Beautiful Akebono arch in front of Bean Around the World cafe at Thunderbird Blvd & Main Mall. Shirotae on both sides of Regent College (map ID 1297) This is the Wesbrook Mall side. I wonder what happened to the stumps in the foreground...
The Shirotae are in full blossom this week at the back entrance to Purdy pavilion at UBC Hospital. A beautiful site and the scent of Almonds is noticeable this year.....surprising given how cold it has been! Shirotae meaning a kind of white cloth. You can really see the hairy/toothy sepals in one of the pics. Took these photos after work on Tuesday eve.
Meant to post these earlier, but this is the Shirofugens by the health sciences parkade in tight bud on Thursday night, took them before I started my shift! They are still in pretty tight buds to day Saturday.
I enjoyed a cherry walk in Nitobe Memorial Garden on Saturday. Thank you, Douglas and Wendy!! It was nice meeting and talking with other people, too. I finally met 'Shogetsu'. It's so elegant. Sun shining through 'Tai-haku' Young 'Ichiyo' looks nice by the water. Taka
Yes it was a lovely walk at Nitobe yesterday with Douglas et al. These are some pics of the Shogetsu that is on the east side of the lake, south side as you enter the garden. Shogestu double white, frilly edge and green new growth.
This is the Taki-nioi. I was getting this tree mixed up with the Shogetsu. There are a few pics of the Shogetsu branches leaning and mingling with the Taki-nioi, but Taki-nioi as single flowers and red new growth. And the pic in the ornamental cherry blossom book shows the amazing branching structure of the Taki-Nioi! I love the translated name, "Fragrant Waterfall"....and it does look just like a soft waterfall as it cascades towards the pond....
The Akebono in the south west section of Nitobe. This one still has its petals but is fading fast. The ones in our neighborhood are already over, as are the ones at Stanley Park.
This Ichiyo pic is almost the same shot as Taka's :), we must have been standing together!. Again the delicate pale pink double flowers held out towards the water and the reflections in the water. This is such a beautiful garden!
The Shirotae on the west side of Nitobe. The fresh green leaves are acting as an umbrella to the flowers. Douglas mentioned that Shirotae means white cloth and apparently, I did a bit of research previously, this white cloth is made from the bark of the Paper Mulberry Tree -Broussonetia papyrifera- a beautifully barked tree that I know Van Dusen has and I am sure UBC probably has it too. According to Hilliers : 'The name Shirotae is a Japanese word for the fine white cloth which is made from the pulpy bark of the paper Mulberry tree. When in blossom the branches appear like they are wrapped in white silky cotton, again providing the name."
This pic of the Shogetsu that is in the North East section of Nitobe shows the green stigmas/styles they look similar to the elephant trunks of the Shirofugen but the new green leaves would make it Shogetsu. I get these green styles mixed up all the time!! I love the translation of this one too "Midnight on the pine leaves". It would have been beautiful last week to see it when the full moon was rising!
I think this is Shogetsu.....Wendy/Anne if you could confirm?? It has double white, frilly edges, I think I see the green styles, but it was a bit windy. New growth is green. It is not on the blooming map so I can't be sure :( This is off cecil green parkway, the parking lot behind the MOA at UBC.
It looks a little robust for 'Shogetsu', with none of the "moonlight through pines" effect, more of a "bundled with thread" effect. I'm thinking 'Ito-kukuri'. That some of the leaves are missing the attenuated tip is appropriate for that. If you get back there, you could get a shot of what I'm expecting to be rather large sepals. There used to be 'Ito-kukuri' on campus, so it would not be too surprising to find one.
I don't think Lisa is doing the Fragrant Waterfall justice. Here are the spreading branches of Taki-nioi over the island in Nitobe Memorial Garden. In bloom at April 21, 2022.
I need a few photos from Douglas Justice's walk to use on the map. The 'Somei-yoshino' was long past blooming, but the limbs are impressive. Douglas declared this to be the best 'Kanzan' in Vancouver. On the side of the lake where we were standing to view the 'Kanzan' are several trees planted in 2021. Among them are two 'Shirotae'. and a 'Takasago'. Here is a young 'Tai-haku'. This 'Akebono' might be near the 'Tai-haku'. Those flowers were hanging on unseasonably late. The blossom photo is from Nina Shoroplova. Nina also sent a 'Washi-no-o' photo. Edited - I have a screen print from a video on which I said the name, am adding that. It's also in the third photo, between the two lanterns. The large tree that was the focus of the photo is the 'Taki-nioi'. There used to be two 'Shogetsu' between the entrance and the 'Taki-nioi'. I think there is only one now, across the path from the 'Taki-nioi'.
Thanks to Nina Shoroplova who sent me the link to the Nitobe map at Nitobe map colour for web.indd (ubc.ca), which has drawings of the lanterns and pagodas that help a whole lot in figuring out where the trees are located, particularly if those items show up in your photos. I've just moved several of the markers.