Hampton Roads AREC

I went to a meeting today in Virginia Beach at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center (AREC) for more information on the fire ant quarantine. There were state and federal representatives there to clarify what the quarantine entails (I kept wanting to hear them use the cliche "We're from the government, and we are here to help"). I will not bore you with the details, but things at the garden center will not be terribly different than they were before the quarantine. The same can not be said for other interests, especially for the wholesale growers we buy from.

After the meeting I was able to wander around the grounds and through the gardens. Hampton Roads AREC is a little piece of Virginia Tech in the flatlands, and I think its original function was mostly agricultural, but now as this area has paved over and built houses on its farmland, the focus is more on horticulture. There are several themed demonstration gardens, a great arboretum with many unusual trees, an All American Selection test garden for annuals, rain gardens, buffer zone gardens and others. One of the coolest things they have, especially for a tree hugger, is a utility line arboretum where they show just how many trees can be grown below the typical power line.

Here are a couple of the annuals being trialed in the All American Selections display gardens. The first is Zinnia 'Zowie Yellow Flame'...
... next is Rudbeckia 'Denver Daisy'
... and Dahlia 'Goldalia Scarlet'.
The next shots are from the demonstration gardens and the arboretum. I am not sure what lily this is, but I have noticed that it has been a good year for Oriental and Asiatic Lilies in area gardens, and I know I need to have some next year.
The Crape Myrtles are still a week or two away from peak bloom. This is Lagerstroemia x 'Choctaw'.
Gordonia or Loblolly Bay (Gordonia lisianthus) is one of our most unusual native trees.
This Crinum was full of blooms with many buds still rising waiting to open.
They had several clumps of Canna x 'Bengal Tiger'.Echinacea was also everywhere, but I was not complaining.
This is either Milletia reticulata or M. taiwanensis. It was one of the few tags I did not see. Does anyone know what the difference is? Its common name is Evergreen Wisteria, but it is not a Wisteria and for us it is hardy, but not evergreen. I saw a catalog call it Summer Wisteria, which is a little better.
Here is Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) an Artichoke cousin.
I have always wanted to try Sea Holly (Eryngium amethystinum). I like the stems as much as the flower heads.
More blue with the Blue Lyme Grass (Elymus arenarius).

Finally, the arboretum is home to some truly exotic species that do well in this area. This is Yucca rostrata and this particular specimen must have been 12' tall.
The Research Station is open to the public and welcomes visitors. It is in a very busy part of Virginia Beach and millions of people drive by it every year without knowing what a great treasure it is.