We typically think of dogwoods of being seasonally interesting plants in spring, but the semi-evergreen Cornus wilsoniana changes that narrative. Despite the clusters of small flowers in May, this Chinese species is most prized for its amazing white patterned bark, which is especially noticeable in winter, against the prevailing background of brown. Sadly, this amazing
Wilson’s Winter Dogwood Read More »
Looking great in early February is the fabulous red-twigged Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Fjellheim’. Don’t confuse this with the better-known Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’. Interestingly, Acer ‘Fjellheim’ is a witches broom (dwarf mutation) discovered on a plant of A. ‘Sango Kaku’. For us, the parent has red twigs when it’s very young, but looses the
Sadly, folks who have a predilection to butcher evergreens like yews (Taxus) into green meatballs completely miss the beauty of their bark as they age. Here is our plant of Taxus mairei (Nepal to Vietnam) in the garden this week, looking absolutely stunning. Woof Woof!
This Bark’s for Yew Read More »
I borrowed the title from our good friend Jim Dodson’s book for this post about Ulmus parviflora ‘Golden Rey’. One of the most admired trees in our garden is our specimen of Gold-leaf lacebark elm. The bark, as you can see below is absolutely fabulous both in winter and summer. The problem is that lacebark
There aren’t a large number of trees that flower in winter in temperate climates, but one we can’t imagine gardening without is Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’. This amazing Mediterranean native has thrived for us since the late 1980s. Arbutus is a member of the Ericaceae family, which is why the flower so closely resemble those of
Winter flowering Strawberry Tree Read More »
I remember falling in love with the dwarf river birch, Betula nigra ‘Little King’, back around 1990 when it was first planted at the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC. This amazing compact selection originated in the late 1970s at King Nursery in Oswego, Illinois, and starting in 1991, was adopted and formally marketed through
Honey, I shrunk the River Birch Read More »
