Powell Gardens' Blog

Bones of the Winter Landscape Nature Hike

2012-01-17T10:02:00.002-06:00

Sunday afternoon, January 15 provided an unseasonably mild day for our Bones of the Winter Landscape Hike on the Byron Shutz Nature Trail. Betsy Betros, local naturalist and butterfly book author, took the following pictures of our hike and I thought I would share this "nature of" Powell Gardens experience here.

We began our tour at the Visitor Center and talked about the beautiful evergreen Southern Magnolias at Powell Gardens and that the Gardens has been designated an official magnolia collection of the North American Plant Collection Consortium by the American Public Gardens Association.

We looked at the tapestry of deciduous and evergreen shrubs along with winter grasses left standing and how they are all excellent examples of the "bones" of the winter landscape.

The sky was beautifully blue and the temperature approaching 60F. You can tell by our long shadows that we are not quite a month past the winter solstice. It is amazing how this backlit landscape looks entirely different than the picture above.

We stopped to talk about one of our fallen giant tree: a Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) that we are allowing to decompose in place. The tree fell right across the trail and we made a cut at that point so visitors could count the rings of the tree ( approximately 92) and see all the interesting fungi that are returning the tree back to Earth.

We talked about the Osage Orange or Hedge Trees (Maclura pomifera) along the trail. It was a rare tree when settlers arrived in the Midwest -- first brought back to the East by the Lewis & Clark Expedition. The tree was on its way to extinction when we discovered a use for it beyond the Native Americans premier wood source for bows (The French explorers called it Bos'd Arc). The tree was soon widely planted as a living fence throughout the Midwest before the invention of barbed wire and old hedgerows of it can still be experienced along the trail.

We found this abandoned American Goldfinch nest with 2 eggs still intact. Goldfinches are one our last birds to nest and we pondered why this one still had unbroken and unpierced eggs in it. Bird and Squirrel nests, cocoons of moths and even a butterfly chrysalis shell were discovered along the walk in the January bare and dormant landscape.

The trail crosses areas we have restored the remnant native prairie in with help from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Conservation. The wintertime native, warm-season grasses were in beautiful hues from brunette to blond.

Cattails (Typha latifolia) with their fluffy seed heads and Lotus (Nelumbo lutea) frozen in ice grace the Clay Pond along the high ridge of the trail. What an odd place for a pond! It is simply spectacular when the lotus are in bloom from mid to late summer.

The trail passes through an old orchard that now has become a naturalized pine woods complete with the scents and sounds so indicative of such a place.

Virginia Pine (Pinus virginiana) makes up most of our pine grove. It is a bushy pine with short needles and abundant prickly cones whose seeds are great for winter birds. This pine is somewhat susceptible to pine wilt that is killing all our Scotch pines in the landscape.

Here's one of the old Loblolly Pines (Pinus taeda) admired by the hike participants. This pine has very long needles and is very tolerant of our wet or dry clay soils and has also naturalized extensively in our "pine woods." This is one of the farthest north places this normally Southern tree grows on its own. (see the little pine seedlings in the foreground and larger "teenager" pines behind it) It's only problem is that the long needles collect ice and make it susceptible to ice storm damage.
The final leg of the hike returned to the Visitor Center while admiring emerging blooms of Vernal Witchhazel in the Rock & Waterfall Garden and Snowdrops blooming on the Island Garden. Everyone got a good workout and I hope learned more about our winter landscape. February's hike will focus on birds and the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Powell Gardens staff lead walks and hikes at the Garden's trails each month from January through April. Stephanie Acers, Youth Education Coordinator leads a Family Fun Walk on our mile-long short loop nature trail while Alan Branhagen, Director of Horticulture, leads a Season Highlights hike on the 3.25 mile Byron Shutz Nature Trail that transverses the wilds of our 970 acre site. If you are interested in learning more about the "nature" of Powell Gardens, attend one of these hikes -- see our Garden Culture or visit our website www.powellgardens.org or call Linda Burton at 816-697-2600 x209 to register.

A Sample of Colorful Evergreens from Powell Gardens

2011-12-30T14:58:00.000-06:00

Plants with evergreen foliage are a mainstay of the winter garden. But how many of these plants are truly green? The term evergreen means they hold their foliage through the winter but the wintertime foliage can be in almost any hue! Here's a look at some of the evergreen plants around the Visitor Center which offers an exceptional collection of evergreens as it was designed to be a sort of winter garden for folks who didn't want to walk to far to see the beauty of the gardens on a cold winter's day.

Nandina domestica 'Blush Pink' offers about the wildest color one can have this season on a dwarf or compact shrub. The winter color of this shrub is fiery fall red -- its pink in the summertime.

Nandina domestica 'Obsession' also offers a wonderful blend of winter color with red-bronze-purple hued foliage.

Nandina domestica 'Flirt' is a very compact grower with a more overall purple hue now. All three of these mini-shrub Nandinas are part of the Southern Living Shrub Collection's zone 6 hardy varieties which were all donated to Powell Gardens for trial. So far these are tough shrubs surviving last summer's ferocious heat and drought just fine. These 3 varieties can be seen around the Visitor Center trolley stop.

Here's a grouping of native Eastern Redcedars (Juniperus virginiana) that were dug from the wild and planted as a screen to the Visitor Center's parking lot. Native male Eastern Redcedars like these three have orange-colored pollen cones on them in winter that will release dusty yellow pollen in spring. Many gardeners don't care for this color of evergreen in the wintertime but we feel it is part of the natural color scheme to our local landscape -- the "Spirit of Place" we try to capture at Powell Gardens.

These are a grouping of a 'Oxford' Eastern Redcedars which is a cultivar selected in southern Kansas for its greener foliage in winter. It is a female cultivar so has some of the blue, berry-like cones that are so nice to adorn the plant in wintertime and ofter a major food source to wildlife. You can eat these cones too, sometimes they have a sweet burst of flavor to begin with but always end with a strong gin aftertaste. Yep, gin is flavored with juniper "berries."

Cannaertii Eastern Redcedars are another Kansas selection of our only native evergreen. Canaertii Junipers are also female and have wonderful open branching patterns that are so striking in the winter landscape. The trees on the right side of this shot are a bit lopsided because of severe deer browse on their leeward side.

This evergreen (but yellow-leaved at all seasons) is the Golden Japanese Sweetflag (Acorus gramineus 'Ogon'). It is a very underutilized perennial groundcover that really does add a bright spot in the landscape throughout the year. This mass is just northeast of the Visitor Center right along the main path.

Here's one of the greenest evergreens I could find: a Southern Magnolia (M. grandiflora) grown from a cutting off the Greater Kansas City champion. This is certainly one of the hardiest Southern Magnolias anywhere and does grow as a sturdy, relatively compact plant despite its unsheltered site south of the Visitor Center.

The wonderful red-purple hues and rugose texture of this Leatherleaf Viburnum (V. x rhitidophylloides) make it one of our favorite huge shrubs for winter interest. The foliage holds well through mild winters but this shrub can become more deciduous after a harder winter like last year. Look for these big shrubs below the Visitor Center's Conservatory.

Rhododendron 'PJM' has some of the nicest dark, almost chocolate purple leaves of any hardy shrub that grows well here. On cold, sub-freezing days the leaves roll up -- rolling up tightly during severe cold and giving the plant an entirely different look. I think of it as a living thermometer in winter as the leaves unfurl as the temperature returns to above freezing.

This is the fabulous foliage of the Redboor Kale (Brassica oleracea) which holds beautifully down to temperatures around 10F or above. It is naturally a biennial where completely hardy but since we are usually colder than zone 8, it often dies or the foliage is killed by our winters. We would love to see this mild winter continue as all the kale look great right now. We also have blooming pansies and a few spring bulbs already out!

Come out to Powell Gardens for a New Years hike and enjoy some of the beautiful evergreens that adorn the grounds. The biggest collection is around the Visitor Center but there are marvelous varieties to be seen from the Heartland Harvest Garden to the Perennial Garden and even a plethora of winter colors along the Byron Shutz Nature Trail. Consider staying fit by walking outdoors as often as you can this winter, and may our mild winter continue!

The Holiday Season's Garden

2011-12-02T08:50:00.015-06:00

Powell Gardens is brimming with flowers, foliage and fruit that make this season bright.

The Conservatory and its Victorian-themed palate is full of unique Poinsettias and companion plants in a beautiful design by Horticulturist Anne Wildeboor. Here Poinsettia 'Winter Rose Marble' & 'Premium White' is set off by Diamond Frost Euphorbia and Pink Polka-dot Plant. If you are in the market for unique poinsettias, Perennial Gifts (our gift shop) will have these for sale for you to take home.

Outside the last of the season greens are part of our masterful foliage display playing off their leave's beautiful colors and textures. This marvelous array of edibles was designed by Horticulturist Matt Bunch in the Heartland Harvest Garden's Villandry Quilt Garden in front of the barn. From left to right the mustard greens varieites are: 'Golden Frill', 'Purple Rain', 'Green Wave' and 'Garnet Giant.'

No, the gardening season does not end with a freeze! Many of the "greens" of the fall garden hold well into December with some kale hardy to near 10F. Make sure to walk to the barn on your Powell Gardens visit to see some of these beautiful compositions and be sure and hike (or ride on the elevator) up to the top of the silo for a bird's eye overview of the landscape.

No, this is not a "beached" starfish but a gorgeous bed of greens (purple 'Garnet Giant' mustard and green tops of radishes)

in the Villandry Garden. The unique fringed edge are 'Chinese Ornamental' peppers which, though killed by a freeze, create a gorgeous border in the winter landscape.

