Rhododendron molle subsp. japonicum

Beautiful color, large flowers.

Davidia involucrata flowering in the Asian Collections

Arisaema thunbergii ssp. urashima in the Japanese Woodland at the US National Arboretum

This is one of the earliest and the coolest of the Asian Jack-in-the -pulpits The tip of he hood narrows to that curiously extended mouse tail. Cool plant.

Rhododendron 'Dorset' In Asian Valley at the US National Arboretum

and Camellia 'Anacostia' to the left farther down the trail.

Dipelta floribunda, Rosy dipelta, in China Valley

Two of these shrubs live near the bottom of China Valley where they are visited only by our more intrepid walkers. They aren't spectacular 4-season showpieces but the flowers are attractive, the plants are trouble free, with a slight pleasant fragrance to boot. This is another one of the deciduous flowering shrubs that's really too big for most of our gardens. Our plants, until last year's severe pruning were at least 12 feet across and almost as tall. If you have a one acre garden it fits, but the flowers last only for a couple weeks and, while it's not an unattractive plant, it has that gawky formless growth habit common to so many deciduous shrubs. Still, it's definitely worth a walk to the bottom of China Valley once a year. 

This individual was grown from seed wild collected in China almost 35 years ago.