UBC Botanical Garden Mondays—one of three

Today we're going back to late-June, when I drove up to Vancouver, BC, Canada, for the Vancouver Hardy Plant Group Study Weekend event. Out of town Study Weekend attendees were able to book dorm pod accommodations on the University of British Columbia campus, offered at a very reasonable rate. Since I would only be in my room to sleep I figured why not—back to my college years! The view from the tiny balcony off the dorm room kitchen—where I ate take-out dinner my first night in town—was an unexpected bonus.See the moon? This was the only night I enjoyed a meal on the balcony as the rest of the long weekend was go, go, go...
Both Saturday and Sunday mornings of the event were scheduled full with lectures on the UBC campus. Normally I look forward to plant people talks, but I decided to skip out on them and instead visit a couple of local botanic gardens that were not on the tour schedule. The first, UBC Botanical Garden, will be the focus of the next three Monday's blog posts.
Just inside the entrance was this stunner of a tree, Carpinus fangiana (monkeytail hornbeam)

When visiting a botanical garden I usually pay attention to how the areas are laid out, and attempt to put up my photos following that same order. Not this time. I wandered up and down the various pathways and mixed everything up. I looked for plant names, but wasn't always successful. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed wandering...
Paris polyphylla
Couldn't find any ID on this iris but loved the dark purple color.
The rodgersia were still looking lush, it was only June after all.
Magnolia globosa.
Since the flower points down I lifted a branch to get a better look, and surprise! There were critters on the undersides of the leaves.

They look like the cottony cushion scale I found on my cornus (also in June). 
This gorgeous guy is Rhododendron thayerianum.
I had to laugh, I Googled the name to make sure I had it right and what did they show? Flowers. Always with the flowers when you're looking up a rhody, what about that foliage!?!
Critters here too, there are even a couple critters busy making more critters.
Rhododendron calophytum var. calophytum
No name that I could find on this beauty.