Among the many beautiful trees on the grounds of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum, there is a very nice example of Taxodium ascendens ‘Nutans’ (Pond Cypress) at the end of a planting strip in one of the parking bays. This tree is native to the coastal plain from Virginia to Florida to Louisiana. A deciduous conifer growing to between 30-70 feet, its foliage turns orange brown in fall and its bark is gray/brown to red/brown.
The seed pods on Magnolia grandiflora cv. Victoria (Southern Magnolia) are an architectural marvel resembling pine cones but are actually an aggregate of many smaller follicles, or seed casings. In this photo the follicles have not begun to open exposing the bright red fruits that provide high fat, high energy food for many birds and mammals.
Last, but not least, a bright spot in the garden provided by a large red Coleus (sadly I don’t know this one’s name); note the much smaller Fishnet Stockings Coleus in the upper left hand corner of this photo. Members of the mint family, Coleus plants come in many colors, from deep reds to pinks to chartreuse and forms, from mounded, trailing to upright. We know them as shade lovers, but newer varieties can tolerate full sun.
