The “Apocalypse” at the Chateau d' Angers

In many ways I am fortunate that I have a job that takes me around the world looking for new plants, but many people including my wife think my travels are vacations. Contrary to popular belief, I do work very hard on these trips. It is not uncommon to visit nurseries and breeders from sun up to sundown for seven days straight. And in all my travels, I have yet to see the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, or the Red Light district in Amsterdam.

That being said, once in a while we do find ourselves without any appointments, and if we can’t find any garden centers in the area; we do take in the local sites. We had such a day while in Angers, France. We took a day off to visit the Chateau d’Angers, a fortress that dates back to the 13th century.

While castles in France are as abundant as wine, it was highly recommended that we visit the Chateau d’Angers; - not so much for the building itself, but rather to see the tapestry. Housed within this fortress is the “Apocalypse,” the oldest tapestry of its size in the world. Commissioned in 1373, this fantastic work of art measures a massive 10,764 square feet in size. It is made up of 70 individual panels that, when viewed as a whole, tell the pictorial story of Revelation, the last book of the bible.

As you can see from the images below, this is an exceptional work of art. And in my option much more remarkable than the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, or the Red Light district.

The Apocalypse tapestry - Angers, France

The Apocalypse tapestry - Angers, France

Hunting for plants has its rewards

Hunting for plants has its rewards. Dale and I just returned from a week long excursion to Northern France that took us from Angers, located in the center of the Loire Valley, north to the shores of Normandy. This begins the first of a series of short entries designed to make you all envious and jealous. Ah ... but that is the point – if I can convince you to leave the crowds and tourist traps of Paris for the magical French countryside - my job is done. Here you will come to know and love France. Skip Paris, are you mad? Yes I’m serious - think about it – do Europeans come to know America by visiting Los Angeles? I think not, so why not apply the same logic in our own travels abroad.

Guided by a beautiful French speaking woman that repeatedly shouted out “Tournez a gauche,” the handy GPS guidance system delivered us to the small village of Juvardeil located just north of the city of Angers. Here we set our base camp at the Chateau de la Buronniere, a quiet B&B with wonderful off-season rates. It is hard to say what was better, the majesty of the chateau or our sparkling innkeeper Willemien Van der Nat Verhage. Hard bread, dark coffee, and strong cheese greeted us each morning, while cold beer, red wine and assorted appetizers welcomed us home at night.

The Chateau de la Buronniere was, for the most part, built in the late sixteen hundreds, in the era of the Palais de Versailles. Parts of the home date back as far as 1450, and today it has no telephones, television and during our visit no other guests. We felt as if we had stepped back in time. What must it have been like to be the Sybille de la Buronniere, the original family of the chateau, living in such a grand house? Willemien told us that it was common then to entertain and to have numerous friends and guests for the summer months. There were no highways, cars, motels, televisions or x-box - but rather family, friends, food and good wine. Simple conversation, garden walks and fancy balls were the entertainment of the day.

For us, it was the perfect place to begin our plant hunting sorties into the rich Loire valley, home to numerous vineyards, pépinières (nurseries) and le Salon du Vegetal one of the most interesting horticultural exhibitions in Europe.

Kerria deserves a Second Look

Kerria japonica, The Japanese Yellow Rose, has been around for a long time. It has been sold for years, most commonly by low end mail order companies. For whatever reason, wholesale growers and garden centers rarely include this plant in their mix, and I wonder why? The more I see of this plant and what it can do in the landscape, the more I feel it deserves a second look. Please join me.

Kerria japonica is a hardy (Zone 5) deciduous shrub that matures at 3 to 5 feet in height. It's a dense mounded plant with numerous slender, zig-zagging branches that emerge at ground level. The beauty of Kerria is found in its flowers, stems and foliage. The bright yellow flowers are noticeable reminiscent of an old fashioned rose with its 5 petals. The flowers clearly make this plant a member of the Rosaceae family. In early spring, before the leaves emerge, the numerous yellow flowers create a colorful show. As an added benefit, Kerria will often rebloom off and on all summer long. The effect is beautiful and rewarding. Kerria is also blessed with attractive ornamental stems. From autumn to spring, its bright kelly green stems create a wonderful, fresh impression. Having visited the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens in early spring a few years back, I distinctly remember big green drifts of Kerria. I was surprised and delighted to see it used throughout their beautifully landscaped grounds. Around every corner we were greeted by a mass of bright green. This unique combination of color and zigzagged lines creates a lasting impression.

You also have to appreciate the clean and simple foliage of Kerria. The leaves appear birch-like at first glance with its narrow triangular shape, but unlike birch, its leaves are brighter, doubly serrated, and display a pronounced puckering between the leaf veins. Always clean and green the foliage is a distinctive asset.

Culture

This is not a fussy plant that is difficult to grow or manage. Quite the contrary, Kerria is happy in most any reasonable well drained soil. It requires little fertility, and seems to flower best if neglected. Unlike other members of the rose family, Kerria has no serious insect of disease problems. The remarkable thing about this is that it thrives when grown in partially shaded to fully shaded locations. Few plants flower this well in shade! Full sun is also an option, but it does present a few problems. The flowers do not hold up as well and it can show some stem die-back if exposed to winter sun. Neither of these problems are severe, but both can distract from the beauty of the plant. It should be noted that this plant dislikes heavy, poorly drained soil. It will languish and grow smaller by the year. As far as ongoing maintenance, I personally feel this plant benefits from an occasional hard pruning. Cutting the plant to the ground produce a fuller plant, brighter stems and improved flowering.

