Turning Toward the Light

The benefits of trees

Not one, but two articles in USA Today about how communities are beginning to realize the benefits of planting trees. A front page story subtitled 'Green infrastructure' is new public utility talks about how much money trees can save by cutting air pollution, storm runoff and energy costs. And a story on page 3 subtitled Forest renewal is catching on as urban areas learn benefits talks about actions being taken by Roanoke Virginia to encourage the protection of and planting of trees. It's good news when the benefits of urban conservation are being covered in such a prominent mainstream publication.

Today at Garden in the Woods

I was scheduled to give today's tour at Garden in the Woods, but no one turned up for it. That's not unusual for a weekday tour in the summer, but I was sorry for it because this was my last scheduled tour until late August due to my upcoming vacation. So I took a few minutes to walk through the garden and take some photos.

This plant has a lot of different names. Some common names include Bugbane, Black Cohosh, and Snakeroot (although I've also heard that when sold by high-class British nurseries, this plant has been given the more genteel name of "Fairy Candles".) The Latin name used to be Cimicifuga racemosa, but recently has been changed to Actaea racemosa. Black Cohosh is unusual because it blooms much later than most of the other woodland wildflowers, and grows quite a bit taller. There's an outstanding group of these plants right near the garden entrance.

This flower was new to me. It's called Whorled Rosinweed (Silphium trifoliatum), and was blooming in a sunny spot down near the pond.

Turk's-cap Lily (Lilium superbum)

A view of the pond with water lilies and pickerel weed.

Mountain Holly (Nemopanthus mucronatus) isn't really a holly, although it is in the same family. But it does have very lovely deep red velvety berries. Unfortunately, they only last for a week or two.

Thoreau wrote of it in Wild Fruits:

Wild holly, the imp-eyed, red, velvety-looking berry of the swamps, begins by the fourteenth of July. This is perhaps the most beautiful of our berries, hanging by slender threads from its light and open bushes amid its delicate leaves.

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), found in the meadow garden.

Anticipation

I'll be in Scotland during the first 2 weeks of August. I'll be attending the World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow and then taking a week to tour the Lowlands. (I travelled through the Highlands on my last visit to Scotland in 1995, so wanted to do something different this time.) I'll undoubtedly be visiting some gardens and large estates, so expect to see some detailed reports in about a month. (And if anyone can recommend gardens to visit in southern Scotland, drop me a comment, please!)

Tower Hill Botanic Garden

On June 28, I went with a group of Garden in the Woods guides on a tour of Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boyleston MA. I'd been to Tower Hill many years ago when it was just getting started, but there have sure been a lot of changes since then. (You can see all the photos from my latest visit here.)

The first part of the garden, which was in place even when I first went, was the "Farmhouse", and a large oval lawn garden with a pergola and sunken "Secret Garden". On my first visit everything looked newly-planted and sparse, but things have filled out nicely now.

We saw lots of interesting trees and shrubs, including this lovely Korean Stewartia, which is distinguished by the slight fringe on its flower petals.

There are several new buildings, and several more are being planned. Currently, there's a large building with classrooms and a restaurant, and this Orangerie, which is used to hold tender plants in the winter.

Behind the Farmhouse, there's a cottage vegetable garden with the healthiest, most beautifully arranged vegetables I have ever seen. They're also whimsically arranged by theme, which differs from year to year. This year's theme is books, so they have beds named after books with vegetables named after the characters, places, or other significant elements from each book.

The newest part of the garden is the Systematic Garden, which has beds arranged by plant families. I would like to go back and spend some time really studying that section.

Tower Hill is, in fact, on a hilltop, with acres of natural meadow and woodland surrounding the landscaped gardens. If you climb a short way through this meadow and up to the crest of the hill, you can get a great view of Wachusett Reservoir.

Another section we didn't get to, but which is popular in the fall, is a large orchard of heritage apple varieties. There's a lot to see at Tower Hill and I'd like to go back soon.

Icky, Sticky Days of Summer

As much as I love my garden, when it's humid like this I can hardly bear to go outside. I go out in the morning to tidy up a bit or pull a few weeds, but I'm soon driven inside to cool down. But this morning I took a few quick pictures of what's going on.

This monarda is a really bright shade of cherry red, called 'Raspberry Wine'. It's a bit gaudy, but I like it.

This blue lacecap hydrangea is called 'Blue Wave'. It stays fairly compact and is covered with lovely soft blue flowers in mid summer. The bees love it - it was hard for me to get a picture of a flower without a bee or two buzzing about it. It's not really a problem - they're so intent on the flowers that they ignore any people around.

The magenta flower is Callirhoe involucrata, a western native also called Wine Cups or Purple Poppy-Mallow. The stems are 1-2 feet long and lie on the ground if the plant is by itself, but in this case they're being held up by a nearby lavender-flowered perennial whose identity I have sadly managed to lose track of.

Some veggies from my garden getting ready to go into a stir-fry a week or two ago. The peas are past now, but I'm still getting tons of brocolli, which was very strong this year. And you see the key to dealing with zucchini in the garden - pick them when they're really small!

Nasami Farm

There's a nice article in the New York Times today about the New England Wild Flower Society's new nursery in western Massachusetts, Nasami Farm. (The story will be freely accessible only for the next week, unfortunately.)