VanDusen Botanical Garden Guide Weekly Update #22: August 25 to August 31, 2019 Brought to you by Ashley Lambert-Maberly (ashley..m@ube.ca), award-winning © Sunday walking = F Saturday 31 August 2019: Dahlia Show Y 12:00am to 3:00pm: In the Floral Hall/Cedar Room, in case anyone's unsuccessfully trying to locate this I event in the Garden itself. D> Where the Conifer Garden meets the paved path NE of the Great Lawn are two contrasting conifers. First, a Chihuahuan Spruce (Picea chihuahuana), possibly the stabbiest of the spiky spruces, ow. It's a mountain tree from NW Mexico, and was only discovered in 1942. It can reach 167 feet, and the oldest known tree is 272 years young. Nearby is the Limber Pine (Pinus flexiis ‘Vanderwolt's Pyramid’), also called the Rocky Mountain White Pine. Limber Pines have long lives, the oldest known tree being at least 2,000 years old. Its native to southeastern BC, but its range extends to Mexico; like the nearby Spruce, its definitely a mountain tree, typically growing at high elevations. This cultivar was developed in New Jersey in 1972. Pin the Perennial Garden its time for Leopard Plants to shine, like this Ligularia amplexicaulls ‘Britt-Marie Crawford’. This variety was discovered by its namesake growing among other ligularia plants in Fife. Leopard Plants are so called because of the spotted leaves in some species. P Beneath are some Stonecrop cultivars (Sedum telephium ‘Matrona’); the telephium species has aquired a host of evocative ‘common names, including Orphan John, Witch's Moneybags, LiveLong, and Harping Johnny! Peer ee Oe ng teem Mas ee nn eee Meare Ente aut