Rhododendron and
Azalea News

Gardens

Coming to the ARS 2004 Convention?

The dates are May 12 through 16 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania...just outside of Philadelphia.  You can't imagine the things there are to see: from America historical places to some of the wonders of the botanical world.  The District 8 Chapters are the hosts of this remarkable event and comprise the following chapters:

The District has done a tremendous job of planning tours to some of the most famous gardens around the Philadelphia area.  It seems important to provide a brief outline of several of these gardens.  Take a careful look at each.  This should really whet your appetite to make airplane and hotel reservations as soon as possible.  Then, take the tours.  Guaranteed...you will love every minute.

Tyler Arboretum, Media, Pennsylvania

Remember William Penn from American history?  You will have the opportunity to walk on the grounds that belonged to William Penn!  It's a history lesson in itself.  In 1681, Penn signed a "lease and release" agreement with Thomas Minshall, an English Quaker, for property in Pennsylvania that now is the site of the Tyler Arborteum.

The Arboretum itself began as the private collection of two brothers, Jacob and Minshall Painter.  The brothers were fascinated by the popular 19th century study of natural history.  During their lifetimes, they managed to amass large collections of dried plants, rocks, and other specimens.

In 1825 the brothers set aside some of their land to begin the systematic planting of more than 1,000 varieties of trees and shrubs.  More than 20 of the original Painter trees still survive, including the Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), a state champion and the majestic symbol of Tyler Arboretum.

Between 1681 and 1944, the property was home to eight generations of the same Minshall/Painter/Tyler family.  In 1944, Laura Tyler, a direct descendant of Thomas Minshall, bequeathed the property to a board of trustees that had been established to direct and oversee the land as an arboretum.

• for a walk showing off: 1600 rhododendrons, including many named and unnamed Dexter hybrids, flowering cherry, crabapple, and holly magnolia, and lilacs,
• to see the Painter Trees,
• to view the 85-acre Pinetum, that features pines, spruces, hemlocks, firs, cedars, cypresses, and larches,
• to the Native Woodland Walk,
• to view the Stopford Family Meadow Maze, a labyrinth of meadow grasses and butterfly-loving plants,
• to see Pink Hill, a barren of serpentine stone on which grows endemic wildflowers
• on a walk, hike, or drive through 450 uncultivated acres which remain natural and contain 20 miles of marked trails...much used by hikers, birders, and naturalists.

Today, the informal gardens and educational displays pay homage to the Arboretum's roots while staying true to the organization's mission:

"to preserve, develop, and share our diverse horticultural, historical, and natural site resources in order to stimulate an understanding of the living world."

(Tyler Arboretum has graciously granted permission to use their website information.)

Longwood Gardens,
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

Longwood is recognized as one of the world's premier horticultural display gardens.  Just imagine seeing all of this:

• 1,050 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows,
• 20 outdoor gardens and 20 indoor gardens within 4 acres of heated greenhouses,
• 11,000 different types of plants,

History tells us that many generations helped create Longwood, but one individual...Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954)...industrialist, conservationist, farmer, designer, engineer, impresario, and philanthropist...made the most enduring contributions.  Longwood owes its present-day success to fortuitous circumstances.  The Peirces who planted the trees actively pursued a Quaker interest in natural history.  The site was known by 1850 as one of the finest collections of trees in the nation, and by that time its aesthetic qualities were as important as its botanical significance.

At age 36, Mr. du Pont bought the Peirce farm and began creating what would become Longwood Gardens.  He followed no grand plan...he built the gardens piecemeal as the mood touched him, beginning with the 600-ft long Flower Garden Walk in 1907.  Although his later gardens would draw heavily on Italian and French forms, this early effort reflected what he termed an "old-fashioned" influence, with nostalgic cottage-garden flowers, exuberant shrubs, rose-laden trellises, and even a shiny gazing ball.  The scale was grand, the accessories quaint.

