Ted and Mary Greig Garden 50 Trees and Shrubs of Interest
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
TED and MARY GREIG RHODODENDRON GARDEN 50 Trees and Shrubs of Interest 1 Acer griseum Acer griseum is not a typi- Buddleja globosa is also a relative of Buddleja davi- cal maple. It has a leaf that dii, the fragrant, purple butterf y bush that is commonly does not look like what one found naturalized in British Columbia and considered expects when thinking of a an invasive weed in Greater Vancouver, Southern maple leaf – like the one on Vancouver Island and on the Sunshine Coast. Buddle- the Canadian f ag. Instead, ja globosa is signif cantly less invasive, and should be it has compound leaves, considered by gardeners as an alternative to Buddleja made up of three leaf ets davidii. that are green on top and silvery blue-green on their undersides. Its most striking 5 Camellia ‘Donation’ ornamental feature is its f aky, peeling, reddish-brown bark, which gives it its common name, paperbark ma- This camellia is an excellent, ple. large specimen. Unlike most cultivated camellia hybrids, 2 Albizia julibrissin the f owers of Camellia ‘Do- nation’ do not remain on A fast-growing deciduous tree, mimosa has large bi- the shrub as they begin to pinnately compound leaves that are up to half a metre turn brown. These f owers, long, but each of which is made up of very small, f nely instead, fall to the ground textured individual leaf ets. In the summer, it produces immediately after they have passed their prime, giving unique fuzzy pink f owers that give way in the fall to Camellia ‘Donation’ a much cleaner look than that of bean-pod type fruit that persist into winter, even after many camellias. the leaves have fallen. It is native from Iran to central China, but has become naturalized in several regions 6 Camellia sinensis in the southern United States. Camellia sinensis is the plant 3 Buddleja alternifolia that tea leaves come from. White, green, black and Buddleja alternifolia is commonly know as fountain oolong tea are all made butterf y bush for its long, slender wands of fragrant, from the young leaves of light purple f owers. These f owers are produced in the this evergreen shrub. It pro- spring, earlier than those of its more common relative duces small camellia-like Buddleja davidii. It is attractive to both butterf ies and f owers, and is also used to hummingbirds, but like Buddleja davidii, may be inva- make some food colourings. Tea camellia is native to sive. South and Southeast Asia. 4 Buddleia globosa 7 Cercidiphyllum japonicum Orange butterf y bush is a This katsura tree, located lanky deciduous shrub that along the western edge of has small orange f owers ar- the pitch and putt course, ranged in 2 cm-wide round is perhaps the largest in heads. These fragrant f ow- Vancouver. It had a dense, ers appear in mid-May and wide-spreading crown of later in the summer develop small heart-shaped leaves, into dry, brown, rounded which turn a lovely warm seed heads. It is native to apricot colour in the fall and, interestingly, develop a the Andes of Chile, Argentina and Peru. faint burnt sugar smell. In the spring, the katsura’s new leaves emerge purple and mature to a bluish-green. 1 8 Clerodendrum trichotomum row blue-green leaves, and which produces extremely Harlequin glorybower, as Clerodendrum trichotomum fragrant lilac-coloured f ow- is commonly known, is a small, coarse, deciduous tree ers in late winter. In the sum- that has soft, hairy leaves. Small white f owers are pro- mer, it develops pea-sized duced in late summer and early fall and eventually green berries that eventual- give way to bright blue fruit, each of which is framed ly turn red as they ripen. This by a bright red star-shaped calyx. Clerodedrum tricho- particular specimen is quite tomum also goes by a second common name, pea- old and larger than most. Its nut butter tree, because of the scent its leaves give off leaves and berries are highly toxic if ingested. when crushed, although this smell is considered quite unpleasant by some. 13 Davidia involucrata 9 Cornus alternifolia ‘Argentea’ Davidia involucrata is a de- lightful tree. From late spring Pagoda dogwood is a small, to mid-summer, the under- deciduous, multi-stemmed side of its canopy appears tree that has a relatively to drip with what looks like small, variegated green hundreds of white hand- and white leaf. It has a dis- kerchiefs. These are bracts tinctively horizontal branch- (leaf-like parts located just ing pattern and produces above the downwards fragrant, yellowish-white hanging f ower), two of which surround each f ower, f owers in the May. The cul- giving it the f tting common names of handkerchief tivar name of this specimen, ‘Argentea,’ means silver, tree or dove tree. The bracts f rst appear in May and referencing the foliage variegation. The leaves of dog- persist until the end of July, by which time the f ow- woods are typically arranges oppositely, but those of ers they f ank have matured into tan-coloured, oval- the pagoda dogwood are unique in that they are ar- shaped fruit. ranged alternately. 