from that region).

Gunnera tinctoria

Amicia zygomeris

Clinopodium vulgare?

Silybum marianum

I know this Lobelia.  I grow this Lobelia.  I love this Lobelia, and give it to friends.  I'm thinking of trialing this Lobelia one such friend's garden in the Tri-Cities.

Lobelia laxiflora subsp. angustifolia, a cold-hardy Mexican

You thought this was a Polygonum?  I say Fallopia (I'm not a huge fan of the name Reynoutria). Behind it?  An Aconogonon.

No longer Polygonum, I call it "cute"

Magnolia virginiana peeking through a window

Sanguisorba hakusanensis, a pink, Japanese, and less water-hungry version of our native S. stipulata

Eucryphia x nymansensis, likely 'Nymansay'

When came upon this plant, I thought that it would be my favorite of the day.  As it turned out, it was my second favorite.  Still, this plant is just fantastic.  It looks like an ordinary deciduous shrub with lime green leaves and pinkish flowers, but it's clearly in the Asteraceae.  That makes it awesome.  I even wrote a song about it in relation to some other shrubby asters:

Mystery Asteraceae

It's not an Artemisia.

It's not a Barnadesia.

It certainly could not be a Mutisia.

It's not a Montanoa,

Nor a tender Podachaenium.

(spoken) Could it be a strange species of Dasyphyllum?

Some Boehmeria or other

Tetracentron sinense

This picture doesn't adequately show the size of these Impatiens omeiana

That's better - plus, everything's better with happy tree ferns

Another rule: all visitors must photograph this Petasites japonicus subsp. giganteus sculpture.

Ooh...

Wasabia japonica!

Like Lobelia laxiflora, Hydrangea seemannii is from Mexico.

Got one

Telekia speciosa - the cordate leaf bases distinguish it neatly from Inula

I found a tag for this cute little thing, but I didn't write the name down.

So dainty, so nameless

The native Coptis laciniata

 The Flora of China says that Ichtyoselmis macrantha can get over 4 feet tall, but I've only seen it in gardens at less than half that height.

Ichtyoselmis macrantha

Lysimachia paridiformis, one of the few blooms in the shade

On the way out, I saw a plant that I've been lusting after for some time.  I think I can get it from some nurseries around here, but still... I want.

Hummina hummina, not a validly published name

This is Gevuina avellana, a protea from Chile.  The seeds are called Chilean Hazelnuts, and they have been trialed as a cool-climate crop. And will you look at those leaves!

Leaves of H. hummina

There used to be a plant at the UW Arboretum, but it was moved to make way for the Pacific Connections thingamajig.  The maps show it replanted on the far South slope, but its accession number doesn't appear in the database, and there's certainly no Gevuina in that spot now.  They're notoriously picky about soil conditions, so did it die after transplanting?  Was it hacked to death a few years ago?

Of course, one of the best trees was at the Kingston ferry dock.

Arbutus menziesii, with the Spokane in the background

And there were jellyfish.

"... It's a jelly."

And to answer the question you all must be shouting at your computer screens, my alarm appears to be working after switching it between AM and FM several times.  Stupid thing.