Woodlanders Page One
by Louise Parsons



View of a portion of my woodland rockery of easygoing plants: pale blue Anemone robinsoniana, deeper blue-violetViola labradorica, and various cyclamen. Labrador violets are pesky, but they are still one of my favorites.




Rhododendron 'Sage'.

Corydalis ochroleuca, another easygoing yet lovely plant. It self-sows easily but does not get out of bounds.

Corydalis cheilanthifoliais more restrained in its habits, yet it is also easy to grow.

Cyclamen coumseedling, pewter leaf form, grown from North American Rock Garden Society seed exchange seed. Sedum spathulifolium (tiny pale rosettes) self-sows here too, but I am also very soft on this Oregon native. Foreground and right-hand picture: C. hederifolium, also from NARGS exchange seed. In late fall cyclamen foliage brightens a dark corner.




Louis Henderson was the "grand old man" of Northwest North American botany. Erythronuim hendersonii is a fitting tribute to him. The "Grand Old Man" is featured on the cover of the Fall, 2000 (vol 91, no 4) issue of The Pacific Northwest Quarterly. In an article rich in historic and botanic detail, Eugene, Oregon botanist Rhoda Love has written what I hope is the prelude to a full biography of a fellow with a long, active, and fascinating life that spanned a golden age of northwest botany --from civil war times into the forties. I strongly recommend this article. How fun it would be to create a garden of "hendersoniis"! Many of the plants named after him are suited to life in a rockery



Flower detail of Erythroium hendersonii: Note the deep purple throats and large anthers. Thanks to my husband Ty, who held the usually-nodding flowers for a snap!


In a private Eugene garden, a clump of Erythronium 'White Beauty', with white anthers and brushmarked throats, has attained remarkable size.





Epimedium grandiflorum is very easy to grow in a light woodland setting. Magnolia debris is everywhere. The magnificant sixty year-old tree drops all manner of messy stuff several times a year. When the buds break in early spring their furry sheaves fall; a few weeks later the huge petals smother some areas; then come the pelting fruits, followed in fall by the leaves. Sigh! The grand old tree is spangled with spectacular lichens and mosses that brighten up in the bleak winter. Wrens, Bushtits, Brown creepers, and Nuthatches all glean the laden branches for important winter food. The fragrant flowers and subsequent summer shade are cherished in spite of all the mess. Luckily I am not a fussy gardener.


Iris reticulata :another earlybird in a more open portion of my rockery. They bloom in late January or early February. Protect from slugs and give them some late winter and spring sun.

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