Moss Family Temperate Woodland Garden
About the Garden:
Discover the Wollemi Pine Wollemia nobilis in the Moss Family Temperate Woodland Garden at the Humboldt Botanical Garden. “…until 1994 Wollemia was known only from fossils, dating from 120 million years ago. Then a group of 30 or so were discovered by a forester at the bottom of a canyon in the Blue Mountains About 150 miles west of Sydney, Australia. They were growing alongside flowering trees by a stream… Finding Wollemia was not quite like finding a living Tyrannosaurus rex, but it is conceptually similar.” (Secret Life of Trees, Collin Tudge). The garden’s specimens were planted at the top of the Raul Ruiz Iris Douglasiana Reserve.
There are many micro-climates within the Humboldt Botanical Garden. The Temperate Woodland Garden is somewhat protected from the coastal winds and can be ten degrees warmer than the lower, more exposed gardens.
There is an extensive Rhododendron Collection within the Temperate Woodland Garden. Mild temperatures, wet winters and dry cool summers define our temperate climate.
The Temperate Woodland Garden contains an extensive collection of Rhododendron species and hybrids from the Rhododendron subsection Maddenia. These are rhododendrons from the lowland forests of the Himalaya stretching from Southwest China through Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Burma (Myanmar) to India. Living in shaded and wet temperate rain forest conditions, most of the members of this group are epiphytes and have large leaves. Their flowers are the largest in the genus Rhododendron and many are quite fragrant. Most of the Temperate Woodland Garden’s Maddenia specimens have been obtained from the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way, Washington and are from seeds collected in their native habitats. The Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden is unable to grow these unusual rhododendrons outside in the Seattle area because the winters are much colder than their native habitats, thus in this ideal climate the Temperate Woodland Garden is the custodian of this unique collection.
The Temperate Woodland Garden is home to many Magnolia species including very tender species that are seldom grown outside of a conservatory. The Schmidtbauer Allee is planted on both sides of the road with Magnolia denudata, which bloom on naked stems in early spring then leaf out to a rich green canopy of leaves all summer before turning golden in fall. Their lovely winter bare branches open the upper beds to warming winter sun.
The Himalayan Magnolia rostrata is very rare in cultivation and is an IUCN Red List endangered species, threatened by habitat loss. It has very large leaves, up to 20” long, and large lightly scented flowers. Magnolia delavii is a multi-stemmed evergreen from Yunnan, China. It has large glossy green leaves with glaucus undersides, the ivory-white flowers open during the early evening, and are most noticeably fragrant at night, lasting for only two to three days.
In May the glorious Himalayan Meconopsis poppies begin to bloom with their true-blue petals and golden stamens. Blue Poppies have a reputation of being difficult to grow, and they are, but here they are happy. Several species of Meconopsis poppy are grown having flower colors from pink, lavender, white and golden with blue green foliage and silver or golden hairs.
Within the garden is an old road cut making a wet shaded area perfect for ferns. Dicksonia antarctica, Australian Tree fern, specimens were donated by an early supporter of the garden and have grown from small specimens to adult status with broad fronds and thick trunks. Within this garden area are several Big Leaf Rhododendrons including Rhododendron sinogrande. It is an understory tree or large shrub with the largest leaves in the genus. It is native to alpine coniferous forests of western China, Tibet and Burma and is quite tender.
June & Tim Walsh, Benefactors of the Walsh Family Gathering in the Temperate Woodland Garden, have cared for the temperate garden and its Rhododendrons since its inception. A dedicated team of volunteers called the Wild Weeders and Grateful Deadheaders maintains this garden.
The Moss Family Temperate Woodland Garden was named for Larry Moss (1934-2006), former HBG President, lover of Rhododendrons, flowering trees and was a major benefactor of the Humboldt Botanical Garden.
Featured Plants
Acer griseum – “Paperbark Maple”
A species of flowering plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to central China. It is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching 20–30 ft tall and 16–20 ft wide. The bark is smooth, shiny orange-red, peeling in thin, papery layers. In The Moss Family Temperate Woodland garden it exhibits beautiful fall color.
Rhododendron Maddenii
Subsection Maddenia is a large and widespread group of approximately forty species. Members of this diverse group are found the eastern Himalaya (Nepal) in the west to southeastern China and in regions of Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Species in this subsection are tender to semi-hardy. They typically have large, often highly fragrant flowers and a straggly or open growth habit. Many have beautiful smooth and exfoliating bark and/or colorful and interesting foliage, and many forms flower quite late in the season, well past the rush of spring. The Moss Family Temperate Woodland Garden is one of a handful of public gardens in North America which grows these rhododendrons outside of a greenhouse or conservatory.
Meconopsis – “Himalayan Blue Poppy”
The popular name “Himalayan blue poppies” or “Tibetan Blue Poppy” is usually applied to Meconopsis, some of which have beautiful blue flowers. Given suitable conditions and care in cultivation, they should persist and flower for several years. This is a tricky plant to grow and is a favorite in botanical gardens where it can be grown. Keen gardeners who can give it an environment it likes will be rewarded in May through June with spectacular blooms. In the Moss Family Temperate Woodland Garden, it is grown in light shade.
Ligularia dentata- “Britt Marie Crawford”
A genus of robust Old World herbaceous perennial plants in the sunflower family Asteraceae. Ligularia dentata ‘Britt Marie Crawford’ has dark purple to bronze foliage in contrast to mostly green foliage in the species. They have yellow or orange flower heads and are native to damp habitats mostly in central and eastern Asia. The name Ligularia, from the Latin for “strap”, refers to the shape of the ray florets. The Ligularia in the Temperate Woodland Garden are grown in an area with consistently moist soil and full sun.
Wollemia nobilis
Wollemia nobilis is a living fossil from the family Araucariaceae (are-raw-care-ace-eeuh) which is related to the Araucaria araucana commonly known as Monkey Puzzle. There are fossils of Wollemia as well as other Araucariaceae dating from the time of the dinosaurs (245 to 65 million years ago). In 1994 a small grove of Wollemia nobilis was found in the bottom of a canyon along a stream in Eastern Australia’s Wollemi National Park growing among flowering trees. Although the fossil records show that Araucariaceae relatives were growing worldwide, there are now 41 species relegated to the Southern Hemisphere; South America, Australia, New Caledonia, Borneo and New Zealand. Colin Tudge, author of The Secret Life of Trees, writes “they are a relict group, and we should be grateful for the survivors”. We are grateful for our three Wollemia nobilis in the Temperate Woodland Garden at Humboldt Botanical Garden.