Chanticleer Friday: The Asian Woods

"Once a site neglected because of poison ivy, honeysuckle, and euonymus, Asian Woods presents the east Asian flora in the style of a woodland garden. Its peak time arguably is spring when epimediums, fairybells, jack-in-the-pulpits, and primroses burst into bloom with the new shoots of hostas, irises, and Chinese gingers. Non-invasive honeysuckles and climbing hydrangeas are encouraged to scale the tree trunks, and bamboos help screen the road from public view. A modest moss garden is a nod to the Japanese tradition. In summer, Asian Woods is a shady refuge that highlights the pleasure of gardening in cool conditions." (source)

The structure provided more than just a bathroom break, there was another charming floating floral arrangement.

Paeonia obovata
Syneilesis aconitifolia
So much green!
Oh! What's that...
If you've followed my Chanticleer posts from the beginning you might remember that I visited this garden twice during my time in Philadelphia. I spent an entire day here on my own, and then returned with the Fling group for a few hours. I knew this garden had all sorts of things to discover and I wanted to be able to walk through it slowly and soak them all up. This split bamboo fort is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to not miss.

It was kind of child-sized, but since I'm a little "height challenged" I was able to enjoy it.

Here's one of the plant list boxes scattered throughout the garden. There are no labels stuck in the ground or hanging from plants, but these lists are very handy!
Daphniphyllum macropodum. 
Another bamboo structure.
Or two...
I neglected to take a photo of this sit spot from the outside looking in, but I took plenty once I was sitting down and looking around.




Another cryptomeria.
Acer henryi
Those long drooping seed/fruit clusters were stunning.
The bamboo bridge.
So called because of those uprights that look like bamboo canes.
Dryopteris crassirhizoma (I think).
With this photo I think I've technically wandered into the Pond Garden, which will be next week's post, but c'est la vie. Boundaries are fluid.

Maybe it's because of my time working for an architecture firm, or due to my interest in landscape architecture and site plans, but I was shocked at how fake this photo looks. It's like a bad rendering with a new bridge plopped down in an existing garden. Do you see it that way too?
A very real (yet unidentified) plant...
And an only slightly less fake looking photo to wrap up this weeks Chanticleer Friday post.
Where we've been, where we are, and where we've yet to go...