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Chilly, damp and raw conditions made for a quick walk around the grounds. Even so, the lovely, sunny yellow Hamamelis x intermedia Sunburst (Witch Hazel) was a welcome sight, living up to its name by providing a bright spot next to Matilda’s Cottage; a close-up of the flowers shows their unusual strappy petals. The shiny, leathery evergreen leaves of Magnolia grandiflora cv. Edith Bogue (Southern Magnolia cultivar) with their indumentum covered undersides provide a nice foil for the cone-like Magnolia fruit.

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

A lovely sunny day in the mid-50s, hard to believe it’s February! More early bloomers are doing their thing: bright yellow sweeps of Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite) adorn a bed next to Matilda’s cottage, purplish/red Hellebores (Lenten Rose) are blooming in the beds under the Japanese Maple collection and a small clump of sunny yellow Adonis amurensis (Pheasant’s Eye) is keeping the Winter Aconite company. Enjoy a visit soon!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

Winter is the perfect time to get a good look at the bark on trees, without the distraction of leaves, flowers or fruits. The Acer griseum (Paper Bark Maple) at the entrance to the Haggerty Education Center is a gorgeous collage of overlapping, exfoliating bark in shades of brown and tan. The Heptacodium miconioides (Seven Sons Tree) presents a smoother bark, with long exfoliating strands of bark that move with the breeze. A Lagerstromia indica cv. Acoma (Crapemyrtle) also has a smooth bark, but with subtle patches of beige, peach and olive green. These are not the only examples of interesting bark to be found!

Pictures courtesy of Margery Ennist.

Cold, chilly, breezy, not ideal for a stroll in the gardens, but the fresh air was invigorating and welcome. Lovely, shiny dark red leaves on a low to the ground Leucothoe axillaris (Coast Leucothoe), interesting green flowers of a Helleborus foetidus (Stinking Hellebore) and a lovely fuzzy bud, one of many, on the Magnolia x ‘Butterflies’ (Hybrid Magnolia), just waiting for the warmth of spring to burst forth into bloom! To quote Percy Bysshe Shelley in Ode to The West Wind: If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

A chilly but welcome sunny day at the Arboretum. Even though Spring is still two months away, a few plants are blooming in the dead of Winter. Beautiful, delicate white Snowdrops (Galanthus), lemony yellow Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) and strappy reddish orange Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane) blooms can be found if you look carefully enough. Be sure to visit soon!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

The Friends celebrated the New Year and the 50th Anniversary of our founding with a presentation by Judy Snow, past President of the Friends, showing highlights from Friends’ activities and remembering many horticultural friends and events through the years. The presentation was followed by a delicious spread of sweet and savory treats, as well as coffee, tea and bubbly. All who attended were happy to be back in the Haggerty for a live event and a chance to catch up with friends!

If you are not a Member of the Friends, please join us, we would love to have you!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

Chilly and damp for my walk around the grounds today, but still found beauty in the upper parking lot beds. A gorgeous combination of color, texture and size provided by the stiff branches of Picea pungens cv. Glauca Globosa (Blue Colorado Spruce Cultivar), the soft seedheads of Miscanthus sinensis cv. Graziella (Eulalia Grass) and the tall, bronzy needles of Picea orientalis (Oriental Spruce). In the same bed, the large Juniperus virginiana cv. Corcorcor (Emerald Sentinel Juniper) is full of bluish berries. Last, but not least, a large, rounded Chamaecyparis pisifera cv. filifera aurea (Sawara Cypress) proudly shows off its gracefully weeping golden foliage.

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

Scattered about the various garden rooms at the Arboretum there are several statues to be found. Close to the Cottage Garden and Barkman Vegetable Garden there is a Herm of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, and another of an unidentified female. In case you don’t know, a Herm is a sculpture with a head and perhaps a torso above a plain, usually squared lower section. Next to the Knot Garden close to the Mansion, there is a small, sweet statue of a young girl cradling a lamb (or is it a puppy?). And in the Sylvan Terrace below a bridge there are a couple of metal Cranes standing in a bed of fallen leaves.

I’m curious as to the provenance and history of these pieces. If anyone knows, I’d love to hear. Thanks!

Evergreen foliage is not confined to pines, spruces or firs, a variety of plants retain their leaves during the winter months. There are some beautiful examples of this at The Frelinghuysen Arboretum, i.e., the green and yellow speckled leaves of Aucuba japonica cv. Variegata (Spotted Laurel), the yellow and green leaves of a variegated Ilex glabra (Variegated Inkberry Holly), the green and yellow pointed leaves of Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’ (Holly Osmanthus) and the green and white serrated leaves of Euonymus fortunei cv. Variegatus (Wintercreeper Euonymus) growing up a tree trunk.

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

A chilly walk around the Arboretum’s grounds today. The sun was casting long, mid-afternoon shadows across the ground in the Japanese Maple garden, the Meadow behind the Mansion was bathed in a soft, golden glow and the bright red berries on the Ilex corallina x aquifolium ‘Centennial Girl’ (Holly Hybrid) added a festive touch to the large Holly next to the Marsh Meadow Deck.

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.