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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
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A walk through the fall garden

After blowing the leaves (again!), I took some photos yesterday of the garden. I mentioned earlier that fall seemed to arrive late this year and now it is lingering. Our first average frost date is November 4. It is now November 22 and we still haven't had a killer frost yet. The color is peaking now and the leaves are falling in a frenzy.

The border alongside the driveway is planted with dogwood, oakleaf hydrangea, azalea, mahonia and rhododendron.




Around the corner, another border with Encore azalea, hydrangeas and camellias.



The Japanese maples are wonderful this time of year -



The garden on the north side of the house lies under a yoshino cherry tree planted with hydrangea, camellias, cast iron plant and perennials.



Around the corner to the front of the house with the new no-mow lawn. The Japanese Maple is "Boskoop Glory".



Over to the south end of the house and the pathway alongside the patio which sits above the lower garden-



In the lower garden. This is the area where I used recycled concrete, rescued from our local landfill, to create steps and another patio area.



Looking up from the opposite direction -



On the opposite end of the lower garden is the secret garden. It needs some tidying up. The rocks are for a possible future waterfall project.



One of the gates to the secret garden -



I took some more photos of individual plants. I'll share those later in the week.
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  1. GingerNovember 22, 2009 at 12:29 PM

    Absolutely beautiful fall colors. How neat that y'all have a secret garden!

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  2. UnknownNovember 22, 2009 at 1:19 PM

    Just beautiful! Your years of work clearly show!

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  3. AaerelonNovember 22, 2009 at 1:22 PM

    Thanks for the tour! It's a very lovely place. Even though all the leaves have dropped here fall did seem to take a long time to arrive. Flurries are in the forecast for Saturday so winter may be arriving soon. The (mondo) grass under the maple seems to be doing well.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 22, 2009 at 1:48 PM

    Hi Phillip, it is surprisingly lush and full of deep dusky fall colors still in your beautiful gardens. The plantings by the driveway are so well thought out, large shrubs and small trees with textural interest in the foliage. Excellent. I have always thought of your garden as the one I would most like to visit someday! These photos reinforce that belief.:-)

    Frances
    Frances

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  5. How It GrowsNovember 22, 2009 at 2:26 PM

    Beautiful color!

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  6. C. C.November 22, 2009 at 4:29 PM

    Just gorgeous! My gardens look brown and bedraggled now, except for the sasanquas and camellias, and our oak trees still have thousands (millions?) of leaves to drop. Here in Piedmont NC we haven't had a hard frost either, and we aren't expecting one until Dec. 1.

    Your cast iron plant is stunning. How long have you had it? I planted a couple 2 years ago, and they look nothing like that.

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  7. LesNovember 22, 2009 at 4:58 PM

    Has Fine Gardening called you yet?

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  8. sweetbayNovember 22, 2009 at 5:07 PM

    Your fall garden is gorgeous!

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  9. Catherine@AGardenerinProgressNovember 22, 2009 at 5:47 PM

    What a beautiful tour! I love all the color you still have. Our Japanese Maples are bare now. I love the gate picture.

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  10. Southern AspirationsNovember 22, 2009 at 6:28 PM

    oh my goodness, these are great! thank you for the Fall tour- I almost really want to try to map it out. ;-)

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  11. Pam/DiggingNovember 22, 2009 at 8:51 PM

    Absolutely stunning, Phillip. Your garden is so colorful in its fall garb, and that image of the red Japanese maple (is it?) in the now-mow lawn is superb. I'd love to see your garden in person, but your pics are almost as good as being there.

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  12. Lisa at GreenbowNovember 23, 2009 at 4:19 AM

    I love getting the overall tour of your garden at different times of the year. The new front garden is really filling in nicely. Your garden is so beautiful any time of the year. A friend of mine has some azaleas blooming at this time. I don't think they are supposed to. Such strange, yet beautiful, weather for November here too.

