Category: PhotoGallery

July in the garden is mostly about maintenance and watering. The hard work of spring cleanup, planting and mulching is behind us. Now our attention shifts to maintaining the garden beds, i.e., weeding, deadheading, adding plants where needed either for color or to fill an empty spot and watering.

July can be especially hard on planted containers as they tend to dry out really quickly in the heat of summer, sometimes requiring daily watering. It’s also important to feed your containers on a regular basis to ensure blooming for the whole season. A container in my garden planted with Salvia ‘Amistad’ (Friendship Sage), two Calibrachoas (Callie Hot Pink and Callie Apricot) and a trailing Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’ (Golden Creeping Jenny) is a thirsty one, but keeping up with watering and feeding rewards me with a profusion of petunia-like flowers and the lovely tubular, dark purple salvia flowers. A word to the wise about Creeping Jenny, though, don’t let her escape the confines of the container because she is a garden bully, forming dense mats that become difficult to get rid of. Had I known this earlier, I probably would not have added this particular plant to my container.

A design aspect I’m particularly fond of is the “garden vignette”, an intimate spot in the garden that provides a focal point or scene. A couple of vignettes in my small garden:

A cobalt blue birdbath, nestled among the foliage of a Japanese Maple, Hakone Grass, Hosta and Sedum, is visited often by Goldfinches, House Finches, Robins and even Yellow Jackets, both to bathe in and to drink from. I make it a point to keep the basin clean and full of fresh cool water to encourage their frequent visits. It’s fun to watch them, especially the Robins, such enthusiastic bathers! The ceramic goldfish, a bit of whimsy, does not seem to bother the birds at all.

Another vignette is in my shade garden where the chartreuse leaves of Hosta ‘Fire Island’ provide the background for the colorful leaves of Coleus ‘Trailing Rose’ a perfect combination to brighten up their spot in the garden. In the spring, the colorful pink flower plumes of Astilbe ‘Rheinland’ add their own beauty to this scene.

What is a garden without a comfortable place to sit, relax and enjoy the results of your hard work? My front porch offers the perfect spot from which to watch wildlife’s comings and goings, among them a Monarch butterfly feeding on Asclepias incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’ flowers (Swamp Milkweed) or to just contemplate the garden and dream of what comes next: enlarging a bed, adding a favorite plant, or some new garden ornament to enhance the border.

By the way, many of the plants that fill my garden were purchased from the Friends’ Annual Plant Sale this spring, i.e., Salvia ‘Amistad’, the two Calibrachoas, the gorgeous Coleus and the Asclepias, among others.

Happy gardening and do remember to take time to enjoy your efforts!

Text and pictures by Margery Ennist.

Some of the lovely flowers blooming at the Arboretum include a bunch of beautiful yellow roses, the white bottlebrush-shaped flowers of Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) and the soft pink/blue flowers on a Hydrangea.

Thank you to Member Gerry Pappalardo for these photographs.

Arboretum visitor, Kathy Baker, shared these beautiful pictures of the Frelinghuysen’s Rose Garden.

Thanks, Kathy for the great images of early summer roses;

This week we’re featuring photographs taken by a couple of our Members, Michele Finkelstein and Lisa Bencivengo.

Michele’s photos show a close-up of lovely Honeysuckle (Lonicera) flowers and raindrop covered foliage, a Smoke Bush (Cotinus coggygria) standing out amongst the green plants in the Four Seasons Garden, a Chinese Plum (Prunus ‘Mume’) espaliered on the Carriage House wall underplanted with a variety of colorful blooming plants and a closeup of one of the plantings in the Nurserymen’s Garden by the Carriage House.

Lisa’s photos lead us through the quiet, shady paths in the Sylvan Garden; first we pass the tranquil pool with a view through the foliage towards the Mansion, then down the path on the way to the pedestrian bridge and finally we’re treated to a glimpse of this year’s Fairy Houses (usually on display through the end of July.

Make time to visit the Arboretum, there is always so much to see and enjoy.

