Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

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It was a cold day in early May when I walked around the

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

near Richmond VA. Peonies were the high point - along with pitcher plants growing in profusion near the water’s edge and sweet gum leaves seen from the vantage point of a tree house. The peonies were the flowers that seemed to have their own inner glow on a cold cloudy day.

The tulips were almost past their prime but their colors were still interesting. The double (maybe triple) white one in the picture below was quite a surprise both in colors and the number of petals.

Brookside Gardens - April 2013

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In mid-April - the deciduous magnolias were the highlight of Brookside Gardens. They come in many varieties although they are generally pink or white. The petals are generally large although there is one that had petals that curled like ribbons. Many times the petals are pink on the outside and white on the inward facing surface. Healthy trees are dense with blooms on otherwise bare branches.

The grounds were covered with new growth. Fiddleheads and native plants are coming up through the mulch everywhere in the gardens.

The tulips were just beginning to open and many of them looked like they had been damaged by the extremely cold weather in late March. I am always drawn to the blending of the yellow and orange tulip petals in the sunlight.

Around our (Maryland) Yard in April 2013

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We’ve had a cold spring in Maryland. The plum and cherry trees are not yet in full bloom so I’ll wait to post photographs of them later. The hyacinths and daffodils have been blooming for over a month. Perhaps the cold has kept them vibrant for longer than usual.

 

The iris, tulips and lilies are up. The deer have eaten the tulips to the ground and the lilies are only looking a little better because their foliage grows rapidly after the deer have eaten the above ground parts. The iris either have not been found by the deer or are not tasty enough for them. 

 

 

The chives and lemon balm are up in the garden. It’s been too cold to do the usual garden clean out so I tell myself that the old leaves make good mulch for the tender plants.

 

The edge of the woods has waning daffodils and spindly forsythia.

 

The maple branches have been trimmed so high that the only up close view of the blooms is finding a recently downed twig in the grass. The tree itself seems to be blooming unevenly this year. There are lots of red tuffs at the crown of the tree and only sparse ones in the middle and lower part of the tree.

 

Spring is here…getting more established every day. A few warm days will get us all out working on cleaning out our garden beds!

Around our (Maryland) Yard in March 2013

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Early March is still winter this year but there are a few signs of spring. The hyacinths are up and their buds are showing, the tulips are just out of the ground -their leaves still spiraled and tipped with pink. The debris from last year’s lilies is protecting the tulips from the deer. The cairn is still tumbled. The buds on the maple and cherry are not quite as advanced as they were at this time last year although they are enlarging compared to last month. Only the very tips of the maple twigs are turning red so far. The aging self-fungus and moss add some welcome color among the browns of winter. The pine cones and tulip poplar shells lend texture but continue the brown theme of winter.

Gleanings of the Week Ending February 09, 2013

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles I read this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Google Street View Now Covers Grand Canyon Hiking Trails - take a virtual hike in the Grand Canyon

Voyager into Stardust - short video

How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables? - from National Geographic

HMS Beagle Voyage - visualization for the UK’s Natural History Museum

Frogcicle - a video of a frozen frog thawing…and hopping away!

Color from Structure - structural colors of peacock feathers, butterfly wings, fish and squid outer cells, hibiscus flowers…color producing nanostructures

Little House Books' Mary Ingalls Probably Did Not Go Blind from Scarlet Fever, Study Says - not that scarlet fever was not prevalent during the time…but it does not cause the symptoms (and blindness) described

Tulip fields - patchwork of color from the Netherlands

Coal Cooling Towers Come Crashing Down - 2 videos: one slow motion, the other with cartoonish faces on the towers

BugGuide - a site about insects of the US and Canada hosted by Iowa State University Entomology

Organized Paper Butterfly Installations Evoke Energy - beauty created with small papers