Friday, February 1, 2013

Bellevue Botanical Garden



Winter is starting to wear on me.  Frigid cold for a week, followed by a day in the 50s, then back to cold then back to 50 with little to no snow cover protection for the garden.  Both the snow blower and the hot tub went on the fritz.  Yesterday morning a wind and rain storm blew the power out at my house again.  I know...wah wah wah...how many days til spring?

Since only so many pictures can be taken of evergreens adorned in snow and statuary shivering in the sub freezing cold, it's time to break out some material from last summer.  Let's go back to a time when the air was warm and the plants were green (or in my case, green, chartreuse, purple and variegated).

Over six months have passed since my garden trip to the Pacific Northwest.  Although I didn't take anywhere near as many pictures as my traveling companions, by my standards I took alot of pictures.  Some I've already posted HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE but many are still languishing in folders on my laptop.

Another one of the gardens we visited on that trip was the Bellevue Botanical Garden in the city of Bellevue Washington.  I was surprised when I read that Bellevue Botanical Garden was 53 acres.  I would have guessed it was smaller but we didn't venture beyond the cultivated gardens and there is also a wetlands and a woodland both traversed by hiking trails.


Gunnera tinctoria growing at the Visitor's Center.  Grow it if you can.  I can't.

Based on the number of pictures I took of these cool little cairns, one would think I would have taken the time to learn more about them but I didn't.  Maybe Growing Obsession Denise caught hastily exiting the second photo will stop by and shed some light.











How could you not love a Fuchsia garden?  Especially when many of them are actually hardy in your zone.  Every season I plant Fuchsias in my mixed containers with varied results.  Last summer I got very few flowers even on the reliable cultivars like 'Gartenmeister'.  Fuchsia magellanica is the the only variety that can be winter hardy in CT.  I've never tried it but my friend, Monique has had one return in her central CT garden.  So far I've had little luck getting them to winter over indoors.





Fuchsia standard



Fuchsia display garden at Bellevue Botanical Garden

Hydrangeas appear to thrive in the PNW climate.  Although I've had fairly decent luck with them lately, especially some of the H. serrata cultivars, I think the only way I could grow them this well would be to move. 







Sunny, middle of the day light conditions made for challenging photo ops.  A little digging on the Bellevue Botanical garden website yielded some details about the well designed and meticulously maintained Perennial Border.  Sponsored by the Northwest Perennial Alliance and maintained by volunteers, the border has been a featured attraction in the garden since 1992.  In 2008 it was renovated by the same garden design team who were instrumental in the original installation.  I'd say they done good, wouldn't you?











A section of the NPA Perennial Border at Bellevue Botanical Garden









In central CT the average annual rainfall is somewhere between 45 and 50 inches, which I was shocked to discover is an average of ten inches more than Bellevue.  Wild swings in weather seem to have become the norm in CT.  Some years I never have to haul out a sprinkler and some years I have two on rotation every night.  Since sections of my garden tend to be dry no matter what, I am always on the lookout for plants that don't require lots of water to flourish.  Maybe it's time to toss some Helenium and Crocosmia in the front curb garden.











We didn't get to spend too much time in the Seattle area on this trip but I'm glad Bellevue Botanical Garden was on the itinerary.  Next time I go back I'll make a point to get around to more of the sights both horticultural and otherwise.  Feel free to let me know what I missed.


Sue~

27 comments:

  1. Wonderful!!!! Looks like I missed another once in a lifetime IU...

    Great shots of those lovely gardens. The fuchsia borders are fabulous.

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  2. Thought you'd appreciate the fuchsia borders. Every IU is a once in a lifetime event. IU10-Long Island or bust!

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  3. Yes, please! Pictures of summer glory while we stare at winterscapes here for another couple months. Bellevue looks lovely. While we may get more rain in CT than the Pacific northwest, as you point out it is uneven. Summers are dry and almost rainless while autumns are soggy and drenching. Not ideal for any plant. Just when I think I can do xeric loving things, they drown in fall floods. Or I try plants that like moisture and find I have to water all hot summer long. Sheesh.

    Back to the pictures --- I need to look at these some more, they're beautiful!

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    1. I knew the PNW was dry during the summer months but I figured they more than made up for it in the winter. Summers are relatively cool so plamts that prefer more water probably don't need as much. When it comes to weather nothing seems to be normal anymore.

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  4. Love the perennial border! This place goes on the list for the next time we are in the northwest. I used to go to that area more often when my brother was stationed in Ft. Lewis in Tacoma.

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    1. Between the nurseries and gardens both public and private there is no shortage of places for plant lovers to roam. In Portland we even ate at a restaurant in an old school building surrounded by gardens.

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  5. Well, I tell you, Sue those images certainly make you forget about the reality of our long slog toward spring. 'Preciate the dose of high-season beauty.

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    1. Maybe we'll be lucky and it will be a short slog this year. We can always hope.

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  6. Thanks for the garden tour! Do you by any chance know if the chartreuse flowering plant in your 1st pic of the perennial border was Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid'? It looks rather like it. I'm interested to see how that plant will bulk up in my own borders.

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    1. I don't know, Kris. When I was perusing the website yesterday I remember seeing a planting plan for the border renovation so I went back to take a look. Unfortunately they just had woody plants listed. When I did a search on the plant list, many Euphorbias were listed but not 'Dean's Hybrid'.

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  7. So that's what hardy fuchsia looks like when it is doing well! There's one that's hardy in my area (Sanicomf) but it was a total disappointment in my garden.

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    1. Fuchsias don't like heat and humidity. A couple of years ago I saw them growing out of sidewalk cracks in San Francisco and Mendocino. That's when you know you're not in Kansas anymore. Mine usually do well in June, sulk in July and early August then start to come alive again in September.

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  8. gosh, that was a great trip. And how lucky to capture the elusive Sasquatch with your camera, one that prefers striped shirts apparently ;)

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  9. Only an hour drive from where I live and embarrassingly I've only been there twice as many times as you! Your great pictures make me want to go back and see what's new since I was last there about 10 years ago.

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  10. I thought that Perennial border was one of the nicest I've seen , it was very appealing to me-maybe the inclusion of so many plants that do well in my area!

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  11. I am glad you stopped in on GWGT so I could find you here. This is a wonderful post on the Bellevue Botanical Garden. I have never been to this garden, yet it looks like one not to miss. I visit a lot of big name gardens and post on them, so I will have to put this one on my list.

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  12. Nice to have found you through GWGT. Your photos of Bellevue are beautiful and are a welcomed treat since we are in the middle of a blizzard...brrr. I especially love the perennial border photo with the sedum and salvia. If I am ever in Washington I would put this garden on my places to visit.

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    1. Blizzard clean up continues here today. I'm ready for spring. Bring it on!

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  13. Nice to have found you through GWGT. Your photos of Bellevue are beautiful and are a welcomed treat since we are in the middle of a blizzard...brrr. I especially love the perennial border photo with the sedum and salvia. If I am ever in Washington I would put this garden on my places to visit.

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  14. I love the perennials beds in the Bellevue Botanical Garden, but you will find if you get out on the longer portion of the trails you will find wonderful little spots in the woods to sit and enjoy the woodlands. There is also an amazing suspension bridge. I have only seen the reverence for cairns in the Northwest. If you go outside Seattle towards the mountains (30 minutes) you and hike the Mason Lake Trail you will find that the hikers build these amazing cairns along the trail that will be there from early spring-late winter until late fall. They are a tribute to both art and nature.

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    1. Cairns are popular on hiking trails here and in New Hampshire as well but you don't see many of them in garden settings. Thanks for reading and the additional tips on BBG. Next time I'm out that way I'll have to explore further.

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  15. I know just what you mean about having had enough of winter! I hate when the temps dip down again - so discouraging. This is a beautiful place - and so much inspiration here! I'm surprised at the rainfall totals! I especially love the fuchsias, which I have never tried to grow. But, maybe some day. They are gorgeous. And I see I should have sprang for the Crocosmia bulbs - I took them out of my cart at the last minute. Bad decision.

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  16. I thought helenium needed lots of water. I think everything thrives in the PNW. Those borders are amazing! I wish mine looked like theirs! If you're looking for a tough, drought resistant pernnial try sedum, Russian sage, salvia, or liatris. :o)

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    1. Descriptions of Helenium do usually state that it requires moist soil but I've had good luck with it in drier spots. I do have sedum. salvia and Russian sage in my curb garden. Will have to give Liatris a try. Years ago I grew it in my screen porch garden but it didn't bloom long enough for what I wanted in that spot.

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  17. I've tried to leave a comment twice. I think they're being eaten by goblins!

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    1. No, I've got them moderated. Cuts down on the trolls and grmlins.

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  18. The fuschia is lovely...I sooo love the rocks though...

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