A few days after the ACS Western meeting here in the Pacific Northwest and I'm still buzzing a strong conifer high. The two separate tours of about 35 people were perfectly organized by Dave - the buses were literally to the minute on time - and to have nothing but conifer nuts and true sociopathic coneheads wandering around, asking questions, showering me with compliments and trailing drool across my gardens was a very rewarding experience. I talk a lot, my friends say, but when you have 35+ inquisitive visitors, this ends up being a valuable trait.
In the evening, though pressed for time pretty badly and having to work the next evening, I made the decision to attend the auction and dinner in the evening at the Pheonix Inn. This was a great decision!
Super rare conifers were auctioned off, friends, new and old were there smiling and having a good time and a laugh and respects were paid to those dear to our hearts that we have all lost. Dianne Fincham, faithful and endearing wife to Bob Fincham was more than a coneheads wife, she was someone who helped enrich the lives of so many other's who appreciate conifers and with Bob in attendance, we honored her with a moment of silence and I sat with Bob recalling some of the moments Dianne and I shared as well.
The auction itself was a smash hit and it was the first auction I had attended since I was a kid. I didn't have the fiscal arsenal I might have put to work three years ago but I tried for several great plants and ended up with two very nice specimens and a tremendous 'gift' from a friend of mine, Brent Markus, owner of Conifer Kingdom nursery.
My own photography has really slowed between the busy Summer and an intentional hiatus from these forums, mostly to leave some intrigue to my garden for ACS visitors but also still in no small part to the obnoxious ad campaign these forums continue to assault us all with. It seems the content section of these forums shrinks a few millimeters each day and the ads get larger, more boisterous and aggressive. GW forums leadership would be wise to limit their greed if they wish people to still enjoy perusing their forums...
Enough ranting.
On to some plant photographs!
Note that I have no photos from the event, I was too busy talking! My girlfriend attended though and she did take some photos, so I will share what I can, when I can.
Pinus koraiensis 'Winton' - Pretty neat, fluffy foliage without too much legginess and zero pruning.
Abies amabalis x grandis? [Hupp's Seedling #3]. We've figured there is grandis parentage here with the citrus smell but we're still guessing the other parent. This great plant has grown about three inches each year for the past four years. I'll check with Jason soon to see if I can begin distributing any scionwood for interested growers.
closer.
Pinus parviflora 'Tanima-no-yuki' - Grown in two hours of direct sun max, this specimen has began to really take off. It's about seven years old.
Top shot.
Abies grandis 'Cascade Falls' - A gift from Brent Markus. There's some possibility it's a cross as the needles we smelled had little to no citrus smell.
Picea omorika x breweriana 'Wodan' Pretty cool and unusual plant.
Picea orientalis 'Sunrise' - A newer plant that Bob Fincham introduced/named, offered early by Conifer Kingdom.
Pinus strobus 'Sea Urchin' highlights one of my many conifer beds. It's about 9-10 years old now and more amazing each year. I shake the needles out of the inside every year or two.
Pinus parviflora 'Fukai' with some perennials highlighting the color.
Picea engelmannii 'Franzi' - A pickup from Coenosium gardens last year.
Abies veitchii 'Kramer' - Another of the new and super rare/choice offerings from Conifer Kingdom.
A few color overloads for you...
And one of the auction plants, at $75, a great deal and even better, the money helps the ACS further the cause.
Picea abies 'Medusa' - A small coning plant grown well here on standard and donated by Bob Fincham/Coenosium Gardens. I'll grow it proudly.
Cones, yay!
And one non-conifer that is highly talked about from my gardens. It's a perennial pepper 'tree'. Hardy to the mid 20s, you'll want to bring it indoors for the Winter in most places, it returns from the woody stems each year to post enormous yields of red, sweet, VERY hot peppers. The yields are so large and plentiful, even in our Pacific Northwest Summers lacking heat, that I find all other hot peppers obsolete. This plant is a second year plant in a 10-gallon pot that I grew from last Spring. The company is Annie's Annuals, a great rare plant source out of Richmond California. If you like heat, I cannot recommend it more strongly.
Crazy yields, and they are beautiful too.
Sorry if this was a bit long, GW moderators, but it's been several weeks since I have shared any photos.
-Will
David Olszyk, President, American Conifer Society
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