Longwood in Lights

During my recent trip to Philadelphia, I took a jaunt over to Longwood Gardens to see the place bedecked in lights. It was pretty magical, and like everything at Longwood, it was impressive, glorious, and done on a large scale! My camera and I are not very skilled at nighttime photography so I am afraid these pictures don't do the lights or garden justice. The above installation was done by British artist and light designer, Bruce Munro. There were hundreds of small lights staked in the ground and the pastel shades of colored lights subtly changed in waves, making me think about how light can flicker and change over a landscape.

 

Looking out from the conservatory terraces. 

In the conservatory, the rose room was in bloom and hung with stars.

Codiaeum variegatum, a cool foliage plant whose colors shine best in full sun. This plant is in the Euphorbiaceae Family and it turns out that I was drawn to all the Euphorbias in the room. This is not surprising really when you consider that this is the season for the Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)!

White blooms of Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) 'Apple Blossom' floating in a sea of pink Kalanchoe blossfeldiana 'Loren.' The graceful arcs of white flowers belong to Euphorbia fulgens.

Here is a closer look at the Euphorbia fulgens, sporting its good looks.

...and another one, Euphorbia leucocephala.

A fine table set for many!

Denver Botanic Garden

On a recent trip to Denver, Colorado to visit my husband's brother and family, we took a trip to the Denver Botanic Garden. I encountered some incredible plants, many for the first time, thriving in a climate unlike any I have ever gardened in before. In some respects the desert and high altitude region seems harsh, but then again, many plants that have trouble over wintering in Vermont, seem to do just fine here. It was amazing to see what plants were entirely happy with extreme temperature changes coupled with constant dryness and drought. All those beautiful silvery leaved plants, gorgeous grasses, and unusual succulents were in their ultimate growing conditions.

Above photo: Bright red fruits of the desert prickly pear (Optunia phaeacantha) with Artemesia, Euphorbia, and Eriogonum all showcased in the low water garden.

I liked this little tableau of interesting foliage, shapes, textures and colors. I think the emerging purple flowers belong to Crocus speciousus, but I am not entirely confident in my ability to appropriately identify the crocus/colchicum bulbs. My inexpert guess is based on the great photographs and descriptions of the various autumn flowering bulbs found in a a recently acquired copy of Anna Pavrod's book titled Bulb.

Bouteloua graculis 'Blonde Ambition'

This was one of the most exciting plants I saw and it caught my eye from a great distance.  This grass is truly blonde with dainty, angled seed heads flicking about in the breeze. It is short (about 30"), but dense and extremly upright. Apparently the seed heads can stand tall through the winter. It is also cold hardy to Zone 4.

Erigonum wrightii var. wrightii (Snow mesa buckwheat)

I recently read about these great buckwheat plants perfectly suited to mountain climates and a great food source for the pollinators. Its seed heads are extremly beautiful, emanating a lovely coppery glow.

 A bamboo sculpture exhibit was going on in different parts of the garden and here the pool was decorated with these wiry objects rising up from the inky black water.

I thought this was another man made sculpture, but these wide, flat pads are in fact living waterlilies.  Victoria 'Longwood Hybrids'

The native plants garden was perhaps my favorite part. Since I arrived in this arid city, I have been enamored with all the wild plants that grow here- from peoples' cultivated gardens to the weeds in the sidewalk.  The large shrubs with a blush of pink are Artemesia tridentata, which are seen everywhere.

Cylindroptuntia imbricata, a cool region cactus native to the semi arid high plains of the United States

Meadow garden

Some incredible seed heads of some incredible plant (?)

Pink feathery flower heads of the grass, Mulenbergia reverchonii

This is a nice annual grass (zone 8-10) Melinis nerviglumis 'Pink Crystals'

A tall, towering stand of Leonotis, just a little bit bruised by their first frost

A captivating water feature and grass promenade

Bodnant Garden

Bodnant Gardens has got to be one of the most impressive places I have seen. In northern Wales, this 80 acre garden is an amazing collection of plants, with an astounding variety of trees and shrubs. The upper section of the garden surrounding the house is more formal, with terraces, covered walls, long views, stately trees, and decorative perennial beds. The lower part is called the Dell and is packed with plant material- it feels like a large, wild park with a crazy assortment of extremely large trees, including US native giants like sequoia and redwood. It is a magical place, seemingly never ending, and a good place to lose track of time.

Asphodeline lutea just coming into flower in the entrance beds. I love the wavy, grassy look against that big, gangly tree hovering in the background.

Holboellia coriacea

It is always exciting to find something you are pretty sure you have never seen before, like this crazy climbing vine. It is called sausage vine or china blue vine and is noted for being hardy to Zone 9. However, it looks like there are a few reported instances where it has survived colder climates- case in point, northern Wales. It is a very slow grower, likes a protected space, and by the looks of it, long lived; this specimen has been growing contently here at Bodnant for a few generations!

 Lewisia 'Ashwood Hybrids' hanging vertically in the cracks in the wall.

Photinia x fraseri 'Red Robin' pruned flat against one of the many walls. A very unique way to use (and control) Photinia.

I was pretty captivated by this scene, coming down a grand stone stairway and into the dusky shade of this enormous, old tree.

Dramatic light as the day heads towards evening..

I think this was my favorite part of the garden. It was much less formal than the rest of the landscape and was comprised of some of my favorite plants, including an array of Euphorbias, an unusual Hellebore, grasses and one very large Phlomis fruiticosa. It had a Mediterranean feeling and was a bit more unkempt and weedy- I liked it.

An amazing Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow' emerging in a sea of Anemone nemerosa, with a backdrop of early chartreuse Crocosmia leaves and tufts of Stipa-like grass- all standing strong against the black-green of the yew hedge. Heaven!

The lush and wild Dell

Upper meadows aflush in daffodils