Early Spiketail
Stachyurus praecox 'Rubriflora'
(stak-EE-yoor-us) (pray-koks)
Stachyuraceae
Last Saturday as previously posted I went to Wave Hill Gardens and the New York Botanical Garden. They are quite close in distance but quite a bit different in feel to the gardens. Both are world-class plant collections and it was quite a treat to see both gardens in one day. I have been posting photos from Wave Hill all week so I thought I would change it up a bit and use a picture from the Ladies Border at the NYBG. My photographs came out pretty well and I think I would call it a successful afternoon. I learned a few more plants that’s for sure.
This plant was a new one on me. Apparently it is not cultivated much in American gardens. The first picture is ‘Rubriflora’ and it did present a much redder appearance than ‘Magpie’. Theses plants were located in a shady end of the border. It looked like it got only a couple hours of sun. The ‘Magpie’ was in more sun. I don’t really know what the leaves look like but I will post them later in the season when they come out. The flowers are chain-like and from a distance I almost thought they were a catkin or seedpods. On closer inspection they are very nice flowers with the appearance of Mahonia or even Pieris. It gives the nice looking twigs a gracefully pendant look. This shrub is an early bloomer and gets up to about ten feet. The fall colors are said to be a nice mix of yellow and red, again contrasting with those dark branches. I did see it is hardy to USDA Zone 6 so it might be worth a shot here if I can find it.
This picture is of Variegated Stachyurus (Stachyurus chinensis 'Magpie') and I posted it so you could the beautiful way the flowers hang down. Here is a picture of the foliage.
I am entering this picture in the monthly photo contest on the gardening forum I am a member of. The theme is ‘All creatures great and small’.
5 comments:
Good luck with the contest! I hope you win. That photo of honeybee is fantastic. Really great depth of field as almost all of the bee is in focus. You must have stopped down the aperture a lot. But then how did you keep from getting a blurred photo with the longer exposure time? Monopod?
nice pictures. look at http://www.beyondblossoms.com/flower_pictures.php there is another contest. its really nice.
bye, chris
Beautiful photos (and a wonderful plant)! I'm teaching a class at NYBG on Saturday and would love to show one of your photos, if that's OK with you - I would of course give you credit. Sorry for the short notice - I just found your beautiful blog today.
sara, I left a comment over at your blog. Using the picture is okay since it is for educational purposes. If you email me from my profile (not the comment section) I can send you some larger files.
Thanks,
Chris
This Stachyurus took my breath away last week - on the Lady's border at the NYBG. It was next to another weeping shrub - Corylopsis spicata. Your pictures are beautiful!
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