A very nice surprise!

Thanks to the generosity of Tim & Matt Nichols of MrMaple.com We have two very cool new plants for the Plantmad Garden & Collection.

Both members of one of my favorite plant families the Hamamelidaceae. One is a new dwarf cultivar of Disanthus cercidifolius called 'Rikyu'. The other is even more obscure, Rhodoleia henryi 'Takeshitea' an unusual evergreen Genus of Hamamelidaceae from China. The exciting part is that unlike some of the other Rhodoleia species this one may well be Zone 6 or 7 hardy. Time will tell but not until we have made a few backups :)

Rhodoleia henryi 'Takeshitea'

Disanthus cercidifolius 'Rikyu'

Winter is here folks!

Lows in the mid 20's & snow down to 1000' forecast for next week means Winter here in Oregon. Time to drain the irrigation pipes, put the snow supports in for the winter & lay out the frost blankets along the edges of the houses so that it can be quickly pulled across when needed. Roll on March!!

Ready for Winter!

Movin' Leaves!

Spreading last years composted leaves onto the garden so we have space to begin picking up this years! It never ends.....

Two new Stewartia!

Last Sunday we added two new Stewartia to the Plantmad collection thanks to Crispin Silva of Crispin's Creations Nursery. Crispin's own introduction Stewartia pseudocamellia 'Pilar Bella' and the interesting hybrid Stewartia x 'Scarlet Sentinel'. Scarlet Sentinel was a chance hybrid seedling from the Arnold Arboretum that is a cross between Stewartia pseudocamellia and Stewartia ovata var. grandiflora.