Black and White Except the Bark

Stewartias in Full Blaze

Two Stewartia pseudocamellia trees with bright orange foliage in the morning light in the Lower Garden. I planted these trees from seed I collected at the Arnold Arboretum in 1996. I collected both seeds from the same parent plant hoping to get similar progeny. I failed to realize that all the stewartias species are planted together and there could be any number of genetic crosses in the seed I collected. My trees have slightly different bark and stature but similar autumn foliage. Last year's fall color was disappointing. This year was hit.

Playing More Ball

I have been contemplating the suggestions from my last post and have come up with a drawing of a possible arrangement of boxwoods.

The original design of the Lower Garden had a central panel of lawn flanked with rectangular borders with a very traditional granite bench focal point with a pair of symmetrical stewartias on either side. Two pairs of boxwoods are located at the two entrances to the garden: the Hall with Balls on the left and the Woodland Garden on the right. All very predictable and proper.

Last year, I added a third stewartia behind the bench on the right side. It created a trio of stewartias which is both symmetrical, if you look at the outer trees, but at the same time asymmetrical when a third smaller tree is added. I have been playing with that concept: symmetrical pairs on axis with a third repeated element added to make the symmetry less anal and more spontaneous.

Now back to this rolling balls/pinball wizard idea from the last post. The previous drawing had all the boxwoods in the borders, now the boxwoods are allowed into the central lawn. I think the structure will be appealing in the winter months, especially in the snow. The balls will make fun at all that perfect formality of the original design without disrespecting it. I like that vision.

Now for a reality check from my wife. She is my best, and sometimes most brutally honest, critic. She bristles when things get too "designery". She hates the glossy magazine layouts where everything is too perfect and kind of weird. She thinks they are trying way too hard. Her take on this idea is "I don't why he put a bunch of balls down there!" Maybe I am going a little overboard or maybe the next step is to determine if I like this idea enough to try and sell it.

What is it?

5) Aralia cordata 'Sun King' 

4) Stewartia pseudocamellia

3) Persicaria polymorpha

2) Eryngium giganteum 'Miss Willmott's Ghost'

1) Onopordum acanthium aka Scotch Thistle

We had about 150 visitors to the garden yesterday for the Monadnock Region Garden Conservancy Open Day. It was a hot, sunny day with a refreshingly pleasant breeze. The most asked about plant in the garden was the enormous Scotch Thistle, Onopordum acanthium. This biennial is a favorite of mine because it has a such a commanding presence in the garden. When it goes to seed, it becomes ratty looking and I immediately take it out. It needs to be removed carefully because the spines are razor shape. For some people it is an intimidating plant but for me, at 6 foot three, it is one of the few herbaceous plants that I can look up to.

I Found My Thrill on Bussey Hill

I had a drawing class last Sunday near the Arnold Arboretum and decided to spend an hour or two roaming the grounds looking for interesting trees and shrubs. February is the perfect month to search for examples of plants with exceptional winter interest and there is no better spot at the Arnold Arboretum than the Explorers Garden on Bussey Hill. The Explorers Garden is on a protected slope and has specimens of unusual trees from around the world.

After taking their propagation course, I was able to collect seeds from plants at the arboretum to grow in my own garden. I propagated two Stewartia pseudocamellia trees in 1996 from seeds collected from a tree here on Bussey Hill. Sixteen years later, I have two 12 foot tall trees in my Lower Garden form Arnold Arboretum parents. I had mistakenly assumed these trees would be twins but soon discovered that I knew only one parent for certain. In fact, I may have created a cross of two different species of stewatias.

Stewartia monadelpha has a chocolate-colored exfoliating bark

A close up of the bark of Stewartia monadelpha

Stewartia sinensis, the Chinese Stewartia, has a more subtle bark

A closer look at Stewartia sinensis

I collected seed from this specimen of Stewartia pseudocamellia which was propagated from seed collected in Korea by E. H. Wilson in 1917

The muscular trunks of Stewartia pseudocamellia remind me of a boa constrictor

This ancient Acer griseum tree was brought, as a seedling, by Wilson from China to Boston in 1907. This specimen is thought to be the source of the first generation of paperbark maples planted in North America.

Acer griseum Accession number: 12488

The cinnamon-colored bark of the oldest Acer griseum specimen in the United States

Ulmus parvifolia or the Chinese Elm is a graceful tree that grows 40-50 feet in height in cultivation and makes it an ideal shade, specimen or street tree.

The showy exfoliating bark of Ulmus parvifolia displays random, mottled patterns of grey, green, orange, and brown

Pinus densiflora 'Umbraculifera' near the Conifer Path at the Arnold Arboretum

Pinus densiflora 'Umbraculifera' is a slow-growing dwarf cultivar that is often grown as multi-trunked small tree with handsome orange-red bark

I noticed the tan bark of Corylus fargesii, a new tree to me, from quite a distance away as I was walking on Valley Road at the Arnold Arboretum. I was certain that it was Acer triflorum but was mistaken.

The peeling copper-colored bark of Corylus fargesii, the Farges filbert, rivals any tree on Bussey Hill and looks very similar to the River Birch, Betula nigra. It can grow over 100 feet tall in its native China. I think it would make a magnificent specimen tree.

Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Garden Bones

View From the Lower Garden: Granite, Box and Yew

This Century-old Granite Wall was the Foundation for a Barn that once stood where the Lower Garden is Today.

Close up of the Granite Bench

Granite Steps to the Lower Garden with Box, Yew and Juniper

View of Mount Monadnock from the Lower Garden

Stewartia Bark Amplified by the Contrasting Background of the Yew Hedge

Acer griseum x 'Gingerbread with Box and Yew Hedges

Exfoliating Bark of Heptacodium miconioides

In mid-November the bones of the garden emerge once more. In my garden, I rely on boxwood balls and hedges, yew hedges, junipers, pines and spruces for the green structure. New Hampshire granite provides the framework for the walls, steps and benches. The interesting bark of the stewartias, heptacodium and the paperbark maple now stand out. Above all, the view of Mount Monadnock is the centerpiece of the late autumn garden.

Their bark is better than their bite (Part 1)

Acer triflorum

Acer griseum x 'Gingerbread'

Heptacodium miconioides

Stewartia pseudocamellia

Cornus officinalis