QBARS - v18n3 Seattle Chapter Show

Seattle Chapter Show

The 15th Annual Seattle Rhododendron Show was again held in the beautiful Seattle center Exhibition Hall. This year's show was scheduled to coincide with the Annual American Rhododendron Society Meeting on May 24, 25 and 26 and was enjoyed by our many guests.

From the balcony entrance to the hall a magnificent view of the entire show unfolded before our visitors. This first impression was breathtaking and caused most to pause and survey the overall picture before descending to the lower floor for a closer inspection of the individual plants and plantings.

The Committees

As usual, there were many willing hands working with the Show Committee Chairmen to make this another spectacular show. Show Committee Chairmen were: Co-Chairmen, Donald K. McClure and Mrs. James Madison; Staging, Arthur O. Luther; Commercial Exhibitors, William Griswold and Arthur Dome; Amateur Exhibitors, Mrs. Thomas O'Brube and Mrs. Wm. S. Gilbert; Show Program, Edwin Arntsen; Show Program Advertising, F. C. Bloxom, Jr.; Schedules and Awards, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Jacobson; Receiving, Mrs. Stephen Anderson; Publicity, Mrs. Walter D. Smith; Hospitality, Mrs. Joseph P. Butler.

The Trophy Winners Winners of Trophies and Awards were as follows:

Frederick & Nelson Perpetual Cup for Best Landscape Design, to Homestead Nursery.

Seattle Trust & Savings Perpetual Cup for Best Plant in Show, to King of Shrubs Nursery for R. 'Susan'.

Greater Bellevue Chamber of Commerce Trophy for Best Amateur Truss in Show, Dr. and Mrs. John L. Shiach for R. 'Faggetter's Favourite'.

Lincoln First Federal Savings Amateur Sweepstakes Trophy, Mr. Donald Graham.

Seattle Rhododendron Society Annual Achievement Award for Best New Hybrid Seedling plus $100.00 Bonus to hybridizer of winning plant, Lester Brandt for R. haematodes x 'Choremia'.

Griswold Nursery Trophy for Best Evergreen Azalea, Mrs. William H. Culliton for Az. 'White Squall'.

Mrs. William H. Culliton Trophy for Best Amateur Dwarf Rhododendron, Mr. Donald Graham for R. hanceanum nanum .

Mrs. Frederick Bunge Trophy for Best Amateur Rhododendron or Azalea Spray, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Butler for R. 'Royal Flush'.

$100.00 Cash Prize to Best Rhododendron Plant exhibited by an amateur, Mr. Donald Graham for R. hanceanum nanum .

Washington State Nurserymen's Association Trophy for the Best Display entered by a garden club, Seattle Garden Club.

Individual Award Winners

First prize for a flowering plant of any hybrid seedling rhododendron not previously exhibited, this plant to be the result of hybridization made in the State of Washington, went to Lester Brandt of Tacoma for his R. haematodes x 'Choremia'. Other prize winners included: Donald Graham, J. A. Baxter. Mrs. Arthur O. Luther; Mark Collarino, Mrs. J. M. Peterson, Mrs. Geo. Harrison, Mrs. Harvey Kamphenborg, Mrs. Win. M. Culliton, Mrs. Mae Granston, Paul Brown, W. C. Willard. Mrs. W. DI. Gilbert, Mrs. Pendleton Miller. Geo. Pease, Mr. and Mrs. M. Chris Johnson, Mrs. Vera C. Ummel, Mrs. Stephen Anderson, Brian O. Mulligan, Don McClure, Frank Doleshy, Mrs. Charles Sully, Mrs. Willard Skeel, Mrs. Helen O'Brube, Bruce Leber, Mrs. Don Davis, Mrs. James Madison, Mrs. J. Swift Baker, Mrs. Kerry Trimble, Mr. and Mrs. Linlev Janzen, Dr. and Mrs. John L. Shiach, Mrs. H. F. Thorlakson, George Harrison, Mrs. Earle Zinn, Dr. Allen Lobb. Steve Ellis, Mrs. E. L. Irvine, Dr. Wanamaker, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Butler, Mrs. Rex Palmer. Mrs. Walter Hartman, Dr. Wm. Hutchinson, Don Zimmerman and Ben Nelson.

The Judges

It was a great honor for the Seattle Rhododendron Society to have at this 15th annual show the most distinguished group of men ever to officiate at a flower show in the Pacific Northwest. Judges were:

J. Herbert Bowen, Tacoma, Wash., Dean of Northwest Judges and member of the A.R.S. Awards Committee.

P. H. Brydon, San Francisco, Calif., Director of Strybing Arboretum, Golden Gate Park.

E. H. M. Cox, Perth, Scotland, Author, lecturer, plant explorer, one of the foremost authorities on the genus Rhododendron.

