Vegetable Garden

Acaena
Acaena from New Zealand, the smallest member of the Rose family and a useful ground cover, especially Acaena inermis which is lacking the bristly seed heads.
Monkey Puzzle Tree
Araucaria araucana comes from the dry hinterland of Chile, where the Araucanos Indians live; the nut-like seeds from the cones were a staple of their diet, being under the control of the wise men, harvested according to religious rites. Archibald Menzies (botanist with Captain Vancouver of H.M.S. Discovery) slipped some seeds into his pocket at a feast they attended, planted them at once on board, and four of them germinated before they reached England. During Victorian times they became very popular trees, many of which can be seen in Vancouver. They are dioecious. Araucaria excelsa is the famous Norfolk Pine, grown here as an indoor plant. (See notes 1 and 2 below.) [2018]: More about Araucaria araucana.
Darwin's Barberry
 Berberis darwinii, found in the Chilean Garden, was actually collected by Darwin on his second voyage.   [Added 2018]
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus: brought from Australia to California in 1856, planted as a wind break and soil stabilizer and became naturalized. They are very drought resistant and have no pests (in California). The leaves hang vertically in the heat to avoid the sun (a twisted leaf petiole allows for this); in a forest of eucalypts in Australia, there is, therefore, really no shade. They usually have two types of foliage: juvenile, used in floral arrangements, and adult. An adult Koala will eat two and a half pounds of eucalyptus nightly; there is a narcotic in the leaves, which presumably allows him to have a good sleep during the day, whereas we associate it with cough lozenges, chest rubs and runny noses!
​[2015:]
Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. niphophila, the Alpine snow gum, is quite hardy here, and we have two young trees in the Southern Hermisphere Garden.
Joint Fir
Joint Fir: Ephedra andina belongs to a genus of great botanical interest, providing a link between conifers and angiosperms. In the Ephedraceae family. (See note 3 below.)
Fuchsia magellanica
Fuchsia magellanica: brought back to England from South America by a sailor who gave it to his mother in Wapping; here it was seen on her window sill by James Lee, a nurseryman, who in 1793 gave her 80 golden guineas for three of her plants. (See note 4 below.)
Gaultheria mucronata
Gaultheria mucronata: Chilean heath, from Tierra del Fuego, where it takes full coastal conditions which are very inhospitable. Note its tough, leathery leaves. It belongs to the Heather family and is dioecious, therefore needing a male plant amongst the female ones in order for them to produce those lovely berries that stay on all winter because the birds don't find them tasty. These plants used to be part of the Pernettya species, which has been merged with Gaultheria.
Hebe
Hebe: named after the Goddess of Youth, wife of Hercules. The 'woody veronicas,' as they are also called, have no dormant terminal bud.
Hesperantha coccinea
Hesperantha coccinea: Native to South Africa, this plant was formerly Schizostylis coccinea.  It is sometimes called "Kaffir" lily, but this name is considered offensive in some parts of Africa.  Other common names are scarlet river lily and crimson flag.  Coccinea means "bright red."  [Added 2018]
Antarctic Beech
Antarctic Beech: Nothofagus dombeyi is also called Coigüe or Dombey’s southern beech. The word 'no
title 10
TROCHODENDRON ARALIOIDES, CALLED WINDMILL PLANT BECAUSE OF ITS VERY ODD FLOWERS BORN IN EARLY SUMMER, BRIGHT GREEN IN COLOUR.
title 11
PAULOWNIA TOMENTOSA, A SPECTACULAR TREE, FLOWERING WITH HELIOTROPE-COLOURED FOXGLOVE-LIKE FLOWERS BEFORE THE LEAVES COME OUT, IT IS KNOWN AS THE EMPRESS TREE BECAUSE IT WAS ONE OF THE IMPERIAL PLANTS OF JAPAN, APPEARING ON THE CREST OF THE MIKADO. MORE ABOUT PAULOWNIA. ​
title 12
THESE COLOURFUL PRIMULA ARE THE RESULT OF A SECOND CROSSING BETWEEN PRIMULA BULLEYANA AND PRIMULA BEESIANA.
title 13
As the Garden grows and changes, we update our notes. 
Begonia grandis
​Scattered throughout this part of the Garden are beds of Begonia grandis var. alba. This is hardy here and has a striking red underleaf. In the sun it grows short and full. The pink variety in the Meconopsis Dell grows to 3’ in shade.  They flower late August and September and reproduce by bulbils in the leaf axils. The plant is named after Michel Begon, a 17th-century plant collector, whose son was briefly governor of French Canada.
​
Cardiocrinum giganteum
Cardiocrinum giganteum: This takes seven years to flower from seed. The flower can be 12” wide with 32 flowers and the stalk can reach 15’!  Ours flower towards the end of June or earlier if the weather is warm.  Cardiocrinum: from Kardia (heart) and Krinon (lily) referring to the heart-shaped leaves. ​
Castanea mollissima
The Chinese chestnut produces edible nuts in the fall. 
Emmenopterys henryi
At the summit looking down into the Fern Dell, is Emmenopterys henryi, a tree with a large leaf and branching structure similar to the dogwood.  It was introduced by E. H. Wilson and first flowered in Britain when it was over 75 years old. We will have to wait for it here. ​
Fraxinus sieboldiana
Pinus wallichiana ​
Pinus wallichiana near the reservoir was grown from seed collected in the wild at two different elevations, obtained from another botanic garden. In the winter of ’86-’87 (with temperatures -14°) half of them died.  The survivors must have come from the higher elevation. They are re-seeding here.
Rosa x odorata ‘Mutabilis’ 
Rosa x odorata ‘Mutabilis’ is found by the weeping ginkgo. It starts blooming in late May and will bloom all summer, with its flowers changing colour as they mature. It is an old cultivar of Rosa chinensis, the rose from which modern roses descended. 
​
dwarf rhodo collection
Bed 74 to the east of the SHG is a dwarf rhodo collection. These are lepidotes with tiny scales on the underside of the leaves which open in adverse weather and protect the plant from cold and excess moisture. The leaves have a spicy scent when crushed. These were originally planted under other rhodos and were disappearing but now thrive in this location. It was a difficult bed because of horsetail - we don’t use chemicals.  But a mulch of beech leaves will mat in three or four years and has been used to smother the horsetail, which are now down to 10% of what they were before. 

​
Proudly powered by Weebly