Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Gerdemann Botanic Preserve, the public trail

As I mentioned last week Andrew and I recently walked the public trail next to the Gerdemann Botanic Preserve in Yachats, Oregon.

The trail began between a cluster of art galleries, walking past them and into the beginnings of the forest this is scene was on our left. I could hear someone working nearby, but really? You should never leave a fire unattended. It bothered me, but did I seek them out to complain? No. I just stewed inside and worried.

The smoke from the fire created a bit of magic as the suns rays filtered down through the trees.

Selaginella kraussiana, it was interesting to spot this non-native here.

The lower sign reads (in part): You are entering a wildlife sanctuary. On the edge of the Siuslaw National Forest, this 3.5-acre privately owned botanical preserve is thickly forested with native spruce and hemlock, and serves as the perfect place to test the hardiness of rare and unusual plants from all over the world. With its myriad microclimates, the Preserve contains many unusual plants, from southern hemisphere shrubs and trees, to significant collections of magnolia, camellia, and rhododendron species and hybrids. Protected under a conservation easement, the habitat created by this lush assortment of plants draws a wide variety of birds, mammals and other creatures to this very special place.

Andrew's foot for scale with an impressive mushroom.

The moss was thick and fabulous.

As were the ferns...

And fungus...

And lichen...

Andrew was always just ahead of me on the trail...

He thought this tree would make an interesting piece of furniture.

As we were starting the trail we passed a family of 7 or so people. I heard one of the kids say (slightly panicked) "we missed the grandma tree!" I had no idea what she was talking about, but now I do.

That's grandma.

Did I mention the moss?

Oh and the berries!

Looking into the garden itself, I see hints of the wonderful things growing there...

Back to the trail.

The light was perfect for illuminating the undersides of the big-leaf Rhododendrons.

I wish I could have gotten a better shot of the shelf mushrooms, they were pretty incredible.

Someone had recently chopped the leaves off the Gunnera and tossed them about, I hope it wasn't vandalism.

Blechnum spicant

Fertile fronds

Mahonia some-somthing

There's that man in the distance again, kind of spooky.

Oh this! I was smitten.

I emailed Evan (The Practical Plant Geek) photos and he identified it as a native clubmoss, Lycopodium clavatum.

Google that name and you'll find out it's a homeopathic remedy for all sorts of things that might ail you. I just think it's cool.

I did not expect to see bamboo, but there it was.

More shelf-fungi...

It was a fun walk.

Weather Diary, Nov 19: Hi 56, Low 32/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

14 comments:

  1. I love your garden tour posts, but I think I enjoyed this walk through the woods even more, with its combo of native PNW woods and non-native plants. It must have been interesting to see how those Himalayan and Asian plants fit in.

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    1. It was a beautiful trail, made me want to get out and explore more of this state.

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  2. I also enjoyed this walk through the woods with you. So much to see both native and non!

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  3. A beautiful woodsy walk. I can almost smell it!

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    1. I was afraid all I would be able to smell was smoke after passing by the fire, but eventually the woodsy aromas took over.

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  4. I'm sorry you didn't get to walk through the garden. I feel bad for getting your hopes up with my reply. Hopefully you'll be able to make another trip when you can actually see the garden.

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    1. No worries! We enjoyed our day, had we been more flexible with our time we could have met Andreea later for a tour, maybe next time!

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  5. I’ve never seen fungi climbing a tree like that shelf variety. Pretty amazing.

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  6. The native clubmoss is very cool. Evan is always good for this sort of id. I think shelf mushrooms are wonderful. I once spotted a tiny one growing on the outside door to my patio; mind you, I live in a condo... I wish I could have transplanted it to my garden.

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  7. What a lovely description of the trail!

    The sad story of open burning in rural area. I talked to the owner of the property(the same who owns all the art galleries) to beg him to take the dangerous painted debris to the dump- partial cooperation. Many visitors called the firefighters...The constant battle to protect a 3.5 acres of a conservation easement and a beautiful botanic preserve! You can help us by calling the local firefighters and express concerns like unsupervised open fire and strong smell!! More calls, better response.

    When the Gunnera humongous leaves start to bend at the end of the season, we cut the leaves back and cover the crown with them! Please come back this Spring, you can stay in my new treehouse inside the botanic preserve! Andreea.

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