Roy Hudson, San Francisco, Calif.. Assistant Superintendent of world famous Golden Gate Park.

David G. Leach, Brookville, Pa.. Author of Rhododendrons of the World, the latest anal most comprehensive book devoted to all phases of rhododendron culture.

Dr. Carl Phetteplace, Eugene, Oregon. Vice President of the American Rhododendron Society.

Outstanding Plants

A large area was set aside for rhododendrons brought in by amateurs and entered for competition. Without doubt the dwarf plant of R. hanceanum nanum , which won for Mr. Donald Graham the Lincoln First Federal Savings Amateur Sweepstakes Trophy, was the outstanding plant in this group. It was approximately two feet high and four feet across and literally a solid mass of pale yellow bloom. Few in our Pacific Northwest had ever seen such a large plant of this species. A dwarf under 18" was a magnificent R. sargentianum seedling which gave the appearance of a natural bonsai. This plant was so covered with bloom that the small leaves were barely visible. This seedling had a pale soft creamy pink cast to the blossom. The largest plant in this exhibit was a 10' 'Bowbells'. This was a solid mass of lovely pink bells and had to have special handling in being transported to the show. It was interesting to overhear the comments that 'Bowbells' was only supposed to reach 4' in 10 years. This plant had obviously adjusted well to its garden location.

Nursery Exhibits

Homestead Nursery's "Woodland Garden" won a blue rosette and trophy for the Best Landscape Design in the show. Looking into this garden, eyes first fell upon a mass planting of azaleas, 'Pink Gumpo' (fancy), 'Pinky Pearce', 'Mrs. Fisher' and 'Nancy' which led into a small clear blue pond beside which lay a darling hand carved wooden fawn nestled against a moss-covered fallen log. In fact the entire forest covering was moss. Behind this picturesque scene were rhododendrons in pink shades; 'Dormouse', 'Bowbells', 'Mrs. Furnival' and 'Mrs. Lionel de Rothschild' with plants of Kalmia latifolia (Dexter strain), tucked in as companions. The use of Mt. Hemlock, Tsuga mertensiana , and Western red cedar, Juniperus scopulorum in the woodland to separate, in a subtle way, the yellow and white grouping from the pink area was well planned. R. 'China', 'Mrs. Betty Robertson', R. davidsonianum (white form), Whitney hybrids in a lovely yellow blush tone, 'Harvest Moon', 'Adrian Koster', 'Yunnanense' and 'White Swan' with azaleas 'Treasure' and 'Wendy' were among the plants used in this yellow and white grouping. Pinus contorta , Japanese golden dwarf maple, Acer japonica aureum and maidenhair fern were used in keeping with the woodland atmosphere.

A Blue Rosette went to the Rainier Mt. Alpine Gardens for their delightful arrangement of miniature rhododendrons and conifers. A winding path through the rocky alpine meadow was planted with mass groupings of dwarf rhododendrons. A resting bench at the end of the path was nestled in the background plantings of R. smirnowii , cinnabarinum roylei , oreotrephes , sanguineum , wardii , (the A.M. form formerly known as R. croceum euchaites and riparium . Rhododendrons bordering the path in combination with alpine conifers were: R. aberconwayi , impeditum , russatum , myrtilloides , chryseum , cremastum , calostrotum , 'Dusty', 'Carmen' and two of their own selected forms of species which have been named: 'Maricee', a selected white form of R. sargentianum , 'Patricia', a deep wine colored form of campylogynum and 'Candi', racemosum x cremastum , which has just recently been registered.

As is the case in all competitions, there is only one blue ribbon winner in any one division. The competition in the show this year, was very keen and there were many beautifully landscaped exhibits. Special Awards were given and a brief description of some of these award winners follows:

Prentice Nursery chose an island area of approximately 500 sq. ft. to landscape. The use of enormous molded fiberglass rocks with a delightful waterfalls cascading clown from them into a lovely pool below and topped with very large attractive contorted pines was a spectacular sight. The rock crevices were planted with moss, sedums and small rhododendrons. In keeping with the scale of the rocks, several crabapple trees, malus sargen tii were used as well as Acer palmatum dissectum . Large rhododendrons and azaleas in tones of pink, white, yellow and blue were used around the entire area and formed a pleasing picture from any point around the island from which one stopped to observe the display. Some of these were: 'Bowbells', 'Mrs. Furnival', yakushimanum , 'Jalisco', 'W. C. Slocock', 'Loder's White', 'Damaris', 'Blue Diamond' and many of the Prentice hybrids in lovely shades of yellow, with azaleas 'Treasure', 'Irene Koster' and 'Helen Close', In the pool area, hostas were used with R. williamsianum , impeditum , keleticum and others grouped with Alpine fir, Abies grandis nana and Tsuga metensiana. </p>

</i> Paths were used by many of the exhibitors and the Washington State Nurserymen's display had a sawdust path leading to a secluded garden bench where one could relax and meditate. A background of large rhododendrons was used-'Butterfly', 'C.I.S.'. 'Alice', 'David' and 'The Hon. Jean Marie de Montague.'