14 Decaisnea fargesii 10 Cornus f orida ‘Rubra’ Decaisnea fargesii is a rather unusual plant, a hint Cornus f orida ‘Rubra’ is a about which should be taken from the names by pink-f owered cultivated va- which it is commonly known – dead man’s f ngers or riety of f owering dogwood, blue sausage fruit. These names come from the strik- which is native to eastern ing blue broad bean-like fruit that the plant produces and central North America. in the fall. Surprisingly, the beans inside these pods are In the wild it grows as an un- edible, and although sweet, they are quite bland. derstory tree and thus in cul- tivation prefers cool, moist 15 Enkianthus campanulatus soil. Its f owers appear in the spring before the leaves develop and persist for about Enkianthus campanulatus is two weeks. In the fall, the leaves of pink-f owering dog- a medium-sized deciduous wood turn a striking purplish-red. shrub that produces clus- ters of white, bell-shaped 11 Corylopsis sinensis f owers with f ne red veins in May. It gets its common Throughout the month of name, redvein enkianthus, March, Chinese witch ha- from these f owers. In the zel is covered with fragrant, fall, its dark green leaves pale primrose yellow f ow- turn bright shades of yellow and orange, or scarlet if ers. In April, it begins to de- the shrub is situated in a sunny location. velop dark green, bristly ser- rated leaves. 16 Garrya elliptica Also known as silk tassel bush, Garrya elliptca is a de- ciduous shrub native to the Oregon coast that, most 12 Daphne mezereum notably, produces abundant clusters of long catkins of creamy white f owers in the summer. It is unique in that February daphne is a semi-evergreen shrub with nar it is one of only a few plants that will grow in the dry 2 shade below cedars. ng, they are a pale salmon pink, and later mature to green. 17 Ginkgo biloba 20 Larburnum anagyroides Ginkgo biloba is commonly known as maidenhair tree Golden chain tree is an interesting tree with green bark or, simply, ginkgo. It is an and long, hanging clusters of bright yellow f owers that ancient species, and may are produced in May. Laburnum anagyoides is in the have been around, in the pea family (Fabaceae), something that is apparent by same form as it exists today, the presence of the bean-like fruit produced on the when the dinosaurs roamed tree in late summer. All parts of the plant can be toxic the earth. With age, ginkgo when ingested. can grow to be enormous, although this specimen is still 21 Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Variegata’ young and small. Its leaves are fan-shaped and are ar- ranged in clusters of 3-5 individuals; in the summer they This tulip tree is a lovely are medium green but turn bright golden yellow in the specimen with variegated fall. Female plants produce a small round orange fruit leaves, which are at their that is malodorous and can be very messy if planted peak in the late spring or above a sidewalk or patio. Ginkgo has been used in early summer. It gets its traditional medicine to improve memory and circula- name from the beautiful tion; modern scientif c research indicates that ginkgo yellowish-green and or- may be particularly useful in improving circulation to ange tulip-like f owers that it the brain in elderly patients. produces in the spring. It is native to eastern North America, from Massachusetts 18 Kalmia latifolia west to Wisconsin and south to Florida and Mississippi. Another enormous, non-variegated tuliptree is located Mountain laurel, as Kalmia in the grassy area northeast of the tennis courts. latifolia is commonly known, is a broadleaf evergreen 22 Lithicarpos densif orus shrub. Although this speci- men is small - only about a Tanbar oak is a small broad- metre and a half in height leaf evergreen tree with – Kalmia can grow to be up thick, leathery, oblong to 4.5 metres tall. It has fairly leaves with a wavy-toothed small, leathery dark green border. It has chestnut-like leaves and pale pink, f ve-sided, cup-shaped f owers f owers, but oak-like acorns borne in terminal clusters. The f ower buds have pleat- with a saucer-shaped cup ed edges, and open to look like miniature upside-down covered with dense bristles.