Bloom Reports

By Bonnie Semmling – Plant Records Curator Begone, winter!   Just when it seems like winter will never end, the plants remind us that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. While our native witch hazel – Hamamelis virginiana  – flowers into late autumn and early winter, other species and hybrids prefer the similarly cool conditions of late winter and early spring. At Willowwood we have many such specimens.  Hugging their twigs closely, the copper-colored flowers of Hamamelis

<p>As the season comes to an end, we marvel in the unraveling. The trees strip down, revealing their form. The gardeners pull and cut back tired plants from their areas, making way for our seasonal bulb displays. Slowly, the garden heads towards a long sleep.&nbsp; A few brave species dare to flower now, such as [&hellip;]</p>

<p>September is both the month of abundance, but also the month that the summer starts to unravel, transitioning into fall. Pink is giving way to gold and purple in the meadows, and fall flowering grasses are sending up their inflorescences. Now, the coppery inflorescences of Sorghastrum nutans greet you as you drive in to Willowwood. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>August is a special month at Willowwood. This is the month that I, your author, joined the team here. It is also spectacularly alive, with the constant drone of cicadas, buzzing of bees and fluttering swallowtail and monarch butterflies just about everywhere. Willowwood is no exception, as large foraging flocks of goldfinch (our state bird!) [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I&#8217;m often asked what&#8217;s the best time to visit Willowwood by first-time visitors. &#8220;Will anything be blooming next month?&#8221; and to them I say of course! There are always flowers (or, as it is in the dead of winter) horticultural intrigue to be found at Willowwood. One should visit weekly in order to even try [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Our unusually wet spring has continued, leaving Willowwood particularly green, lush, and floriferous as we enter into the summer. Aside from the extra maintenance, there are much worse problems one could have! Currently the Arboretum core is freshly planted with this year&#8217;s annuals, featuring colorful and tropical species that are candy for the eyes, including [&hellip;]</p>

<p>And just like that, the world is awash in the verdant green of fresh spring growth and colorful flowers. Spring really came out like a lion this year! As this year’s bulb display fades, we come into mid-spring perennials and trees. Willowwood is known for our Wisteria display, and we take great pride in maintaining [&hellip;]</p>

<p>How wonderful it is to live in a world with flowers. Right now, I can’t think of anywhere that it is more floriferous than Willowwood. Although it is still early spring, many tougher-than-they-look spring flowering bulbs and perennials are up and at it. Meanwhile, swelling buds and emerging shoots remind us that there’s much more [&hellip;]</p>

<p>It is the dawn of a new year. Another year of growth, of progress, love, and of course, gardening!&nbsp; There is not one moment in the gardens at Willowwood that is uninteresting; even in the absence of the raucous colors of flowers abuzz with pollinators that grace us in the growing season one can find [&hellip;]</p>

<p>With Halloween just around the corner this Monday, this weekend kicks off the festivities for families throughout the state. While no festive events are scheduled at the arboretum this weekend, visitors are encouraged to come visit to enjoy the orange leaves, natural spider webs, and enjoy the trails while covered in early morning fog for [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.”&nbsp; — Maud Hart Lovelace Today marks the official beginning of summer, the Summer Solstice. Now that the warmer weather is here to stay for the next few months, the riot of spring blossoms have faded and [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Thanks to the Long Valley Garden Club for the lovely lilac photographs taken at the Willowwood Arboretum.</p>

<p>“I sought the wood in summer When every twig was green; The rudest boughs were tender, And buds were pink between. Light-fingered aspens trembled In fitful sun and shade, And daffodils were golden In every starry glade. The brook sang like a robin- My hand could check him where The lissome maiden willows Shook out [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“There comes a day towards the end of March when there is but little wind. The Sun has gained much power, so that it is pleasant to sit out in the garden, or better still, in some sunny nook of sheltered woodland” -Gertrude Jekyll The first warm days of spring are really here since the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“Then summer came, announced by June,With beauty, miracle and mirth.She hung aloft the rounding moon,She poured her sunshine on the earth”-Leslie Pinckney Hill, excerpt “Summer Magic” Although the main event of spring blooms has passed, the arboretum has lots of blooms for those who are willing to slow down and look. One show-stopper that is [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“Mother Nature presents neither a wrinkled face nor tottering form, but constantly renews the bloom of her youth, while time fills up the volumes of her history.” -James Lendall Basford. Spring has settled in and Willowwood is now bursting with blooms. The main event- the annual lilac display- is now starting to reach its peak [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Welcome to the Willowwood Arboretum. The Lilacs are in bud and some of them like Syringa x hyacinthiflora ‘Annabel’, one of the best pinks, are just beginning to bloom. The next couple of weeks will be wonderful as more Lilacs will open with sweet lilac fragrance perfuming the air. The 2021 Lilac Path Brochure (click [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“Blossom by blossom the spring begins” -Algernon Charles Swinburne Suddenly it’s SPRING at Willowwood!. This winter was brutal as February was the snowiest on record for this area with over 31 inches of snow. It may have felt like winter was never going to end but the sounds of spring- the chirping birds, the hum [&hellip;]</p>

<p>“I&#8217;m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”― L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables The beauty of the autumn season has begun and visitors may now enjoy the arboreta during standard operating hours, daily from 8AM to dusk. The maples, dogwoods, and katsura are all changing color at the Willowwood [&hellip;]</p>

<p>WELCOME BACK to the Willowwood Arboretum! Beginning Monday, August 3, Willowwood is open Monday through Friday, 10 am to 3 pm. CLOSED WEEKENDS. Buildings are closed but most gardens and walking trails are open. A porta john is available. This quote by Minnie Aumonier seems apt for this moment in time- “When the world wearies [&hellip;]</p>