Around 1914, he constructed a Conservatory as Longwood's first "winter garden" and Pierre's first experience with the aesthetics of greenhouse gardening.  With the Conservatory a reality, he turned his attention to another great love...fountains.  He based his Italian Water Garden on the Villa Gamberaia near Florence...but he added 600 jets of recirculating water.  At the Open Air Theatre, he replaced the old waterworks with 750 illuminated jets.  His hydraulic masterpiece was the Main Fountain Garden in front of the Conservatory: 10,000 gallons a minute shot as high as 130 ft and illuminated in every imaginable color.  Its complex engineering didn't faze him.  "The fountains themselves are of simple design...," he noted.  "It is the landscape effect that adds to the total bill."

(Longwood Gardens has graciously granted permission to use their website information.)

Jenkins Arboretum, Devon, Pennsylvania

Mr. H. Lawrence Jenkins established the Elisabeth Phillippe Jenkins Foundation and created the Jenkins Arboretum as a living memorial to his wife, an avid gardener and wildlife enthusiast.  He directed in his will that the property become a "public park, arboretum, and wildlife sanctuary for use by the public and responsible organizations engaged in the study of arboriculture, horticulture, and wildlife for educational and scientific purposes..."

In 1971, Mrs. Louisa P. Browning, owner of the adjoining property, donated her 26 acres to the Arboretum, more than doubling its size.

The Arboretum is a carefully planned botanical garden of 46 acres of Pennsylvania woodland.  With a Mid-Atlantic location, the Arboretum has been able to excel in nurturing a broad diversity of the genus Rhododendron.

Enjoy this garden on the tour of gardens at the ARS Convention.

(The Jenkins Arboretum has graciously granted permission to use their website information.)

Other botanical gardens to see...

In addition to those gardens outlined above, there are several others which are worthy of a visit while you are in the Philadelphia area:

• Landscape Arboretum of Temple, Ambler, Pennsylvania
• Fairmont Park Horticultural Center, Fairmount, Pennsylvania
• Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Philadelphia
• The Gardens of Morris Arboretum, U of P, Philadelphia
• The Horticultural Center, Philadelphia
• and then the garden described below...

This Garden welcomes you to America's oldest botanical garden.  History tells us that such American patriots as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson have all been at this site.  This botanical garden has unbelievable treasures and you won't believe you are in the city when you see the wildflower meadow, majestic trees, river trail, wetland, stone house and farm buildings overlooking the Schuylkill River, and, of course, the historic botanical garden of American native plants.

On this site more than 250 years ago, John Bartram, a Quaker farmer, was stopped in his tracks by a daisy while plowing his fields.  The plant's simplicity and beauty inspired John and his son, William, to spend the rest of their lives exploring, collecting, and seeking to understand all forms of nature.

Come explore John Bartram's 18-Century home, barn, and a cider press craved from bedrock.  Stroll through the fragrant Common Flower Garden and the riverside meadow with a spectacular view of the Philadelphia skyline.  Catch a cool breeze along the river trail. See the exquisite Franklinia alatamaha tree, which boasts late summer blossoms, striking Fall foliage and an extraordinary history, is the most famous discovery of American botanists John and William Bartram.

The father-and son-explorers discovered a small grove of this unknown tree growing along the Altamaha River in Georgia in 1765.  On a later trip, William gathered seeds to propagate at their Philadelphia garden.  They named the tree Franklinia alatamaha in honor of John Bartram's great friend, Benjamin Franklin.

The tree was never again seen in the wild after 1803, but fortunately, because of the Bartrams, Franklinias still do exist.  All Franklinnias growing today are descended from those propagated and distributed by the Bartrams, who are credited with saving it from extinction.

Wouldn't you like to be among the other thousands of visitors to enjoy this beautiful garden and see for yourself the famous Franklinia tree.  It won't be in bloom in May...but its majesty can be behold.  Indeed, you will have a reverent attitude as you take a walk.

(Historic Bartram's Gardens has graciously granted permission to use their website information.)

The gardens of Cornwall England

It's travel time around the world.  With airfares so reasonable, it seems as though all of us...from all points of the globe...are taking to skies.  The New Zealand Rhododendron Society is in the midst of planning a wonderful trip to Europe, and there are other privately-guided tours planning a tour, also.  It seems appropriate to share with the world an account made by Carol Hanby and Nick Nickou from the Connecticut Chapter of their recent trip.   Listen to your heart strings and see if you would like to make a similar trip.