The Cultivars

The most popular cultivar of Kerria is the old fashioned double flowered form, Kerria j. 'Pleniflora'. Its yellow button-like flowers resembles a chrysanthemum, and at peak bloom they polka dot the plant to create a distinct look. Kerria 'Pleniflora is not one of my favorite plants. To me it looks too contrived. I much prefer the simplicity of the single flowered forms. Two of the best single flowered cultivars are 'Honshu' and 'Golden Guinea'. I can detect only slight and inconsequential differences between these two plants. Both were selected for their large single flowers. If I had to choose only one of them I would pick ‘Honshu’ because its flowers are slightly larger and they have a soft and pleasing fragrance. The plant was introduced by Dr. Clifford Parks of Camellia Forest Nursery in Chapel Hill. Many people choose 'Golden Guinea' strictly because of its name. The name properly describes the size and color of the bloom. No the name Guinea does not refer to a bird or some exotic country, it refers to a large gold coin.

For those of you who need even more excitement in your life, several variegated selections are available. The best variegated type is called Kerria japonica 'Picta'. Not a great name, but a very good plant. Its leaves are graced with a creamy white margin that is not at all offensive like some variegated plants. The overall effect is very nice, and a decent specimen garners much attention. It does have its shortcomings. It can be slow growing when young making it difficult to produce especially when compared to the species. It also has a tendency to throw an occasional green shoot, which must be removed. This is a simple task and most gardeners would gladly pay this price to have such an interesting plant. I have seen another variegated clone under the name of 'Kinkan' or 'Auro-vittata'. This is worthless selection best left to the most ardent collector or relegated to the botanic garden. This "beauty" has green and yellow striped stems that tend to revert at the speed of sound and has small single yellow flowers.

While all Kerria selections have yellow flowers; the cultivar ‘Albaflora’ has blooms that are a near white, butter yellow. The color is more subtle, and I my opinion more pleasing to the eye than the typical bright yellow of the species.

Kerria is a beautiful plant with year long interest. Plant it in mass in a shady location and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how nicely this plant performs. Very few flowering shrubs perform so well in the shade and you'll love the winter effect provided by its bright green stems.

Viburnum nudum: Close to perfection

Brandy Wine over three seasons

Possiumhaw or smooth witherod viburnum (Viburnum nudum) is a little known and underutilized shrub that is native from Maine and Florida and west into Texas. This is a remarkable shrub for several reasons; most notably for its attractive leaves that are so glossy you might think they’d been sprayed with leaf shine. As an added attraction the leaves turn to an eye-catching rich burgundy in autumn.


While attractive from a distance, the creamy-white, spring blooms are a bit uninteresting compared to other, more showy or more fragrant viburnums. To me its musky odor is neither pleasing or offensive - yet in late spring, the overall flower display is a welcome site in any garden. More importanly the flowers should be praised and respected for they give birth to an breathtaking fruit display that is unrivaled in the plant world.


In late summer the immature green, pea-sized berries (technically drupes) begin their metamorphosis - changing to shades of bright pink and then on to hues of bright blues and wild grape. The transformation is unsynchronized and yields large clusters of polychromic berries more showy than Donny Osmond’s dreamcoat.

Brandywine has colorful berries

While there is no such thing as a perfect plant, this one comes close. Still it is not suitable for all gardens. The species will not thrive on chalky or alkaline soils. In the North Eastern, U.S., Viburnum bark beetle can be a problem for this species, but fortunately these buggers can be controlled without chemicals. 


So how can such a beautiful plant escape full-blown stardom? As is the case with many Viburnum species, fruit set mandates that two distinct varieties (clones or ciltivars) are grown in close proximity to cross pollinate. And until the recent introduction of Brandywine™ (Viburnum nudum ‘Bulk’), most growers offered one cultivar called ‘Winterthur’ and it never set fruit. Brandywine was introduced by Proven Winners so that  there would be two selections available and thus allow for fruit set. It turns out, however, that Brandwine will set fruit without the need for another cultivar near by to cross pollinate. I have grown this plant for over four years and it has set fruit with a companion. 

Brandywine Fall color 

Brandywine Viburnum is hardy from zone 5(4) to 9. It prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, but well drained soil. It matures at a height and width of 5-7 feet. Once established it requires very little care yet offers so much more in return. 

The Gift: a passion for plants

While I spend most of my time looking for new plants, today I discovered some plants that were old but personally significant. My father sent me an email with a link to a website called Penny Postcards. On this site you can view old postcards arranged geographically by state and county. My father directed me to the cards for Linn County, Iowa. Here I discovered beautiful postcards of gardens designed by my late grandfather William Wood, the former manager of parks for Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

I’ve never met my grandfather. I am sad to say he died before I was born, but I do feel a closeness to William for like my father and me, he was a plantsman. He was trained in England as a true master gardener before he immigrated to the town made famous by Quaker Oats. I have visited the parks of Cedar Rapids many times and with each visit I was warmly greeted with the smell of cooked oats and the lasting remnants of William’s handy work; the Ellis Park golf course, the ruins of an old Shakespeare garden and trees planted by his caring hands. No, I have never met my grandfather, but still, I have come to know him. He loved plants and gardens, and he had a desire to share his passion with others, and that is the gift he gave to me.

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