The screaming red berries of the Possumhaw or Deciduous Holly (Ilex decidua) always warm the soul on a winter garden walk. All berried hollies are female and require a male pollinator -- when we planted this fruiting plant in the Perennial Garden we forgot to plant a pollinator and it still fruited! I thought we might have the first self-fruitful possumhaw but then we discovered a wild male plant in the woods nearby.

This Prairie Rose (Rosa setigera) in the Apple Celebration Court is also loaded with beautiful deep red hips. It is a companion planting to the apples and makes the garden beautiful all through winter.

Prickly-pears like this wild Bigroot Prickly Pear (Opuntia macrorhiza) draping over the living wall on the Island Garden are great for winter interest in the garden. The companion reddish foliage is from the Hardy Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) used as a colorful companion plant.

The Island Garden is choc full of neat foliage plant treats like this Angelina Sedum (Sedum reflexum) which in winter has orange hi-lights.

Angelina Sedum combines well with other evergreen plants like silver Santolina (back left), Candytuft (back right) and fine forest green creeping thyme (front left) and rich green six-sided sedum (front right). All these grow on top of the Island Garden's living wall.

Snowdrops (Galanthus elwesii) have already made their appearance on the Island Garden! Perhaps the severe drought of fall followed by copious rains fooled them into thinking it was spring. At any rate we sure enjoy these cold hardy, floral gems whenever they appear.

Sweet Violets (Viola odorata) are also in bloom with their intensely sweet perfume. They are awesome edible flowers with a sweet floral taste that can really make a salad sing in this season.
These were photographed on the east side of the Island Garden but they are also sweetening up the Kitchen Garden south of the barn in the Heartland Harvest Garden and a few other secret locations around the garden--your nose will find them before your eyes.

These flowers, foliage and fruit await your discovery on a holiday walk at Powell Gardens. Take a break from the hustle and bustle and discover the beauties of our winter garden.

Owls Banded at Powell Gardens

2011-11-21T11:01:00.006-06:00

One of North America's smallest and most secretive (and cutest!) owls: the Northern Saw-whet Owl were banded at Powell Gardens last week. We invited staff from the Missouri River Bird Observatory to come sample appropriate habitat near the Byron Shutz Nature Trail where we thought the owls might reside. 2 owls were caught: one male near 9 p.m. and one female at 11:30 p.m.

Dana Ripper, Director of the Missouri River Bird Observatory (MRBO), shows off the male Northern Saw-whet Owl netted at Powell Gardens. Across North America, a network of researchers is monitoring the autumn migration of this tiny owl. Northern Saw-whet Owls were thought to be quite rare in our area but the MRBO is proving that we have more owls in central Missouri than previously known. Learn more at www.projectowlnet.org and visit the MRBO website at www.mrbo.org.

Here Dana relays information about the bird to Ethan Duke, Assistant Director of the Missouri River Bird Observatory. Each of the two owls caught were measured and weighed, checked for health, banded and released very near where they were caught. Based on the information gathered the first bird was a male and the second a female (you can't tell by their plumage). Both birds were more than a year old.

Dana holds out their relatively large wings to see their molt patterns. This bird weighed less than 3 ounces and can fly away with a mouse more than one third its weight.

Only professionals with proper permits may net and band these and all protected species of birds. Myself and a handful of Missouri Master Naturalists accompanied Dana and Ethan to the banding here at Powell Gardens. If you ever come across a banded bird (owl or any bird!) please report it to www.reportband.gov. I wondered what the story was with each of the Saw-whets caught here at Powell: where did you come from? From the high elevations of the Rocky Mountains? From the great northern forests of Canada? From Northern Minnesota? Were they planning to stay here for the winter or fly farther south? If only they could speak. The banders' research is helping us to understand the lives of secretive birds and put in place an understanding of what their conservation needs are now and for future generations.

Meet Dana and Ethan from the MRBO at Powell Gardens on Sunday, February 5th for banding birds around the Powell Gardens Visitor Center. It will be a chance for our visitors to get up close and personal to wild birds. Watch for specific details soon.

Colors of November

2011-11-14T10:18:00.015-06:00

The low light of November creates some sublime scenes by intensifying the fall hues. A walk through Powell Gardens offers a prime finale of the fall season.

4p.m. light on the Perennial Garden makes the towering 2o year old Baldcypresses show off their fine fall color to a tee. What better time to sit at the arbor and enjoy the scenery.

Sweetbay Magnolia's (Magnolia virginiana) fall attire of subtle yellows compliments the composition of shrubs beneath it: from purple-red Concorde Barberry (left & background right) to orange Magic Carpet Spirea, glowing yellow Vintage Gold Falsecypress and blue-gray Lavender (right foreground). Look for this scene in the Fountain Garden.

Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) decked out in fall attire of bronzy oranges and reds along the walk to the Fountain Garden.

Dwarf Fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii) is known for some of the best fall colors in a hardy shrub. Here Green Giant Arborvitae provides a nice evergreen backdrop. Look for this scene between the Perennial Garden and Rock & Waterfall Garden.

Pink fall color is rare but is occasional in some viburnums like this self-sown seedling of Missouri Native Southern Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) in the Rock & Waterfall Garden.

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) offers some of the best red fall color year after year -- here at the south entrance to the Rock & Waterfall Garden.

Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum) offer some of the most intense red fall colors: almost like they are plugged in! This is foliage of the cultivar 'Emperor I' which is the best of the purple-leaved cultivars for our region as it is slower to leaf out in spring and rarely damaged by late frosts. This small tree is thriving in the shady Rock & Waterfall Garden.

This Zumi Crabapple (Malus x zumi 'Calicarpa') is completely studded with tiny red crabapples. A feast for the eyes in this season and literally a feast for the birds too as their winter larder. Look for these crabapples on the Island Garden.

Plants that stay evergreen are also standouts in this season like this clump of Lily-of-China (Rohdea japonica) in the Rock & Waterfall Garden. Looking like young corn plants, this long-lived perennial stays green all winter. Lily-of-China is a great companion to hostas for some winter interest when they leave the shade garden would otherwise be empty.

The flower beds around the Visitor Center are at peak with cool season, frost tolerant flowers and foliage. This bed contains pansies, lettuce, chrysanthemums, kale and fountain grass left from summer. All these plants hold well until Thanksgiving and often into early December depending on the weather.

The Poinsettia crop in the Powell Gardens' greenhouses is looking as good as ever.

Poinsettias are a difficult crop to grow and need the lengthening nights (without any light pollution -- even light from a street light!) to initiate the beautiful bracts that surround the tiny flowers. This week they will be installed in the conservatory, opening for public viewing on Saturday the 19th. Don't let cabin fever set in and come walk through the late fall gardens and be inspired by late fall's beautiful scenery.

October's Garden Glory

2011-10-13T08:57:00.001-05:00

It is the peak of fall at Powell Gardens and there is still a bounty of flowers, foliage and produce throughout the gardens.

Closed or Bottle Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) is one of the true blue flowers we can grow and a must see in person each fall. Who do you think pollinates such a unique flower? The answer is big bumblebees that are strong enough to open the twisted shut end of the flower. The bumblebee climbs into the flower and then there is a whole lot of shak'n going on! Trick or treat? Well the flower does reward the bumblebee with some wonderful nectar and gets pollinated in the process. Look for a nice mass of this native gentian in the New Millennium border of the Perennial Garden.

Prairie Gentian (Gentiana puberulenta) is another locally native gentian but defies captivity. It must have some relationship with some soil fungus, microfauna or whatever that is lost when a native prairie is plowed up. Too bad because it would certainly be one of the most popular garden flowers and also a spectacular cut flower. This one was photographed on a Friends Member's Ona Gieschen's private native prairie during a visit last week. Trek out to a native prairie near you to see this beauty -- one of so many reasons to cherish, protect and manage our native prairie remnants

The Island Garden pools are still lush with flowers and foliage and surrounded by billowing flowers from Maximilian Sunflowers and Golden Asters in the prairie to Gauras, Verbena bonariensis and Autumn Sages in the garden beds. This Powell Gardens centerpiece is the most flower and color filled location on the grounds right now (don't miss it!). It's the last weekend for such a show as temperatures next week may flirt with Jack Frost and we will have to begin to remove the tropical water plants to their winter quarters.

Gorgeous cushions of Aromatic Aster (Aster oblongifolius) grace the east side of the Island Garden's living wall right now. Watch for hoards of pollinators and butterflies imbibing their last nectar and pollen meals of the season from these flowers. These particular flowers were grown from wild aromatic asters on the native prairie remnants on the property.

New England Asters (Aster novae-angliae) are also in bloom in wild areas of the garden but especially in the Perennial Garden. Look for them in shades of purple to pink and some with some ruby-violet tones. We let them self-sow to within reason and always remember why now, when they put on such a magical hurrah of flowers near the end of our growing season.

Helen's Flower or "Sneezeweed" (Helenium autumnale) is another native wildflower with many colorful selections that self-sows in the Perennial Garden and supplies gold to brick red flowers now. This seedling is in the New Millennium border and was spared for its gorgeous bi-colored flowers. Sneezeweed doesn't make you sneeze unless you do what the Native Americans allegedly did: make a snuff out of it to make you sneeze to rid your body of evil spirits. I don't recommend that.

This colorful border of fall flowers in the Vineyard are a local seed strain of chrysanthemums donated to us by local Gardener Jackie Goetz. We call them Jackie's Mums (Chrysanthemum x morifolium) and they are self-sow naturally into a myriad of colors from yellow to orange, rust, maroon, pink, and white. They are companion plants to grapes and attract a myriad of beneficial insects and butterflies to the garden now. The flowers are allegedly edible too, just don't eat the base of the flower which is very bitter.

Here's a couple more images of Jackie's mums in the Vineyard. We have tried to select some of the colors for propagation but they are relatively short-lived so it is best to let them be free to self-sow and show their true colors!

