FLOWERING BUSHES AND TREES

It was late summer when I first set eyes on Sitka. What a joy it was to roam all around this inviting little town. The weather was warm and sunny. 

It did not take long to find myself a job only a short walk from home.

                                                  SITKA PIONEERS HOME                                                   Ray Penson

With that accomplished, I devised a plan to simply walk and bike to work... and anywhere else I would want to travel about town. Why bother with a car? 

Not that we could even afford a car back then.

As it turned out, I painstakingly adhered to my walking and biking plan for the first year. 

Welcome to the rainforest! 

After a year of getting totally soaked regardless of boots and rain gear, I changed my tune and bought a used car.

The point here is that I did a lot of sightseeing that first year when exclusively walking and biking. What stood out in particular were the gorgeous flowering bushes and trees growing gloriously throughout the town. This climate is surprisingly ideal for many bright and colorful beauties. I tucked the thought of planting some of those bushes and trees into the back of my mind until years later.

Years later, when I had my first child, I foresaw doing plenty of serious gardening and a whole lot of wild harvesting. Not much in the way of fresh vegetables in grocery stores back in those days. So, I started scavenging and piling up soil to get a garden patch growing.

As the size of my family increased, so did the size of the gardens. Although organic edibles were the primary focus right from the start, flowers were gradually included here, there and everywhere...
annuals, biennials, perennials, vines, bulbs, ground covers, bushes and trees. Irresistible.

Let's have a look at some of the healthy bushes and trees surrounding our home as well as a few in other Sitka locations... from the ordinary to the dazzling!

Bushes and trees are mixed together below and listed alphabetically by common names:

ANGEL'S TRUMPET

(Brugmansia mania)

These lovely bushes are not happy out in the open in Sitka.
Started from seeds in February, these two ANGEL'S TRUMPETS grew well in our covered garden.

Research made it clear that ANGEL'S TRUMPETS prefer wintering indoors in our climate. I chose not to do this. It was simply irresistible to grow this unique and beautiful bush even if for only one season as an annual.

AZALEA

(Rhododendron 'Daviesii')

This lovely, peachy yellow AZALEA has survived in our gardens for about thirty years. And I am delighted it has! The fragrance is incomparable. 

BUTTERFLY BUSH

(Buddleia davidii)

When heading home after visiting with a friend, I could not help but notice the extraordinary bush in a nearby neighbor's yard. Wow! Never before had I seen a BUTTERFLY BUSH! It was a good 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Upon inquiry, I learned that the owner was one of our local veterinarians. He was more than willing to let me take a cutting from the bush the next spring. A few years later, that cutting had grown into a BUTTERFLY BUSH adorning our play yard!

COTONEASTER

(Cotoneaster frigidus 'Cornubia')

A friend dropped by with several unusual plants and starts about 15 years ago. Most of them had tags with names. This one tiny, unrecognizable, woody start did not. My friend was also clueless about it. I planted that start in one of the garden areas not far from an apple tree. For 10 years it grew no taller than 3 feet. No flowers or berries. It seemed miserable. 

Move it or toss it? 

I moved it to a new location. 

For reasons unknown to me, in 3 short years, it branched out and grew to about 12 feet tall and 6 feet wide. Now, at the end of  each season, it is covered in clusters of red berries. 

As it turns out... beautiful but poisonous berries.

DAPHNE

(Daphne mezereum 'Rubra')

Daphne would be a barely noticeable harbinger of spring were it not for its' sensational fragrance. Walk past the bush in early spring and you will be stopped in your tracks! Daphne blooms so early in spring that your tracks will likely be in snow!

Once again, it was an enthusiastic gardener friend who cheerfully suggested that I plant a few Daphne around our gardens... and supplied me with a number of tiny starts. 

Meanwhile, I was beginning to realize that several of my gardener friends were subtly encouraging me to expand my gardening horizons. Good thing.

The photo below displays the typical size of a happy Daphne bush in this environment. As tall as 4 to 5 feet.

