Wisteria 'Anwen'

Back in the mid 90s I selected & introduced 2 climbing plants named for daughters Mirranda & Anwen, one was the variegated climbing Hydrangea anomala petiolaris 'Mirranda'. The other was Wisteria 'Anwen'.

While Mirranda soon found her way into the trade both here in the US and in Europe. Anwen was never produced in large numbers but still found it's way into peoples collections & also to Europe including the Wisteira collection of the Ghent University Botanical Garden.

Last week a friend in Portland posted some photos of Anwen looking resplendent on his from porch. Besides the mass of wonderful flower racemes Anwen also as a strong sweet scent.

A bit of a mouthful!

This plant isn't normally grown for its flowers but for it's large bright red ornamental thorns. It's looking pretty good in the Plantmad garden at the moment though. It's full name, Rosa sericea ssp. omeiensis f. pteracantha is also a bit of a mouthful!

Doves or Handkerchiefs!

Davidia involucrata 'Sonoma' flowering in the Plantmad Garden this weekend.

Where water falls.....

If Irrigation water falls where it shouldn't..... Then just put a plant under it ;)

Ginkgo biloba 'Snow Cloud'

New grafts of Ginkgo biloba 'Snow Cloud' leafing out today!

29 years & counting..............

This week our Washing Machine gave up the ghost after 29 years of trouble free & faithful service! While I think that's a remarkable accomplishment our Acer palmatum 'Corallinum' that I also grafted 29 years ago is just beginning to hit it's stride!

A Willow from the mountain slopes of Northern Japan.

Salix nakamurana var. yezoalpina

This low growing ground covering Willow is native to the high mountain slopes of Hokkaido Japan. It was looking particularly nice in the the nursery this evening. 

Not your everyday Silverbell!

A couple of years ago the Portland "Friends of Trees" group were helping conduct an inventory of trees in Portland neighborhoods. A tree was found that no one could at first identify, it turned out to be a Melliodendron xylocarpum! Some propagation material was sent our way but it was already late summer and not really suitable cutting wood. We decided to graft the wood onto the closet thing we had, Halesia tetraptera! We were surprised to get quite a good take and this year we have been rewarded with the first flower.