November
Meeting 1999
by Evelyn Weesjes
In his 5-minute talk Dave Dougan reminded us that next year’s Western Regional Conference from September 14-17th will be hosted by the Cowichan Chapter in Cowichan Bay.
Dave attended this year’s Western Regional Conference, October 1-3, in Eureka to become better acquainted with procedures for staging a conference and to judge their performance. Eureka, a hub for logging, is in the redwood forest of northern California and Dave was very impressed by the size of these giant trees. Part of the conference included tours of local gardens in which rhododendrons were seen to be growing very luxuriantly due to the warm climate and the near 60 inch rainfall. Dave’s only complaint was that he saw very few species in those gardens.
Dave
ended by extending an invitation to our members to attend the Cowichan 2000
Conference and help make it a success.
Special speaker, Harry Wright, started his nursery in Courtenay in the Comox Valley 20 years ago. At that time he was working for the Courtenay Parks Department but later left to devote full time to his “Haida Gold” rhododendron nursery. Over the last 20 years he has transformed his property from mostly alders to a beautiful landscape of large rhododendrons and companion trees and shrubs. An added bonus is the salmon that come up his tiny creek to spawn each year. Through his slides he portrayed the changing landscape through the seasons of the year.
In late winter, encouraged by sun, the crocus start to bloom, shortly followed by bright yellow Forsythia and pink Erythronium. A Snowdrop tree (Halesia carolina) with its white bells makes a good contrast for the new blue growth of the Korean Fir (Abies koreana) and its heavy set of cones.
As spring advances, rhododendron ‘Ring of Fire’ with its red-edged petals contrasts with its yellow center blooms. R. ‘Morning Sunshine’ with its yellow ball trusses teams up with R. ‘Blue Boy’, a purple-blue with a dark blotch. Of course, there is R. ‘Haida Gold’ (lots of it), a light yellow next to the pink of the ‘Kwanzan’ Japanese cherry. Around the house are large plants of R. ‘Blue Peter’, ‘Lady de Rothschild’ and ‘George’s Delight’ all making a very pretty picture in May. A bed of mixed deciduous azaleas makes a colourful show in late spring.
Into June, the Japanese Dogwood (Cornus kousa) blooms along with R. ‘Royston Yellow’, a Greig R. auriculatum hybrid. Several varieties of Kalmias, including the banded form called ‘Bullseye’, bloom at this time. The old and very hardy R. ‘Fastuosum Flore Pleno’ with double light purple flowers blooms when the roses start.
Herbaceous plants and bulbs such as hostas and lilies add colour in summer. Also interesting and colourful is the new growth of some rhododendrons such as the white indumentum on ‘Golfer’.
In early fall the yellow flowers of Clematis tangutica are followed by silvery fluffy seed heads and the red fleshy fruits of Cornus kousa are colourful. However, the big final display comes with the fall colours of bright red, bronze, and yellow on Scarlet Oak, Japanese Dogwood, ginkgo and larch. After the leaves fall, the purple berries on the Callicarpa carry on the show. And finally in winter, a blanket of snow puts the garden to sleep for a little while.
Harry showed that it is possible to have colourful plants in every season of the year in your garden. He has indeed made a lovely oasis up in Courtenay.