It is not unusual to find tiny starts growing under Daphne bushes. The fragrant flowers of spring transform into bright red berries by late summer. Alas, another lovely bush with poisonous berries. By late fall, the berries drop off of the bush.

The seeds that grew inside the berries send down roots the next spring. They sprout and grow into tiny starts. I often dig out several of these starts from below the bush and grow them in 4" pots to share with other gardeners.

RED ELDERBERRY

(Sambucus racemosa)

We have never planted any RED ELDERBERRY TREES. They simply start growing periodically here and there around the property. Apparently, there are seeds exposed by weather... or a bird deposits seeds. Something like that. 

When an ELDERBERRY appears in a location that makes sense, we watch it grow tall, usually 9 to 12 feet, after only a few years.

The late season berries are tiny and bright in bulky clusters:

All parts of the RED ELDERBERRY are considered toxic. However, the berries are non-toxic if cooked.

GOLDEN CHAIN TREE

(Laburnum x watereri 'Vossii')

It was my multi-talented neighbor, Kathy, who planted this remarkable flowering tree in her gardens just above our play yard. Sadly, Kathy is no longer with us. She was a delightful neighbor and one of the most knowledgeable gardeners I had ever known. 

As years passed by, the branches grew in all directions. Quite a few of the branches draped over and decorated a corner of our yard. One year the wind blew so hard that it caused the tree to lean over affording us even more branches. What a sight to see in June when the tree is in full bloom! 

Some days I find it irresistible to take a break on the tire swing in the photo below. I lay back on the swing, kick the ground just a bit to set the swing in motion and indulge myself in daydreams. How could I not with the fragrance of LILACS and the beauty of GOLDEN CHAINS under a blue sky?

The clusters of flowers on the GOLDEN CHAIN tree gradually transition into clusters of bean shaped pods filled with seeds. Keep in mind that all parts of this tree are toxic including leaves, flowers, pods and seeds.

HAWTHORN

(Crataegus laevigata 'Crimson Cloud')

From a distance, the Crimson Cloud HAWTHORN tree appears to be somewhat fuzzy and brown when in full bloom.

Close the distance and you will be gazing upon a tree loaded with clusters of bright, tiny flowers!

The clusters of flowers remain whole and bright for a surprisingly long stretch of time. 

Gradually, the petals drop and the tree is covered with berries rather than flowers. HAWTHORN berries are safe to eat but not the seeds within. If you decide to test the flavor, be sure to remove the seeds.

HAWTHORN

(Crataegus laevigata 'Douglasii')

Although this very tall, very full white flowered HAWTHORN is not growing in our gardens, it is certainly noteworthy. It grows in a colorful, old Sitka neighborhood. It is not far from where a HAWTHORN of comparable size once grew on the grounds of the Sitka Pioneers Home. Now gone, that HAWTHORN at the Pioneers Home was loaded each season with pale pink clusters of tiny flowers. In the world of trees, it was famous and breath-taking!

HYDRANGEA

(Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer')

Beginning to bloom, this soft-toned HYDRANGEA is tucked in among a variety of perennials under the evergreens:

LILACS

(Syringa) 

When I was a little kid, I had lots of freedom and enjoyed roaming far and wide once chores were completed. While wandering early in summer on foot or bike, it was not unusual to detect a familiar fragrance in the air... LILACS! Any other time of year lilac bushes went unnoticed. When in bloom, lilacs were the star of the show... and seemed to be everywhere! 

Hanging around a lilac bush in full bloom was down right wonderful.

Not all lilac bushes looked alike. There were varying heights. The flowers were not always the same color, shape or size from one bush to another. 

But that fragrance was always the name tag!

Below are flowers from several of the lilac bushes we have grown. They were planted long ago from cuttings or shoots dug up from around the base of full grown bushes. 

Unfortunately, I do not know the names except for this first one 'Miss Kim'

Lilacs like sweet soil. After eating a meal of steamed clams, I have often crushed our empty shells and tossed them around the base of the lilac bushes. It seems to be enough sweetness to keep the lilacs happy.

Did you ever pick a bouquet of lilacs only to see them looking limp and miserable in the vase the next day? 

In one of my gardening books, there was a recommendation for flowers with woody stems. 

Take a hammer or good sized rock and smash the bottom end of the stem. This improves water absorption through the stem for the flowers above. The flowers in the bouquets below looked fresh for over a week and filled the house with that remarkable fragrance.


Lilacs with Campanula glomerata aka 'China Mary' in Sitka...

In the basket below lilacs from three different bushes are surrounded by 
forget-me-nots, white bleeding hearts and hostas...

MAPLE - CRIMSON KING

(Acer platanoides)

I was standing nearby when an eagle swooped low over my head and landed in our MAPLE tree nearby. It had a small fish in its mouth. The second eagle giving chase flew off. The fish looked like a herring. Whatever it was, it disappeared in one gulp. I had often seen my kids sitting in that tree but never an eagle!

This was such a beautiful tree. It partially blocked our view of the ocean in summer and fall, but we did not mind. We were rarely indoors in summer anyhow.

Along came one of the wild and crazy storms typical in these parts right around Thanksgiving. This was 20 or so years ago. The MAPLE was still wearing nearly all of its' lovely, crimson colored leaves. Gale force winds wound up in a fury from the southeast and slammed into the tree. With a loud crack the brittle trunk snapped. 

Firewood we were not happy to burn.

MOCK ORANGE

(Virginalis philadelphus)

When the MOCK ORANGE is in bloom, step inside our greenhouse and close your eyes. If you have ever visited Hawaii, the fragrance filling the greenhouse will very likely conjure up memories of Hawaii. The fragrance is divine! Lucky for us, the flowers hold on and share their fragrance for several weeks.

It was during a trip to Anchorage to visit with the king of gardens, Les Brake, that I was introduced to MOCK ORANGE. I brought home a few cuttings.

When the cuttings grew large enough to plant, one ended up outdoors, another in the covered garden and a third in the greenhouse. In time, it was only the MOCK ORANGE in the greenhouse that remained happy... very happy year after year. 

These little guys were a gift from a thoughtful neighbor. 

I set them up in the greenhouse with a lifetime of intoxicating fragrance in mind.

MOUNTAIN ASH

(Sorbus aucuparia)

Towering on the left behind our little log cabin, a MOUNTAIN ASH is in full bloom with clusters of tiny, white flowers. The log cabin is long gone, but this MOUNTAIN ASH lives on. We figure it is at least 50 years old. These MOUNTAIN ASH trees, Sorbus aucuparia, are a common sight around Sitka.

By summer's end, the clusters of flowers have transformed into clusters of red berries.

Information about MOUNTAIN ASH berries is confusing. There are conflicting opinions about the safety of consumption by humans. I won't be eating any. 

Birds, on the other hand, seem to be carefree when it comes to eating MOUNTAIN ASH berries. Each year we watch a wide variety of birds from fall through winter enjoying what seems like an endless supply.  

This raven decided to fly a bunch of berries to a light post nearby for some private dining...

MOUNTAIN ASH

(Sorbus cashmeriana)

Was I ever surprised when a box arrived in the mail from Les Brake. It contained a little tree! It was no ordinary little tree. A seed was carried back from the western Himalayas to Anchorage. Once planted, the seed grew into this little tree! The climate in Anchorage did not prove to be suitable, so Les asked me to try growing it in Sitka. With a little pampering, the tree and Sitka got along just fine. It grew for three years in this location a little north of our greenhouse. That's my faithful dog and constant companion, Ru, skulking about while I take photos...

Unfortunately, some work needed to be done on our neighbor's property. The tree was located nearby where it would likely get damaged. No!!! 

My husband came to the rescue. He carefully dug it up and transported it with his backhoe. We successfully relocated the tree to a spot with fertile soil and similar sun exposure. What a relief that this special MOUNTAIN ASH handled another transition with no problems. 

