Skip to main content

Featured

Strawberry Tree

Since moving to Washington, I have discovered a great number of new trees. One of my favorites is the Strawberry Tree ( Arbutus unedo ). It is a four-season tree with semi-glossy evergreen leaves and lovely mahogany bark. In autumn, clusters of white flowers appear, bearing a resemblance to Lily-of-the-Valley flowers. And then there are the little fruits, which resemble strawberries that appear at the same time as the flowers. I am not sure why, but I have only seen a few fruits on ours. I don't know if birds are getting them before I see them or what happens. The fruits are said to be edible but not very tasty (to humans). This year, our tree is loaded with flowers, the most I've ever seen. Bees absolutely love it and so do the hummingbirds. The flowers usually continue to appear straight through winter, and it can be blooming even during the coldest periods of winter. Aside from the fact that I have not seen much of the colorful fruits, the major negative note is the fact tha

More Fall Color

Just a few more photos that I took earlier in the week. The first is Fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii x major 'Mount Airy') which is a fantastic shrub, beautiful in all seasons. The fall foliage is particularly colorful. Visit my website to see photos of fothergilla in the spring.



I get more questions about Burning Bush (Euonymus alata "Compactus") than any other plant. I have no idea why.

This is Yucca 'Golden Sword' growing with Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans).

Comments

  1. Lovely pictures, Phillip, beautiful autumn colors, but the sage/yucca combination is striking! I would never thought of putting them together. Just great!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had a Fothergilla at my previous garden and just loved it. Thank you for reminding me why I need another one.
    Fabulous pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the fothergilla! I think a lot of people are confused about burning bush as an invasive. It's listed here in TN. I do get a lot of hits from Google about it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely Phillip. I always admire the burning bush but it has been so overused in landscaping... yours looks stunning however... I love the color and yours looks to have berries too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I thought everyone already new burning bush! Funny that you should get so many questions about it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your Fothergilla is beautiful. I really must try that shrub.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Phillip, Regional differences (and similarities) fascinate me! I too love fothergilla (check out my photo here)--it is indeed wonderful in all seasons and I'm glad mine will get so much taller over time, based on the height of yours. It's not commonly grown here, but it's certainly hardy. On the other hand, burning bush is very very common here, so much so that most people (even on gardeners) can ID it, kind of like tulips and dandelions! I was shocked you get so many emails about it... but maybe they're not from locals?

    ReplyDelete
  8. um... "on gardeners" should have been "non gardeners" but you probably worked that out!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Keep the visual feast coming please.

    I would so like to visit your garden Phillip

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have a dwarf Fothergilla. It's just as pretty but takes up less space.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You do a marvelous job of layering your plantings Phillip~~Your color and textural combinations zing! Gail

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your photos are spectacular..and so is your garden. My partner and I just moved into our half acre home last July. Hopefully one day, our landscaping will look as nice as yours!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice photos, Phillip. Interesting that so many have an interest in Euonymous. It is a beauty all right but I always try to steer people towards Nandina instead because of its year round red green foliage and red berry sprays. Love the yucca and sage. Very nice.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts