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In Jenny Rose Carey’s newsletter this week, she posted the following quote from Marion Henderson’s book, Pot-Pourri:

“The year drips its life slowly away from naked trees where rain hangs in crystal drops. The days are short and seem bereft of light. Yet there are times when winter’s beauty cannot be denied and trees in their dark tracery are etched against the cold blue sky. If the sun shines, the world of nature, sleeping, seems to stir and almost to wake and live again.”

Ms. Henderson’s words reminded me of a recent trip to the Arboretum on a grey, rainy day, when I snapped the following photographs. The bare branches of Heptacodium miconioides (Seven Sons Tree) reaching up against a slate grey sky presenting a beauty not seen when the tree is leaf covered. The vibrant red berries of Ilex verticillata ‘Red Sprite’ (Winterberry Holly) dripping with rain drops providing a bright spot in the garden on a dreary day. No sun appeared during my visit, but I was struck by the beauty of various plants in close proximity to one another: a Blue Spruce in front of a large clump of dry ornamental grasses, the delicate branches of a tree in front of a dark green Spruce tree, all coming together in a mix of shape, color, texture, size to create a beautiful winter vignette.

Picture credits: Margery Ennist

Regular contributor, Elizabeth Brannins, sent me a nice email along with some beautiful pictures from last week. Thanks, Elizabeth, and best wishes for the holidays to you as well.

I stopped by the arboretum last Thursday, the coldest, windiest day! . I wanted to share the “Beauty of December” photos I took. I wish you and everyone who keeps the Arboretum beautiful through all the seasons a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! !! My visits bring me so much Joy! Flowers in December!! 🙂

Elizabeth Brannin

A recent visit to the Arboretum was full of discoveries, among them a large Edgeworthia chrysantha (Paper Bush) by the back door to the Haggerty Education Center, chock full of buds ready to open in the coming weeks; a small clump of Galanthus (Snowdrops) quietly blooming behind a rock next to the fish pond in front of Matilda’s Cottage; a Chrysanthemum cv. ‘Sheffield Pink’ (Pink Daisy Mum) in full bloom, graciously hosting a visitor. The gardens are quieter now and the beauty more subtle, but it is there, even in December.

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

The calendar says December, and the weather agrees, but in spite of this, there is still some lovely fall color at the Arboretum. The columnar American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua cv. Slender Silhouette) next to the parking lot, is stubbornly hanging on to its colorful orange and gold star shaped leaves, a lovely contrast against the clear blue sky. The Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) next to the Haggerty Education Center presents a pretty picture with the rusty red leaves providing a nice backdrop for the dried, creamy white flower heads. Last, but certainly not least, are the brilliant red compound leaves of Leatherleaf Mahonia (Mahonia bealei) making a brilliant statement in the late fall garden.

It may be chilly, but bundle up and take a walk around the grounds to see what Mother Nature has to offer.

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

Morris County Park Commission staff were very busy this week planting hundreds of bulbs in the two raised beds at the entrance to the Haggerty Education Center. Many different types of bulbs were planted, some common and others rare. Once the blooms fade, the bulbs will be replanted around the Arboretum’s property to give them a chance to naturalize over the years.

Over $4,500 was given to the Park Commission by the Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum for this annual planting. Your Membership dollars at work!!!

Thanks to Judy Snow for the photos.

Frequent contributor, Elizabeth Brannin, sent a batch of Beautiful Autumn pictures with this accompanying message:

I was at the arboretum last week and had to share the beauty I saw! I spent a beautiful warm Autumn Day walking around taking in the beauty of the season! 

Have an amazing day

Elizabeth 

The warm weather extending into November is making it possible for plants to continue blooming in the Arboretum’s gardens. A lovely Rosa ‘The Poet’s Wife’ is showing off in the Heritage Rose Garden and a bright orange Eschscholzia californica “Apricot Chiffon’ (California Poppy) is doing her thing in the Gravel Garden. Meanwhile, the warm days and cool nights are contributing to foggy mornings on the Great Lawn in front of the Mansion.

Visit soon and see what treasures you can find!

Thanks to Kristin Prommel, Superintendent of Horticulture, Morris County Park Commission for these lovely shots.

This year’s Tree Symposium, held Saturday November 2, was a huge success, thanks in great part to our excellent speakers and their topics, and also to the Friends’ group of dedicated volunteers who kept things running smoothly in the background. 