Years later, a close inspection of the tree reveals a tall, healthy specimen. That's it in the photo below with its' clusters of white flowers above the lilacs on the left. 

It looks to be 15 to 20 feet high...

Each year the flowers start out as adorable star topped buds...

The buds open to starry little flowers inviting to bees...

And so unique in this part of the world are the white berries on this MOUNTAIN ASH at the end of the season!

PUSSY WILLOW

(Salix caprea)

Live and learn. 

As is true of plants, there are also troublesome bushes and trees. 

My plan was to grow a few PUSSY WILLOW trees of my own so I would not need to hunt around elsewhere for branches to cut early in spring. I do not think PUSSY WILLOW trees are native to this area. If they are, I have not seen many around. I searched for branches each spring because I like to dry them and use them in bouquets...

I gather more flowers throughout the season that are good for drying and add them to the bouquet in fall...

I successfully located an old PUSSY WILLOW tree at the side of a road, cut off branches early in spring and grew three trees of my own from the cuttings. It only took a few years for them to grow tall and full. I planted and grew one at the north end of one of our vegetable gardens. This was a location I passed by often. One mid-summer day I glanced at a branch when passing by and saw this...

These were not caterpillars I had ever seen before in our gardens. There were only a few and they were tiny. Hmmm. With no free time available that particular day, I planned to come back and remove these newcomers the next day.

The next day, with paper bag in hand, I returned to that PUSSY WILLOW tree. 

YIKES!!! The tree was covered with countless little caterpillars! There was a little army on each leaf...

Horrifying!

I had visions of our vegetable gardens being decimated!

I grabbed a ladder and carefully removed all of the little buggers being sure that they all were captured in large paper bags. 

The bags were promptly burned in a burn barrel. 

Then I cut down the tree, cut it into pieces and burned all of the pieces as well. 

For several days, I scrutinized the ground where the tree stood and plants in the area not wanting to overlook any stray caterpillars. 

Needless to say, I decided to cut down the other PUSSY WILLOW trees I had planted as well. 

This saying comes to mind 

"Be careful what you wish for."

RHODODENDRON

There are over 20,000 different RHODODENDRON hybrids... consequently over 20,000 names!

I wish I knew the names of our RHODODENDRONS in the photos posted below. The problem is that I did not make a note of names or save tags when I made purchases years ago. And anyhow, quite a few were grown from cuttings taken from local RHODODENDRONS. Even if the donors shared the names, again I failed to take note. 

Because these bushes are so bright and beautiful, I want to share these photos with you. I tried to show a good close-up photo of the flower followed with a view of the bush. With so many cloudy and rainy days, bright and beautiful can sure make a difference.

When are RHODODENDRONS in bloom here in Sitka? Depending on the variety, conditions and exposure, RHODODENDRONS are typically in bloom anywhere from mid-May through June.

There are several homes here in Sitka decorated with a number of stunning RHODODENDRONS. I bet if you inquired, you would find out names... should you be interested in planting a few yourself. Good idea to plant RHODODENDRONS proven to be happy growing in such a unique location as ours. And, unlike me, the business owners here in town selling plants, bushes and trees have name tags on everything!

At this point we will close the gate on RHODODENDRONS growing on our own property...

...and have a look at some of the dazzling RHODODENDRONS spotted elsewhere around our town.

This is a close-up of one of the yellow flowers seen on the bush at the center bottom of the photo above. 

Such an unusually bright, deep shade of yellow!

SPIREA

(Spiraea prunifolia)

For me, nothing says wedding like stems of SPIREA flowers. And, what do you know? SPIREA is in full bloom in June when so many couples choose to marry!

I had the pleasure of getting to know lots of young people during my many years of being employed and living in Sitka. It was fun and enjoyable offering the gift of flower bouquets when learning wedding days were on the horizon. Many of the bouquets created in June included stems loaded with SPIREA flowers.

I WISH YOU ALL THE DELIGHTFUL COLORS AND FRAGRANCES OF THE SEASON!