Recently I wrote about Bonsai collection in Federal Way. There is another unique garden side by side with Bonsai collection (they share the same parking). This is Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, the largest world collection of rhododendron species (wild species). Because the main aims of the garden are scientific and conservational, it is not very decorative, but very interesting, if you like plants as they are. The garden is huge, it has not only rhododendrons but other plants also. There is a conservatory for plants from warm places.
The photos are from two different visits.
Some rhododendrons and azaleas:
Bumblebees in flowers:
The garden’s pride – Tibetian blue poppies. They are huge, with intense colour of buds and pale-blue colour of open flowers.
The garden also has Tibetian Lilies, but it was too early for them and we sow only last-year stalks.
Styrax obassia aka fragrant snowbell, this plant is native to Hokkaido and North China. The flowers are really very aromatic.
Viburnum plicatum aka Japanese snowball, from south-east Asia.
This is domestic sterile hyblid of snowballs:
A fanny plant Podophyllum pleianthum aka Many-flowered Chinese Mayapple. It looks like a green lawn from above, and many dark-red are hidden below the leaves.
Peony. Love them in any variants.
Lily-of-the-valley. I love them, but they are so seldom here.
Solomon’s seal
Iris
Mushrooms should be even in Rhodo garden.
And young rabbit for a change.