The whimsical table centerpieces created by Marge Hulstrunk and pictured below were raffled off at the end of the day, and nine lucky winners went home with a unique work of art!  Marge also created the lovely arrangement that graced the food table.

With the Tree Symposium coming up this weekend, we’re highlighting some of the trees in the Arboretum’s collection. The so called ‘mitten tree’ (Sassafras albidum) located along the Sylvan Terrace Trail, produces three types of leaves, trilobed, bilobed and unlobed; the 2-lobed leaves resemble mittens, right and left, and turn a beautiful orangy/yellow in fall. Sassafras is native to North America and is the host plant for Spicebush Swallowtail butterflies. A beautiful Kousa Dogwood (Cornus Kousa) in front of the Mansion, covered in bright red leaves and fruit, is dramatically displayed in front of a Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba) which hasn’t completely turned its lovely saffron yellow yet; the fan-shaped leaves of the Ginkgo are unique among seed plants. The genus Ginkgo extends back approximately 170 million years ago and is widely regarded as a living fossil!

Picture credits Margery Ennist.

In spite of the lack of rain in recent weeks, the beds at the Arboretum are still flourishing, offering a variety of flower colors, textures, shapes and sizes to be admired and enjoyed. A beautiful, deep blue Monkshood (Aconitum) is still in bloom in the Fern Garden close to the Mansion; the English name Monkshood refers to the cylindrical helmet, called the galea, distinguishing the flower. In the beds in the Rose garden behind the Mansion some lovely, delicate pink Foxgloves (Digitalis, derived from the Latin word for “finger”) are still in bloom; although Foxgloves generally bloom in May, they will bloom in late summer if the seeds are planted in the spring, the flowers are a favorite of butterflies and moths. And, last but not least, the beds next to Matilda’s Cottage have several Strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteatum) plants blooming. Also known as Golden Everlasting, the flowers come in many colors from white to bronze to purple, and serve as food for various butterflies and moths, bees, beetles and grasshoppers.

No new photographs today, just a little trip down memory lane to revisit a few special spots and the plants that make them so. A beautiful Acer palmatum cv. Sango Kaku in all its autumnal glory in the Japanese Maple collection; a majestic Green Giant Arborvitae, one of two in the relaxing pool garden next to the Mansion; Asters, fall colors and fallen leaves in the perennial gardens behind the Haggerty Education Center. Autumn is such a special time of year, when Mother Nature paints a brilliant canvas for us to enjoy, although fleetingly. Emily Bronte put it beautifully: “Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree”.

Make time to visit the Arboretum soon, you won’t regret it!

Fall is here and so is the annual Morris County Park Commission’s Scarecrows in the Garden  exhibit. This free exhibit is available through the end of October, so bring the family, stroll the gardens and see how many you can find – there are dozens of ghoulish, historic and colorful creations! Here’s a small sampling.

We got this batch of beautiful flowers transmitted by this email:

Good Morning,

As summer ends and hints of Autumn begin there is nowhere more perfect to admire the beauty of the new season than at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum.

Happy Autumn 

Elizabeth Brannin

Thanks, Elizabeth, for these lovely images.

The days are getting shorter, there’s a hint of autumn in the air and the trees at the Arboretum are beginning their annual transition into fall by changing leaf color. The fall blooming Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’ presents her dainty white blooms with yellow stamens for all to admire and the bees continue searching for pollen wherever they can. Some plants, however, are not ready to give in to the season’s change, Roses continue blooming and the Agapanthus in pots is still flowering.

It’s a lovely time of the year to visit the Arboretum.

This week’s lovely photographs are by Katharine Boyle. Thank you!

During a recent trip to Nashville, Tennessee, I was lucky enough to visit Cheekwood Gardens, one of the American Horticultural Society’s Reciprocal Admissions Program (RAP) participants. Membership with the Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum waived my entrance fee to the Gardens, a savings of almost $30!

Cheekwood is distinguished as one of the leading American Country Place Era estates and was the home of Mabel and Leslie Cheek. The 55 acres of cultivated gardens include a serene Japanese garden, a stream garden, perennial gardens, a sculpture walk (including Sophie Ryder’s Crawling Lady Hare) and a children’s garden to name just a few. During my visit, the Arboretum’s lawn was decorated as a pumpkin village including a variety of pumpkins, Chrysanthemums, and even a pumpkin house!

This was definitely a great benefit of membership with the Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum!