Cyclamen hederifolium

One of the indicators that fall is fast approaching is the appearance of Cyclamen hederifolium. A lovely tuberous perennial hailing from the Mediterranean sends its flowers of pink to white up in late summer.

The flowers are quickly followed by an amazingly array of foliage ranging from round to arrow shape with silver marbling of a bewildering degree of variation. One of Mrs. Bloedel’s favorite woodland plants, we have numerous plantings thru out the Reserve, especially in The Glen. Many years ago, our gardeners planted more than  15,000 cyclamen tubers, some the size of dinner plates.

Hydrangea jogasaki

Tired of the same old pink or blue mop head hydrangeas? Take a look at some of the cool new Japanese cultivars of H.macrophylla or H.serrata. Hydrangea ‘Jogasaki’ is a marvelous late summer blooming lace cap Hydrangea that starts in July and ends sometime in October. Sexy pink double rows of bracts with tiny fertile flowers tinged blue all of which slowly fade to a lovely lavender, giving great contrast to the fresh flowers. One of the favorite Hydrangeas of our Horticulture Director, Andy Navage, it so easy to grow and brings a smile to his face every time he sees it.

Aconitum

Aconitum hemsleyanum is a great vining monkshood
growing to about eight feet in full sun. We have it growing with

Mahonia duclouxiana at the visitor center and Rhododendron kaempferi
by the waterfall where its lavender flowers add another season of
interest to early blooming shrubs. All parts of Aconitums are
poisonous and best avoided around small children. Propagation is easy

from seed or division of it tuberous root system.

Speaking of poisonous plants:  Amy Stewart, best-selling author and blogger, will be give a talk on her new book, Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities, at Bloedel Reserve on Friday, October 8 at 7:30pm. Tickets will be available soon through Brown Paper Tickets.

Artists find inspiration at Bloedel Reserve

Our visitors blog about us, and send us wonderful photos that they shot during their visit to The Reserve. Nancy Homan of St. Louis, Missouri, shared this charming picture of a plein air artist working on a painting near our Visitor Center. The Reserve is an inspirational place, with ever-changing light and landscapes. We welcome artists and photographers. Come, be inspired, and share your creations with us.

Eucryphia blooms in August

We recently added this beautiful late summer blooming plant to the bed at the Northeast corner of our Visitor Center. Eucryphia x nymansensis has glossy evergreen leaves, and white blooms in mid to late August. It grows to about 15 feet. A great addition to extend the bloom time in your garden!

Sheep Shed Watercolor by Kaye Hansen

Our new Sheep Shed concert venue was a great success. Wonderful acoustics, a delightful casual setting, and a chance to watch the brilliant, forest fire-enhanced sun slowly set behind the trees! We look forward to hosting more great music in this setting next summer.

Many thanks again to the plein air artists who submitted their beautiful paintings for our concert poster, and congratulations again to Bainbridge artist, Kaye Hansen, on the selection of her lovely watercolor to represent the Bloedel Reserve’s first-ever “Sheep Shed Shows”!