a ELISABETH C. MILLER LIBRARY UW Botanic Gardens Box 354115 Seattle, WA JAN 2 5 2013 98195-4115 f . ' The Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin is a benefit of Arboreturp Foundation merhbership. For information on membership oip advertising opportunities, contact the Arboretum Foundation at 206-325-4510 or gvc@arboretumfoundation.org. Washington Park Arboretum The Arboretum is a 230-acre dynamic garden of trees and shrubs, displaying internationally renowned collections of oaks, conifers, camellias, Japanese and other maples, hollies and a profusion of woody plants from the Pacific Northwest and around the world. Aesthetic enjoyment gracefully co-exists with science in this spectacular urban green space on the shores of Lake Washington. Visitors come to learn, explore, relax or reflect in Seattle’s largest public garden. The Washington Park Arboretum is managed cooper- atively by the University of Washington Botanic Gardens and Seattle Parks and Recreation; the Arboretum Foundation is its major support organization. Arboretum Foundation The Arboretum Foundation’s mission is to create and strengthen an engaged community of donors, volun- teers and advocates who will promote, protect and enhance the Washington Park Arboretum for current and future generations. 2300 Arboretum Drive East, Seattle, WA 98112 206-325-4510 voice / 206-325-8893 fax info@arboretumfoundation.org www.arboretumfoundation.org Office hours: 8:30 am- 4:30 pm weekdays Gift shop hours: 9 am- 5 pm weekdays, 10 am-4 pm weekends, dosed holidays Officers of the Arboretum Foundation Board of Directors Paige Miller, Executive Director Craig Trueblood, President Iris Wagner, Vice President Sherry Leutjen, Vice President Roger Williams, Secretary Jim Reed, Vice President Skip Vonckx, Treasurer Members of the Arboretum Foundation Board of Directors Carol Allison Walt Bubelis Sabra Contreras Meg Harry Dan Hinkley Sherrey Luetjen Brice Maryman Elizabeth Moses Kathleen Pierce Jim Reid Meredith (Buz) Smith Jim Travis Roger Williams Ex Officio Paige Miller, Executive Director, Arboretum Foundation Sarah Reichard, Ph.D, Orin and Althea Soest Chair for Urban Horticulture and Director, University of Washington Botanic Gardens Christopher Williams, Superintendent, Seattle Parks & Recreation Graham Visitors Center Open 10 to 4 every day except holidays The Arboretum is accessible by Metro Transit buses #11, #43 and #48. For more information: www.transit.metrokc.gov — University of Washington Botanic Gardens — The University of Washington manages the Arboretum’s collections, horticultural programs, facilities and education programs through the University of Washington Botanic Gardens. It owns some of the land and buildings and all of the collections. 206-543-8800 voice / 206-616-2871 fax Office hours: 10 am- 4 pm weekdays www.uwbotanicgardens.org Sarah Reichard, Director Seattle Parks and Recreation The City of Seattle owns most of the Arboretum’s land and buildings. Seattle Parks and Recreation is respon- sible for park functions throughout the Arboretum and manages and operates the Japanese Garden. 206-684-4556 voice / 206-684-4304 fax — Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin — Jan K. Whitner, Constance Bollen, cbgraphics Editor Graphic Design Cynthia E. Duryee, Copy Editor Editorial Board Betsy Anderson, Garden Historian & Landscape Designer Janine Anderson, Garden Designer & Writer Constance Bollen, Graphic Designer Walt Bubelis, Former Chair, Horticulture Program at Edmonds Community College. Niall Dunne, Communications Manager, Arboretum Foundation Cynthia E. Duryee, Writer/Editor Daniel J. Hinkley, Author, Lecturer, Horticultural Consultant Steven R. Lorton, Former Northwest Bureau Chief, Sunset Magazine Christina Pfeiffer, Horticultural Consultant Richie Steffen, Coordinator of Horticulture, Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden Brian R. Thompson, Elisabeth C. Miller Library, University of Washington Botanic Gardens Cass Turnbull, Plant Amnesty Founder Liisa Wihman, Garden Historian & Writer Phil Wood, Garden Designer & Writer John Wott, Professor Emeritus, University of Washington Botanic Gardens Botanical Editor Randall Hitchin, Volunteer and Outreach Program Manager, Arboretum Foundation Winter 2013 Volume 74. Issue 4. © 2013 The Arboretum Foundation. ISSN 1046-8749. TENTS 2 The Land of the Long White Cloud — Paige Miller 3 A Garden Tour to Cuba, Part 1 — Janine Anderson 9 Heronswood: A New Beginning 10 How I Almost Visited “The Finest Ethnobotanical Garden in the World” — Liisa Wihman 15 Japanese Gardens — Phil Wood 20 A Hobbit’s New Zealand Garden — Phil Wood, Paige Miller, Mali Dunne and Rhonda Bush 22 New Zealand Plants and Their Collectors, Part 2 — Walt Bubelis 26 In A Garden Library: Annual Review of New Books by Pacific Northwest Authors, Part 2 — Brian R. Thompson St * ., , ABOVE: A vigorous evergreen Nandina sp. enlivens the winter garden scene. (Photograph by Rizanino Reyes) ON THE COVER: Tire fresh, frosty foliage of New Zealand’s indigenous Pachystegia insignis; read Part 2 of Walt Bubelis’s article on the naming of New Zealand plants beginning on page 22. (Photograph by Richie Steffen) Winter 2013 1 The Land of the Long White Cloud o its Maori people, New Zealand is known as Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud. Here at the Washington Park Arboretum, 2013 is the Year of New Zealand. After years of planning and preparation, the New Zealand eco-geographic forest will be planted this spring and summer. Already, the work on the site is well underway and the new exhibit is taking shape. The earth has been reshaped for the new rock walls and pathways. Marenakos Rock Center has delivered truckload after taickload of massive basalt rocks and smaller boulders to the workmen on the site. These rocks now form a dramatic dry creek (well, not so dry this time of year!) that snakes down the hillside. A 175-ton crane moved three huge Notbofagus trees from their old location across the street into the new forest. Each tree had a root ball nine feet in diameter, making them the largest trees ever transplanted in the Arboretum. This coming spring and summer, the 10,000 plants that have been grown at Cistus Nursery will be planted in the site to create a striking new landscape of diy shrubland and grassland, fens of spiky New Zealand flax, and young forests of southern and silver beech. We’ll introduce the plants of our new forest to the public at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show in February; our display garden will cross- pollinate the flora of New Zealand with the Show’s Hollywood theme to create A Hobbit’s New Zealand Garden. Playing off Peter Jackson’s new movie, which was filmed entirely on location in New Zealand, our garden will have a hobbit house and front garden backed by a spooky phormium fen and hillside forest. It will be a showstopper and a great treat for the whole family. Would you like join us as we celebrate the year of the Land of the Long White Cloud? There is so much that you could do. You can volunteer to help build the Display Garden or become a Pacific Connections Garden steward and help to weed, mulch, and care for the thousands of new plants in our new forest. Or, you can make a donation to our campaign fund to finish the construction of the new forest and pay for its early years of maintenance, or to the endowment fund to ensure its long term care. And, please do join 11s later in the year as we hold a ribbon-cutting party to celebrate the completion of the project. If we are lucky, the weather will be sunny and mild, and the sky overhead will celebrate with us by providing at least one long white cloud. Cheers, Paige Miller, Executive Director, Arboretum Foundation 2 Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin PART 1 A Garden Tour to Cuba BY JANINE ust when the 45-minute flight from Miami to Havana reaches cruising altitude above the Caribbean Sea, the plane begins its descent. The flight is short, but the journey to get there can be long. Last February, my husband, Terry LeLievre, and I traveled to Cuba as part of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens (UWBG) Cuba Garden Tour. None of the 23 people on the trip — including our leader, UWBG Director Sarah Reichard, had previously set foot on Cuban soil. Sarah Reichard planned the trip with the assistance of Holbrook Travel in Florida. Travel restrictions to Cuba have eased some under the Obama administration, but the permit process is still daunting. Our trip was arranged under the People-to-People program, an initiative that allows United States citizens to travel to Cuba on a Anderson limited basis to have meaningful exchanges with the Cuban people and to learn more about them and their culture (and vice-versa). Permission