Bonnie Semmling

We find ourselves in a strange place: while the leaves of select trees (cherries, maples, and buckeyes to name a few) are tinged with color while winterberries are ripening, some of the flowering perennials are putting on a show evocative of spring. Or maybe it’s just all the autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale, that is giving that impression. I am especially charmed by the clump under the ‘Alba Superba’ Magnolia in the cottage. This dense clump just so happened to be planted by Dr. Benjamin...

The garden reminds us that despite the mums and pumpkins that have suddenly appeared at nurseries want you to believe, summer is still here. Snapdragons cut back mid-summer are putting up new blooms, like ‘Black Prince’ pictured. Often thought of as old-fashioned annuals, we’ve found snapdragons to be incredibly rewarding: beautiful, resilient, diverse. They have even overwintered here, challenging their status as mere annuals. Heptacodium miconioides, the Seven-Son tree, is putting on its...

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...