There is always some unusual plant that grabs my attention in the Heartland Harvest Garden and now it is the Huacatay Marigold (Tagetes minuta). This is a great companion plant in edible landscapes to help protect plantings from nematodes, slugs and tough perennial weeds like bindweed. Oil from this plant is used in commercial food flavorings but it also has many herbal uses. This plant has a host of other names including Muster-John-Henry, Khaki Weed and Stinking Roger!!!! Hmmmm...

Matt Bunch (Heartland Harvest Garden Horticulturist) has uncovered quite a catch! A 14 pound 'Beauregard' sweet potato. It is not even close the world record but quite a feast nonetheless. There's a lot of sweet potato fries in this plant's tuber. Come explore Powell Gardens this weekend and uncover your own special garden experiences. From the Heartland Harvest Garden to the Perennial Garden and the Byron Shutz Nature Trail, there lies a phenomenal bounty of October's glory.

Unfamiliar Flowers and Fruit of Fall

2011-09-30T10:25:00.001-05:00

The Seven Sons tree (Heptacodium miconioides) has been blooming and attracting a wide array of butterflies this fall. A Viceroy, mimic of the Monarch butterfly, dines on the nectar-rich flowers. Look for Sevens Sons near the Fountain Garden and in the Perennial Garden.

Colchicums are also in bloom with there large autumnal flowers. This clump is Colchicum byzantinum aka Colchicum autumnale major. These deer and squirrel resistant bulbs are expensive but worth it as one bulb will sport all the flowers shown. The leaves are large in spring and go dormant by midsummer so plan accordingly in the garden. We think blue-flowering Hardy Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) is the perfect companion plant. As soon as all the flowers are done and lie flat, you can separate bulb masses to propagate the plant. Look for Colchicums on the Island, Rock & Waterfall and Perennial Gardens.

This is the second day flower of the Amazon Victoria (Victoria amazonica). They are white the first day and have this pink center on the second day -- it has to do with cross pollination as the pollen is ready on the first day and the stigma is ready to receive pollen and be fertilized on the second day. Victorias are pollinated by beetles in their native Amazon rivers but must be hand pollinated here. Look for them in the Island Garden pools.

These brown fruit may look unappealing but are a delight to eat! This is a selection of the Jujube tree (Zizyphus jujuba) called 'Coco' and has very sweet, crisp fruit. Jujubes are popular in China and were the inspiration for the candy as the fruit can be candied for long term use. Jujubes have no shelf life or shipping life so are not found in grocery stores.

Jujubes come in various shapes and sizes and this larger, pear-shaped variety is 'Black Sea' from the Ukraine. Look for several varieties of Jujube trees in the Heartland Harvest Garden.

The Starfruit tree (Averrhoa carambola) has been blooming and is setting some fruit. This tropical tree comes from the Malay region and can be seen at Powell Gardens in the Heartland Harvest Garden's greenhouse. Though this fruit is at many local grocery stores, many have not sampled this crisp fruit with a star-shape when sliced and a sweet-sour taste like rhubarb.

Make a date to visit Powell Gardens and find this sample of unfamiliar flowers and fruit -- there are many more than this! We are in moderate going into a worse category of drought but the gardens are irrigated so cultivated plants are blooming and fruiting well. Fall color is going to peak early because of the drought and already there are many beautiful native trees in gold to purples. Come see the tractors on display this weekend (October 1 &2) but don't forget to take a walk through the gardens.

September's Garden Charms

2011-09-15T09:40:00.004-05:00

September may have the most beautiful weather of any month at Powell Gardens. Here's a bit of the serene scene and the floral rainbow captured this week, starting with a view of some visitors taking in the scene from the Island Garden. I have to site a Rutger's study: "flowers register an INSTANT impact on happiness, with lasting effects of boosting mood, enjoyment and life satisfaction." Come experience this September charm at Powell Gardens.

Gorgeous gaillardias blooming in a groundcover of contrasting hardy plumbago can be seen on the Island Garden.

The Island Garden's living wall is full of late summer beauties including this Orange Carpet California-Fuchsia (Zauschneria garrettii). This western mountain native is pollinated by hummingbirds (like so many tubular, red flowers).

Encore Azalea Autumn Sundance(TM) has the richest pink of any of these hardy repeat-blooming azaleas. Look for the 10 hardiest on trial between the Rock & Waterfall and Perennial Gardens.

Like a pink "baby's breath" Palafoxia (Palafoxia callosus) thrives in the space between the living wall and the path on the Island Garden. This annual wildflower thrives in rocky glades, railroad ballast and other challenging sites!

The double-flowering Japanese Kerria (Kerria japonica 'Pleniflora') is full of bloom. Many of us like the singe variety but it does not have the repeat bloom flower power of 'Pleniflora.' Look for this plant on the Island Garden and just off the dogwood walk.

Donkey Tail (Euphorbia myrsinites) is drawing a lot of attention on the Island Garden with its beautiful blue-green foliage. It is invasive in the West (cannot be planted in Colorado or Oregon) but is a behaved garden plant here.

The native Hardy Ageratum (Eupatorium coelestinum) is an invasive wildflower that has its place for tough, wet, low-maintenance areas. It is NOT a plant for a refined garden where it self-sows and runs. Use a native plant like this to your advantage and admire its blue late summer blooms that are very rich in nectar and attract lots of beneficial insects, pollinators and butterflies.

Just this week the Colchicums appeared like magic through the beds of hardy plumbago. This fall-flowering bulb has some of the most beautiful flowers but remember it has big foliage in the springtime so hardy plumbago is a great companion as it is slow to emerge in spring and by the time the colchicum foliage starts to wither it is in full swing to replace it!

The Missouri native Eastern or Savanna Blazingstar (Liatris scariosa) is also in bloom. This wildflower moves around in the Perennial Garden. Some years we can have large masses and then few the next. It's corm is a favorite food of Woodland Voles which were in abundance last winter. We always allow this beauty to self-sow in the garden to stay one step ahead of the voles. It is a fantastic nectar source for Monarchs which are now in full swing of fall migration.

Ouchita Ironweed (Vernonia lettermanii) is a wildflower from the Ouchita Mountains of Arkansas and the most refined and gardenworthy of the ironweeds just now becoming available to gardeners. It has fine, narrow leaves and only grows around 2 feet tall. Look for this beauty on the east side of the Island Garden.

The first fall color is starting to appear in the woodlands around Powell Gardens: the White Ash (Fraxinus americana) turns pumpkin oranges to purples this time of year.

The prairie grasses are also starting to put on their fall show. This is a magnificent clump of Cloud Nine Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) on the Island Garden.

The Canada Red Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) also appears in purple fall color but this tree starts out green then turns purple through the summer, deepening until the leaves turn yellow to orange and drop next month.

A gray treefrog can't match the foliage of this Sanguineus Castor Bean outside the Visitor Center. This frog can be blends and marbling of green to gray but it cannot master purples of this leaf for camouflage!

The autumn fruit and cone crop is pretty low after the harsh summer but the Baldcypress trees (Taxodium distichum) are heavily loaded with their unique spherical cones.

The orange fruit of the Redleaf Rose (Rosa glauca) on the Island Garden captures attention. Look for the best display of rose hips in the Heartland Harvest Garden as they are edible and make great preserves rich in vitamin C.

The Red Sunset Trumpetvine (Campsis radicans) is in bloom over the wall outside Cafe Thyme. This native woody vine is another garden thug but can be grown where its runners can readily be removed or mowed off. Some of its cultivars like 'Flava' and this red-flowered one appear to be better behaved in the garden. We grow it because it is a favorite nectar source for our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

Here's a 45 second clip looking at one of our three hummingbird feeding stations in the Hummingbird Garden outside Cafe Thyme. It has been a joy this fall to dine on the terrace and watch these little miracles of life twitter and chase each other. There have never been so many hummingbirds in the garden as this year. The video is from the camera phone so not a closeup but captures the little birds, some butterflies and the background buzz of a cicada.

Trail Trek on the Byron Shutz Nature Trail

2011-09-12T09:55:00.036-05:00

60 hikers participated in our first annual Trail Trek on the 3.25 mile Byron Shutz Nature Trail on Saturday morning. This was part of our first Run Fast, Eat Slow event. I was the "caboose" of the trail trek to make sure everyone found their way and what a glorious experience it was. Here are some images I took along the way (with my camera phone).

The trail head of the lies just north of the Visitor Center just beyond the Fountain Garden. You can see we had a little bug friend admiring the sign.

The bug was a female Walking Stick. It is always a joy to spot and admire this marvelous insect.

Part of the beginning of the trail goes through some rich low woods with tangles of brush and vines. We spotted a very rare butterfly in this rich habitat here during our 9th annual North American Butterfly Society butterfly count on July 30th. It was a Gemmed Satyr butterfly which requires this type of habitat and hasn't been seen in Greater Kansas City since 1950 but its former habitat is now Shawnee Mission Medical Center. The closest other Gemmed Satyrs can currently be found only in Missouri Counties that border with Arkansas.

Here is our old field habitat which was recently re-cleared with a monies from the National Resource Conservation Service to provide habitat for unique birds and beneficial pollinating insects. The brush piles will be made into pelleted fuel after they dry. You can see the field is currently a sea of gold wildflowers: flowering Bur-Marigolds or sometimes called Tickseed Sunflowers. All the flowers are natural and they are the first wave of succession as the old field will gradually grow back to brush so we can repeat the project in another 10 to 20 years. If we did nothing this would become woodland and habitat for a whole group of unique plants and animals would be lost.

Here is a closeup of the Bur-Marigolds or Tickseed Sunflowers (Bidens polylepis) though some current botanists lump this and another into Bidens aristosa. This native, annual wildflower graces many roadsides and low meadows at this season.

Here's our bridge over the intermittent stream that bisects Powell Gardens' 970 acre property. The stream flowed all of last year but dried up in the heat of this summer. It is always a peaceful respite with an understory of redbud trees and towering quaking-leaved cottonwood trees above.