to travel to Cuba comes from the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces sanctions on Cuba. To get a permit, the schedule must be rigorous — beach time is not on the itinerary. To paraphrase our Cuban guide: “There are 10 world-class beaches in Cuba, and YOU will see none of them!” What our group found, however, was that what we were able to do during our 10 days in Cuba more than compen- sated for white sand and warm seas. Arriving in Cuba Our first contact with Cuban ground was on the tarmac of the Jose Marti International Airport on the outskirts of Havana, in a one- AEROPUERTO INTERNACIONAL JOSE MARTI -LA HABANA Travelers from Miami arrive at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana. (Photograph by Terry LeLievre) Winter 2013 3 story structure built exclusively for travelers to and from the United States. Most of our fellow travelers were there to visit family, and to deliver items most Cubans are unable to obtain for themselves — ranging from Dial soap to flat- screen TVs. These items had been bundled and shrink-wrapped at the airport in Miami, thus increasing the likelihood they would arrive intact at the baggage carousel in Havana. Statues, busts and plaques honoring Jose Marti were seen frequently during our travels. Marti, a Cuban, national hero and important figure in Latin American literature, died in a battle against Spanish troops in 1895 at the age of 42 and became a symbol of Cuba’s bid for independence from Spain. A more contemporary revolutionary whose visage appears on every- thing from billboards to T-shirts is Che Guevara, a handsome, romanticized hero who was assas- sinated in Bolivia in 1967 at the age of 39- In contrast, images of long-time president and revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and his brother, current president Raul Castro, are relatively rare. After clearing customs and retrieving our luggage, we met our guide and bus driver, employees of the Cuban government who were with us throughout our stay. Frank, our 28-year- old guide, spoke English well — in addition to being kind, considerate and fun. Frank knew everything about Cuba and much about us. Miguel, our young driver, was careful, cautious, patient, somewhat reserved (at least around us), and less fluent in English. Our Chinese-built bus was spacious, enabling us to spread out during some long travel days. Old Havana (La Habana Vieja) Frank pointed out landmarks and other features between the airport and our hotel in Old Havana. Having arrived in Oz, our heads swiveled right, then left. The notable scarcity of industrial sites gave us some appreciation ABOVE LEFT: Our hotel on San Francisco (St. Francis) Square in Old Havana. (Photograph by Terry LeLievre) ABOVE RIGHT: The private is public in Havana. A bride and groom pose for photos near our hotel on St. Francis Square. (Photograph by Cindy Evans) 4 Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin of the deprivation Cubans have suffered for over five decades. Our hotel in Old Havana, Palacio de San Felipe, was fit for royalty and was, indeed, a former palace — as were many of the renovated buildings in the old city. After our welcome mojito, a refreshing aim-based drink, our first activity was lunch. It was in the sun-dappled courtyard of the government-run restaurant La Mina that we first realized we should have brought more money. We had been told that $2.00 a day would be sufficient to tip waiters and musicians. It turned out, however, that we should have budgeted at least $5.00 a day for these services, $1.00 at each of our three meals and $1.00 for each band — the one at lunch and the one at dinner. In addition, none of us knew before we arrived that we were obliged to tip our hosts, including experts in various fields, for sharing their expertise, even though the host institutions had been compensated for our visits. Regardless of their profession, all Cubans earn about $25.00 a month, and tips and gifts from foreigners are ways to supplement their meager salaries, which go further in Cuba than they would in the United States, but still do not last an entire month. While based in Havana, we were free to explore some on our own, and many of us attended a performance at the Buena Vista Social Club, just a few-minutes’ walk from our hotel. As a group, we visited a nearby school and large food market resembling the Pike Place Market — just a little grittier and more colorful — and went on a walking tour led by an architect involved in restoring the old city. Other activi- ties included a visit to the National Institute for Research on Tropical Agriculture, located in a stately colonial-era building with lovely grounds near Havana, and presentations in the meeting room of our hotel on ecosystems and invasive plant species in Cuba. Aside from wandering the old city, the highlight for some of us — while based in Havana — was an excursion to the Alamar Organoponic Gardens, a huge food garden with 160 cooperative owners and run by a charis- ABOVE: Convento de San Francisco de Asis on St. Francis Square, our front yard in Havana. (Photograph by Janine Anderson) Winter 2013 5 mm. A Garden Tour to Cuba i ) A jlWU m 'A ry matic leader, Miguel Salcines, who was our guide while touring the farm. The more than 200 organic farms in Havana, which cover over 80,000 acres, were born of necessity. The Cuban economy collapsed in the early 1990s after support from the Soviet Union ended, and the farms that developed to feed its citizens could serve as models for sustainable agriculture. When people think of Cuba, they often mention old cars. And there are many American- made cars dating from the 1950s, as well as some newer — but far less glamorous and more cheaply made — Russian and Chinese models. Although the spiffed-up old cars generate nostalgia for another era, Cubans would prefer to have access to (and the resources to purchase) the more fuel- efficient and lower-maintenance versions available (and affordable) elsewhere. We observed varied modes of travel beyond conventional autos: buses, bikes, horses, oxen and steam locomotion. Soroa After leaving Havana, we headed southwest to Soroa, a narrow valley that re-emerged as a popular tourist destination after the 1950s revolution. ABOVE: Most buildings in Plaza Vieja in Old Havana were built in the 1700s and 1800s. The square was perfect for sipping rum at a sidewalk cafe while listening to music and enjoying the passing scene. (Photograph by Janine Anderson) LEFT: Classroom in elementary school in Old Havana. (Photograph by Terry LeLievre) RIGHT: Miguel Salcines, president of the Alamar Organoponico Gardens. (Photograph by Steve Wescott) FAR RIGHT: Members of Alamar Organoponico Gardens cooperative farm sort cilantro. (Photograph by Steve Wescott) 6 Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin Taxi driver waits for business in Old Havana. The fort on the hill overlooking the entrance channel to Havana Harbor dates back to the 18th century. (Photograph by Steve Wescott) Our first stop en route was at the National Botanical Garden (Jardm Botanico Nacional) on the outskirts of Havana, where we were met by the director and specialists on her staff. After tea and a presentation, we toured nearby gardens on foot; the remainder of the collection (4000 plant species native to tropical areas of the world, including 162 species of palm, empha- sizing flora native to Cuba) was visited by bus. At almost 1500 acres, the garden is more than five times larger than our Washington Park Arboretum. Among its highlights are an archi- tecturally impressive triptych of partially roofed greenhouse structures that showcases artful groupings of cacti and other desert, semi-desert and tropical rainforest plants. Our visit concluded with lunch at El Ranchon, a restaurant on the grounds, set amid a stand of Caribbean pine. Closer to Soroa we visited Las Terrazas, an eco-resort village that is part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve established in 1985. Situated in a valley suiTounded by low mountains, this reforested area was the former site of over 50 coffee plantations; after the plantations failed, the Winter 2013 ** 7 Members of the UWBG group happily seize beach time in the Bay of Pigs. (Photograph by Ted Wagner) area was logged. The restored area helps protect close to 850 endemic plant species and 98 bird species, including 11 of Cuba’s 24 endemic species. Villagers live in white-washed houses with colorful shutters and clay tile roofs; we visited several of these houses to meet resident artisans and peruse their wares. Also within the reserve are the restored build- ings and ruins of the Buena Vista coffee plantation, which was built in 1801 by French refugees from Haiti. The ruins are beautiful yet