7 Firs Nursery lined a woodland path with rhododendrons and azaleas which led to a garden retreat with a lovely St. Francis.

H. L. Larson of Tacoma had an exhibit of rarely seen and unusual specimen plants. They were truly magnificent: R. nuttallii , yakushimanum , 'Fragrantissimum', 'Silver Sheen'; R. rigidum and 'Lady Chamberlain'.

King of Shrubs Nursery displayed specimen plants grouped as one might find them in a corner of a very large older garden estate. R. 'Susan', which took the trophy for Best Plant in Show, filled the entire background of this garden and was a splendid blue color with excellent foliage. Used with 'Susan' were 'Loderi Venus', 'Dormouse', R. augustinii , 'Loder's White', 'Loderi King George', 'Bowbells' and 'Butterfly'.

Garden Club Exhibits

The Seattle Garden Club won the Washington State Nurserymen's Award Trophy for the best display entered by a garden club and it indeed was a garden of little jewels. This small restful alpine garden with blue sky and white fleecy clouds as its backdrop gave one a feeling of serenity. An old mossy rail fence set off the garden and pleasing outcroppings of moss-covered rocks were planted with dwarf alpine conifers, rhododendrons and companion plants. Some of these gems were: R. fastigiatum , FCC form, R. searsiae , Rock #188. R. calostrotum , R. hanceanum nanum ; R. charitopes ; R. glaucophyllum 'Oudyk's Favorite' and Azalea 'Hinomayo'; Picea omorika , Cassiope selaginoides ; Iberis omara ; Abies gregoriana ; Helianthemun alpestrum serpyllifolium ; Phellaea mucronata ; Androsace sarmentosa ; Tsuga mertensiana ; Pellaea densa ; Vaccinium parvifolium ; Rhodohypoxis platypetala ; Nandina knishi .

The Lake Washington Garden Club had a charming garden path edged with sweet woodruff leading to a circular turnaround which held an armillary, a form of sundial. Corpus kousa and Enkianthus campanulatus in full bloom gave a light airy feeling to this design with Pieris japonica , R. 'Bowbells' and 'Mary Ashley' used as specimen plants. In the semicircle formed by this path was a covering of azaleas 'Nancy', 'Rosebud', 'Gumpo Pink', 'Gaiety' and 'Pinky Pearce'. Vaccinium vitis-idea and Andromeda polifolia were used as ground covers.

Study Groups

Perhaps the exhibit most studied by the visitors was that of the Seattle Rhododendron Study Group. A section of this display was a planting of species rhododendron. From each of these a ribbon extended to a large map used as a backdrop. This was a world map and each ribbon was attached to the country where the species is native. Another section showed the propagation of rhododendrons from cuttings, medium, etc. Another section was a delightful woodland garden using alpine species rhododendrons. The background was built up to form a small hill banked with Japanese larch, Larix leptolepsis and R. rigidum and Acer circinnatum . Coming down from this hill was a path along which were growing R. trichostomum , var. ledoides (white form); sargentianum , campylogynum , var. 'Patricia'; lepidotum var. elacaganoides (pink and purple forms); edgarianum , keleticum ; radicans , impedituni , adenogynum . In the valley were ground covers of deer fern, saxifraga umbrosa nana , Gaultheria procumbens and Andromeda polifolia nana . Beside a mossy log were R. quinquefolium and Abies lasiocarpa .

The members of Arboretum Unit #29 planned a garden to demonstrate the incorporation of our native materials in a landscape design. A lovely weathered stump brought in from the woods was the focal point around which this garden centered. Vine maple, R. macrophyllum , Vaccinium ovatum , sword fern, Menziesia purpurea and Vancouveria were the natives used in combination with Japanese larch, rhododendrons and azaleas.  R. 'Loder's White', R. oreotrephes , tephropeplum , lutescens , 'Easter Bell' and 'Bowbells', and azaleas 'Jubilee', 'Snowdrift', 'Rosebud' and 'Ledifolia Alba' were chosen for their particular characteristics in this plan.