Here are a couple rare trees, very seldom seen in collections on the east coast, especially this far north for the Cornus and (probably) this far south for the Asian mag hybrid.

I missed their main fall sale a couple weekends ago. I still snuck into the "not for sale" area to see what was hanging around.

If they crack the code to growing Gunnera on the east coast, that will be highly commendable, but I think it's telling I didn't see any of those in the garden. Makes me think these were recent imports from the faraway land of the PNW ;-)

It's nice that they had a species camellia for sale, even if it's one I've never really seen the purpose of growing.

I am _pretty_ sure the Udel gardens has one of these, and it does NOT have the commendable resistance to cold - with respect to blooming - that C. yuhsienensis has. That was blooming literally 2 weeks after single digit temps during the polar vortex winters.

On the way back to I-97, I drove past Homestead Gardens without even meaning to. With the passing of Behnkes, this is now considered one of the premiere nurseries in the Maryland suburbs of DC, so I decided to stop. Look at that beautiful blue spruce out front:

And feast your eyes on this dubious planting advice:

but you know what? Their heart is in the right place. Homestead Gardens was the local sponsor of Victory Garden on PBS in the early 1990s, which is one reason I acquired my love of plants via the inimitable Peter Seabrook's travel segments. So here's to you, Homestead. May you live long and prosper. I bought a (surprisingly) rare shrub that was on 50% season end discount LOL.

As for London Town...glad I finally saw it. I saw a staffer planting some Osmanthus x fortunei 'San Jose', which is exactly the sort of thing they should be planting to complement a garden like that. So, someone there seems to know what they are doing.

My rating: a solid B.

Thanks David!

I can't comment on much of this, living on the frozen tundra as I do but I find your threads fascinating. They're like taking a trip without leaving the living room and I learn something new every time I read them.

Bill, my sentiments exactly. When David’s conversation turns to Camellias, I become wistful, but I thoroughly enjoy the garden reviews. I’m hoping you don’t wait another five years for the next.

Nice tour and an interesting location. I'm in west MD mountains but not unfamiliar w/the Chesapeake Bay areas -- crabbed in a couple sheltered inlets. Love the giant white oaks near the east end of the Bay bridge.

Thanks for taking the time to post the tour.

tj

Thanks David! Can't recall if I've ever been there, but probably not. The first holly could certainly be an altaclerensis hybrid of some sort. 'Camelliifolia' was popular many decades ago. 'Wilsonii' has more twisted leaves; not flat like that. There are even some Kohnes that look a bit like that -- such as 'Agena' -- and they are more heat-tolerant.

The next one with more quilted leaves looks a LOT like 'Venus', which I have. Was it female? Forest Farm sold one that looked like that but called it a cornuta x latifolia hybrid. I don't buy that. I mean, I did buy it from them, but I don't buy their parentage.

All that said, I believe there were a lot of holly hybrids developed at the US Arboretum that were given away to local arboretums and interested growers. On campus of Georgetown, the Director of Landscaping was given a number of very interesting hybrids from the Nat Arb. that were never named.

Dave, yes, the second holly I posted is female...those are berries! ;-)

I can suppose it was given to London Town before being named 'Venus', so they labeled it with the cross and not the cultivar name. It's either Venus or something that's very similar.

Oh, yeah, the berries. LOL! I was so caught up in the leaves, I didn't even notice the fruit. Mr. Observant here.

Thanks for ths. We are just outside DC and 45 mins to an hour outside Annapolis depending on who is driving ;-)) . This would make a fun excursion.