haunting, evoking as they do the slave labor that made the farmers rich. Among the mins are stone terraces where coffee beans were laid out to dry, a huge ox-powered grindstone used to extract coffee beans from their husks, and the remains of former slave quarters. The master’s house, with a westward view of the valley beyond, has been restored and now houses a restaurant. After finding our cabanas at the Horizontes Villa Soroa resort, we were delighted to discover an Olympic-size swimming pool filled with clear aquamarine water. It was a welcome sight to a group of wilted travelers. Besides meals and swims, our two-night stay took us on a walk to nearby waterfalls and on a short, steep hike with a naturalist. I believe the highlight for most of us was a morning tour of the nearby Orchid Garden (Orquideario), covering over seven acres on a slope overlooking the valley and run by a nearby University. The garden’s collection comprises 700 species of orchid, in addition to numerous other plants from around the globe. Vinales Our next destination, Vinales, lay directly west of Soroa, but getting there was not simple. First, a long and winding road took us off the beaten path to Mil Cumbres (Thousand Peaks), an area no one on our bus, including our guide and driver, had ever visited. At the foot of Cuba’s highest mountain, the nearby town of San Juan de Sagua offered an opportunity for a guided plant walk, and the Mil Cumbres field station provided the most memorable lunch of our trip, partly because of the exquisite fare and partly because of a special celebration honoring the 45th wedding anniversary of two of our fellow travelers. The valley of Vinales is one of die most scenic areas in Cuba, surrounded as it is by landforms known as mogotes, flat-topped hills dating back to the Jurassic period. These reddish limestone formations were sculpted by tectonic uprisings — combined with wind, water and erosion — and are found in only four countries in the world. Our hilltop resort overlooked the valley and had wonderful views of the surrounding mogotes, even from the pool and restaurant areas. Informal tango lessons were offered in the bar area near the pool, and a game group of hotel guests lined up. The Vinales valley is one of the main tobacco-growing regions, and many families have lived in the region for over 100 years. Our visit to a tobacco farm was informative and entertaining, as our group of nonsmokers posed while puffing on a freshly rolled cigar. ^ Part 2 of this article appears in the Spring 2013 issue of the “ Bulletin . ’’ Another UWBG-sponsored trip to Cuba is scheduled for February 22-March 6, 2013- Interested parties should visit the Holbrook Travel website at http://holbrooktravel.com/privategroups/uwbgcuba Janine Anderson, CPH, is an award-winning landscape designer (www.andersondesign.net), member of the “Bulletin” Editorial Board and long-time Arboretum guide. 8 Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin ABOVE: Tribal dancers celebrate the acquisition of Heronswood in October, 2012. Heronswood: A New Beginning eronswood, the 15-acre Kingston, Washington state garden with a world-wide reputation for its stunningly exotic plantings, was for sale from 2006 until mid-2012. Ominously during that time, poten- tial buyers were considering using the garden as the grounds for townhouses or other non-public purposes. But this past June the neighboring Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe bought Heronswood. “We know the garden is a really special place. And as members of the larger community we wanted to acquire and preserve it for public use,” says Noel Higa, director of the Port Gamble Development Authority. Although the Tribe is just beginning to explore its options for Heronswood’s future, they may include: creating a foundation of membership-paying volunteers to maintain the present five-acre gardens; the design and instal- lation of a garden featuring plants used for food, fiber and medicine by Native peoples living in the Puget Sound area; education programs; and use as a venue for meetings and weddings. “Nothing is written in stone,” Noel says about the garden’s future, “and we welcome input from the public.” For more information, contact: HeronswoodGardens@gmail.com. ^ Winter 201 3 9 How I Almost Visited "The Finest Ethnobotanical Garden in the World" Text and Photographs by Liisa Wihman uffering under the cloud-droopy skies of Seattle last January, I felt an irresistible urge to indulge in the cultural riches of southern Mexico. Despite much well-meant advice from friends not to venture outside the safe vacation havens of the Yucatan in eastern Mexico, I felt drawn to the idea of visiting Oaxaca, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the capital city and namesake of a state in southwestern Mexico. Just its name seemed to vibrate with all the colorful energy I felt I needed to revive my winter-tired mind. An ethnobotanical garden — sometimes called the finest in the world — was included on the list of Oaxacan attractions, which made me only more eager to head southward. From green-glazed Atzompa to black barro negro pottery, creamy string cheese to spicy mole sauces, handspun huipils (traditional garments) embroidered with vibrant blooms to ABOVE: View of the rectilinear pathways and organ pipe fences of the gardens. OPPOSITE LEFT: Striking state employees blocking the entrance to the gardens. OPPOSITE RIGHT: A beautiful arched monastery window frames a view of the gardens. 10 Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin ABOVE: Erect fences of organ pipe cacti (on the left) edge plantings of opuntias that act as host plants for cochineal insects. They produce a highly prized, crimson-colored dye that was exported by the Spanish and used for fine paintings, as well as a dye for textiles and carpets. Winter 2013 11 intricately patterned alebrijes (folk art sculptures) carved from copal wood: the impressions made by products of Oaxaca’s cultures are as varied as the peoples that inhabit the area. In addition to Zapotecs and Mixtecs (the two largest groups), there are an additional 16 indigenous peoples with their own cultures that have survived in these remote areas, protected by rugged hills and valleys, for at least 13,000 years. Layers upon layers of history are present in the life of today’s Oaxacans. Pre-historic arche- ological sites, like the nearby ruin of Mitla, provide evidence of the earliest civilizations in the region; pre-Hispanic civic-ceremonial centers like Monte Alban, filled with majestic pyramids and dramatic ball courts, loom over the landscape from a flatted hilltop, and huge colonial buildings — with gilded interiors built by Spaniards that display the plundered riches of the region — bear witness to the often cruel dramas of the past. From the ancient and pre-Hispanic civiliza- tions through ■ the colonial period to contemporary times, plants have played an important part in the life of the Oaxacan peoples. Some of the world’s most valuable food crops hail from here; for example, a UNESCO World Heritage statement of 2010 mentions Oaxaca as the earliest place domesticated maize has been found. Other crops that were commonly grown or gathered during the pre-Hispanic period were beans, chocolate, tomatoes, tunillos and tunas (cacti), quelites (wild greens), huajes (seed pods from the Leucaena tree), avocados, chili peppers, squash and gourds, all of which still form an important part of Oaxacan — and the general Mexican — diet. The pre-Hispanic peoples of Oaxaca also had a vast knowledge about how to use herbs for their healing properties. Herbs such as arnica, espule, mallow, poleo, hare’s ear, San Pablo, aloe vera, ceiza, nopal, lemon balm and chicalote were used to heal the body. Others, like pirul, acahual, yerba del aire, oreja de raton and copal resin were used to heal and cleanse the soul. During this time, plants were regarded as a link between earth and heaven, and some cultures even believed that man had sprouted from a tree called the pochote or the ceiba. Priests and healers communicated with the gods by drinking fermented juices of plants like agave, tuna, mushrooms, peyote and marijuana. During this period, plants were also harvested for their fibers, such as cotton from the pochotle plant and ixtle from the maguey. They were also used to manufacture utensils for everyday use, such as petates (palm matting), palm fans and ropes, gourds for containers and, naturally, wood for the constaiction of dwellings ABOVE: Several species of cycads and palms that provide fiber for matting and textiles are grown in the old garden of the monastery. 