Rhododendrons are featured along with azaleas, hydrangeas, magnolias, camellias, and tree ferns.  These are protected by cedar, beech, and maple plants.  There are several Chusan palms from China.

The Garden is divided into two sections:

• The Northern Garden contains the main features, while,
• the Jungle is a steep-sided valley woodland garden to the South, containing water and lakes.

Many of the plants and trees are rare to this part of the world.  These gardens were closely associated with the plant hunters of the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Many of the old trees and shrubs were brought here from foreign lands.  It also contains some unusual sculptures, including a rather large reclining, sleeping woman...known as the "Mud Maiden".  Many Grunneras grow in the ravine, along with borage (Mysosotidium hortense) Dicksonia ferns, and Lysichiton.

Treewithen & Trengwainton Gardens

Going around Land's End, the journey continued to this Garden...which enjoys the mild Cornish climate enabling it to support a wide range of tender and exotic species.  The house and garden at Trengwainton were originally established around 1814.  The Bolitho family took over the property in 1867.  1905 saw the first rhododendrons arrive with over a hundred hybrids of Rhododendron aboreum.  Bolitho joined Kingdon Ward's botanical expedition to Assam and Burma in 1927 and 1928, returning with a collection of rhododendron seed.  We saw Primula helodoxa was seen growing in the stream.

The sea at the village of St. Ives is gloriously clear, almost tropical, and the wild of West Cornwall has beautiful sandy beaches.  For centuries, life at St. Ives revolved round the harbor, and most natives were involved in fishing.  The old part of the town, near the harbor, is a maze of winding, narrow streets and cobbled alleys.

By building tall wind-breaks, Augustus Smith channeled the weather up and over the network of walled enclosures he built around the Priory ruins, and the three terraces he carved from the rocky, south-facing slope, looking towards St. Mary's Island.  The layout begins with the original plantings around the Priory, and ends with the new, terraced Mediterranean Garden...a horticultural world tour condensed into just 17 acres.

The collection of plants is from places such as: South Africa, Mexico, the Canary Isles, and Australia.  The garden is laid out with a long-main axis path, and with many side paths leading to various destinations.  The hotter, drier terraces at the top suit South African and Australian plants...while those at the bottom provide the humidity that favors flora from New Zealand and South America.

The diversity is greater even than the Southern Mediterranean.  Fringing the grid of paths criss-crossing the gardens are: cacti, date palms, and giant, lipstick-red flame trees, rarities like Lobster Claw; great white spires of Echia, brilliant Furcraea, Strelitzia, and shocking-pink drifts of Pelargonium.  From South Africa are the Leucodendron trees, Protea, and Greyia. Other interesting plants seen were: Gernaium maderensi from Maderia, the red spike of Puya venesta from Chile, and members of the Halimium cistacease family from the Western Mediterranean.

Statues symbolic of natural forces are placed throughout the Garden.  One path leads up steps to a statute of Jupiter, another leads up to an interesting structure composed of shell mosaics.  Also located in the Abbey Gardens is a museum of figureheads from old sailing ships.

(Connecticut editor, Ted Bensley, wants to give credit to the websites of Trescco, Cornwall, Isles of Scilly, and Tresco for some of the material shown above.)

A gardener's diary for April

Norman Todd, Victoria Chapter, Canada, records facts of gardening in his personal diary. These are the facts he recorded a year ago.

Some parts of the garden are truly spectacular...as good as Butchart's.  I just need to get on top of those weeds...unfortunately, some have already seeded.

I'll go and buy three hoes and leave them at strategic places where I can wield them savagely whenever I see a weed.  However, some of the hellebores and snowdrops and cyclamen seed themselves...so one has to be a little restrained with the hoe.

The lecture last week by that Martha Stewart paragon gave me some good ideas.  She really was a show-off, although quite modest about it; and she doesn't have deer.  She did say she had fenced her place but she must have a pile of money.  And, she said she usually only bought one of any new plant and propagated it tout suite.

