National Arb photos

[rockm]

Made a trip up to the National Arboretum Sunday. Here are some of the photos...

The first is John Naka's Montezuma cypress. The tree was the subject of a pictorial in his first book, Bonsai Techniques 1 (might be the second, can't remember)

The second is a Japanese elm, if I remember right.

The third is a group planting of Stewartia/Beech and boxwood I think. It is also in the Japanese collection.

 

[grog]

Thanks for the pictures. The mixed species planting is really interesting. Looks like you caught a bumblebee or a hummingbird in with the Montezuma cypress, pretty cool

 

[rockm]

That's one of the literally thousands of carpenter bees that buzz around scaring the bee--jesus out of the tourists. They are VERY agressive, but they don't have stingers and can't do anything but bump into you... They bore holes into wooden structures to lay eggs and tend their young. Since the exhibits have wooden supports for overhead screening, they're all over the place...

 

[Si Nguyen]

I remember that Montezuma cypress from John Naka. It hasn't changed much in 15-20 years! It looks a bit smaller now though. Amazing that they can keep it looking like that for so long. In 1997, I started a Montezuma cypress copying that tree. I could never achieve a finished look like that. So I finally chopped it down and restyle it over again last year. Nice seeing that old Naka tree again though. It must be very hard to try to keep all the trees looking like they were original, out of respect for the previous owner/donor.
Thanks for showing the trees from the National Arb. Rockm.
Si

 

[digger714]

I agree Si. It must take an army to work on all the trees there. I was talking to one of the caregivers last year, and he was telling me how important it was to them to keep the trees looking like the original. Its a great place to visit for inspiration. Just learn to love the bees, lol.

 

[drew33998]

the forest planting was the most amazing to me.

 

[rockm]

A couple more photos. The first is the Yamaki White Pine. The 400 year old tree that survived the Hiroshima blast. The second is a huge Japanese wisteria which has a spectacular trunk.

 

[mcpesq817]

Hope Rockm doesn't mind me adding a few of my own to his thread, but here are a few of my favorites.

If you can ever make it out to the National Arboretum and see the collection, it's worth the trip.

 

[mcpesq817]

Here are a couple of others. The zelkova is a very big tree, and I think Rosade's hornbeam looks a lot better in person than in (my) pictures. The toringo crab apple is incredible, especially in flower or in fruit.

 

[mholt]

Thanks for posting your recent inspirational photos, Rockm. What's that wisteria, about 5' tall?

 

[rockm]

I'd say a little over 5', but it would be a guestimate...