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  13. GailNovember 23, 2009 at 5:58 AM

    Your garden is fantastic Phillip...as others have said...stunning, beautiful, lovely, lush, gorgeous and colorful! They have used up all the best adjectives! Your hardscape and plantings are a perfect marriage. Thank you for the tour. gail

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  14. Monica the Garden FaerieNovember 23, 2009 at 6:35 AM

    Wow, what great fall color! All our leaves are down, but it's still warm and sunny, which is not how November (esp. this late in the month) goes down in Michigan! I love the yoshino cherries, though they can't grow here. Beautiful spring blossoms!

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  15. TYRA Hallsénius LindheNovember 23, 2009 at 6:36 AM

    Thank you Phillip for this wonderful walk through your garden, it is so very colourful, beautiful wirh all the autumn colours. What a great idea with the recycled concrete it look really great.

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  16. Phillip OliverNovember 23, 2009 at 6:51 AM

    Thanks for all the nice comments.

    C.C., the cast iron plant is about 3 years old. Once it gets going, it begins to fill in nicely.

    Les, I did get an e-mail from FG. I couldn't believe it!

    S.A., one of the things on my To-Do List is to create a map of the garden. I've always wanted to do that but just have never had the time.

    Pam, the name of the Japanese maple is "Boskoop Glory".

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  17. LilyNovember 23, 2009 at 9:10 AM

    Hi, my name is Lily! I write Hungarian, I guess you don't anderstand our language, but I can reed You! You have a beautiful garden, its amazing! Greetings from Budapest (Hungary, Europe)

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  18. Mr. McGregor's DaughterNovember 23, 2009 at 9:44 AM

    How lovely your garden is this fall! I do find it a bit jarring psychically to see a blooming Azalea next to an Oakleaf Hydrangea in full autumnal tints.
    Your recycled concrete patio & steps look wonderful. I hadn't thought of using some of the concrete chunks I've dug out of my garden as steps, but I could use some. Thanks for the idea. We still haven't hauled away the concrete we dug up this summer, although I've used lots of it for retaining walls.

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  19. Sweet Home and Garden CarolinaNovember 23, 2009 at 10:47 AM

    Can't think of anything I'd like better than to walk through your Fall garden located in my neck of the woods.

    Your garden is splendid with gorgeous color and texture. Mother Nature has given us a lovely November here as well, to make up for the awful October weather.

    Enjoy it while it lasts. I have a feeling that it will come to an end here right after Thanksgiving.

    Thanks for the tour, Phillip.

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  20. AnonymousNovember 23, 2009 at 1:00 PM

    Makes me homesick for AL! Your gardens are beautiful...love the Fall colors.
    edyB

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  21. Rob (ourfrenchgarden)November 23, 2009 at 2:06 PM

    A visual treat.

    One of the nicest fall gardens I've seen.

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  22. Randy EmmittNovember 23, 2009 at 5:00 PM

    Phillip,

    The stone paths and patios you have are very inviting. Job well done and the tree colors are still awesome.

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  23. Susan TomlinsonNovember 23, 2009 at 5:25 PM

    Oh my goodness. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Take as much time as you possibly can to enjoy that glory.

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  24. CarolNovember 23, 2009 at 7:33 PM

    Stunning! You have a Japanese soul Phillip... or part anyway... every image a beautiful painting. Wonderful collection of trees and shrubs. Happy Fall Garden! Carol

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  25. Dig, Grow, Compost, BlogNovember 24, 2009 at 1:00 PM

    Such a beautiful tour. Your garden is just as lovely in fall as any other time of year. That means a great gardener lives there! This is the first time I've seen the new no-mow lawn in a while. It really looks great.

    We haven't had a killing frost either. I'm kinda ready for one. :-)

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  26. ValFebruary 5, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    What a beautiful fall garden. Since my garden is now covered with snow you have shown me what lies ahead for next year. I had almost forgotten how beautiful the garden is. Thank you.

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