Here's one of our prairie restoration areas you will experience further along the trail. We reclaimed almost 20 acres of native prairie remnants through grants from the Missouri Department of Conservation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Without management these areas would have also been swallowed up with brush and trees and the unique creatures and wildflowers would have been lost. They are currently at peak flower with classic flowers in gold, white and lavender so typical of the native prairie wildflower palate.

Here's a closeup of one of our unique prairie wildflowers: the Eared False-Foxglove (Aureolaria pedicularia). This wildflower was reviewed as a candidate as a Federal Endangered Species but enough populations were located in the Heartland that it is now listed as a species of special concern. It's a great example of what we would have lost without proper management of our prairie remnants. I had never seen so many plants here before so it is a botanical success story.

Here's a beautiful billow of the Bur-Marigolds again -- they were simply stunning on Saturday! This species does not have the seeds that stick to you like the other members of this Genus (hence the name bur or tick in the name of flowers in this group) -- but Unbur-Marigold or Tickless-Sunflower are even worse names!

The beautiful Rough Blazingstar (Liatris aspera) was in full bloom Saturday too. It is a magnet for migrating Monarch butterflies to nectar on.

Here's a view looking back across the largest area of our prairie restorations. Once upon a time the whole ridge was prairie with just scattered brush and copses of trees. You can see the distant clouds coming in from the north by late morning.

The shrubs with the white berries along the trail are Rough-leaved Dogwood (Cornus drummondii). These are a major food and fuel source for migrating birds as they're very rich in fats. The hot & dry weather this summer lowered the amount of berries produced so birds will have to work a little harder to find food as they migrate. The parched areas south of here in Oklahoma and Texas will be another hazard for migrants on their way back to their winter homes in the tropics of Latin America.

The bright green foliage in this scene are fresh new leaves on the hackberry trees! We had such a super abundance of two butterflies: the Hackberry and Tawny Emperors this year that their caterpillars stripped many hackberries bare. Many of the smaller hackberry trees sent out new leaves this fall.

The American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea) have fully taken over our Clay Pond along the trail. Just two weeks ago some of these were still in flower: our most spectacular native wildflower with magnificent yellow blooms that peak in July and August.

The clouds over the clay pond was a perfect "Mackerel" sky: a precursor to a coming rain! Yes this type of cloud is named after the fish and I hope you can see the resemblance here.

Many gnarly old Osage Oranges (Maclura pomifera) can be seen along the trail and in some spots you can even see that they are in hedgerows that once were living fences planted on the plains before barbwire was invented.

The prairie remnants long the trail display many wild grasses like these Wild Ryes (Elymus sp.). I haven't yet keyed out which one this is and it may be a natural hybrid between the Canada and Hairy Wild Ryes.

Here's another composition from one of the prairie remnants. Gold goldenrods (Solidago sp.), white Late Boneset (Eupatorium serotinum) and the lavender flowers are our native thistles (Cirsium discolor and C. altissimum)! We remove the invasive "noxious weed" non-native thistles but save the native ones as they are very important nectar plants and their seeds and down are utilized by many birds, especially the goldfinch which times its late nesting to coincide with their bloom.

Here's a look back at the final prairie remnant and you can see the clouds are almost overhead.

Here's a shot from our pine grove with a teenage Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) as the focus of the shot. Pines were planted at Powell Gardens when it was a boyscout camp but have naturalized in this area that was formerly an orchard. Our new pine forest is composed of Loblolly, Virginia and Jack Pines -- the farthest north place in the heartland where Loblolly pines have naturalized.

I couldn't resist a shot up into the crown of a large White Ash (Fraxinus americana) next to the trail. You may all know that this tree, with valuable timber and source of the finest baseball bats; is threatened by the escape of the Emerald Ash Borer -- the tree has been destroyed wherever that Chinese bug has invaded. Will we be able to enjoy these magnificent trees here for generations to come?

Just down the path I had to take another tree shot: the crown of a Black Walnut (Juglans nigra). Here's another tree that is abundant at Powell Gardens, THE most valuable timber tree and threatened by a Western disease, the thousand cankers disease, which is moving eastward. It will certainly be a tragedy if these trees are killed in the future and it goes well beyond their $$$ value into the ecological disaster. Many insects are tied to this tree and thus many birds -- it's the favorite host plant (caterpillar food) of our spectacular green-tailed Luna Moths.

Near the end of the trail you cross the northwest corner of a hayfield that was recently baled. A backlit shot but a classic pastoral scene that is part of the trail's experience! We cut the field only after August 1st to ensure the Eastern Meadowlarks and other grassland birds have had time to nest and fledged their young.

Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) sports its clusters of red, fuzzy fruit and is already starting to turn the brilliant warm tones it displays for autumn. This is the only woody plant native to all 48 of the lower United States and is very tough. Its fruit is an emergency source of food for birds in winter and it will probably end up an important food source for birds this year. Only female plants produce the berries so those without berries are likely male.

The final hedgerow you pass through at the end of the trail has lots of vines on it: Heart-leaved Ampelopsis or Raccoon-Grape (Ampelopsis cordata). This rampant but native woody vine is a major wildlife plant but is considered too invasive for most gardens. It has gorgeous porcelain violet-blue berries (yes it is the native version of the porcelain vine) but the fruit is not edible like its grape cousins.

The trail used to end in a grove of Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris) but pine wilt disease has killed almost all the trees.

We planted many little Green Giant Arborvitae between the pines as we knew the epidemic was coming and we are glad we did. Note the wonderful arborvitaes are nearly 20 feet tall now.

I always stop by the Rock & Waterfall Garden on my way back from the end of the trail. It is such a lush respite during the growing season. The large-leaved tree in this picture is the Missouri native Umbrella Magnolia (Magnolia tripetala) which adds a tropical looking flair to any woodland garden.

Kansas's state flower the Annual Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) graces the meadow (prairie planting) between the Rock & Waterfall and Island Gardens. It is one my favorite and quintessential wildflowers of the season!

A view to the chapel reveals the unique clouds of the disturbed weather that was arriving. It actually didn't rain until late afternoon.

Last stop a look at the Island Garden and its pools filled with gorgeous water plants. The Waterlilies are at their peak of bloom now.

Consider a trek on the Byron Shutz Nature Trail during your next visit to Powell Gardens. It is great exercise and provides a look at the wild side of the gardens 970 acres. Now may be the premier season for its wildflowers and the weather couldn't be better!

Late Summer Garden's Bounty

2011-08-26T15:02:00.021-05:00

Powell Gardens is alive with plants in every size and hue despite the vicious heat and lack of rain of July. The gardens are designed in our prairie meets woodland "spirit of place" and this natural style holds up well through the routine rigors of our climate.

Petunias are flowers that usually quit flowering in summer's heat but Vista Bubblegum Petunia sure shrugged it off and looks great next to frothy white Diamond Frost Euphorbia.

The theme of summer's annuals and tropicals around the Visitor Center was "texture" this year and this study of 3 container plants shows that off to a tee: bold Alocasia "Elephant Ears" surrounded by fine textured ferns; all in a rich green hue.

I found this planting of gold French Marigolds a delight with self-sown yellow Helenium amarum (a Missouri native annual) on the border edge and self-sown purple Verbena bonariensis sprinkled throughout. Annual flowers in a prairie-esque planting.

The groundcover Hardy Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) has really come into full bloom with its rich blue flowers. We still feel this plant is underutilized as a groundcover in full sun to light shade.

The Conifer Garden north of the Visitor Center is a wonderful study of textures: here with blue-needled 'Candicans' Concolor Fir (Abies concolor 'Candicans') and golden-needled Golden Ghost Pine (Pinus densiflora 'Golden Ghost') with a backdrop of a Baldcypress (Taxodium distichum). Only a very few of the golden conifers suffered a bit of foliage burn from the extreme heat.

The Perennial Garden is going into its late summer prime time with splashes of gold, white and purple so typical of a prairie's primary colors.

There are botanical treasures in every nook of the Perennial Garden like our collection of rare Chinese hardy amarylis (Lycoris spp.) -- the common form called "naked ladies" because it blooms on bare stems with no foliage. There are many other species and hybrids like this rare Lycoris radiata var. pumila x Lycoris longituba with NO common name but is a hybrid between red and white species.

White "blooming" Snow-on-the-Mountain (Euphorbia corollata) is a self-sowing annual native to the Great Plains and combines well here with perennial, golden-yellow Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) and self-sown Verbena bonariensis. This wonderful verbena also has no common name though bonariensis translates to Buenos Aires as this plant is native to Argentina.

The Encore Azaleas continue to bloom in between the Perennial Garden and the Rock & Waterfall Garden. Autumn Lilac (Rhododendron 'Robles') is currently in full encore bloom! As a reminder our planting is of the 10 hardiest selections for reliability in a zone 6 climate. Check them out!

The Rock & Waterfall Garden is as lush as ever and the some of the dinosaurs have not yet been sent on their way... Here is the north stream with a bold whorl of foliage of an Umbrella Magnolia (Magnolia tripetala) left and the dinosaur-ish Butterbur (Petasites japonicus) in the background.

Check out the containers of succulents around the chapel -- succulents are a hot commodity for containers as they are far less demanding of every day watering!

The Island Garden's middle pool is at its peak with gorgeous waterlilies in every hue surrounded by billowing masses of Gaura, Verbena bonariensis and feathery Arkansas Bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii).

The Island Garden's large lower pool is a unique study of giant Victoria Waterlilies which are now blooming along with Papyrus (foreground) and Red-stemmed Thalia soon to display its towering sprays of tiny purple flowers.

