The Washington Park Arboretum has a large garden dedicated to plants from the Southern Hemisphere, and more specifically Australia, Chile and New Zealand.
I went on a walk in early March and some of these plants and shrubs (mostly shrubs) caught my eye. My first walk was in the late afternoon on Wednesday, March 3 taken with no intention of looking specifically at this garden. I found some interesting shrubs and the shrubs that generally caught me eye were ones of a size and structure that might fit very well in a relatively sunny spot where a Cistus (rockrose) shrub recently died.
It might be difficult to find plants native to New Zealand in local nurseries. It might not even be a good idea to look for them aside from it being a likely futile search. But I might be able to print photos of these as a reminder of plants I liked in the ‘spring’ state and see if I can find native plants with similar attributes, be it form, color and/or size.
Pseudowintera colorata
What I like: I like the color and leaf form. The leaves are green-yellow-green on top and green-bluish on the underside. I like the size as it appears in the photograph.
Spread: The spread was approximately 40-inches in diameter and about 40-inches tall.
Type: Uncertain
Availability locally: Unknown
Similar but native to Pacific Northwest: TBD
Pseudowintera colorata
Form, color and size reference.
Pseudowintera colorata
Foliage detail.
Coprosma propinqua (Mingiming)
What I like: I like the dwarf evergreen appeal and structure; the almost chaparral look. I like the size as it appears in the photograph.
Spread: The spread was approximately 60-inches in diameter and about 40-50 inches tall.
Type: Evergreen tree or shrub
Availability locally: Unknown
Similar but native to Pacific Northwest: TBD
Coprosma propinqua (Mingiming)
Photograph taken in early March 2021, late afternoon.
Coprosma propinqua (Mingiming)
Photograph taken in early March 2021, late afternoon.
Coprosma propinqua (Mingiming)
Detail, leaves.
Veronica pinguifolia 'Sutherlandii'
What I like: I like the color and leaf form. The leaves are very green and appear to be succulent in structure and form. I like the size as it appears in the photograph.
Spread: The spread was approximately 40-inches in diameter and about 40-inches tall.
Concerns: I’ve tried growing several hebes in the alley border in the past without much luck. This was when surrounding trees cast more shade. They have been removed. These plants were planted close to other, taller plants and may have been crowded out or starved of sun.
Type: Uncertain, I think evergreen.
Availability locally: Unknown
Similar but native to Pacific Northwest: TBD
Veronica pinguifolia 'Sutherlandii'
Form (several plants). Photograph taken in early March, late afternoon.
Veronica pinguifolia 'Sutherlandii'
Detail, leaves. Photograph taken in early March, late afternoon.
Corokia cotoneaster
What I like: Mostly, I like the bare, winter form and current size. The leaves are glossy dark green. The branch structure is dense (good for the alley border) and dark – a lot of density here, which is good for the location I’m looking to place it.
Spread: The spread was approximately 60-72 inches in diameter and about 72-inches tall.
Type: Deciduous
Availability locally: Unknown
Similar but native to Pacific Northwest: TBD
Corokia cotoneaster
Form, color and structure. Photograph taken in early March, mid-morning.
Corokia cotoneaster
Detail, branch structure and leaves.
Libertia peregrinans
What I like: Mostly, the density, the uniform natural height, and the golden winter color of these grasses.
Spread: The spread was in a small garden bordered on three sides by sidewalks or gravel paths. So it was limited by the available soil.
Type: Grasses
Availability locally: Unknown
Similar but native to Pacific Northwest: TBD - but even if this species is hard to find, there are plenty of similar grasses in nurseries around the Puget Sound.
Rabbit protection, et al…
Some other things I noticed on these two recent visits to the arboretum were the ways the staff tried to repel rabbits – I presume. Rabbits have been all over Seattle in recent years, including the Arboretum.
The following are a few devices and deterrents put in place to discourage rabbits and other munching pests.
Black + white “buckets”
Made with two short pieces of rebar and a plastic sheet material with a black coating on one surface and a white coating on the other surface were used all over where the staff was trying to encourage seedlings to grow.
I suspect the reason for the specific colors are two-fold. I don’t know for certain, this is only a guess. But the black side, always exposed on the outer surface likely absorbs the sun’s ray and warms up the space inside. The internal white surface likely reflects the sun’s rays to improve lighting and photosynthesis throughout the day.
Two slits are cut into each end of the sheet material and two rebar stakes are threaded through the slits and driven into the ground.
Cage wraps
Standard wire caging availble at most hardware stores are cut to a strip width of around 18 inches and wrapped roughly to a 12-14 inch diameter cylinder form.
These were far and few between in the New Zealand exhibit zone. I suspect these might be to protect plants from pests (e.g. rabbits) but where the plant requires good air circulation.
Repellant materials.
Plantskydd was used is some areas with warning signs where it was applied.
Information Sources (unless indicated differently): University of Washington Botanic Gardens Washington Park Arboretum Interactive Map
Photographs: © David Blackwell, Seattle, 2021. Please contact for permission to use: https://www.litterrocks.com/contact