Any garden with a large wooden squid swimming through a field of grass is my kind of place. I’ve always had a fascination for these slippery cephalopods. It began with those stories of the giant squid that lurked in the depths of the oceans. As a kid I imagined huge monsters, as big as my bedroom with large glowing eyes and night black ink. I … Continue reading Swimming With the Squid at VanDusen Gardens
Today I had the privilege of visiting the beautiful VanDusen Botanical gardens in Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s only a few hours north of my home in Washington and what a great collection of plants! Here are a few preliminary pictures from this wonderful garden, including our botanical hero, Carl Linneaus, Calamagrostis and flying squid, and something I’ve wanted to see for a long time, the … Continue reading VanDusen Botanical Gardens
Here is my Ukigumo Japanese Maple as it travels through time. This beautiful Acer palmatum has been with me for five years and it’s grown a lot. This years photo shows it weighted down with raindrops and with partial variegation. I recently read that variegation is influenced by cultural conditions and that the leaves will revert to plain green with too much fertilizer or too … Continue reading Ukigumo Year Five
Walking under the Dove tree in full bloom is my favorite birthday present. On May 16th a trip to the arboretum was in order and I was not disappointed as in days past. We hurried down the trail, glancing over the shrubs, admiring magnolias, lingering on the laburnum for moments, but not until we reached Davidia involucrata did we stop and sigh. It was the … Continue reading Happy Birthday Dove Tree
Visiting my family this week in St. George, Utah has been a lot of fun. The landscape is one hundred eighty degrees different than the Washington view. Here it’s red and dust, there it’s green and moist. Here it’s sparse and prickly, there it’s lush and mossy. The hot sun blazes too brightly in Southern Utah and in the Pacific Northwest it’s a soft warm … Continue reading Desert Arboretum
Rainyleaf 