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Galega x hartlandii 'Lady Wilson'  On Monday, our garden was included in the HPSO Study Weekend. This is a four-day event that includes speakers, plant/art sales and garden tours. The event rotates every two years between the cities of Portland, Seattle, Victoria B.C. and Vancouver B.C.  It will be 2033 before Portland hosts again. I toured the Portland gardens on Friday and Saturday and will share some photos in my next post. The weather was perfect on those days. Not so much on Monday, the day for the Vancouver, Washington gardens tour, and by late afternoon, the temperature had reached 94. However, it wasn't too bad in the first part of the day, and that's when we received the most visitors. We didn't have an exact count, but making an estimate based on our guestbook, I would say around 200 people. It was a hectic but fun day! We had a lot of visitors from Seattle and areas north of us as attendees were making their way home. Every time we open our garden, there ...
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Sycoparrotia semidecidua




This unusual tree sat unnoticed at Yard N' Garden Land for at least two years before I finally rescued it and brought it home. I had admired it for a long time but knew nothing about it and found very few details about it online. 

It is xSycoparrotia semidecidua - I have not seen a common name - and it is a cross between the Chinese Fighazel (Sycopsis sinensis) and Persian Ironwood (Parrrotia persica). As the Persian Ironwood is one of my favorite trees in the garden, this looked promising. 

During the growing season, the leaves are thick, dark green and glossy, very similar to the Ironwood. For me, the fall color has been bright yellow, but orange is mentioned in descriptions. The fall color arrived very late, well into November, and the yellow color has become brighter with time. The leaves are beautiful now, in early January, and brightens up the wooded border along the back fence. I have yet to see flowers, but they should appear after the leaves finally fall off in late winter (February or March). They are described as "red-brown" and adorn the bare branches.

We like to call this tree "The Norman Bates Tree" as an homage to my favorite film "Psycho" and it is indeed pronounced "Psycho Parrotia". 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Kris PetersonJanuary 9, 2024 at 9:13 PM

    I've never seen nor heard of this tree before, Phillip. Kudos to you for taking a chance with it. It's beautiful but I wouldn't want to try saying its name 3 times fast.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2024 at 7:12 AM

    I love a good rescue story. Good for your.
    The "Semidecidua" part of the name suggests it may not shed all it's leafs...
    I'd be looking forward to seeing a photo of the blooms when they arrive.
    Chavli

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  3. tz_gardenJanuary 10, 2024 at 4:10 PM

    I've not heard of this before, either. What a great rescue. How nice the colorful leaves stay on so late into winter.

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