Photo Galleries

Spring is definitely on its way! Delicate white Dwarf Irises with pale lavender stripes (Iris cv. Painted Lady) have emerged around the pond in front of Matilda’s cottage; many bunches of cheerful purple Crocuses are blooming around the grounds and a Dawn Viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense cv. Dawn) is beginning to bloom along the Four Seasons garden path next to the parking lot. Enjoy!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

A flurry of snowflakes and a blustery breeze accompanied my walk around the Arboretum grounds today. The meadow, gazebo and Pieris japonica flowers were covered in varying amounts of snow creating the appearance of a light sugar coating.

This week’s photos offer a wide variety of late winter images. The persistent, dry, paper thin leaves of an American Beech tree (Fagus grandifolia), fluttering in the breeze and soon to be pushed off by fresh new growth. The evergreen, yellowish, flat foliage sprays of a Sawara Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera cv. Filifera Aurea) adding a bright spot in the landscape. The delicate, deep pink flowers of an espaliered Japanese Apricot (Prunus Mume cv. Kobai) blooming against the walls of the Carriage House. Spring is on its way!

Picture credits Margery Ennist.

Chilly, overcast and damp after yesterday’s snowfall. Lovely little vignettes were created around the grounds, from the snow covered foliage and male cones of a Cryptomeria japonica  (Japanese Cedar), to bright red berries and snow on Ilex centrochinensis x. Aquifolium ‘Centennial Girl’ (Hybrid Holly), to the lemony yellow flowers of Jasminum nudiflorum (Winter Jasmine), holding their own even under a blanket of snow! Mother Nature at her loveliest!

Picture credits Margery Ennist.

Chilly, damp and raw conditions made for a quick walk around the grounds. Even so, the lovely, sunny yellow Hamamelis x intermedia Sunburst (Witch Hazel) was a welcome sight, living up to its name by providing a bright spot next to Matilda’s Cottage; a close-up of the flowers shows their unusual strappy petals. The shiny, leathery evergreen leaves of Magnolia grandiflora cv. Edith Bogue (Southern Magnolia cultivar) with their indumentum covered undersides provide a nice foil for the cone-like Magnolia fruit.

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

A lovely sunny day in the mid-50s, hard to believe it’s February! More early bloomers are doing their thing: bright yellow sweeps of Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite) adorn a bed next to Matilda’s cottage, purplish/red Hellebores (Lenten Rose) are blooming in the beds under the Japanese Maple collection and a small clump of sunny yellow Adonis amurensis (Pheasant’s Eye) is keeping the Winter Aconite company. Enjoy a visit soon!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

Winter is the perfect time to get a good look at the bark on trees, without the distraction of leaves, flowers or fruits. The Acer griseum (Paper Bark Maple) at the entrance to the Haggerty Education Center is a gorgeous collage of overlapping, exfoliating bark in shades of brown and tan. The Heptacodium miconioides (Seven Sons Tree) presents a smoother bark, with long exfoliating strands of bark that move with the breeze. A Lagerstromia indica cv. Acoma (Crapemyrtle) also has a smooth bark, but with subtle patches of beige, peach and olive green. These are not the only examples of interesting bark to be found!

Pictures courtesy of Margery Ennist.

Cold, chilly, breezy, not ideal for a stroll in the gardens, but the fresh air was invigorating and welcome. Lovely, shiny dark red leaves on a low to the ground Leucothoe axillaris (Coast Leucothoe), interesting green flowers of a Helleborus foetidus (Stinking Hellebore) and a lovely fuzzy bud, one of many, on the Magnolia x ‘Butterflies’ (Hybrid Magnolia), just waiting for the warmth of spring to burst forth into bloom! To quote Percy Bysshe Shelley in Ode to The West Wind: If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

A chilly but welcome sunny day at the Arboretum. Even though Spring is still two months away, a few plants are blooming in the dead of Winter. Beautiful, delicate white Snowdrops (Galanthus), lemony yellow Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) and strappy reddish orange Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane) blooms can be found if you look carefully enough. Be sure to visit soon!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

The Friends celebrated the New Year and the 50th Anniversary of our founding with a presentation by Judy Snow, past President of the Friends, showing highlights from Friends’ activities and remembering many horticultural friends and events through the years. The presentation was followed by a delicious spread of sweet and savory treats, as well as coffee, tea and bubbly. All who attended were happy to be back in the Haggerty for a live event and a chance to catch up with friends!

If you are not a Member of the Friends, please join us, we would love to have you!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

Chilly and damp for my walk around the grounds today, but still found beauty in the upper parking lot beds. A gorgeous combination of color, texture and size provided by the stiff branches of Picea pungens cv. Glauca Globosa (Blue Colorado Spruce Cultivar), the soft seedheads of Miscanthus sinensis cv. Graziella (Eulalia Grass) and the tall, bronzy needles of Picea orientalis (Oriental Spruce). In the same bed, the large Juniperus virginiana cv. Corcorcor (Emerald Sentinel Juniper) is full of bluish berries. Last, but not least, a large, rounded Chamaecyparis pisifera cv. filifera aurea (Sawara Cypress) proudly shows off its gracefully weeping golden foliage.

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.