Puget Sound Garden Fling: Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden

When you think of Pacific Northwest gardens, woodland gardens often come to mind, as do rhododendrons. The Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden (RSBG) in Federal Way, Washington was high on my list of gardens I was super excited to visit during this year's Garden Fling. I hang my head in shame that this was my first visit. Unacceptable! I've admired Danger Garden's blog posts for many years highlighting this 22 acre woodland garden with the largest collection of rhododendron species in the world and drooled over Loree's many fantastic photos of rhododendrons, ferns and other shade lovers suited to this region. It was the first stop on day two of our adventures with the Fling group, a perfect way to start out on this sunny July day in Puget Sound.

I love forests, ferns, mosses and yes, rhododendrons, something the RSBG has all of in abundance. I suppose like with so many other events in my life, our farm and garden here take up all of my time, so trips are few and far between which is why this was my first visit. Plus, truth be told, I kind of stink at growing rhododendrons. I think my soil might not be ideal - I've killed a few and the two that are remaining are not thriving. Nonetheless, I can still enjoy them where they are beautifully grown, so let's tour this vast woodland that made my heart pitter patter with some woodland love.

A scene from the stumpery deep at the other end of the garden. More on this later.

An enchanting woodland, yes indeed. I should also mention the Pacific Bonsai Museum is part of the same complex. I did not visit but plan to another day.

There is a lovely nursery on site which is open year round during garden hours. There are some treasures to be had, most of which are propagated right here at RSBG. They also have twice annual online plant sales, the fall sale is going on right now so get your plant lust going!

After browsing the plant sale tables I wandered aimlessly taking it all in. This is in front of the conservatory which I sadly did not go into, I wanted to take in the gardens first and then ran out of time.

Not your grandmother's rhododendron collection. I profess to knowing very little if anything about rhododendrons nor growing them aside from being familiar with the giant hot pink flowered versions in front of virtually every house in the Portland area for decades. This, my friends, is not that rhododendron, nor are virtually any in this collection. This is Rhododendron yuefengense, such an attractive plant. 

Ferns do go hand in hand with this woodland setting and are largely there in part to the efforts of the Hardy Fern Foundation. This is Osmunda regalis

A Magnolia obovata and its huge leaves.

Not every plant is labeled, but I still wish to share these beauties with you.

Rhododendron pronum, a dwarf, slow-growing species.

Rhododendron prattii

A meandering network of paths makes strolling and discovering these gardens an absolute joy. With 22 acres it is a lot to cover, I hope to make it back soon and spend a whole day here.

Rhododendron grande

Leucothoe, though I do not know which species, perhaps Leucothoe keiskei which is one offered in their fall plant sale catalogue.

Pachyphragma macrophyllum as a groundcover. I grow this too and appreciate its incredibly early flowering time in late winter. Speaking of flowering it is worth noting that most of the rhododendrons here were not in bloom in July, they are pretty much finished by May. For me personally I appreciate the incredible foliage so no disappointment on my end.

A lovely place to linger a while and breathe in the forest air.

Podophyllum pleianthum, a water lover, is very happy here. It is also worth noting that even though the Seattle/Puget Sound region is fairly close to my home (only a few hours by car) the difference in what we grow well can be surprisingly different. Portland is much more inland with less of a marine influence and we also have much hotter summer temperatures. In other words, this plant looks terrible in my garden in mid-July for it's too hot and dry for its liking.

Rhododendron hodgsonii

Rhododendron sinogrande

Rhododendron sinogrande with a zoomed in image of the new leaves.

Rhododendron rex subsp. fictolacteum with the most amazing brown indumentum.

Rhododendron rex ssp. rex, equally as interesting.

Adiantum x tracyi, a rather attractive maidenhair fern.

Rhododendron arboreum subsp. arboreum can reach 100' tall in the wild! Native to open and mixed forests of the Himalayas.

Deep on the eastern edge of the gardens is the pond, a charming feature I'm sure the wildlife appreciates.

Rhododendron arboreum ssp. cinnamomeum var. cinnamomeum, a giant at up to 40 - 60 feet in the wild. Found in open forests and rocky slopes in Nepal and India.

A wider image of the pond.

Rhododendron irroratum ssp. irroratum, shrubs to 30' tall in the wild, found in subtropical forest to thickets.

Cyrtomium macrophyllum, big leafed holly fern, one I grow and adore.

This stunner sadly had no identification but I think it's my favorite of the rhodies I saw this day.

Dryopteris affinis 'Cristata the King'

Many textures and foliage colors throughout.

Heading into the stumpery. This was essentially a partnership with the Hardy Fern Foundation and the RSBG and highlights the many fern species that can be grown in this region.

Dicksonia antarctica, Tasmanian tree fern

Wow, check out the carpet of ferns.

Hosta with a carpet of Austroblechnum penna-marina at its feet.

Adiantum aleuticum, Western maidenhair fern at the base of a decomposing stump.

The path back as, alas, our time this day was up. Have to go catch that bus.

Rhododendron sinogrande leaf with a fellow blogger's hand for scale. This is said to be the largest leaves of any rhododendron.

Blechnum chilense carpet as I make my way out. Oh, this makes me so happy.

This Pacific Northwest gardener was smiling from ear to ear in what is a quintessentially Northwest garden. It is, even for one who is not versed on the genus Rhododendron, an impressive collection. The largest in the world (by species count), no less. Even with no knowledge of plants it is a refreshing, mellow, green, mossy, magical place to visit. I hope to return again in spring to see the changes in the seasons. Clearly there is a lot for me to learn, a challenge I gladly embrace.

I hope you've enjoyed this tour of a rather special woodland garden, stay tuned for more Puget Sound area gardens from the Fling coming this autumn into winter.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. As always thank you so much for reading and commenting, we do love hearing from you! Happy gardening and happy autumn, after all.