An evening stroll through the Arboretum’s gardens by members Gerry Pappalardo and Alan Sheu resulted in the following photographic record of their visit:

• Closeup of a Magnolia grandiflora cv. ‘Edith Bogue’ flower
• The pretty pink flowers of Cornus kousa cv. ‘Rutpink Scarlet Fire’
• A sweet statue in the knot garden close to the gazebo 
• A Magnolia virginiana cv. ‘Moonglow’ flower
• The gnarly trunk of Heptacodium miconioides (Seven Sons Tree), a New Jersey Champion Tree in the Four Seasons Garden

Many thanks to Gerry and Alan for sharing these photographs with us!

A few years ago I was introduced to the concept of passalong plants via a book written by Steve Bender and Felder Rushing entitled, appropriately enough, Passalong Plants. In a nutshell, the book describes a behavior practiced in southern states of sharing unusual and/or interesting plants that may no longer be available commercially, thus the passalong moniker.

Over the years, I’ve received many plants of all kinds from friends and family, not necessarily unusual, but nevertheless given by gardeners wanting to share the wealth. I’ve been gifted beautiful yellow and lavender Irises, a Hellebore, an unusually dark pink Hydrangea with blue in the center of the flower, Christmas Ferns, a Prickly Pear Cactus, old-fashioned Feverfew and Money Plant, Columbines and Hyacinths.

The wonderful thing about these passalongs is that a reminder of the giver surfaces every spring as the weather warms up and the plants break ground. When the first shoots of Feverfew, Money Plant, Columbine and Christmas Fern appeared, I thought of my Mom, who loved to garden and share her plants and knowledge with me. She’s been gone for several years now, but her plants lived on in my garden and in my heart.

The dark pink Hydrangea was a gift from a neighbor who moved away. Before leaving, she invited me to choose a plant from her garden as a parting gift. The Hydrangea was not in bloom at the time, but every year when the flowers opened, I had fond memories of Jean for the lovely plant she shared with me. We lost touch, but her gift continued giving in my garden.

The Prickly Pear Cactus was a gift from an ex-sister-in-law. Although no longer part of the family, we kept in touch and she knew I would love to have a piece of her cactus. It flourished in my garden next to a stone wall and grew larger every year, with more and more lovely yellow flowers.

The yellow and lavender Irises, Hellebore, Hyacinths, etc., were all given by dear friends and fellow gardeners, reminders of cherished friendships and a mutual love or gardening.

Although I moved and no longer toil in that garden, I am in the process of creating a whole new garden with new plants as well as new passalong plants. Gardening will always be a therapeutic endeavor for me; there is nothing quite like getting your hands dirty, toiling in the earth, creating something beautiful to nourish and watching it grow.

By Margery Ennist

We got an email with a big batch of beautiful pictures of the Arboretum taken by visitor Gail Susan Waimon and a nice message:

Click on any of the thumbnails below to view these in a gallery. Thanks for the great collection, Gail.

Visitor Shawn Allen and family sent these pictures of a turtle they encountered, along with the following note:

Nice pictures of a sizable turtle. Any knowledgable turtle-lovers out there? My web app says it’s a common snapping turtle. Is that right?

In any case, thanks to Shawn for the pictures of one of the Arboretum’s many interesting residents.

Enjoy these wonderful photographs taken at the Arboretum by Judy Snow. Please note that the annuals at the Haggerty Education Center (HEC) entrance are made possible by a grant from the Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum.

• Foreman Dylan planting the annuals bed in front of the HEC
• The delicate, strappy white flowers of fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)
• A luscious raspberry colored Peony flower (Paeonia spp)
• Star shaped, pale blue flowers of the Eastern bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana) in front of the Pan herm
• The striking dark red, scented flowers of the Carolina allspice shrub (Calycanthus floridus)
• Two very different planters at the HEC entrance; don’t you just love the variety of lettuces combined with pansies?

Make time to visit the Arboretum and see all these plants for yourself!

Thank you so much Judy for these beautiful shots. 

So many lovely trees live in the gardens at the Arboretum, quietly providing shade, shelter and beauty for all who visit. Here’s just a brief sampling: A delicate, lacy, pink dogwood (Cornus florida) blooming at wood’s edge behind the tent. A pretty white dogwood (Cornus florida) doing its thing next to the parking lot. And a magnificent European Beech (Fagus sylvatica cv. Purpurea Tricolor) at the back of the arboretum grounds. The leaves on the Beech tree are gorgeous.

There are many more beautiful trees to admire and enjoy. Plan a visit soon.