Arnold Arboretum

I keep a mental list of dream gardens that I mean to visit some day: The Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the National Arboretum, the Missouri Botanical Garden.   In April, I visited the granddaddy of great gardens, Kew Gardens in London.  And last week in Boston, I finally got to see the Arnold Arboretum.

I rode the subway to the end of the Orange Line and entered the Arnold Arboretum at the Forest Hills gate, near three ponds, the sunniest part of the arboretum.  I passed the first pond, surrounded by small trees and shrubs.

The clear water reflected a generous stand of native Joe Pye weed in full bloom.

The second pond was covered in a rich green patina.  In the distance a blue egret stood completely still in the water until I was convinced it was a sculpture.

When I walked past the pond a second time, the egret slowly turned its head.

Near the ponds was a moist meadow with a succession of blooms from native wildflowers.  On this hot August afternoon, native goldenrod, liatris and Joe Pye bloomed bright yellow and pink.

Most of the arboretum was shady, with mature trees.

This viburnum was red with fruit.

But the fruit of the smoke tree was the most striking.

There were trees with interesting trunks

and branches

and roots

and leaves.

The Arnold Arboretum is for plant lovers.  There are no garden beds with eye catching displays of annuals, no playgrounds for children and no snack bars for hungry people.  The visitors center has books and maps, but no bottled water.  This arboretum is for people who want to experience trees from around the world or to stroll through a mature forest setting. 

Rose Kennedy Greenway

I have long wanted to see the rooftop gardens in downtown Chicago and visit the garden district in New York City.  Last week, I flew to Boston and the number of green spaces in that city surprised me and made me smile.

Our hotel was downtown on the waterfront, next to Christopher Columbus Park.  From our room, we could hear guitar music from street musicians and see families picnicking on the grass. There were old people sitting on benches and young people bicycling through the park.

Many people rambled through the park throughout the day, but this photo of Columbus Park was taken from our room one rainy morning, when few people were outdoors.

Boston has a number of large parks, dating from the 1800's.  But now city planners are creating new green spaces in a crowded urban setting.

The city recently tore down an elevated highway that cut through the downtown area near the waterfront, dividing the city in two.  The Central Artery was replaced by an underground tunnel, and at street level, with the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.  This project was called the Big Dig.  As a taxpayer, I was delighted to drive on the new highway, and even more, to experience the new greenway up close. 

By chance, our hotel was located at the Greenway's "Ground Zero," the area with the most pedestrian traffic, linking the shops and restaurants of Quincy Market with Christopher Columbus Park and the aquarium, tour boats and restaurants on the waterfront beyond. 

Some parts of the greenway consisted of trees and shrubs, with benches for resting. 

The old buildings form a beautiful backdrop for the greenway. The tall tower in the photo below is the old Customs House, in 1849.  At the time, the building was on the waterfront, but now the city extends several blocks east. 

On the block nearest our hotel, the greenway is a smooth green square of grass with tall modern sculptures and a fountain.

Some of the paving stones were dedicated.

Some of the stones were dated as far back as 1919.  Others had no date at all.

In one area, there were many paving tones dedicated to the extended Kennedy family.

It is not easy to add green space to a city full of expensive skyscrapers.  But Boston found a way to do it, and residents and tourists love it.  Every evening, there were hundreds of people downtown, a surprise to people who returned to Boston after years away.  The Greenway has made the city beautiful, walkable and alive.

Hats off to you, Boston.

Aster family

The aster family is one of the largest families of perennial flowers on this earth.  Members of this diverse family bloom from spring to fall in shades of pink, yellow, blue and white.  Bees and butterflies love to visit these beautiful flowers on these easy going plants.

The first to appear in the spring is Senecio aurea, golden ragwort.  In the cold days of March, the ray flowers on this native plant open as tiny gold stars on short green stems that stand stiffly above the leaf litter.

By April, this plant is a sea of yellow flowers that look fantastic with blue woodland phlox, Virginia bluebells and Jacob's ladder.

Another spring aster is Stokesia laevis, Stoke's aster.

Among my favorite asters is the purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, which blooms beside the driveway in spring through summer.

Next to bloom are the summer asters, including Black-eyed Susans, Rudbeckia fuldiga

And ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis

Ironwood spreads easily by seed and once established, the roots are formidable. Many gardeners cut off the spent flowers from the ironweed before the plant seeds itself around the garden.

Another tough plant is Coreopsis tripteris.  Last year, I pulled these plants out but they came back anyway, to the delight of our neighborhood goldfinches.

The false sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides, thrives in the heat of summer.  Here it shares a space with red Pentas.

Swamp sunflowers are tall and strong growers.  For several years, they wandered around my garden until they found a spot they liked.  Now they cluster near the entrance to the driveway.

Helens flower (Helenium autumnale) also appreciates a damp sunny site.  This one doesn't have enough sun or water, but every year it throws off a few flowers to delight the bees.

The white flowers of the Eupatorium rugosum do not have the typical rays that we have come to expect on our asters. This one serves as a background to the magenta berries of the beautyberry bush (Callicarpa americana).

Rough leaved goldenrod (Solidago rugosa) is pollinated by tiny flying insects.  The cultivar "Fireworks" was introduced by the North Carolina Botanical Garden and here it mingles with red pentas. 

Green headed coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) enjoys damp and shady conditions.

Aster laevis begins to bloom in September. The cultivar "Bluebird," has blue rays and yellow centers. Bees flock to these flowers and when the centers are pollinated, the color changes from yellow to brown.

Two weeks later Bluebird asters are stunning at their peak.

Last to bloom are the white wood asters.  The small white flowers are not showy, but the plant thrives in dry shade under a mature canopy of trees, a rare asset in the shade garden.

In my garden, the asters have a disease called aster yellows, which is transmitted through the leaves by insects.  There is no cure, except to discard the plant.  Sadly, as the disease spreads, these plants will all need to be replaced.  

Let's enjoy them while we can.

August

In August it is still hot, day and night.  In the garden, plants are growing slowly, marking time until the nights are cooler in September.  Once they can rest in the cool evening air, they will devote more energy to foliage and fruit during the day.


Not every plant needs to rest.  Some flourish in the heat and humidity.


A neighbor walking his dog called to me, "You have trees growing in your driveway."

The native passionvine thrives where few plants dare to go.  It doesn't mind the reflected heat and light from the concrete.   

The passionvine was slow to start this year.   It was mid-May before it emerged from the soil.   It went wild in the front garden until it spilled over the pathway to the front door.

In the back yard, tiger swallowtails are nectaring on the Phlox paniculata

and on the Abelia chinensis.

 

After a thunderstorm, lacy caps of mushrooms appeared along the path.

Others had button caps.

The late summer garden, waiting for autumn.