12 ^ Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin and other structures. When the Spaniards arrived in the early 1500s, they were fast to adopt and exploit the crops of the indigenous peoples, but also introduced new ones, such as sugar cane, vanilla and tobacco. They especially understood the value of a native Oaxacan specialty, the cochineal dye that Oaxacans had for centuries extracted from the tiny, mold-like insects that thrive on nopales, the prickly pads of Opuntia cacti. It provides a vivid red color that was highly desirable for dyeing thread and fabrics, from a card- inal’s robes in the Vatican to the British redcoats, the powers of Europe wanted to signal their status with this vibrant, exclusive color. It was also used for highly prized artists’ paints and thus is found in the works of the most successful painters of their times, from Velazquez and Vermeer to Rembrandt and Rubens. By early 1600s, the cochineal dye was Mexico’s second-most valuable export product after silver. In the early 1990s the Mexican military, which had used the magnificent 400-year-old Santo Domingo de Guzman church and monastery in the Oaxaca city center as a base, departed — and the site became available for a different kind of use. Two visionary Oaxacans, artist Francesco Toledo and ethnobotanist Alejandro de Avila, took the initiative to trans- form the former monastery gardens into a site that could tell the multifaceted story of the plants and peoples of the region. Yet another artist friend, Luis Zarate, was involved in the layout and design of the gardens, and in 1994, Jardin Etnobotanico de Oaxaca came into reality. Visually, it relates to all historical periods of Oaxaca, from zigzagging pathways laid in the style of pre- Hispanic designs to water features created from the wells and bathtubs of the Dominican brothers. The layout is strictly rectilinear — no winding soft pathways anywhere — and the whole garden gives a strong sculp- tural impression, like a proud witness to the often ruthless past of the area. Most unfortunately, I never got to visit inside the garden. When I arrived at its gates at the announced time (only guided tours are allowed in) — excited about at last getting to experience this magnificent garden — I was met by large hand-painted signs explaining that the garden would be closed indefinitely, due to striking state employees. The gates stayed closed during our whole stay, even though I repeatedly returned, hoping to find the strike was over and the garden could now at last be visited. The strikers seemed to have a good time under their shady canopy, watching TV and listening to rowdy music. They showed absolutely no sympathy for my misery and continued happily exercising their democratic rights, to my — I’m a little ashamed to say — utter irritation. What I didn’t know then was that the employees who blocked the entrance were not gardeners. They were state employees who would not permit the garden’s own staff to take care of the plants for a full three days — a fact that founding director de Avila was kind enough to inform me about later, when I was back in Seattle. Luckily, most of the plants are native and used to surviving without extra watering, so So close, and still so far away... Winter 2013 13 RIGHT: The Jardin Etnobotanico de Oaxaca tells the story of how ancient and modern indigenous peoples of the region have used plants for food, medicine, constmction materials and textiles. there was no lasting damage done, despite the neglect. As it turned out, the only glimpse I ever got of the garden was a I n ,’»• l.-Js f id ;.i KpWFiP! A birds-eye view from the second storey of the adjoining monastery that currently serves as a museum. It was brief, but still long enough to convince me that the reputation of this mag- nificent garden is well-deserved, and that some day I need to go back to Oaxaca to get a closer Liisa Wihman is a Finnish garden histor- ian and writer who serves as a member of the “Bulletin” Editorial Board. She moved recently from Seattle to Singapore and blogs about all things related to gardens at www.intercontinentalgardener.com. look at it. n* THERE'S A LITTLE GARDEN IN ALL OF US. OPEN FEBRUARY 20-24th sneak preview: gardenshow.com (flic Seattle (Times jyjarenafyps SUBARU Confidence in Motion NORTHWEST FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW Washington State Convention Center 14 <40 Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin Japanese Gardens Text and Photographs by Phil Wood 11 -year-old daughter, Lucy, led me to my first trip to Japan in July of 2012. She had been learning Japanese language and culture for six years at Seattle’s John Stanford International School, our local public grade school. We joined 20 students and 20 parent-chaperones to tour southern Japan on the program’s annual fifth-grade trip. I have been lucky to see gardens in China, but before this trip had seen only Japanese gardens built in the United States — in Seattle, Portland and Chicago. My richest experi- ence to-date came as a co-designer of the Arboretum Foundation garden at die Northwest Flower and Garden Show in 2011. The garden celebrated the 50th anniver- sary of the Seattle Japanese ABOVE: The still water of the pond gives contrast to the sinuous lines of the carefully pruned pine. INSET: A Chinese style corridor bridge spans a creek in Shoshe-en in Kyoto. Winter 2013 15 Garden. My co-designer, Roger Williams (who has made many trips to Japan), served as our Zen master, guiding us in Japanese garden design elements; our third co-designer, Bob Lilly, brought his own mastery and knowledge of plants to the planting design. After that experience, I felt well- prepared to visit Japanese gardens in their homeland. As I read the crowded schedule required to shepherd a group of 40 people through Japan, my visions of having enough time to see dozens of Japanese gardens disappeared. Our guides, two natives of Japan and teachers at the school, planned a tour introducing their students to Japanese culture — primarily temples and shrines. But eventually I found gaps in the schedule that allowed me to seek out some very satisfying gardens on the fully packed 12-day trip. We flew into Osaka, air gateway to southern Japan, and took a train to Kobe, Seattle’s sister city. While the students were in a four-day home stay, we adults had the opportunity to travel on our own. Ten of us boarded a bullet train to Hiroshima. All! The bullet train, the perfect vehicle for garden touring, ft goes 200 miles an hour and takes you quickly to where you want to go. Visiting Hiroshima, site of the first use of the atom bomb on a city, moved me deeply. The Peace Center is sited at the devastated center of the blast. One of the few surviving buildings, the Atomic Bomb Dome, stands as a silent reminder of the calamity. Trees have grown up since 1945 to add the grace of nature to the view. Through a guidebook I found a garden, Shukkeien, within walking distance of both the Peace Park and the train station; I persuaded my group to visit it. Construction on this garden, built by Hiroshima feudal lord Anasu Nakaakira adjoining his castle, began in 1620. Located less than a mile from the bombed center, all of its buildings and plants were destroyed. A photo taken after the war shows the garden’s lake intact, with bare, broken tainks of trees near it. Restoration began in the 1950s, and the 11-acre garden looks fully mature today. Shukkeien literally means “shrunk scenery,” and the landscape was modeled after the larger landscape at West Lake in Hangzhou, China. Designed in the strolling-garden style, the path circles around the small lake, with islands and bridges to provide a variety of experiences as it climbs up and down hills. In this, the first garden I visited in Japan, I found all of the elements that I expected in a Japanese garden. Stone is used to create focal points, is set into hillsides to create stairs, and is used as steppingstones in pathways. Plants stand out as single specimens or features — such as a carefully pruned pine set against a wall, Japanese maples in groves, and azaleas pruned into mounds to suggest minia- ture mountains. Water forms a flat, reflective plane in a pond or babbles down a rocky stream. We took a side trip with an overnight to the island of Mayajima, reaching it by a small ferry. Itsukushima shrine has a magnificent torii gate (an entrance to a Shinto shrine) appearing to float in the sea. Paths lead up into the small mountain wilderness area, which makes up most of the island. On the trip back to Kobe, the guidebook revealed that taking advantage of stops on the bullet train route would allow us to visit two more gardens in one day. I recruited one of my ABOVE: This photo on a sign in Shukkeien in Hiroshima shows the destruction in the garden caused by the atom bomb. 16 '■*> Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin co-travelers