Category: PhotoGallery

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.

Lisa Bencivengo shared the following photographs she took at the Arboretum recently. A close-up of the luscious, lemony yellow flowers of Kirengeshoma palmata (yellow wax bells). Read the attached article by Bruce Crawford to learn more about this lovely plant.

Another pretty yellow flower in the Rose Garden behind the Mansion is the richly lemon scented, soft yellow David Austin Rosa ‘The Poet’s Wife’. And, for something different, here’s a photograph of the striking, open seed pod of a Paeonia obovata (woodland peony).

September is a beautiful month to enjoy the gardens at The Frelinghuysen Arboretum; make plans to visit soon!

Thank you Lisa for these lovely photos.

I took a walk around The Frelinghuysen Arboretum last week, and, as usual, found much to see and enjoy. The Cottage Garden next to Matilda’s was gorgeous, full of blossoms, bees and butterflies; my eye was caught by a beautiful Dahlia flower framed by the airy, delicate purple flowers of Verbena bonariensis. On the pergola, a new passion flower vine has been planted. The vine is young but full of amazing red flowers; the gardener I spoke with couldn’t recall the exact variety, perhaps Passiflora ‘Lady Margaret’? – regardless of her name, she was lovely to see. A sunny sunflower and a magenta flowered Bougainvillea standard behind the Crescent Garden were also a delight to the eye.

Plan to visit soon, September is a lovely time in the garden!

Summer is winding down, it’s hard to believe that Labor Day is this weekend!  However, the gardens at The Frelinghuysen Arboretum continue to bloom and thrive. Lisa Bencivengo was at the Arboretum recently and captured the following beauties: A close-up of the unusual, vivid deep blue flowers of Clitoria ternatea (butterfly pea). This legume is native to the Indonesian island of Ternate. Its roots form a symbiotic association with soil bacteria known as rhizobia and is often used to improve soil quality through the decomposition of nitrogen rich plant material. The other photo shared by Lisa is of the Gravel Garden, located on the small hill above Matilda’s Cottage, now several years old and maturing nicely.

Thank you Lisa!

Including native plants in your garden adds beauty to your landscape and provides food and shelter to butterflies, bees, birds, etc. Following are four beautiful plants that are native to our area, unless otherwise noted:

Silver gem prostrate blue violet (Viola walteri) is a compact, multi-stemmed herbaceous perennial with heart-shaped leaves and tiny violet flowers which forms a slowly spreading groundcover. Viola walteri grows in partial shade and is very drought tolerant once it’s established.

Solar cascade goldenrod (Solidago shortii) is a clump forming perennial with beautiful, miniature golden-yellow flowers borne in axillary clusters along the stems from late summer into fall. Grow it in full sun to part shade in moist, average or dry soil.

Great blue lobelia or blue cardinal flower (Lobelia siphilitica) is a gorgeous native perennnial with a strongly upright habit and covered in tall stalks of strikingly blue flowers from mid to late summer. It’s a bee and butterfly magnet and will thrive in full sun to part shade.

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’), native to MIssouri, is an herbaceous perennial, offering clusters of white, vanilla-scented flowers in mid-summer. This pollinator plant is especially attractive to the larval stage of Monarch butterflies. The flowers are followed by attractive seed pods which split open, releasing the silky haired seeds to the wind.

All of the above thrive in my garden and the plants were all purchased at various plant sales held by the Friends.

Member Michele Blustein visited the Arboretum recently and shared the following photographs with us. A closeup shot of an Echinops ritro flowerhead (globe thistle), followed by a vignette including globe thistle in front of a group of Achillea millefolium’s pastel flowers (Yarrow). The genus name Achillea comes from the mythical Greek character Achilles, who legend tells us, carried it with his army to treat wounded soldiers. Michelle also sent a picture of the Campsis radicans (trumpet creeper vine) in full and glorious bloom. Native to Eastern North America, the trumpet creeper flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies and can be used in erosion control as well as for herbal remedies for women’s health issues.

Thank you Michele!

Today we’re featuring photographs taken by Katherine Boyle and Heather Emelander.

Katharine Boyle’s photographs show the progression from bud, to partially open, to fully open pseudo-umbel of the beautiful, tropical-looking Agapanthus africanus. Native to southern Africa, we know it as Lily of the Nile or African lily, although it’s not in the lily family. It’s not winter hardy in New Jersey, but makes a lovely container plant with its long, strappy green leaves and periwinkle blue flowers.

Heather Emelander provided a photograph of the Cotinus coggygria plant (smoke bush) growing in a bed next to the lower parking lot. This multi-stemmed shrub can grow to 23 feet in height, with green rounded leaves covered in a waxy glaucous sheen; when in bloom the pinkish-purple feathery plumes present a smoky appearance, hence the common name. Also from Heather is a photo of an upright scape of white, pendulous, fragrant Hosta flowers, sometimes referred to as plantain lily or funkia.

Thank you Katharine and Heather for sharing your photographs with us.

I got an email from Shawn Allen yesterday, enclosing a group of pictures he took last week. His note read,

“I went for a walk in the Arboretum one morning last week and took some photos to highlight the surrounding beauty that day. In one image with a yellow water hose, if you zoom in, you can see the blur of a hummingbird flying. It was moving so fast that’s all I could capture. Enjoy!
Kindly,
Shawn Allen”

Thanks, Shawn, for the nice views of the Frelinghuysen.

Regular contributor, Katharine Boyle, sent a beautiful batch of pictures from a recent visit, saying,

“I had a lovely visit to the arboretum on Saturday; here are some of my photo highlights. I was especially pleased with the sunflower that looks like it’s winking! The agapanthus had a variety of different blooming stages on display (three examples enclosed). “

Thanks, Katharine, for sharing the arboretum’s summer beauty with all of us.

Here’s a small sampling of what’s blooming at the Arboretum this week. A large, vibrant red perennial hibiscus flower (Hibiscus moscheutos), a pretty pink cluster of canna blossoms (Canna spp) and a group of pastel yellow/pink snapdragon (Antirrhinum) flower spikes. Stroll around the gardens to see if you can find them!

Thanks to Lisa Bencivengo for this week’s photos.