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Buchholz Photo Contest Winner
Thanks to all who participated in our July 1st– December 21stphoto contest. There was overwhelming enthusiasm for Oregon Sky #2, even though the instructions were confusing about choosing just one...
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The Variegated C-Section
Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Moonshine'Like bowel movements, I try to be regular with the Flora Wonder Blog, meaning that I try every weak to exude one...knowing that skipping a week could become a regular...
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A Cultivar Mystery
I wonder what was the first cultivar (cultivated variant) ever selected and propagated, and I suppose it probably had something to do with food since Mesopotamian art shows cultivated date palms, vines...
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Treemendous Torsos
ThrysusA Bacchant holding a thyrsusI confess to being an aficionado of the torso – I don't mean of women, though that can be nice too, but of a tree: its trunk. The word torsois derived from Greek...
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Keeping Floristically Fresh
In The Garden– an English magazine I subscribe to – I read a review of A Natural History of English Gardening by Min Wood (the reviewer) who wrote, “Many people have no closer encounter with nature...
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My Contributories
Reuben "Gerald" HatchI am not original, rather I am a composite of others, trying to copy from the best. Likewise, my horticultural career has had its inspirational experiences, where many others have...
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Flowering Conifers
Pinus jeffreyi and its male flowersConifer cones are hard scaly structures that contain seeds, and often they have a conical appearance as well. Greek konos originally meant “pine-cone,” and that...
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Bloom Time...Again
Last week's Flora Wonder Blog discussed the sexual expression of conifers – their “flowers” – and that many plant references dismiss a tree's cones and pollen structures as not being flowers. If we...
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Undiminished Beauty
Spring is upon us in Oregon thank God, and last week I reported on those plants that were in flower. I think I have blogged upon that for three or four years in a row, every February. Well, I celebrate...
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Guide to the Flowers of Western China
This past week I spent some time in western China studying the flora, but I did so with my butt on the couch while reading the Guide to the Flowers of Western Chinaby Christopher Grey-Wilson and...
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Making Babies
The word propagate is derived from Latin propagare, “to increase plants by cuttings,” from propages, a “cutting,” from pangere, “to fasten.” At Buchholz Nursery we also increase plants by grafting, and...
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Deja Vu - All Over Again
Last year I visited the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden four times, not to optimize my membership, but because every month brings its own special rewards. The drive to the garden takes about...
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Natives vs. Exotics
I receive a variety of responses (comments) to the Flora Wonder Blog, some which enlighten me, some that correct me, some that support me and alas, a few that condemn me. I read the following three...
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What Is It?
Spring is absolutely beautiful at Buchholz Nursery and in the Flora Wonder Arboretum. Magnolia blossoms come and go, pines are shooting up candles and some Japanese maples have fully leafed out in the...
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Answer to What Is It?
Wow, there were six winners for our photo identification contest, where you guessed correctly at least one of the three.Contest photoVisiting Chihuly Garden and GlassI thought I could fool you, but...
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The Old Catalog Drawer
One of the following happened to me last week:1) Eric and Seth both quit.2) I bought a horse.3) I broke my leg.4) My daughter Saya eloped.5) I was in a traffic accident.6) I retired.Not number six – I...
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Catherine Creek
Saya at Catherine CreekThe Columbia River from Catherine CreekEvery spring I visit the Catherine Creek Nature Reserve which is located at the east end of the Columbia River Gorge, on the Washington...
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My Disorganized Garden
The Blue ForestI have a two acre garden called the Blue Forest, where once every plant was a blue, or bluish, conifer. I eventually tired of it and proceeded to plant other colors, and now I like it...
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The Maples of Oregon
Boy holding an enormous leafI would love to show you a photo of a young boy holding an enormous leaf of the “Oregon maple,” Acer macrophyllum, but it was in our Portland newspaper and therefore the...
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Shame On You
It is not free when I take a photograph in the sense that I could be doing something else to benefit Buchholz Nursery. Then I pay Seth a boat-load to archive them, and believe me that he is a couple...
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