as a partner in garden visiting; Adrian and I felt bold breaking off from the group to find our own way in a foreign land. The first stop was Okayama, to see one of the top three gardens in Japan, Korakuen. (The other two are Kenrokuen and Kairakuen, located farther north, near Tokyo.) The lord of Okayama built the garden next to his castle in 1700. At 32 acres in size (the largest garden I visited), the lord had plenty of room to entertain important friends. I found the size and openness of the garden overwhelming. It sits on a bank of the Asahi River, and the designers diverted water for ponds and streams. Built in the kaiyu (scenic promenade) style, the central path that forms the spine of the garden passes in and out of the great lawns — which are unusual in Japanese gardens. It looked like a place for a good game of golf, although at one time the lawns were perfect for events with horses. Tucked around the lawns were teahouses, theatres for performing Noh, a fishing palace on the pond, groves of flowering trees, and the lord’s reception hall. Although damaged by floods in 1934 and bombing in 1945, numerous paintings from the Edo period and family records provided clues for the garden’s restoration, so today it seeems little changed from its original constaiction. This is a garden that would grow on you if you lived in the neighborhood and visited it regularly to leisurely discover its treasures. But the bullet train awaited and swept us off to our next stop, Himeji. Although its magnifi- cent castle is a top tourist site, we headed for the garden next door, Koko-en, built just 20 years ago to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Himeji municipality. The garden reflects the Edo- period (1615-1868) style, as did most of the gardens I saw on my visit. Nine separate gardens make up Koko-en, each having a different theme. In this nine-acre wonderland, one intimate garden after another opened up before us. The title of each garden describes its character: Flatly Landscaped Garden; The Garden of Summer Trees; The Garden with a Hill and a Pond; The Garden of Pine Trees. Each gave lessons in Japanese garden design. One of the gardens was a tea garden, in Japanese cha-niwa or roji. Tea gardens are built in a style all their own. The small, rustic tea house forms the center of the garden. Many of the elements we in the West have borrowed from Japanese gardens come from tea gardens: the informal steppingstones that lead from the garden entrance to the tea house, the stone lanterns that light the way, and compositions of carefully pruned plants. Back in Kobe, we reunited with our children and spent time with their host families. The next day we left by train for Kyoto, the ancient cultural center of Japan. Kyoto is one of the few large cities that escaped devastating fire bombings from American planes in the war. The ancient city fabric and its temples remain. Our home for three nights was a ryokan, a tradi- tional hotel with tatami mats and futons, and a shared soaking tub in the bath, which alarmed the modest 11-year-olds in the group. We began our sightseeing. We approached Kiyomizu-dera (Purer Water) temple by climbing a steep lane lined with shops that have served pilgrims for centuries. Ordinary life stops at the gate to the temple complex that stretches out on a hill overlooking Kyoto. The verandah of the main hall soars out, high above the cherry and maple trees that create a deep-green setting for the wood temple buildings. The winding stairs and pathways below the temple lead to a fountain that celebrates the spring of pure water that gave the temple its name. My daughter wanted to move into the Golden Temple Pavilion (Kinkau-ji), and who wouldn’t want to live in a house of gold? The temple would have been much less magnificent without its garden setting, flanked by enormous pine trees pruned like giant bonsai, with the whole composition reflected in the lake in front of it. Beyond the temple we explored the strolling garden, designed in the Muromachi period (1357-1575) that preceded the Edo period. Kyoto is home to the world-famous dry landscape-style gravel and stone garden at Winter 2013 17 Ryoan-ji. It was not on our schedule, but I was happy to find that another gravel and stone garden was, surrounding the Zen temple Daisen-in. Instead of the 15 stones arranged in a rectangular ocean of raked gravel at Ryoan- ji, this garden wrapped around the abbot’s residence like a river — perhaps representing the flow of life, overcoming impediments represented by a waterfall and stone islands, then reuniting with others in the great ocean. Tire karescmsui (dry landscape) style devel- oped under the influence of landscape paintings of die Chinese Southern Song dynasty, imported to Japan in die 14th century and emulated by artists like Sesshu (1420-1506). The underlying Japanese aesthetic principle of bodi die painting and the landscape style is temied isyobako-no-bi, literally “the beauty of blank space.” Negative space provides an important tool in garden design; in the West we use the open areas of lawn, paved areas and water to set off die complexi- ties of planting beds. I enjoyed seeing the concept at its most abstract in a diy landscape garden. I managed, along with my garden adventure partner, to see one last Kyoto garden on our final day, while the students were packing. Located only three blocks from our hotel, Shoshei-en is the former abbot’s garden of a large temple, Higashi Honganji; the two sites are now separated by several blocks of housing and shops. The garden dates to 1643, when it was built on the temple grounds as a retreat for the abbot. In 1858 and 1864, fire destroyed all of the buildings. Shortly thereafter the garden was restored. ABOVE: Pines and Japanese maples frame a peaceful pond in Koko-en garden in Himeji. The water, plants and rocks in the photo are the iconic elements of the Japanese garden. INSET: An arched bridge crosses the central pond in Shukkeien in Hiroshima. 18 m Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin r- Shoshei-en, built in the style of a pond stroll garden ( cb isen-ka iyou -sh iki teieri), features a small lawn that provides open space next to the pond, with teahouses and a ceremonial gate linked by paths. My favorite feature was described in the map handed out at the garden as “a Chinese corridor style bridge.” This covered bridge over a stream-filled ravine looked like no other structure I saw in Japanese gardens, with a flat roof and level, not arching, floor. Gardens in Japan have survived fire, warfare, even an atomic bomb, and have been rebuilt and tended by generations of gardeners through- out the centuries. Japanese style continues to influence gardens around the world. I discov- ered that it is possible to see gardens traveling on public transportation with little knowledge of the language. When you visit Japan, consider going at cherry- blossom time in the spring or see the intense leaf color in the fall; but don’t go at the height of the rainy season, which in Kyoto is early July — just when I was there. Or do as I did; take a raincoat and enjoy the color of the wet stones! Phil Wood is the owner of Phil Wood Garden Design, specializing in residential garden design. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Washington and his Bachelor’s of sculpture at the Cornish College of Fine Arts. Phil writes on garden design topics for local and national publications and speaks to horticultural groups and garden clubs. He serves on the Editorial Board of the “Bulletin.” ABOVE: A stone lantern lights the way to a steppingstone path across a pond in Koko-en in Himeji. INSET: Carefully pained pines create a backdrop for this bridge at Koko-en in Himaegi. Winter 2013 19 A Hobbit's New Zealand Garden By Phil Wood, Paige Miller, Niall Dunne and Rhonda Bush ashington Park Arboretum’s display garden at the 2013 Northwest Flower and Garden Show is called “A Hobbit’s New Zealand Garden.” The garden will showcase native plants from New Zealand featured in the New Zealand Forest of the Pacific Connections Garden at the Arboretum. In keeping with the theme of this year’s Garden Show, “The Silver Screen Takes Root... Gardens Go Hollywood,” we are also taking inspiration from the recently released movie “The Hobbit,” which was filmed in New Zealand. Look for the house tucked into a hill covered with moss and ferns, with a stone path leading to a round door just the right Wells AVt: dina N U R S E R Y here hardeners Sdrow 5 Acres of Superior Quality Plants Perennials • Annuals • Shrubs • Roses Rhododendrons • Japanese Maples Reference Library • Knowledgeable Staff • Display Gardens Demonstration Containers 425.454.1853 8300 NE 24th Street • Just off 520 in Medina, WA 20 Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin size for a hobbit. Nearby is a bog exuberant with colorful New Zealand flax ( Phormium ) surrounded by drifts of sedge ( Carex ). A small grove of tea trees ( L eptospe rmum) forms the background of the display. A tree fern stands sentry by the door of the hobbit house, and the flowers of Libertia and shiny, varie- gated foliage of Coprosma add color to the display. Many of the plants will be low water use, adding an environmental message to our story. The garden reunites the same design team that created the Arboretum’s last two displays, the bird-friendly garden of 2012, and the Japanese garden of 2011: Bob Lilly, Roger Williams and Phil Wood. Assisting them are the Arboretum Foundation’s Rhonda Bush (associate designer) and Randall Hitchin (volunteer coordi- nator and plant advisor), and Clint Staaf (Christchurch, New Zealand, sister city volunteer), as well as a host of helpers from Seattle Parks and Recreation, University of Washington Botanic Gardens, and the Foundation’s volunteer pool. Paige Miller, the Executive Director of the Foundation, is our guiding force, o* A e.