Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Autumn in the East Bay and A Preview of Spring


Dawn Redwood Glade in Winter

Obata Gate to the Japanese Pool

 University of California Botanical Garden ... A Preview
Photos Courtesy : University of California Botanical Garden

Autumn in the Asian Collection  
With its hilly topography, Strawberry Canyon is a dramatic setting for the U.C. Botanical Garden in Berkeley, 
located across the Bay Bridge to the east of San Francisco. Stretching over thirty-four acres, the grounds feature a geographical arrangement of gardens, displaying plants from around the world. Rhododendrons are well represented in the Asian gardens, along with maples and hydrangeas,  witch hazels and epimediums. Pictured above in a wintery scene, the Botanical Garden's lovely grove of Dawn redwood trees,  Metasequoia glyptostroboides, are another highlight in this collection. The unusual trees are deciduous conifers:  Having been believed to be extinct, they were discovered growing in western China  some sixty-five years ago. The trees at UCBG are among the first grown outside of China.
More to follow on the U.C. Botanical Gardens.

11 comments:

  1. Oh, I love dawn redwood! And they have a truly amazing Western Azalea there, big, fragrant, and growing in full sun.

    Amazing photos! Makes me want to go!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is so lovely garden! I love red maple trees.
    It must have been very nice day you spent in this garden. Great pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alice:
    This is definitely a spot for me to get lost in the landscape. I have had my eye on a Metasequoia glyptostroboides for the past month now.... I believe it is a dwarf version, but need to do some more investigation - but at 60%off.... it might come home sooner than I think!
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow,what a treasure. You're making me wish I could go there, but then I realized that I'm only a 10 minutes drive away! I usually run out of time by the time I get to the Aisan collection, but I'll have to make a point of it next time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just love the redwoods of Northern CA. I really need to schedule a trip out to visit. Beautiful photos!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gorgeous!Wonderful photos..and lovely post!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great timing Alice, I also just posted about my visit to the Berkeley Botanical Gardens! Of course I lack your talent for brevity and my post is a little too long. I just couldn't leave anything out! What a beautiful place, I didn't want to leave.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Alice, We've planted a Dawn Redwood or Metasequoia glyptostroboides (which Sarah picked up as a whip) in a guerrilla plot just across from us. It isn't exactly dwarf, as it will grow up to 50 feet high and 30 feet across, but it is "dwarf" in relative terms, compared to the real thing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Much more on the UC Botanical Garden to follow!

    Glad you've all enjoyed glimpses of this wonderful California destination for garden & nature lovers.

    Teza, As far as I know, the Dawn Redwood is not a dwarf species ;~D
    As Helen mentions, it grows quite tall with a good reach.

    Stay tuned, all!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Those are such wonderful photos. It all seems so perfectly placed and yet completely natural. Something to aspire to.

    ReplyDelete