Edwin, sure hope you didn't step on any plants wondering through there!

As usual, nice pics, nice update. No ladies on the agenda this time around?

Will, am I seeing things or is your garden planted right on the street?lol? What Picea abies cutlivar are we looking at in the last pic?

Cheers boys!

Pretty fancy!! Thanks for the photos.

Dax

Thanks for the continuation of the tour, Edwin.

..."we all should bin glad that he's (Will) around at our Conifer Forum!"...

A big amen to that.

tj

Cool! It was an honor to meet and host Edwin and Henk. Both were courteous and kind to my chaotic, mislabeled collection and compacted setting. :) A real treat for me too, this is like a young baseball player meeting Hank Aaron and Joe Dimaggio. My place is certainly not an example of a normal conifer garden, but I'm proud of my young collection and happy to share it with visitors.

To those concerned for my absence, any woman who enters my life will have to embrace it as much as I'll have to embrace her cats or roses. Wait I have those two already. Well you get the point. I'm already married to conifer collecting.

-Will

What a delight to be able to go through and see a collection like Will's. Beautiful photos also and we are all glad Will is here and miss him when he is busy elsewhere. It's always a pleasure when he posts photos of his collection.
Cher

As always, Will, your garden looks amazing. I love getting to see all the different cultivars that you have and find myself constantly adding to my wish list after viewing your photos.

Will H., I believe that last picture is of Picea abies 'Elegantissima'. I have been searching for it for the past year.

Edwin's quote: Between the tour and taking pics we went to a good Mexican restaurant and ate a few wraps, not too spicy and discussed a lot what the future can bring in to the conifer world.

Ok, I'll bite. 19 tequilas later, what did you guys decide would be the fate of the conifer world? LOL

Seriously though, awesome pics, fun cultivars, entertaining personalities and a great 'scape. Keep the good stuff coming, Will. . . and don't let the Lil' Woman distract you (too much).

~Dave

Great photos Edwin. I'm glad you had a good time visiting the US and meeting so many forum members.

I do have a question for Will. Do you own a lawn mower...eh? LOL. I think your gardens are lovely and appreciate seeing photos of them.

Good luck in your search for a girlfriend that likes gardening as much as you do. I would hold out until you find the perfect soul mate!

Hi Will,

I like your garden very much with your huge number of fantastic conifers ( and maples ). I remember as I started 30 years ago. I had not much room and planted in my plant fever so close as you. Time passes very quickly with 3 little children and after some years I could not move my plants. They were too big. After 20 years I had to use the saw very often.This was terrible for me. Some died, it was too shadow , some grew too qick too close and looked no more nice.
I hope you can move all early enough and I hope you have room enough.
I agree with you. I found a wife, but I had to embrace her cats and dogs and she had to embrace my conifer plant fever.
We have arranged till today. For both sides not easy every time.For me as also a birdlover many problems with a lot of cats.

Wolfgang

I have a wife who only goes outside to go shopping. Doesn't know a cedar from a pine. Several cats, a few birds, and all my friends bring their dogs here for 'exercise'. My garden can handle them fairly well. It's not a problem.
I also over planted. You'd think that would be hard to do on ten acres, but when I was landscaping I grew a lot of plants for my business. I was obsessed! When I retired, all these plants were no longer necessary. I squeezed them in wherever I could. I'd been doing that anyway. It's now a matter of editing, pruning, and limiting my desire for new varieties. It's hard. This last ice storm had Mother Nature making a few decisions for me, ....some I should have made some time ago. It's a learning process.
Somehow it all works out.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden....and vacations

These are great! What a fun trip. Can't wait to see more. It's nice to see the faces of the posters on these forums and the great gardens they create. To me you are all conifer gods. Always inspiring and an occasional good laugh to brighten the day. Thanks for sharing.

dietzjm, I don't know if you will see this or If you are in the US, but I found you a Picea abies 'Elegantissima' at an Indiana Nursery. They have a website and do mail orders. I got a 5 foot Metasequoia glyptostroboides 'Ogon' from them in the mail in 2010.

Here is a link that might be useful: bluerivernursery.com Picea abies 'Elegantissima'

Super, thanks for the tour!

The Picea shirasawae 'Mt. Yatugatake' looks very interesting!

Will, I was extra careful with my walking trough this garden, I didn't harm non of his plants.
There was only one lady we would like to see that day, Will's girl friend but unfortunately she didn't show up.
Mybe she red the day 1 journal and she didn't like me to make her famous in the conifer world ;0)
Indeed, the white needled Picea abies is 'Elegantissima'.

Dave, I can't remember the amound of tequilas we had but we decided to continue share our information about conifers with eachother.
Somebody has to do this when the older generation isn't around no more...

Mike, thanks for showing us your beautiful garden pictures.
All colours together will make it look like a living painting!

Garen59, do you've Dutch blood in you?
Garen is Dutch for tread...
For sure we are not Conifer Gods, but we felt like we were in heaven :0)

Nate, the Picea shirasawae 'Mt. Yatugatake' is a special and very rare conifer indeed.
Till now it's the only cultivar I know of this species.

Some background info of the one's at the pictures:
Abies procera 'Danish Column':
Found by Jason Hupp from seed he bought from Danmark.
This cultivar was first named as 'Hupp's Fastigiate' but in that time it wasn't availlable on the market yet.

Picea shirasawae 'Mt. Yatugatake'
The species Picea shirasawae is native in Japan and was first named as Picea bicolor var. shirasawae.

Picea pungens 'Victor'
Found by Jerry Morris as a flat growing specimen which arose as a seedling.
He also named a Picea pungens 'Victor II' but this one is found as a witches' broom.

Picea abies 'Catharine's Golden Heart'
This is one of Bob Fincham's seedling selctions which arose as a cross between Picea abies 'Gold Drift' and Picea abies 'Acrocona'.
Bob sold this one to Will including the rights to gave it a cultivar name.
Will named it 'Catharine's Golden Heart' after his mother.
This conifer does have a shape which is in between it's parents, also it produces cones at an early age.

Will, thanks you for having us at your beautiful gardens and we hope that you'll continue your great topics at this forum!

Edwin,and ....
I'm curious to know if it's well a Picea shirasawae ?
many of you know my interest for Picea bicolor,jezoensis, glehnii,koyamai ...
'Mt. Yatugatake' are a mountain, I hope it's not only the origin of the plant ? becoming a cultivar ?
A close up are interesting.
Clement

An awesome breakdown of this post Edwin, your large volumes of information are greatly beneficial to the community and collectors alike.

Clement, it's a just question and unfortunately at least for now, one I don't have an answer to yet. I acquired the plant from Larry Stanley and while the tag was clearly listed as 'Mt. Yatugatake', if this species really is rare enough in itself, it's very possible it's just a seedling of the species. Here it is, in better shape. The year I put it into the ground it had a nice wet Spring in the pot and flushed beautifully. This last year it was much less established and drier and so it suffered some.

Picea shirasawae 'Mt. Yatugatake' - Early 2010.
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Picea shirasawae 'Mt. Yatugatake' - Later in 2010.
{{gwi:647400}}

-Will

The last pic is showing us a two tone needle colour, just like the Picea bicolor.
I can imagine that this specimen is a natural variety of this species.
Clement, you're a species specialist here, may be you can help us out...

He look like a seedling, maybe Larry Stanley have some information ?
Clement

I'll ask Larry.
Btw Henk mentioned to me that the date of visiting Will wasn't right.
It must be January 6th instead of February 6th.
Well, time flies when you were having fun :0)