I've got to get some order in that greenhouse of ours.  It's too bad that erythronium take so long from seed.  I could divide these English primroses.  They do bloom for a long time and cover quite a bit of ground.  My soil is pretty poor though.  What I need is more humus.  Still some of those Alpines seem to grow on nothing.

Pity we have so much shade.

(Note...keep track of "those hoes" you will be hearing more about them in later R&A News issues!)

Little history about George Fraser

George Fraser added so many different dimensions to our beautiful world of rhododendrons and soon will be honored on his 150th birthday.  Bill Dale, Cowichan Chapter, writes about the background and importance of George's findings and contributions to the rhododendron world.  Bill was a member of the Vancouver Chapter for many years.

One of the world's leading early rhododendron hybridizers, George Fraser, was born in 1854 at Lossiemouth, Scotland.  In 1871, at age 17, he started his gardening career working at Christies Nursery in Fochabers, Moray, Scotland.  He went to Gordon Castle in Fochabers to do his apprenticeship.  From there he worked as head gardener for several large estates around Scotland.

Realizing he could never afford his own land, he emigrated to Canada.  He worked on the building of the CPR rail and started a greenhouse in Winnipeg.  Winnipeg being too cold a climate for him, he came West in 1885, settling in Victoria.  He started a fruit and vegetable garden on the western slopes of Mt. Tolmie.  In 1889 John Blair had the job of building Beacon Hill Park and hired George as his foreman.  They remained good friends until John's death in 1906.

George moved to Ucluelet in 1894 because it reminded him of his homeland and was ideal for growing rhododendrons.  He cleared nine acres of dense bush and started his nursery, specializing in rhododendrons and developing many fine hybrids.  In 1919 he sent budded plants of what became his most famous hybrid to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, England, and the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.  Both named the hybrid: Rhododendron fraseri.

In 1944 at the age of 90 when he could no longer stay in his home, his friends arranged for a boat to take him to Port Alberni.  As he was carried to the boat he turned to his friend, Bud Thompson, and said, "I don't know where I'm going to end up, but it really doesn't matter.  I've had my Heaven here on earth."  He died two days later.

Buried in an unmarked grave until 1990, the Ucluelet Lions Club tidied up his grave and placed a marker on it.  In 1991 the ARS presented him posthumously with the "Pioneers Achievement Award," a rarely given honor.

The 150th anniversary will be a major event for rhodo lovers.  Several dignitaries, including: Iona Campanola, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, and Mike Stewart, ARS president, are expected to attend.

Beautiful entrance to Ucluelet

The George Fraser Committee has been responsible for planting over 200 rhododendrons along the roadside leading into Ucluelet...and around the "Welcome to Ucluelet" sign.  These plants were donated by four of the five ARS Chapters on Vancouver Island.  In the Springtime, this is truly a most beautiful entrance to Ucluelet and a sight you won't want to miss.  Come and see!

Want a companion plant: Choose a fuchsia...

Colleen Forster, who writes for the Fraser South Chapter, Canada, newsletter, writes that "F" is for fuchsia, in the evening primrose family, and the family of Onagraceae.

I find it rather sad to realize that many people only think of the fuchsia as a bedding plant for summer hanging baskets.  They are certainly deprived of the wonder of their later summer show as a permanent plants in borders and beds.

We can thank the hardy F. magellanica from Chile and Argentina for these beauties.  A fabulous number of hybrids and selections have been produced from the towering cascades of blooms on the species, to the tidy little mounds of dwarfs.

Hardiness varies among them, so some trial and error for your particular garden may be necessary.  Blooms come in all colors and combinations...in single and double forms...but they are all smaller and daintier than their blowsy hanging-basket cousins and produced in much greater profusion.  There is also a great variety of foliage...gold with red stems, dark bronzy green, pink and white variegated, gold-edged...and more.

