Olivier, I remember seeing photos of your gardens in the past. Could you be so kind to present more recent pictures of your gardens? I'm sure other would appreciate it as well. Thanks in advance.

Well, this isn't exactly the place for it but here are a few pictures...

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Olivier.

Olivier! Beautiful! Thank you for the treat.

Olivier, your gardens are lovely. How long have you been growing on your site? How many acres? Is it your own design or do you have professional help? Do you have a web page featuring the plantings? I'm so impressed with the collection.

Thanks.

I'm a little embarrassed answering here since this is not the purpose of my original post, but here's a quick response : I have this garden since 1998, almost started from scratch (the only two trees were the oak/Quercus robur and an old and lovely hawthorn/Crataegus monogyna), had some advice from a professional landscaper for "the bones" and, since then, plant, transplant, read, read again, visit other gardens, learn by trial and error...

The garden is rather small, 1500 square meters (1800 square yards ?), full of plants (I got rid of all the lawn 2 years ago) and slowly turns into some kind of woodland, which is what I'm aiming for.

I don't have any web page and don't feel like having one, just a place to store some pictures.

Thanks for your kind words ;-)

Olivier.

And I thank you for your information!

Plant shown may be Abelia x grandiflora, one like it at Seattle arboretum seen to be now labeled as such (for years it was labeled completely inappropriately as A. triflora). True A. chinensis has a very short corolla--you may want to compare descriptions with yours. Note also number of calyx lobes, this is important.

I'd be quite surprised if it was mislabelled mainly because I purchased it in a reputable and serious nursery specialized in unusual/fine woody plants (I also bought A. schumannii from them). Plus, it's much more fragrant than A. x grandiflora.

But of course, I'm taking good note of your remarks, will take a closer look at the plant and make some search to try to identify it for sure.

Olivier.

PS. very glad to read you again.

I realize this is an old post, but I was just wandering through the gallery posts and found your yard quite interesting. Especially since you only started it in 1998. Great job. :-) I wondered if you could share what the name of the large rounded shrub on the left side of the photo on the South Path would be? Just love it!

Thanks for sharing your photos. :-) Pmoon

Looks similar to bambooleaf oak (Quercus myrsinifolia).

Yes, Quercus myrsinifolia, which first flowered two years ago ({{gwi:239418}}). Unfortunately, the acorns don't seem to ripen in my climate.

Right next to the oak is Rhododendron 'Polar Bear' (R. diaprepes x R. auriculatum), a vigorous grower which I hope will make a little tree with time.

An even more to the right, one can see a bit of Stewartia sinensis. I planted it as a small specimen in fall 2003, the tree seemed to settle fast (its roots are more than 3 feet away from the trunk in all directions), is already 7 feet tall and started to bloom last year.

Olivier.