A guest post by Roy Mathias
Harcourt Arboretum lies on lands once owned by the Norman Harcourt family. We went to see the wonderful bluebell woods, and also saw the peacocks descended from those that the Harcourts introduced over 100 years ago.
A carpet of bluebells, Harcourt Arboretum.
The bluebells grow in a grove of 300 oak trees planted in 1847. The area is preserved as a small natural ecosystem, with exotic plants removed.
The peacocks are very tame, but they do like to slowly turn as they display their tails.
Peacock emitting its characteristic ear piercing screech.
Peacock: The classic view.
Peacock: Rear view.
Here are just a few of the numerous pictures I took of this photogenic subject
Displaying peacock, close up.
Displaying peacock, close up.
The peacock shakes its tail feathers is it closes them after displaying.
The eyes on the peacock’s tail.
The flowering trees included magnolias (below) as well as rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias.
Perfectly white magnolia petals, Harcourt Arboretum.
A fern coming out of dormancy.
Dryopteris Affinis
One of the many old oaks, Harcourt Arboretum.
Harcourt has a number of distinct areas — large pines and redwoods, flowering trees, maples, hollys, two ponds, woodland, and a summer flower meadow.
Pinus Nigra (subsp. Laricio), Harcourt Arboretum.
New maple leaves, Harcourt Arboretum.
Autumn and Spring colours mix, Harcourt Arboretum.
P.S. from Anita: Don’t you want to visit? You really must!
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Lovely!! Yesterday on my daily drive up I-5 I was treated to the Iris farms in full bloom…entire fields in vibrant colors…don’t you love the spring? And I didn’t realize that Rhodies, Azaleas, and Camillas were all native to England…so cool!! Our magnolia blooms were short lived this year…thank you for sharing yours :).
Hi LA, wow, Iris farms. Lovely, never seen them. Rhododendrons are from the Himalayas, and Camellias from China. Don’t know about Azaleas. This arboretum is part of the Oxford Botanical Garden. The English were great plant collectors, aided by their empire and keen amateur botanists, so you’ll see plants from everywhere here.
Rhododendrons are invasive, and there are whole hillsides of them there, pushing out the native plants, so people are being discouraged from planting them. They need acidic soil though, and we have clayey soil, so ours don’t thrive.
Oregon supplies 11% of all nursery stock for the country…makes for beautiful drives in the countryside, but wreaks havoc with my allergies :). The tulip farms are stunning too. It’s too bad about the Rhodies being so invasive…they are lovely..but not when they overrun native species.
Beautiful photos, Anita! The peacock is just stunning. Reminds me of a poem I wrote in grade school about just such a peacock.
Thanks, Alison. Didn’t you originally live in England, or am I getting confused?