£*>0£nvr\ Landscape Architecture 206.325.6877 Urban Design bergerpartnership.com Hot Items f NC ARBORETL TEA, AN ) ■t Arboretum Shop 1 WASHINGTON PARK ARBORETUM or the Winter Season >W SERVING JM BLEND COFFEE, HOT COCOA, D COOKIES! Ten percent discount for Foundation members OPEN to am — 4 pm Daily Pacific Office Automation thanks the many dedicated employees and volunteers whose hard work makes it possible for all of us to enjoy the Arboretum. PACIFIC OFFICE AUTOMATION — PROBLEM SOLVED — www. PacificOffice. com Winter 2013 ^ 21 PART 2 5^ ir Joseph Dalton Hooker had a signif- icant role in the naming of many New Zealand plants. The first volume of his “Flora Antarctica" (1844) covers 100 species of flowering plants, 20 ferns and fern allies, and numerous mosses, liverworts and other cryptogams (plants that produce spores.) These plants are found on each of the two islands that comprise New Zealand. Two examples in our Arboretum are Celmisia spectabilis (WPA-1) and C. viscosa (WPA-2), the first a perennial herb, the second a sub-shrub often clad in dead leaves. Both are valued for their silvery foliage and attractive white, large and daisy-like blossoms. Most Celmisia species are found in herb fields and fell fields (treeless, alpine, rock- strewn areas), where they are commonly associated with tussock grasses. With the publication of the first volume of Hooker’s “Flora Novae Zealandiae" in 1853, and the second in 1855, botanical research on New Zealand began to flourish. An increasing number of incoming settlers also aided in the exploration of the local flora during this period. Additional examples of New Zealand plants in the Arboretum named by Hooker include Acaena inermis, Astelia nervosa, Brae byglottis monroi, Leptinel/a squalida and Olearia ilicifolia and O. nummulqrifolia. Astelia is a liliaceous plant sometimes put in its own family (Asteliaceae). Forming rosettes of narrow, evergreen leaves, it produces much-branched panicles of fragrant, green-purple to dark-red flowers. Olearias, known as daisy bushes and ranging in size and shape from rounded shaibs to small trees, produce masses of often-fragrant white- or cream-colored blossoms. Large, toothed leaves define O. ilicifolia , while O. nummulari- folia has small, tightly clustered leaves. Another early explorer was Sir David Monro (1813-77), who sent specimens on to Hooker at Kew. Some of his important discoveries include Pacbystegia insignis, Helicbrysum coralloides, Celmisia monroi, Brachyglottis monroi and Carmicbaelia monroi (WPA-2). The genus Carmicbaelia is named for a Scottish army officer and botanist Captain Dugald Carmichael, (1722-1827) who collected plants at the Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Tristan da Cunha and India, but not in New Zealand. This dwarf shrub is a member of the legume family from the South Island; it features numerous small white flowers that are purple-veined and often fragrant. Brachyglottis monroi is a composite plant bearing yellow, daisy-like flowers. It’s a many-branched slmib that grows to three feet — with handsome The term WPA-1 refers to plants already found in Washington Park Aroretum. WPA-2 refers to plants to be established in the Arboretum in the future. 22 ^ Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin ABOVE: New Zealand, Arthur’s Pass. TOP INSET: Celmisia sp BOTTOM INSET: Ranunculus lyallii (Photographs by Richie Steffen) foliage, the leaves glossy above and buff-colored beneath — and is typically hardy, due to its origins in sub-alpine scrub. Dr. Andrew Sinclair (c. 1796-1861) also aided Hooker by forwarding him numerous specimens that became a large part of the “Flora Novae Zealandiae.” Originally a naval surgeon, Sinclair visited New Zealand first in 1841 and accompa- nied Hooker and William Colenso on numerous plant-collecting expeditions. Sinclair later joined Julius Haast in surveying the Southern Alps — Haast being a geologist who was interested in plants as well. Sinclair met an untimely death in 1861, when he drowned trying to ford the River Rangitata in southern New Zealand. Another major plant collector was the surgeon-naturalist Dr. David Lyall (1817-9), who visited New Zealand on a coastal survey in 1847- Winter 2013 23 51. Lyall was already recognized for his collec- tions of cryptogams and garden treasures such as Pimelea lyallii, Hoheria lyallii and the spectac- ular Ranunculus lyallii. All hoherias are endemic to New Zealand; the generic name, in fact, is a Latinized version of the Maori name for these plants. Five members of the mallow family (Malvaceae) found in New Zealand are either evergreen or deciduous shrubs or trees, and they range in habitat from the lowlands (. H . sexstylosa WPA-1), woodlands and along streams, to the sub-alpine zone (H. lyallii). Hoherias are generous summer bloomers with lightly scented, five-petalled white flowers that remind one of their relatives, the lavateras. They are handsome plants, both in foliage and form. Best given some winter protec- tion from drying winds, they do well edging larger trees. Hoheria lyallii (lacebark) is decid- uous and can grow to 20 feet, while H. sexsty- losa (ribbonwood, a Colenso introduction) is evergreen and also can attain 20 feet. Archeria traversii (WPA-2) reminds one of a huge Phyllodoce empetriformis, one of our Cascade Mountains heaths. Both are members of the heath family (Ericaceae), and both share pink, sometimes white to deep-red, urn-shaped blossoms and small, needle-like leaves. But, whereas Phyllodoce stays below 12 inches, Archeria traversii can grow to 15 feet or more in the wild (southern New Zealand, South Island and Steward Island). Hooker assigned the plant its generic name in 1844, after the Tasmanian botanist William Archer; he also gave the specific name “ traversii' after William Thomas Locke Travers. W.T.L. Travers (1819-1903), although a lawyer, magistrate and politician, was also an avid naturalist, explorer ABOVE: Carex buchananii TOP INSET: Olearia haastii ‘Tucker’ BOTTOM INSET: Hoheria sexstylosa ‘Stardust’ 24 <*n Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin and photographer. He collected many mountain grasses and flowers, sending them on to Kew. He not only helped create the Wellington Botanic Garden but saw his passionate love of nature picked up by his son Henry (1844-1928), who became a naturalist and professional collector. Hemy Travers is responsible for the names Pseudowintera traversii , Hebe traversii and Pimelea traversii. One of the taller-growing hebes, Veronica (Hebe) traversii (WPA-1) is a shrub growing up to seven feet tall, with loosely spaced, one-half inch-wide leaves and white blooms. Another notable collector was the geologist Julius Haast (1824-87), credited by Hooker for discovering more new New Zealand plants than anyone since Colenso. The bulk of his botan- ical collecting took place between 1860-70 and was done concurrently with his survey of the geology of the Southern Alps. He is honored with Hebe haastii, Olearia baastii and Anisotome haastii (WPA-2). Olearia haastii has long been a feature of Northwest gardens, being well- suited for our climate. (I remember learning about it when I first came to Seattle for graduate school in 1964 and saw it in front of the Seattle Art Museum in Volunteer Park.) It’s not the showiest of olearias but serves as a small (to four feet) stalwart of the mid-background or hedging shrubs. Haast came to New Zealand from Germany in 1858, changing Inis name from Johann Von Haast to Julius Haast, and was knighted in 1875 by the Emperor of Austria. As Government Geologist based in Canterbury, New Zealand, Haast was honored with the genus Haastia, the