All the Butterflybushes (Buddleia davidii) are loaded with the butterflies throughout the garden. Here a "flock" of Viceroys drinks from this 'Three-in-One' Butterflybush that is currently blooming almost solely white but can set out sprays of lavender, pink or even dark purple flowers at random!

The Fountain Garden is lush with pink Vinca, yellow 'Carefree Sunshine' roses and Limelight Hydrangeas in the background. It's still a great place to cool off and get wet on a warm late summer visit to the gardens.

The Menu Garden at the entrance to the Heartland Harvest Garden is at peak late summer productiveness. Be sure to check out this amazing edible landscape and how many of its trees and shrubs have grown over the summer.

Thanks to the generous donation of a volunteer, the fence long-specified to go around Fun Food Farm's Seed to Plate garden is almost completed as of today. It really delineates this "children's" garden where student visitors can sow, tend, harvest, prepare and compost seasonal edible plants.

Clemson Spineless Okra caught my attention with its lovely flowers that show its close relation to Hibiscus. These can be seen in Author Barbara Damrosch's demonstration garden.

Nothing denotes the season finer than the glowing velvety orange flowers of the Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia). This annual is very nectar rich and attracts numerous butterflies and hummingbirds wherever planted.

It is also the season for the beautiful native thistles to bloom like this one next to the Chapel in the prairie. This is the native thistle (Cirsium discolor) with true lavender blooms that are very nectar-rich and provide food for many beneficial pollinating insects like the iridescent green Sweat Bee. It is the imported Bull, Musk and Canadian thistles that are the noxious weeds.

Powell Gardens is a great place to visit at the end of summer and weathered the wild summer well. Come see some of its beautiful and bountiful treasures and relax in its natural landscapes under our fantastic skies. All photos taken August 26, 2011 by Alan Branhagen at Powell Gardens.

Moths of the 2011 Festival of Butterflies

2011-08-24T10:29:00.005-05:00

I hope you got to see the phenomenal moths of this year's Festival of Butterflies. Here's a quick overview in case you missed them and we hope to have them back again next year.

Rothschild's Silkmoth (Rothschildia lebeau) from Costa Rica was spectacular with its four windowed wings and pink frosting hi-lights.

The Luna Moth (Actias luna) (left) from North America and the African Moon Moth (Argema mimosae) from Africa were both in good view in our display. Yes they are related and similar species of "moon" or "comet" moths occur around the world and among the favorite of all moths. Luna Moth was hands down the favorite native moth by those viewing our native moth collections in the Caterpillar Experience.

The stars of the Conservatory Display were the HUGE female Atlas Moths (Attacus atlas) which had wingspans of 12". I never did capture the astounded faces of visitors seeing this huge moth for the first time! The female has larger wings to transport it larger body full of 100's of eggs for the next generation.

The male Atlas Moths were much smaller with more elongated wingtips -- the wingtips apparently look like snake heads as a defense against predators. This Atlas Moth had a particularly rich cherry brown coloration.

We hope you plan to attend 2012's Festival of Butterflies and see these phenomenal moths in person next year.

Festival of Butterflies 2011

2011-08-11T15:28:00.017-05:00

Here's some scenes from Powell Gardens during our 15th annual Festival of Butterflies. The festival opens Friday at 9:00a.m. (August 12) and runs daily through Sunday (August 14) from 9am to 6pm.

A Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides) visits overripe fruit treats in the conservatory and color echos stunningly with a bromeliad bloom which is just one of many tropical plants on display too. (photo by Betsy Betros)

Blue Morpho's colors are from grooved scales on their wings that refract light -- that is why they appear to shimmer. The scale structure on their wings has helped us create better digital photography technology (like your camera phone!).

When Blue Morphos land they usually keep their wings closed and show this unique pattern of browns and eye spots. Many visitors pause to see if resting butterflies will open their wings for a photo opportunity.

Our Bird-of-Paradise is in bloom in the conservatory so look for its stunning flower as well -- the national flower of South Africa where it grows wild. (photo by Betsy Betros)

Yes we have unique tropical moths in the Conservatory like this Rothschild Silkmoth (Rothschildia lebeau) from Costa Rica. Its Spanish name translates to "Four Windows" as the center of each wing has a large eye spot that is like celophane. We do have a few Atlas Moths but none has emerged yet -- we will post that occasion on Facebook and Twitter as soon as one is out! (photo by Betsy Betros)

This is a picture of one of our figs (Ficus carica) outside in the Heartland Harvest Garden but you can see that under a leaf is a Zebra Swallowtail resting during one of our rainy spells during the festival. Most butterflies find shelter like this during rain or inclement weather. (photo by Betsy Betros)

Visitors peruse our collection of butterflies and moths on display in the Caterpillar Experience room. (photo by Betsy Betros)

Brett Budach (volunteer) visits with guests about some of our many live caterpillars on display in the Caterpillar Experience. (photo by Betsy Betros)

Here visitors are enamored by our Carolina Sphinx caterpillars; a.k.a. "tobacco hornworms." We had the complete life cycle of these unique moth from egg to caterpillar, pupae and moth on display. (photo by Betsy Betros)

Don't miss the parade each festival day at 11:00 a.m. and walk with our Caterpillar float that was created by volunteer Master Naturalist Linda Williams. It is in the likeness of the Cecropia Moth caterpillar which is the largest moth in North America. You can see the real live caterpillar in both the Caterpillar Experience and Caterpillar Petting Zoo. (photo by Betsy Betros)

We still are a botanical garden and the grounds abound with flowers even after the blazing heat and drought we are and have experienced. Here are some pink and white Queen Anne's-lace (Daucus carota) blooming near the Chapel trolley stop.

This Vertigo (TM) Fountain Grass (Pennisetum hybrid) outside the cafe is also a stunning plant surviving the harsh season and being one of the finest foliage grasses we've ever seen.

Crape Myrtles are another flowering plant that relished our HOT weather and are currently in bloom around the gardens. This is the cultivar 'Hopi' near the south side of the Visitor Center.

Sweet Coneflowers (Rudbeckia subtomentosa) are a native wildflower that has also done well through this hot, dry spell and are in bloom in the "insectary" gardens around the Fountain.

A visit to Powell Gardens during the Festival of Butterflies guarantees a close encounter with a butterfly or moth and any of its miraculous metamorphosis stages (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis or cocoon, and the adult butterfly or moth). Be sure and enjoy the Dinosaurs of our Jurassic Journey as it there last weekend on display (Sunday is the LAST day for dinosaurs); and don't forget to just enjoy the beauty and bounty of the gardens from a trip to the Heartland Harvest Garden's observation silo to a splash in the Fountain Garden, peak bloom of waterlilies on the Island Garden, to a bit of solace in our E. Fay Jones designed Chapel -- what better place to spend one of the last days of summer!

Exotic Moth Emerges

2011-08-01T09:36:00.006-05:00

Our first exotic moth: an African Moon Moth has emerged for display at the Festival of Butterflies which opens at 9a.m. on Friday (August 5th).

African Moon Moths (Argema mimosae) are simply spectacular and must be seen alive and in person! The unique lemon-lime green quickly fades as it is pigment and not refracted light like the everlasting blues of the morpho. Their exceptionally long streamer tails are just hindwing extentions and give this moth another name: the comet moth. They are related to our native Luna Moths but are much larger with a wing span of 7 inches.

The African Moon Moth cocoons arrived last Friday. We have special USDA permits to display them and have a strict protocol on their preparation and display. The cocoons are smaller than hen's eggs. The caterpillar had spun them on the side of a twig and I glued them to a wooden dowel at the same connection where the twig was. The origin of these moth was from "butterfly farms" in Kenya.

Here's me with a dowel of African Moon Moth cocoons. We received 45 cocoons in this first shipment. (photo by receptionist Roland Thibault) Yes, we wear lab coats in the receiving room as part of our USDA protocol.

I showed off the cocoons to some young visitors on the way to their emergence cases in the conservatory (photo by Roland Thibault).

Our first African Moon Moth is held by Horticulturist Anne Wildeboor this morning. They are not easily handled and act jumpy just like our native Luna Moths. We will do our best to make sure a few of these spectacular moths are in easy view for a reasonably close encounter and photo opportunity during the Festival of Butterflies.

We also received cocoons of the Rothschild Silkmoth (Rothschildia lebeau) from Costa Rica and still plan to receive a fresh shipment of Atlas Moths (Attacus atlas -- the world's largest moth) from Southeast Asia (the shipment last week was delayed by a typhoon!). We look forward to sharing these as well as Blue Morphos from Costa Rica and butterflies from Florida in the Conservatory. The breezeways will be full of locally raised native butterflies and the wild butterflies in the gardens are putting on a great show too. Be sure and stop by the "Caterpillar Experience" to view some of the many unique caterpillars found in our area. See you on Friday!

Midsummer's Luxurious Lushness

2011-07-15T11:13:00.013-05:00

Peering from under the Scarlet Curls Willow in the Perennial Garden across to the Bold Border one certainly gets a sense that the gardens are at midsummer's peak of lushness! The flaming red daylilies are 'Lusty Leland', the bold grasses you will see below...

The Bold Border has spectacular tall Variegated Reeds (Arundo donax 'Variegata' with the yellowish variegation and 'Shanghai' with the real white variegation above). This is the "true" reed whose stem is sliced to make reeds for wind instruments like the clarinet. The bold bluish foliage is from the Giant Black-eyed-Susan (Rudbeckia maxima).

The Wisterias over the Perennial Garden's lakeside arbor are also lush with lovely cool blue encore flowers to enrich the scene -- depicted is mainly the Wisteria sinensis cultivar 'Texas Purple' which is a reliable rebloomer.

Lord Baltimore Hardy Hibiscus or Rose Mallow (Hibiscus hybrid) is again lord over all our red-flowering cultivars in the Perennial Garden. This plant is now 20 years old and finally shows it will need dividing next spring. Never divide a hardy hibiscus in the fall as they grow best (and re-establish) in hot weather. Yes these big perennials are hybrids of American native rose mallows and are closely related to tropical hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) and hardy Rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus).

