Low Chill Lilacs

The lilacs are blooming in the local park where this nursery was once located. No labels exist on the bushes. How do we know what they are?

Checking in some old catalogs, I found this:

"Our efforts in behalf of Lilacs may be attributed to the splendid work of Mr. W.B. Clarke of San Jose, noted hybridizer of spring flowering shrubs and trees. It was he who developed the three excellent varieties pictured above."

I had thought that Descanso Garden was the place where low chill lilacs originated, but apparently it was in San Jose! And Descanso carried on.

Looking for Palms and Finding Chaplin

'TIS A FUNNY WORLD!

January 9, 1916, Oakland Tribune

"An Early Winter Garden in California" November 7, 1889

A garden that sounds like Shinn Ranch

American Garden, January 1890

Women's Floral Colony in San Mateo County?

American Gardening, June 1890

Unshiu citrus? Won Shu? Oonshiu? Satsuma?

In February 1986, at the Kato Memorial Garden, Don Dillon,  Four Winds Citrus nurseryman and Fremont city councilman, gave a dedication. His prepared notes said that "James Shinn, a prominent nurseryman, lived here and began a relationship with Japan by importing Japanese plums, persimmons and Unshiu oranges, some of which can still be found behind the Ozumia [azumaya]. He also brought in the beautiful Japanese maple located in the front of the garden. This happened in the period 1860 and 1890."

The maple died in 1994, but there are there are still two trees in the garden behind the azumaya, of unknown age. Are they Unshiu?

Napoleon's Willow

Shinn barn in Niles before it burned down
taking the willow with it

Was this the famous willow from Napoleon's tomb?

When the Shinn barn burned, the willow apparently burned as well. So says the note on the back of the picture.

What is the famous willow?

Probably Salix babylonica is the Napoleon's willow. Was it a particular cultivar? Or can we just buy one and get something close enough?

Apparently it was a good way to make money off of tourists, to tell them that this little willow came from the willow next to Napoleon's grave.

In 1883, Gardener's Monthly reports:

Even dead trees can have a life

Our beloved park snag with its bear face

Trees in our local park have been dying over the last droughty years.

An alternative to cutting them down is to feature them as snags for wildlife.

The Smithsonian talks about creating a snag from one of their dying trees.

One of our beloved snags has the face of a bear. When I first volunteered at the park, I was told that our dead tree had a bear face. I didn't believe it until I saw that indeed it had a bear face.