extraordinary composite known as “vegetable sheep.” Difficult to grow in cultivation, the sight of these on the drier, eastern slopes of the Southern Alps reminded early plant explorers of sleeping sheep, an image especially enhanced on foggy days. Older mounds rise up to five feet in diameter. One of Haast’s finds to be planted in the Arboretum in spring, 2013 is Anisotome baastii (WPA-2), also named by Hooker. A striking, small Winter 2013 25 (to 18 inches) member of the carrot family (Apiaceae), it has rich-green, fern-like leaves topped with upright umbels of clear-white blossoms. Needing deep rich soil, it prefers shady sites, a feature which would be useful in many Pacific Northwest gardens. Another prolific collector was John Buchanan (1819-98). As a draughtsman and botanist attached to a geologic survey, he accompanied its leader, Dr. James Hector (later, Sir James Hector, who in time became the first director of the Geological Survey of New Zealand). Some of Buchanan’s discoveries include the well- known Carex buchananii (WPA-1) and Hebe buchananii. Valuable papers and books were to follow, one paper based on the plant collec- tions of Travers in the Chatham Islands. Carex buchananii is one of the brown-colored sedges that early on elicited disparaging comments about using already-dead plants in planting designs. Now this and other brownish-colored plants are valued features in many plantings. Sir James Hector did some botanical explo- ration himself, until his official duties prevented him from fully following up on earlier discov- eries he had made. He did much to promote others in his stead, including Buchanan. He is best remembered in the genus Hectorella , for a shrubby daisy relative, Brachyglottis hectorii and one of the whipcord hebes, Hebe hectorii. Hebe hectorii (WPA-2) is lighter in yellow-green/ochre tones than H. ochracea (better known in the trade as H. ochracea James Stirling’) and twice as tall, growing to 30 inches. Two final names to recognize in New Zealand botany of the 19th century are Thomas Kirk and Thomas Frederick Cheeseman. Both were immigrants from England, Thomas Kirk (1828-98) arriving in 1862 with a wife and four children, and Thomas Frederick Cheeseman (1845-1923) arriving as an infant in 1845. Kirk learned botany from his nurseryman father and a florist, Sarah West. Upon arriving in New Zealand, he immediately started collecting. He was a prolific collector and writer, publishing some 140 papers and the “Forest Flora of New Zealand,” a classic for many years. While Chief Conservator of Forests, he saw the misuse of forest resources and was able to set aside and protect some 800,000 acres of indigenous forests. His name is honored in Carmichaelia kirkii, Halocarpus kirkii and Brachyglottis kirkii. Unfortunately, these plants are now threatened in their native stands. Cheeseman used Hooker’s “Handbook of the New Zealand Flora” in the field to teach himself botany to such effect that when Auckland University College opened in 1883, he was already recognized by authorities as an accomplished botanist. While still a teenager, he had sent a native orchid to Hooker at Kew, who subse- quently named the species after Cheeseman himself. Hooker also forwarded Cheeseman’s observations on this plant to Darwin, who later discussed its unique process of pollination in one of his books on insects. Like Kirk before him, Cheeseman, too, served as secretary of the Auckland Institute and curator of the museum. He, too, published extensively — with 60 botanical papers to his credit, including his magnum opus in 1906, the “Manual of the New Zealand Flora.” Hebe is the name of the Greek goddess of youth. It seems fitting that the word is used in the names of numerous New Zealand plants, since so many plant explorers traveled the rough New Zealand outback with a child-like wonderment, finding valuable plants and expanding human knowledge. A visit to the Washington Park Arboretum, now and in the near future, will introduce you to an exciting group of New Zealand plants that are making their way into Pacific Northwest gardens in ever-increasing numbers. Walt Bubelis, after retiring as head of the Edmonds Community College Horticulture Department, has gone on to serve on the “Bulletin” Editorial Board, the Arboretum Foundation Board, the University of Washington’s Botanical Gardens Board and the Northwest Perennial Alliance Board. 26 ^ Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin PART 2 Annual Review of New Books by Pacific Northwest Authors By Brian R. Thompson his is Part 2 of the annual review of new books by Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia) authors. This pan features primarily books on food growing and urban farming. Please see the first part of this review in the Fall 2012 issue of “The Bulletin” for new, local books on other subjects. A Chicken in Every Garden Jessi Bloom is a strong advocate for chickens in almost any garden setting, and in “Free-Range Chicken Gardens” she provides detailed infor- mation on compatible plantings — including those that provide food for chickens — and structures that meet the multiple needs of fowl and flora. There is a lot of well-organized information in these pages on all other related topics, too, making this of value to chicken keepers at any experience level. But you can also just enjoy the profiles of gardeners and their chickens (many are local) or the many superb photographs (by Kate Baldwin) of contented hens in their gardens, proving their value as a natural compliment. Robert and Hannah Litt own the Urban Farm Store in Portland and wrote “A Chicken in Every Yard” from experience keeping their own chickens and helping their chicken-keeping customers. While they don’t disapprove of raising chickens for food, theirs are clearly pets and the book encourages this attitude with chapters like “Parenting Your Peeps.” There is a lot of detail about different types and breeds, including recommendation lists such as “best for children.” All stages of raising and caring are covered in depth, but the garden is only briefly mentioned. If your focus is solely on chickens, this book is an excellent choice. Urban Agriculture “The Urban Farm Handbook” is a blending of deeply personal accounts by two urban (Seattle) families seeking ways of becoming self- reliant in producing and preparing food. By sharing both the triumphs and failures (including persuading significant others), Annette Cottrell and Joshua McNichols present a lot of options for choosing your own path to provide food for yourself and loved ones. Recipes are scattered throughout, and many of those contain meat. Dealing with the angst of slaughtering various animals to supply that meat is a significant theme of the book, but here, too, the authors give you many options for finding your own comfort level. Drawing a parallel with the homesteaders who settled the Oregon frontier, Portland author Renee Wilkinson recognizes that same spirit — and lack of knowledge and experience — in today’s pioneers seeking self-sustaining, urban homes. “Modern Homestead” is not an A-Z encyclopedia of vegetable crops, but instead provides general rules-of-thumb to help you decide what you want, including a sizeable portion of the book that is given over to “Citified Creatures.” Preserving your harvest is important, too, but the strongest message is: "Don’t work alone." Find some buddies to help you with your homestead, and you will collectively be more innovative and much more successful. In contrast to the other books in this section, Peter Ladner writes “The Urban Food Revolution” Winter 2013 27 from the perspective of a policy maker (he was a two-term City Councilor in Vancouver, B.C.) and a journalist. This is not a gardening book or even an urban-farming book, but it does examine issues that impact food production and distribution in an urban setting with the goal of telling policymakers “...what they can do to improve access to healthy food for all the people they represent.” Subjects addressed include food deserts, childhood obesity, designing new devel- opments with urban farming options, and the safety of locally raised food. Nothing But Veggies (and a Little Fruit) Many vegetable gardening books include recipes, but few are as well integrated as in “Grow Cook Eat” — in which Willi Galloway follows sowing, growing and harvesting, with cooking as the next logical step (presumably followed by eating). In addition to the formal recipes (none are particularly complex), there are oodles of simple ideas for using the vegetable (or herbs or even a few fruits) at hand in creative and delicious ways. Jim Henkens’s photos expertly capture growing plants, the fresh harvest, and the serving plate, encouraging you to give it a try. The general culture