I left the hollies right after the dusting of snow on Saturday night. I like the hollies and all, but sometimes their personalities are a little too prickly for me. I headed over to the Rose Garden and have been enjoying the sunshine during the day and the lights during the night. In the evenings,…
Trees
Holly Days
As we approach the winter solstice, I decided to visit some of my winter friends. I am across the road from the children’s garden, safely hiding under the branches of a holly tree. A good prickly tree like this should discourage the gardeners from looking for me here. This is a good time of year…
Transition to Winter
This week I am hiding in the Transition Garden. Appropriate since we are finally making the seasonal change to winter – on the calendar, with the weather and with the types of plants that are now most interesting. With a few exceptions, fall foliage is almost over and the stars of winter are starting to…
Necessary Roughness
Let me just start by saying I am not a fan of pine trees right now. As many of you know (and probably experienced) we had a pretty strong nor’easter last week. The Garden, just like a lot of other places in this region, was hit pretty hard, losing over 40 large trees and quite…
Veterans in the Garden
Today is Veterans Day – a time to honor the many men and women who served our country in the military. I also want to take the opportunity to recognize some the great veterans of our Garden. The Garden’s oldest “veteran” would be the beautiful white oak standing guard on the north-eastern side of Cobblestone…
Overlooking Great Fall Color
When people talk about fall color, they think about bright yellows, oranges and reds lighting up grand trees like maples, hickories and oaks. A visitor to our Garden will certainly see these brilliant trees and many others. This year, the autumn colors are gradually progressing through the landscape, lighting up a tree here and there. …
Scary Times in the Garden
Halloween is less than a week away and quite a few plants are ready. Let’s go on a whirlwind tour of the Garden and finds some scary plants. First there are the plants that have creepy names – or at least evoke a creepy feeling.Spiderwort – This spring bloomer has pretty little flowers and long…
Spring Trees
After a glorious weekend, things turned ugly today. No, the Garden is still very beautiful, but the horticulture staff has gotten mean. This morning I was sitting in the Flowering Arboretum, minding my own business when the droning noise began. Mowers whirring in the distance – a clever form of psychological warfare intended to scare…
Naked Beauty
Signs of spring are here, but winter has not released its hold yet. Mild days intermingle with cold days and it is easy to see why people can get sick in the changing weather. Fortunately I don’t have sinuses so that’s not a worry for me, but the gardeners sure are. They seem to be…
Hiding in Plain Sight
It’s another glorious weekend and I’ve been enjoying the conifer garden – hiding in plain sight. It’s a little odd for me to be here since I have so little in common with all the conifers. I flower, they don’t. They are wind pollinated, I need bees (and bees need me – don’t forget that). …