Not all upright forms should be considered hardy...but if in doubt or if you'd like to push the envelope a bit...mulch them well in winter, making sure they have moisture and drainage.  The smaller forms can be mass planted, used as edging to large shrub beds, or in planters, as most grow only 6 to 18 in. tall.

Large forms, some reaching spectacular heights of 8 to 10 ft., can better serve in mixed borders or as informal hedging.  Compact forms can easily be trained to standards, pyramids, or espaliers (trellis).  In a hard winter, even the hardiest selection may die to the ground...but don't despair...if protected, the roots will cheerfully send forth new stems in Spring.  In fact, most will need periodic removal of the oldest stems as a regular maintenance if Mother Nature doesn't help out.

Things to consider...

• fuchsias prefer moist, moderately rich soil in morning sun,
• they need to be sheltered from cold winds, but require good air circulation to avoid leaf diseases,
• try not to wet the foliage too much,
• treat insects like whitefly and aphid quickly if the appear,
• cuttings root very readily, even in a glass of water on a windowsill, so if you're worried about hardiness, start up a few for insurance, or just for sharing.

New varieties are constantly available, but many old standards are still readily found. Selections have been grown since about 1768, and even very popular ones like F. mag. 'Riccartonii' and 'Lottie Hobby' have been around since the 1830's!

• for tall shrubs, try F. mag. 'Gracilis' and 'Veersicolor',
• for medium size, try 'Genii', 'Prospeerrity', 'Display', 'Mrs. Popple', 'Chillerton Beauty', 'Alice Hofman', or 'Mrs. Lovell Swisher',
• a new series of dwarf bedding types from Europe is sweeping the better plant centers now...all with lovely girl's names...and WOW do they ever bloom!
• older ones like 'Tom Thumb', 'Lady Thumb', 'Peter Pan', and 'Snowcap' are very reliable choices, too.

Happy Planting!

Finest of the species: R. thomsonii

Everett Hall, vice president, Siuslaw Chapter, Florence, Oregon, selects a rhododendron plant each month as a feature in the chapter's newsletter, Macrophyllum.  Recently he wanted to share the beauty of one of the finest of the rhododendron species: R. thomsonii.

Plant hunter Joseph Hooker found R. thomsonii in 1849 when he was exploring in Sikkim, China.  Other plant collectors subsequently found it in Tibet, Burma, and Nepal, as well as Sikkim.

R. thomsonii grows to be a small tree up to about 20 ft. tall in its native habitat, but it is unlikely to get more than half that size in cultivation.  In fact, most of the catalogs list is eventual height in ten years to about four to five ft.

Foliage is very attractive.  Leaves are about two to four inches long, rounded or orbicular.  The new growth has a quite noticeable blue cast that becomes greener as it matures, eventually becoming dark green on the top of the leaf and lighter-colored on the underside.

This is one of those plants that becomes more attractive as it grows larger.  On older plants, the reddish smooth bark begins to flake or peel and makes a beautiful contrast with the mixed brown, fawn, and pink new bark being exposed by the old peeling bark.  This bark-flaking characteristic occurs not only on the trunk of the plant but extends to the larger branches as well.

It takes a few years for it to come into its glory...not only for its beautiful bark to start peeling...but also because it seems to be reluctant to bloom as well as a small plant.  But as the plant grows older, it will start blooming freely with two- to three-inch bell- shaped flowers in a large loose truss of about six to ten beautiful, deep red flowers that have a contrasting large waxy cup-shaped calyx.  This calyx can vary from whitish-green to yellowish-buff to greenish scarlet.

The plant blooms in April and will remain in bloom for several weeks...if you have it planted in a location protected from the afternoon sun and late frosts.

R. thomsonii does not respond well to clippers...most rhododendrons do not object to being pruned.  So be a little cautious when doing pruning and prune the plant lightly...if at all.

Special Note: R. thomsonii is one of those species that can be expected to do well no matter where you plant it, but if you give it a protected place in your garden that has good drainage, and if you are patient and give it time to become established, it will reward you by being a beautiful plant to enjoy.

Useful pondering...

Use what talent you possess;
the woods would be very silent
if no birds sang except
those that sang best.
--Henry Van Dyke