section is brief but sufficient; the goal here is to get growing and get eating — yum! Graham Kerr is another (now local — Mt. Vernon) author who easily includes recipes amongst his recommendations for a kitchen garden, but that’s not surprising as he is much better known as a chef (remember the Galloping Gourmet?) than a gardener. He has embraced raising his own healthful food as eagerly as any of his past pursuits. “Growing at the Speed of Life” is filled with the same enthusiasm; Kerr hasn’t lost any of his wit or knack of turning a phrase that made him such a popular television personality in the early 1970s. The Seattle-based authors of “Food Grown Right, in Your Backyard” operate a business that gets homeowners started growing their own vegetables (along with herbs, edible flowers and a few berry faiits) no matter what the challenges may come from inexperience or a difficult site. Colin McCrate and Brad Halm's advice is great for beginners, providing a lot of structure and many details, while including a teaching element with every entry. For example, by growing radishes, you’ll learn how to harvest at the right time for the best taste, and planting corn will teach you about wind pollination. Most of the authors in this review are publishing their first books, but Binda Colebrook is on her fifth edition (the first was in 1977) of the classic “Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest,” and it’s still a must for any serious food gardener. The emphasis is on crops that will grow throughout the year — so no tomatoes or corn — but instead you’ll discover many options that are really better suited for our mild climate. There is much emphasis on ways to reduce the impact of freezes, heavy rains and cold winds, but Colebrook is great at encour- aging experimentation, even if your property doesn’t have perfect conditions. An excellent reference section completes the book. Gardening Where There's No Room Here is another approach to dealing with limited space: grow up. “Vertical Vegetables and Fruit” is one of the very few books focused on this technique of food-growing. Some of the featured vegetables and fruits are naturals (beans or kiwi), but many are not. And while the thought of a high-flying watermelon may take a bit of getting used to, the author devotes several pages to slings and other support devices to make this possible. There are many unconventional ideas here to try, including hanging bags and living walls, along with some more familiar espaliers of fruit trees and strawberry pots. The emphasis is on innovation and experimentation — and having fun with your veggies (and fruit)! Massingham Hart has re-engineered another of her older titles with “Dirt-Cheap Green Thumb.” This is essentially a general gardening book (including ornamentals) packaged in short, snappy bits of information and is perfect for the newer gardener who is anxious to get started 28 >40 Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin right now. The reader who is frugal will even be more pleased as there are lots of tips (400 according to the sub-title) for saving money while growing the garden of your dreams. “Apartment Gardening” takes the whole concept of gardening in your available space a step farther — or I should say, smaller? Amy Pennington has considerable gardening experi- ence in a setting with plentiful space. But now confined to a Seattle apartment, she isn’t about to stop. She distills her plant selections to a short but well-tested list. Some surprised me (zucchini on a balcony?), but overall I was impressed by the “what-works” approach. Large compost bins are out, but worm bins are still possible; she even advocates a beehive on the deck. But check with the neighbors first! (Hers nixed the idea.) Helpful recipes use only the plants listed and include making lip balms and lotions, and herbal teas. Lavender Many of the urban-farming and vegetable gardening books include lavender as a staple plant, but “The Lavender Lover’s Handbook” provides much greater detail on the particular needs and benefits of these sub-shrubs. Sarah Berringer Bader is a lavender farmer in western Oregon and shares her expertise on selection, planting, maintaining, harvesting and — yes! — cooking with lavender. Best is her selection of cultivars for various purposes — such as best scent, richest color (in various hues), or best in a landscape. She even includes the best choices for using in her recipes. An encyclopedia of avail- able varieties is quite thorough and enhanced by Janet Loughrey’s skilled photography. Garden Hardscape and Ornaments Lorene Edwards Forkner has addressed a real need on the garden library bookshelf. While there are a handful of books (none of them by local authors) about using foraged materials for garden decoration, none adequately take the next step of using these materials to create useful, yet attractive, objects that we all need in our gardens. “Handmade Garden Projects” has everything from fountains to potting benches, with clear instaictions and lots of encouragement to build these yourself at a fraction of the cost of having someone else be your handyman or woman. Another plus: Many of the examples are from gardens created by well-known people in the Seattle area horti- cultural community. Bibliography Bader, Sarah Berringer. “The Lavender Lover’s Handbook: The 100 Most Beautiful and Fragrant Varieties for Growing, Crafting, And Cooking.” Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-60469-221-1, $27.95. Bloom, Jessi. “Free-Range Chicken Gardens: How to Create a Beautiful, Chicken-Friendly Yard.” Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-60469-237-2, $19.95. Colebrook, Binda. “Winter Gardening in the Maritime Northwest: Cool-Season Crops for the Year-Round Gardener,” 5th ed. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-86571-708-4, $17.95. Cottrell, Annette and McNichols, Joshua. “The Urban Farm Handbook: City-Slicker Resources for Growing, Raising, Sourcing, Trading, and Preparing What You Eat.” Seattle: Skipstone, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-59485-637-2, $24.95. Forkner, Lorene Edwards. “Handmade Garden Projects: Step- By-Step Instructions for Creative Garden Features, Containers, Lighting & More.” Portland: Timber Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-60469-185-6, $19-95. Galloway, Willi. “Grow Cook Eat: A Food Lover’s Guide to Vegetable Gardening, Including 50 Recipes, Plus Harvesting and Storage Tips.” Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-57061-731-7, $29.95. Kerr, Graham. “Growing at the Speed of Life: A Year in the Life of my First Kitchen Garden.” New York: Perigee, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-399-53612-0, $27.00. Ladner, Peter. “The Urban Food Revolution: Changing the Way We Feed Cities.” Gabriola Island, BC: New Society, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-86571-683-4, $18.95. Litt, Robert and Hannah. “A Chicken in Every Yard: The Urban Farm Store’s Guide to Chicken Keeping.” Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-58008- 582-3, $19.99. Massingham Hart, Rhonda. “Dirt Cheap Green Thumb: 400 Thrifty Tips for Saving Money, Time, and Resources as You Garden.” North Adams, MA: Storey Publications, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-60342-441-7, $10.95. Massingham Hart, Rhonda. “Vertical Vegetables and Fruit: Creative Gardening Techniques for Growing Up in Small Spaces.” North Adams, MA: Storey Publications, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-60342-998-6, $16.95. McCrate, Colin and Halm, Brad. “Food Grown Right, In Your Backyard: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Crops at Home.” Seattle: Skipstone, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-59485-683-9, $24.95. Pennington, Amy. “Apartment Gardening: Plants, Projects, and Recipes for Growing Food in Your Urban Home.” Seattle: Sasquatch, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-57061-688-4, $18.95. Wilkinson, Renee. “Modern Homestead: Grow, Raise Create.” Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-55591-748-7, $26.95. Winter 2013 29 , . , NONPROFIT ORG. Washington Park Arboretum 2300 Arboretum Drive East Seattle WA 98112-2300 www.arboretumfoundation.org An arboretum is a dynamic collection of woody plants for research, education, conservation and display. Elisabeth C Miller Library UW Botanic Gardens Box 354115 3501 NE 41st Street Seattle WA 98135-41 15 (425) 483-5000 • 13625 NE 175th St., Woodinville • molbaks.com molbaks garden+home A proud supporter of the Washington Park Arboretum, Molbak’s has been helping Northwest gardeners bring lasting beauty to their own backyards for generations. • Inspiring ideas • Informative seminars • Gorgeous plants for garden + home '