Bonnie Semmling

Lily lovers of Willowwood, listen up: now is the time to visit. All the lilies are in bloom at once, from the reliable ‘Black Beauty’ in the cottage to the classically beautiful, sweetly-scented ‘Casa Blanca’ in Pan’s Garden. However, the cream of the crop is the Cardiocrinum cordatum, also in Pan’s Garden. Native to Japan and Sakhalin, this incredible lily is a sight to behold in flower. Not only for its beauty, but height – the one pictured is at least 6 feet tall. It is also is a fickle...

As we enter the dog days of summer and seek out shade and cool hollows, the plants seemingly heat up. Gone are the pastels of spring; enter the brightly-colored flowers of summer. Starting in the meadows, drifts of butterflyweed – Asclepias tuberosa - are buzzing with activity. Orange flowers are relatively rare in nature and this shade seems particularly special, lifting the spirits at first gaze. One cannot praise this indestructible plant too much: aside from providing food for a diverse...

By Bonnie Semmling The thing about time is that it keeps ticking. While we try to preserve what we can, all collections are subject to the processes that break them down. As stewards of the history of the site, we have an obligation to spiritually continue the work of those that started it. Chionanthus virginicus, our native but uncommon fringe tree, was planted both by Robert Tubbs and Benjamin Blackburn at different points in time. But time ticks on, and those specimens have since left us...