The Murder of the Regal Privet

This is the time of the year for Regal privet to bloom. The fence across Poplar Pike from Satinwood drive has an abundance of the flowering privet now.

Regal privet May 18, 2014 north of the railroad tracks at Poplar Pike and Satinwood Dr.

Closer view of the same plant

These plants are very showy when in bloom.  I had posted Regal pivet before as tree #17 in the Memphis Trees Continued post, but the plant was not flowering then. 

The two block section of Poplar east of Papa Johns and south of the Jewish Community Center had a solid wall of this privet up to the Carre Four Mall. I was looking forward to seeing this massive hedge in bloom, but this week this is what I saw instead. 

Welcome to Germantown

Just past the Germantown sign the stumps of the privet are in view. The whole two block section of the road is like this as shown in the next few pictures.

The ruined muddy space between the curb and the apartments is like the Desolation of Smaug. At the time I stopped to take these pictures, another man had stopped and got out of his car with a cell phone. He was also taking a picture. I asked him if he was documenting the hedge destruction and he said no. He owns the corner lot and he was trying to sell it so they could put a restaurant there. He wanted a picture of the property. I asked him about the hedge and he thought the City of Germantown did the clear cutting. I does start just past the Welcome to Germantown sign.  

Perhaps they want to put in a sidewalk. 

I can only imagine if this was done by the city of Germantown they must have voted on it in a city council meeting. What possible justification for this destruction could be found in the archives? I wonder.

                                                             RIP

What regal privet can be like

Corner of Shady Grove and Shady Grove Terrace, May 20, 2014

The owners of this corner lot have planted regal privet hedge on both Shady Grove and Shady Grove Terrace, wrapping around the Y intersection in this scenic part of Shady Grove. All together there must be 200 feet of this delightful green wave. The flowers are fading now. They had their prime a few days earlier (see the May 18 picture above of a different plant). The next view is looking down Shady Grove Terrace. This gives the scale of the hedge. The Poplar hedge used to be like this before someone made a decision to rip it out. 

Magnificent regal privet hedge down the length of Shady Grove Terrace

 

Eye catching trees

Tree # 20 updated for spring: the Chinaberry tree

There are some days when you are just driving along on some side street (with your camera handy) and you come across an unexpected surprise. Today was such a day. On the way to church with Sara, my friend who needs a ride on Sundays, I stopped to update a picture of the China berry tree posted in the winter [tree #20 Dec. 15, 2013, Trees with unusual pods and berries]. This tree is now leafing out and has some small purple flowers.

China berry tree May 4, 2014 showing last years fruit, new leaves and flowers.

The berries are falling off now and lining the ground.

Pavement under the tree is being peppered with chinaberries May, 4, 2014

Tree #66 Paulownia tomentosa (Empress tree)

Here is the surprise find. Just south on Manassas from the chinaberry tree was an old favorite of mine. This tree is a Paulownia or Empress tree. 

Paulownia tomentosa May, 4, 2014 on the west side of Manassas street at Peach St. (between Poplar and N. Parkway)

The leaves are large and heart shaped and if the tree is pruned the new leaves can be almost one foot across like an elephants ear. The leaves are similar to a catalpa's leaves. However, the catalpa makes long seed pods like bean pods, and this tree does not have those. If you look closely you can see last years seed pods in clusters near the top right corner. The flowers are purple and look like foxglove flowers. I know a place just northwest of Southern and the railway crossing at Goodlett where there is a catalpa. I need to go by there soon and take a picture for comparison (see tree #71 later in this post). 

The Paulownia is a romantic tree as it figures in the beginning of the Tale of Genji. The first chapter is called Kiritsubo (the Arthur Waley 1925 translation), or The Paulownia Court (the Edward Seidensticker 1977 translation). Waley's chapter begins: "At the Court of an Emperor (he lived it matters not when) there was among the many gentlewomen of the Wardrobe and Chamber one, who though she was not of very high rank was favoured far beyond all the rest; so that the great ladies of the Palace, each of whom had secretly hoped that she herself would be chosen, looked with scorn and hatred upon the upstart who had dispelled their dreams." The tree is called Kiri in Japan. The emblem of the Prime Minister's office is go-shichi-no-kiri

 
I discovered The tale of Genji in 1977, just after visiting an exhibition of six and twelve-fold Japanese screens at the Volunteer Park Museum in Seattle. James Michener (author of Hawaii, and other epic novels) had an exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints on display and the screens were in conjunction with that exhibition. One of the screens illustrated scenes from the Tale of Genji. Later, that week, quite by accident, I was in the University of Washington Bookstore and I came across the new Seidensticker translation. It was in a lavish box set with beautiful detail from a screen depicting a garden with rushes and quite possibly flowers resembling Chinese privet shown later in this post. I had to have it. I spent the summer reading it in Alaska in my first year after graduation from college. Now I have several translations of the multi-volume thousand page book (originally a scroll). The art library at the University of Washington has a fabulous illustrated reproduction of a real scroll. This is in a large box covered with lavender taffeta and closed with ivory pins. The pages show the original text in ancient Japanese hand painted over gold leaf and lavishly illustrated. Even for one who cannot read the old text (even modern Japanese cannot read ancient Japanese) it is a treasure to view. The price was a bit out of my range ($400).

The Empress tree was named for an empress, but not a Japanese empress. The tree was named for Anna Pavlovna, the daughter of Czar Paul I of Russia. She married William II of the Netherlands. This family was a patron of botanical collectors and that is how the empress tree was named. 

Closer view of the Paulownia flowers and some seed pods are also visible.

The University of Washington Arboretum has one of these trees near the entrance. You actually have to walk past it from the parking lot. I did not think it was in Memphis, so I was glad to find it accidentally.

While traveling, I once entered a used and rare bookshop (one of my indulgences) and I met the grizzled bookstore owner. After inquiring about copies of The Tale of Genji, I was told "you know there is only one acceptable translation." not telling me who this was, but it was clear he was in the Arthur Waley camp. Seidensticker was a professor at Ann Arbor Michigan who spent years translating the tale, but with the approach of an academic, favoring more literal translation and not rewriting like Waley did. Arthur Waley was more of an Edwardian translator. He reinterpreted the language, which has impossible grammar for English speakers. This resulted in an impression of the story, not a true to the original academic translation. I read Seidensticker's version first, and I really like it. The poems are wonderful and challenging to translate. Waley's version is also charming. 

Waley had an interesting life (born 1889). He maintained lifelong romantic relationships with Beryl de Zoete and Alison Grant (much later Alison Waley). Each knew of the other and seemed to tolerate the situation. Arthur married Alison on his deathbed (after he broke his back in a car accident) so she would inherit his estate. They were married in May 1966 and he died in June. The fascinating story is told by Alison in her autobiography "Half of Two Lives" McGraw Hill 1982. Waley dedicated his first volume of translation of the "Tale" to Beryl de Zoete in 1925.  

Paulownia at Manassas and Peach, May 6, 2014

Closer view of the top part of the tree

I returned on July 6, 2014 to photograph the tree with fruit.

Tree # 67 Chinese privet 

After a visit to Goodwinds Nursery on Sunset, we were driving back with a gardenia bush, some impatiens for the front walkway planters and some yellow and purple flowers for the backyard planter. We came across this mass of white flowers on a tree. We went home, unloaded the new flowers then I went back to take these pictures. 

Presumed Chinese privet, May 4, 2014 on Sunset and Elliot Ln, northeast corner.

 

Flowers of the Chinese privet, four petals each on a branched spike.

A leaf and a flower spike used to help in identification.

Trunk of the tree.

An under the canopy view