Photo Galleries

After some unusually warm April weather, temperatures have fallen to more seasonal levels. The warm weather did promote all kinds of early blooming, though. This year, the bulb planting at the entrance to the Haggerty Education Center is a happy combination of white daffodils interspersed with orange tulips. The display is funded by a grant from the Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum.

So many plants are in bloom that it was difficult to choose what to photograph; I settled on the Bleeding Heart (Dicentra) plants sporting arched stems of lovely pink heart-shaped flowers and Witch Alder (Fothergilla) shrubs covered in white brush like flowers. Spring at The Frelinghuysen Arboretum, what could be better?

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

Our frequent contributor, Katharine Boyle, sent these beautiful pictures from a visit to the Frelinghuysen yesterday.

She said, “Today was a perfectly cloudy day for macro and wide angle photography. The bumble bee in the last few photos was enormous and hard to keep up with its busy pollination activities! Spring has sprung!”

Love the bumblebee!

The warm weather we’ve been experiencing is promoting all kinds of growth in the form of  leaves, flowers, bulbs, etc. A Viburnum carlesii cv. Compactum (Korean Spice Viburnum) is about to burst into full bloom and release its lovely fragrance; the Magnolia x ‘Butterflies’ (Hybrid Magnolia) next to the Waterwise Deck is full of large, pale yellow flowers (notice the unopened bud clusters of the Viburnum carlesii under the tree); and a Prunus x cistena ‘Purpurea’ (Purpleleaf Sand Cherry) in the Four Seasons Garden next to the parking lot has a myriad of very delicate white flowers beginning to open all along its branches. It is a lovely time at The Frelinghuysen Arboretum – make time for a visit soon!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

Frequent contributor, Steve Kanan, sent this batch of photos from his walk at the Arboretum on Easter Sunday.

Thanks, as always, to Steve for his great batches of pictures.

A beautiful early spring day in the mid-70s. Many visitors were out enjoying the Arboretum’s grounds today, from painters to photographers to families enjoying the great lawn. Large sweeps of daffodils are spreading their cheery blossoms for all to enjoy, the cherry trees are beginning to bloom and all manner of buds are breaking their long winter rest.

Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

A day that started out cloudy became sunny in the afternoon. A small PJM Rhododendron is beginning to bloom along the four seasons path next to the parking lot; farther down the path, a Pieris japonica has burst into bloom and on the road coming up from Hanover Avenue a lovely, sweetly fragrant Loebner Magnolia’s flowers were gently dancing in the breeze. Do plan a visit soon!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

Spring is definitely on its way! Delicate white Dwarf Irises with pale lavender stripes (Iris cv. Painted Lady) have emerged around the pond in front of Matilda’s cottage; many bunches of cheerful purple Crocuses are blooming around the grounds and a Dawn Viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense cv. Dawn) is beginning to bloom along the Four Seasons garden path next to the parking lot. Enjoy!

Picture credits: Margery Ennist.

A flurry of snowflakes and a blustery breeze accompanied my walk around the Arboretum grounds today. The meadow, gazebo and Pieris japonica flowers were covered in varying amounts of snow creating the appearance of a light sugar coating.

This week’s photos offer a wide variety of late winter images. The persistent, dry, paper thin leaves of an American Beech tree (Fagus grandifolia), fluttering in the breeze and soon to be pushed off by fresh new growth. The evergreen, yellowish, flat foliage sprays of a Sawara Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera cv. Filifera Aurea) adding a bright spot in the landscape. The delicate, deep pink flowers of an espaliered Japanese Apricot (Prunus Mume cv. Kobai) blooming against the walls of the Carriage House. Spring is on its way!

Picture credits Margery Ennist.

Chilly, overcast and damp after yesterday’s snowfall. Lovely little vignettes were created around the grounds, from the snow covered foliage and male cones of a Cryptomeria japonica  (Japanese Cedar), to bright red berries and snow on Ilex centrochinensis x. Aquifolium ‘Centennial Girl’ (Hybrid Holly), to the lemony yellow flowers of Jasminum nudiflorum (Winter Jasmine), holding their own even under a blanket of snow! Mother Nature at her loveliest!

Picture credits Margery Ennist.

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.