Disco Belle White Hardy Hibiscus remains our best white in the Perennial Garden with abundant bloom on a compact plant. The red "eye" to each flower adds a nice contrast too.

Pink Clouds Hardy Hibiscus is again the best pink-flowering Hibiscus in the Perennial Garden with full form and abundant real pink flowers. This one was hybridized in Nebraska and is extremely hardy.

The Island Garden's pools are starting to really bloom with waterlilies in an array of colors from white to yellow, peach, vibrant fuchsia, pinks, blue and near violet.

The Water Cannas ('Erebus' in salmon and 'Ra' in yellow) are at peak of bloom in the Island Garden pools and have more bluish-green leaves than typical cannas.

The Yellow or Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) is a native prairie wildflower that is blooming vibrant golden yellow now in our prairie plantings and remnants around the gardens.

Some of our trees have put on lots of new growth this year: this is a new and rare Winged-Hackberry tree (Pteroceltis tartarinowii) growing by the old Visitor Center. This new plant has had a slow go at establishing but is unique from China/Mongolia and related to our elms and hackberries.

The Rose-of-Sharons (Hibiscus syriacus) are in peak bloom and this one is the Plant of Merit 'Diana' with pure white blooms that stay open at night. Diana is Goddess of the Moon so this is a perfect name for this plant which deserves to be in every moon, evening or white garden. Celebrate it tonight as it is the full moon! One garden friendly feature of Diana Rose-of-Sharon is that is one of only a few seedless varieties so doesn't self-sow all around the garden.

Plan your visit now to see the midsummer lushness of Powell Gardens. Despite the predicted heat the gardens will be irrigated and hopefully flourish through the heat wave. The Perennial Garden certainly is at its peak now and is celebrating its 20th birthday.

Solstice Specticles in the Heartland Harvest Garden

2011-06-22T08:10:00.016-05:00

Monday was the longest day of the year and the summer solstice occurred yesterday. The intense sunlight and long days sure are one of the joys of summer! Here's some observations from the Heartland Harvest Garden:

June in the Harvest Garden has a theme of berries and blueberries are ripe and ripening! Come get a taste of them at the tasting station. Depicted is the cultivar 'Bluecrop' which is one of the most reliable of the Highbush Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum).

These are not red raspberries but ripening fruit of Blackberries. It looks like we will have a bumper crop coming on soon.

Elderberries (Sambucus canadensis) are one of our most spectacular wildflowers with almost dinner plate sized clusters of softly fragrant, white flowers. The flowers are edible but the tiny purplish-black fruit won't be ripe until around Labor Day. This is a popular landscape shrub in Europe but sadly little used in local gardens -- what could be more spectacular in this season!

The pink-flowering shrubs in this image from the Apple Celebration Court is another of our most showy wildflowers in bloom now: Prairie or Climbing Rose (Rosa setigera). This is a great natural landscape combination with elderberries but part of our companion planting to our apples. You can see a sea of strawberries as groundcover in this photo and the bluish spikes of Anise-hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) flowers. Anise-hyssop is one of the best nectar plants to attract good bugs to a garden AND the edible flowers taste like licorice.

The Vineyard is at its peak of beauty with Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) in bloom beneath the vines. Hyssop flowers are also edible but very bitter with anti-fungal properties. Make sure you take a walk down the vineyard and take a gander at our 50 varieties of grapes: each row has a different theme of how the varieties on display are utilized.

This 'Delaware' grape is indicative that there is going to be a bumper crop of grapes this year. Delaware grape ripens a red, seeded "multi-purpose" use grape. You can make a fine jam or jelly from it, a red juice or eat it fresh with its healthy and crunchy grape seeds inside.

Here's the row of purple multi-purpose grapes: the most vigorous are the 5 closest vines which are all Concord Grapes. Concord grapes were the first hybrid American grape from Concord, MA and are the prime grape for juice and jelly rich in anti-oxidants. At the end of the row are two other grape varieties: 'Alden' and 'Buffalo.'

The grapes in this row (right) are Niagara Grapes which are white, multi-purpose grapes. They make the white grape juice which doesn't stain.

Here's a look down the west row of the Red Wine Grapes. The first vine is 'De Chaunac' but the bulk of this row are Missouri's official state grape: 'Cynthiana' a.k.a. 'Norton.' Cynthiana/Norton Grape is a vigorous and disease-resistant grape derived from the native Summer Grape (Vitis aestivalis) which grows wild throughout Powell Gardens and is currently in bloom and perfuming the solstice air.

Here's the east row of our white wine grapes: 2) Traminette, 3) Cayuga White, 3) Seyval Blanc, 2) Vignoles, and 1) Melody on the end of the row. The recent couple of colder winters have not been kind to some of our French hybrid grapes and we have learned over the past 3 years which varieties are better suited to our climate.

The grapes have attracted the "hornworm" caterpillar of the Hog Sphinx. We moved this guy from our vineyard to grapes we have growing specifically for the Festival of Butterflies in early August. This year the Festival of Butterflies will feature caterpillars and showcase the incredible array of these fascinating creatures that are part of the metamorphosis of butterflies and moths.

This plant may look like a weed but it is Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) a gluten-free grain that is a complete protein. Look for this plant along with some other interesting crops including peanuts, cotton and rice in the Old Missouri Quilt Garden.

The little yellowish "nubbens" along the branches of this small tree are the flowers of Jujube (Zizyphus jujuba) a very popular fruit tree in China and whose candied fruit inspired the candy jujubes! Be sure and stop in this fall to sample the crisp, honey-pear flavored fruit of this up-and-coming fruit tree for Greater Kansas City gardens. You never see it in the grocery stores because it has NO shelf life as a ripe fruit but it can be dried or candied for long term use.

Come see for yourself the great bounty of edible plants now lush and full of ripe and ripening fruit in the Heartland Harvest Garden. You will be amazed at all the varieties at hand. Be sure to stop for lunch at Cafe Fresh and visit the tasting station to sample first hand the flavors of the garden.

Jurassic Garden Plants

2011-06-16T08:01:00.021-05:00

On your Powell Gardens visit to see Guy Darrough's Dinosaurs on display now, don't forget to take a look at the ancient species of plants labeled with signs along your journey through the gardens. Many plants found in fossils during the dinosaur's reign still survive in today's world. If only they could speak, what a story they could tell!

Daisies are familiar to almost everyone, gardener or not, but daisies and their relatives in the Aster family are a recent branch on the plant family tree. The daisies shown are the new cultivar 'Amelia' Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum x maximum) in full bloom between the pools on the Island Garden. If you like daisies, this is a great one to plant because it tolerates our hot humid summers and doesn't "flop" like many other varieties.

Magnolias are the first Jurassic Garden plants you'll come across on your Powell Gardens journey and one of Earth's most ancient of flowering plant families. The Southern Magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora) can be identified in fossils nearly 20 million years old! Here the cultivar 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' shows a day old flower -- the fragrance of these flowers is classic. Their is hardly a finer plant to have near an outdoor seating area to enjoy on our warm summer nights.

The Southern Magnolias planted around the Visitor Center have reached 25 feet and up; growing faster than I ever expected. Be sure and select hardy varieties and plant them in a sheltered place as we are at the northern edge of their adaptability to our cold winters. The cultivar '24 Below' is left, 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' right and Variegated Giant Reed (Arundo donax) is the bright variegated grass in this image.

Yes we have a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum 'Hazel Smith') which is both an ancient species of plant and also the largest plant known on earth. Native to isolated stands in the California Sierras, this tree can live over 3,000 years and grow nearly 300 feet tall. The cultivar Hazel Smith is probably the hardiest cultivar; a good choice for our zone.

Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) is another ancient tree that was actually described from fossils BEFORE it was found alive living in a remote valley in China. These magnificent deciduous conifers make remarkable shade trees. This image is a picture of a grove we planted at the same time along the dogwood walk to the Island Garden. These were grown from seed and one tree is twice the size of the second and three times the size of the third. It depicts my pet peeve when people ask how big will a tree get. Sometimes, just like how tall your children will be, it is hard to know! Dawn Redwoods can grow over 100 feet tall but 60-70 feet may be their size in our area and soils.

I had to show this beacon, the gold-needled form of the Dawn Redwood: Gold Rush(TM) a.k.a. 'Ogon'. Look for this striking tree northeast of the Visitor Center -- you can't miss it off to your right on your way to the Fountain Garden.

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is probably the most ancient of trees alive today. There are fossils that date back 200 million years! Ginkgo trees can grow very large too and are actually conifers. The trees are mainly male or female and female trees produce seeds coated in a very nasty smelling flesh. Most trees sold in nurseries are clones of male plants so that no (or rarely a few) seeds are produced. As Powell Garden is a young garden we just have small examples of this magnificent tree, planted the first year we displayed Jurassic Garden. There are 1,000 plus year old ginkgos in Oriental temple gardens.

The leaves of Ginkgo are like no other; fan-shaped, often with a cleft in the middle to make them lobed (hence the botanical name "bi" (two) "loba" (lobes). This is the rare cultivar 'Majestic Butterfly' which has yellow banding to the foliage in spring (you can still see that a bit here).

Virtually all needle-leaved trees are conifers which are an ancient group of plants. This image is right before the bridge to the Island Garden and shows the needles of two closely related deciduous conifers: Pondcypress (Taxodium ascendens) fine and thread-like left and Baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) more feathery on the right.

This is a more full shot of the Pondcypress growing next to the larger Baldcypress. Baldcypress is interpreted as a Jurassic Garden plant near the Hypsibema (Missouri State Dinosaur) and yes, the fossils of Hypsibema found in Missouri have shown that it actually lived with and fed on Baldcypress. Baldcypress trees can be found growing wild in Southeastern Missouri but grow well in gardens throughout Missouri.

Waterlilies (Nymphaea 'Colorata' shown), like Magnolias are another of the most ancient of flowering plants. They are just now coming into marvelous bloom in the Island Garden's pools. Be sure and give them a look: their flowers range in all colors of the rainbow. On Friday night's Dinos in the Dark event, Caitlin Bailey our Senior Gardener on the Island Garden will have some waterlily flowers cut for you to smell their intoxicating aroma (usually they are far out of our nose's reach).

I always am in awe at the variations found in our flowering plants. This is the "Smokey" flower of Grace Smoketree (Cotinus coggygria x obovatus) which is in the modern Cashew family along with pistachios, sumac and poison ivy.

...and how about these unusual male flowers of the Chinese Chestnut (Castanea mollissima) in flower near the Rock & Waterfall trolley stop. Chestnuts are in the oak family.

The magnificent, fragrant trumpet of Northern Carillon Lily (Lilium hybrid) adorn 6 foot stems! Lilies and grasses and palms are in another section of the plant family tree known as Monocots. Look for these magnificent flowers in the secret sunken garden of the Island Garden.

The vivacious, vivid orange flowers of Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) are hard to photograph in our mid-day intense near summer solstice sun. Their flower structure is most interesting to be pollinated by the feet of wasps and other insects. Look for these blooming on our native prairie remnants along the nature trail, on the Island Garden and near the gatehouse entrance to Powell Gardens.

...and how about these drop dead red flowers of true Beebalm (Monarda didyma 'Jacob Cline' a wild selection from the southern part of the plant's range so tolerant of heat and humidity without mildew) which are in the mint family. They are also an edible flower with the taste of bergamot found in Earl Grey tea (and this plant makes a nice tea too -- known as "Oswego Tea").

So take a look at the ancient and modern plants on your visit to Powell Gardens along the Jurassic Journey. Oriental gardens are why ginkgos still survive (they are not known in the wild) and our mission is to play a role in understanding the importance of plants in our lives and their conservation and display to all.

It makes me want to ask the question: what will the flowers of millions of tomorrows look like?

Red Hot in June

2011-06-08T14:39:00.010-05:00

Along with the "Jurassic Garden" dinosaurs, several stunning "red hot" flowers grab the attention of Powell Gardens' visitors this week...

Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica) is a Grow Native! (http://www.grownative.org/) Missouri native wildflower that always grabs attention in the Perennial Garden while in bloom. The flowers are hummingbird magnets while its name refers to the pink roots that the Native Americans utilized medicinally.

Autumn Sunset (TM) Encore Azalea sports its fiery post-spring encore of bloom already. We have the 10 hardy cultivars of Encore Azaleas on trial and display flanking the Hypsibema (Missouri's state dinosaur). The location is between the Rock & Waterfall and Perennial Garden beneath the lacey baldcypress trees. Visit http://www.encoreazalea.com/ to learn more about these repeat flowering azaleas and the 10 cultivars that have proven zone 6 hardy. You can come see them in person at the gardens!

Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia 'Alcazar') blaze like orange torches in the Perennial Garden's New Millennium border. Both hummingbirds and orioles like to nectar from these flowers though in their native South Africa they are pollinated by sunbirds. Yes, one of only a few hardy plants from Africa we display at Powell Gardens.

The vibrant rose-red flowers of Ghost Weigela (TM) (Weigela florida 'Carlton') show brightly near the Visitor Center trolley stop. This shrub starts out green, then produces these bright flowers and as you can see the new foliage after flowering becomes ghostly, iridescent buttercream -- becoming even more pronounced as the summer progresses.

This beautiful clump of Blush Knockout Roses set in the tapestry of shrubs besides the Fountain Garden has a red hot "sport" of it's original origin: regular Knockout Rose! Other shrubs in this garden tapestry are Magic Carpet Spirea in front of the rose, Concorde Barberries with Concord grape-colored foliage in the back, a shaggy Sungold Chamaecyparis left and feathery Vintage Gold Chamaecyparis right. Budding lavender at the bottom of the image completes the tapestry of foliage textures and colors that make this planting design showy in all seasons.

The red, fuzzy berries of native Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) have also colored up and create a perfect compliment to the shrub's green foliage. This shrub is native along the Nature Trail but planted around the grounds as well; only the female shrubs produce these berries which make a sassy tea rich in vitamin C.

The dinosaurs are "red hot" popular and I had to include this picture of the Allosaurus and her babies because they almost startled me in the morning light. Consider purchasing a ticket to Dinos in the Dark: Meet a Paleontologist on Friday evening June 17th -- call extension 209 to reserve your after hours visit when the life-like dinosaurs almost come to life.

The turkey sized Citipati also came alive in this morning's light. Don't forget to take a close look at the smaller dinosaurs and their relatives located throughout the Rock & Waterfall Garden.

The current hot weather is supposed to moderate this weekend; but still consider a refreshing taste of the many berries at the Heartland Harvest Tasting Stations, a cool splash in the Fountain Garden and the misty breeze of a walk past the Island Garden's water features. The first waterlilies are beginning to bloom their as well. These, plus the red hot flowers and dinosaurs on display are certainly worth the trip!

Flowers of Spring: Last Chance to See

2011-05-27T08:18:00.018-05:00

Memorial Day weekend will be your last chance to see the flowers of spring around the Visitor Center. Next week we begin the planting of the flowers of summer: those that thrive on our typical heat and humidity. We think of Memorial Day as the kickoff to summer, but in garden terms it is usually the last hurrah of springtime's flowers.

Garden Pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) have done phenomenal this year and have loved this most unsettled of springs I've experienced here. Our wonderful 80-something local volunteer Wilbur Kephart when asked about the predicted weather for each season always says "it'll be different" and he was right as usual. It was a mostly cloudy, showery and cool spring with blasts of 90F in between! By the way, pansies like these with a "face" are a favorite that remind me of my grandmother.

Snapdragon lived through the snowy insulated winter and have been unusually marvelous too. This is a variety of "snap-less" Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus). Snapdragons are flowers for spring and fall and languish in our summer heat and humidity.

Colorful plant compositions shine around the Visitor Center like this river of Ruby Perfection Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) surrounded by frothy dwarf white Snapdragons in a sea of Stocks (Matthiola incana).

Is this a purple flower? Yes, the female flowers of the Indigo Eyes Bosnian Pine (Pinus leucodermis) start out a stunning indigo in spring and gradually mature into the brown cones that bear the seeds in autumn. Look for this plant in the conifer garden on the north end of the Visitor Center.

The Blue Spruces (Picea pungens glauca) with their new candles of needles are at their bluest! This is the dwarf cultivar 'St. Mary's Broom.'

This low shrub in the conifer garden is like a blanket of gold: it's the Bangle(TM) Dyers-Greenwood (Genista lydia 'Select'). This shrub has colorful green twigs in the winter and grows no taller than 24" and has profuse flowers now (like an encore of forsythia).

The Weigelas (Weigela florida) are also in bloom around the gardens now. This is the cultivar 'Variegata' with cream edged leaves and soft pink, nectar-rich flowers.

The Asian Kousa Dogwoods (Cornus kousa) are in bloom now and this is the pink-flowering cultivar 'Satomi.' Pink cultivars are never as pink here as depicted in catalogs because our warm spells and bright sun here fade them to just blush pink (they are deeper pink in cooler climates like England, the Pacific Northwest, New England and their native mountainous haunts). Our Kousa Dogwoods suffered severely from the flooding rains of last year (50" in the growing season alone)and at least 4 of our largest trees have died outright from being too wet. Always plant these in well drained soil!

The purple-leaf heirloom 'Wilbur's' Indian Peach (Prunus persica) was given to us by the aforementioned Wilbur Kephart after being a pass along plant from many generations of his family but originating in Tennessee from the Cherokee Indians! Peaches are from China but were brought via the Silk Road westward to Europe, spread to the New World via the Spaniards and brought into North America by the Native Americans (already naturalized by the time Wilbur's ancestors settled Tennessee -- Wilbur's family brought this variety from there to here! If only plants could speak and tell us their journeys. This peach contrasts beautifully with blue-flowering Walker's Low Catmint beneath and the blue container with yellow-blooming Calendulas at the entrance of the Heartland Harvest Garden.

Artichokes (Cynara scolymus) are almost ready for harvest in the Heartland Harvest Garden. Yes, it's the flower buds that is the artichoke! These were planted in the garden last year; dug up and forced in the greenhouse for display in the Metropolitan Lawn & Garden show last February then planted back into the garden in March.

These white flowers are delicious! This is the bloom of Arugula (Eruca vesicaria var. sativa) used in salads since since Roman times. The flowers add a sweet nectar burst to the pungent taste typical of arugula. Arugula languishes in the heat of summer.

Cool weather-loving Calendulas (Calendula officinalis) are edible flowers sometimes called "Pot Marigolds" and add color with Kale in this container of edibles in the Peach Court.

Rose Attar is made from flowers of the Damask Roses (Rosa damascena) and this is the cultivar 'Kazanlik' blooming with two other sister cultivars opposite the entrance to the Vineyard. Be sure and give these and other nearby roses a good whiff to enjoy their entrancing fragrances.

This brilliant Calendula bloom leaning into a bed of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) demonstrates precise complimentary colors. This picture was taken in the Villandry Quilt Garden.

The Villandry Garden lies in front of our Missouri Barn and be sure and stop by Cafe Fresh there to purchase lunch and some special strawberry desserts made from fresh from the garden strawberries. Don't forget to go up in the silo for an overview of the quilt gardens and the landscapes beyond.

Make a trip to Powell Gardens this Memorial Day weekend and see the last hurrah of springtime flowers and foliage throughout the grounds' natural gardens. Visit the dinosaurs of Jurassic Garden and the Heartland Harvest Garden and the Marjory Powell Allen Chapel: a good place to reflect on the meaning of this holiday. May you all experience a beautiful holiday weekend.

Spring Plant Sale 2011

2011-05-04T08:42:00.013-05:00

Powell Gardens' annual spring plant sale will open for Friends Members this Friday night (May 6, 2011) from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m and to any visitor on Saturday and Sunday (May 7-8) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This year the sale will be found in middle of the asphalt parking lots under a single 60 x 12o ft. tent for your shopping convenience and improved accessibility for all.

Senior Gardener Eric Perrette in the Greenhouses poses for his picture with some of his hard work: a fantastic crop of perennials grown for our annual spring plant sale. Ornamental Clementine Mullein (Verbascum hybrid) is the upright orangish flower in front of him.

Vivid 'Blazing Sunset' Avens (Geum hybrid) is a new perennial for full sun this year. The Perennial Garden's Senior Gardener: Jennifer Bolyard will be on hand Friday night to help you with your selection of perennial plants at the sale.

The sale will also have our favorite star performers like the White Nancy Lamium (foreground) and various Foamflowers (Tiarella spp. ) background. These all make great groundcovers for shady gardens. Senior Gardener Janet Heter in the Rock & Waterfall Garden will be on hand Friday night for your shade garden selection.

We will have a plethora of plants that like rock gardens or similar well drained locations like along the edges of paths. Caitlin Bailey, our Senior Gardener on the Island Garden will be on hand Friday night to help you choose the right ones for you.

Some of the plants we have are just plain interesting (though not necessarily colorful) like this Gray's Sedge (Carex grayii) -- a local woodland native with sputnik-like seed heads. It is a fine grass-like plant for shade gardens and a great host plant for many species of skipper butterflies. Our plant selection contains great plants like this to make sure your garden is ecologically sound.

We have put together more containers than ever for this sale as Mother's Day is also on Sunday. Horticulturist Anne Wildeboor in charge of our annual displays will be on hand Friday night and Saturday for helping you select the right container and the right annuals for your garden displays.

Here's a picture of our Greenhouse #4 which is full of annual plants for the plant sale. We are also growing many edible plants and hope you sign up for "plant a row for the hungry" with Harvesters who will be on hand at the sale for you to do just that. Our Horticulturist Matt Bunch in charge of the Heartland Harvest Garden will also be on hand Friday night as he selected all the edible plants we will have at the sale.

We will have the best selection of proven hydrangeas for Greater Kansas City as well. These Proven Winners Invincebelle Spirit Hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens 'NCHA1') are the first pink-blooming selection of this Missouri native plant.

We'll have the marvelous First Editions Panicle Hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) from Bailey Nurseries as well (http://www.baileynurseries.com/). Here's the lovely variety 'White Diamonds' cultivar and all these are great summer bloomers despite the vagaries of our weather. These plants will bloom this year but are not yet in bloom as they are summer flowering varieties.

We'll have more Butterflybush (Buddleia spp.) than ever before! The intriguing grayish leaves of Butterfly Grande 'Sweet Marmalade' shown. The whole new line of Butterfly Grande and Butterfly Petite Buddleias from Ball Horticulture (http://www.ballhort.com/) are growing magnificently and heavily budded for bloom shortly and then repeating through summer. In flowers from white to yellows, pinks, purples and near blue and red; we'll have a butterflybush to suit your garden needs and our friendly flying flowers they attract.

For a complete list of all the 100's of plant varieties at the sale go to our website: www.powellgardens.org and click on What's Happening: Spring Plant Sale: See the details: Spring Plant Sale List.

I hope to see you Friday night sharp at 5p.m. for the Friends of Powell Gardens only preview sale. If you are not a member you can join at the Front Desk on Friday before the sale! Quantities of all plants are limited and many items sell out Friday evening. All proceeds from the sale help fund Powell Gardens operations and any extra plants are recycled into the gardens.

Dogwoods with Dinosaurs

2011-04-29T15:43:00.015-05:00

Dogwoods and other unique spring flowering trees are coloring the grounds for quite a horticultural experience at Powell Gardens. If you are coming to see the dinosaurs these beauties will also grab your attention as they are some of the most beautiful of all flowering trees.

Missouri's State Tree the Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) are in full bloom at Powell Gardens. The Gardens displays a collection of most available cultivars with the Pink Flowering Dogwood (f. rubra or 'Rubra') near the Visitor Center depicted.

The first Pink Flowering Dogwood tree along the Dogwood Walk from the Visitor Center to the Island Garden always grabs attention. We just acquired the 'Prairie Pink' selection from Sunrise Nursery (Lawrence, KS). Prairie Pink Dogwood was selected by the late great Kansas plantsman John Pair from a tree in Laramie, KS. It has proven a reliable cultivar for easternmost Kansas.

It is always fun to show new plants that exceed our expectations. This narrow tree depicted between the Visitor Center and the Trolley Stop is a Amanogawa Flowering Cherry (Prunus hybrid). This tree was donated to us by the Northland's Narrow Tree Nursery (http://www.narrowtree.com/).

The Amanogawa Cherry blossom are very cheery! Its gorgeous semi-double flowers of soft pink, age to almost white. The fact that the tree bloomed 100% after last winter was a good hardiness test. I think it has potential as a tree to bring distinction to tight spaces.

The vivacious purplish-red leaves of Emperor I Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) stand out in the shade of the Rock & Waterfall Garden. This tree boasts beautiful spring and fall color! It is a new selection from Oklahoma's wholesale Greenleaf Nursery that is more suited to our plains climate and doesn't leaf out as early and thus set itself up for a late freeze's damage.

This NEW Redbud (Cercis canadensis 'The Rising Sun') is also very unique with sunny butter yellow new foliage! WOW, it is shockingly colored in the spring landscape and perfect for contrasting with other foliage colors. This new cultivar was brought in for us by Blue Spring's Colonial Nursery from wholesale Greenleaf Nursery and will soon become available to the general public. Look for this small tree near the Rock & Waterfall Garden's trolley stop. We also have the new 'Burgundy Hearts' Redbud with shocking new purple leaves near the Learning Shed in the Heartland Harvest Garden. Be sure and look for these and other fine flowering trees this weekend on your visit to Powell Gardens.

Peak of Spring in Flowers

2011-04-13T13:35:00.013-05:00

Native redbuds and plums paint the landscape of Powell Gardens expressing that our spirit of place is at the peak of spring. This composition of our native Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) and Wildgoose Plum (Prunus munsoniana -- one of 5 species of local wild plums) welcomes visitors to Powell Gardens just before the gatehouse. Often times we gardeners embrace exotics at the expense of those that originally decorated this land in a new term I am seeing called "contempt for the familiar." The splashes of raspberry sherbet pink-flowering redbuds and fragrant sparkling white-flowering wild plums coloring our landscape make this my hands down favorite time of year. In the Heartland Harvest Garden's edible landscape the gorgeous flowering fruit trees have advanced to the pears taking center stage. We have the biggest variety of pears in public display anywhere around. Kikisui Asian Pear, shown above, has the most beautiful flowers of them all this spring. The ornamental callery (Bradford, Aristocrat, Chanticleer, etc...) pears (Pyrus calleryana) are popular in local landscapes but Powell Gardens has none because they are becoming the next invasive exotic to damage our wild lands. Consider the beautiful Asian edible pears (Pyrus pyrifolia) as an alternate and feed yourself instead of the starlings with the bounty of crisp, juicy pears following their bloom. Pears are known for their upright form and here's a mug shot of Honsui Asian Pear in bloom. You do need two varieties of Asian pears to set fruit and their narrow crowns do not take up much air space and offer unique uses in edible landscape where space is limited. Some of our varieties like this '20th Century' Asian Pear have coppery leaves while they bloom adding a color echo to the centers of the flowers and thus adding to the ornamental appeal of the plant. I am busy trying to keep track of all these details on our premier collection of fruit trees because edible landscaping implies you know the ornamental beauty of a edible plant along with its productivity and garden performance. The Daisui Li Asian Pear may have the most coppery leaves of them all at bloom time. I only had time at mid-day to capture the image so it looks better to the eye than the camera in the now August-like mid-day sun of April. Heartland Harvest Garden Horticulturist Matt Bunch ranked 'New Century' Asian Pear as the best for productivity, flavor and right size fruit in our collection; but noted that for the most part they all were good! This heirloom purple-leaf plum (Prunus unknown hybrid) is a pass along plant from near Liberty, MO and has delicious plums according to Matt Bunch. Its tiny pinkish-white flowers cover every stem and twig making it a bit dazzling looking and a great color with the redbuds on the edge of the Vineyard seen in the background. Remember redbud flowers and young pea pods are edible and a nice addition to a spring salad. I had to include a picture of the arbor at the center of the Heartland Harvest Garden 'Quilt' Gardens because the Clove Currants (Ribes odoratum) continue to grab attention with their phenomenal scent and the Akebia vines (Akebia spp.) growing up the arbors are beginning to bloom. Make sure to take a closer look and the unique flowers of the akebias varying in color from white to purple. (My close up lens is still not fixed so I can't share that with you -- you'll have to see it in person!) The Flowering-Quinces (Chaenomeles spp.) are in full bloom around the gardens and they are not the trash collecting shrubs they were once thought of anymore. New varieties have flowers in double petals and colors from white to blush pink to almost orange and vivid reds. This is the peachy 'Cameo' Flowering-Quince along the dogwood walk. Remember to grow quinces for their fruit as well (if you have at least 2 varieties to pollinate) which make delicious spicy preserves or natural air fresheners if you are not into the culinary experience. The double white 'O Yashima' Flowering Quince that buds greenish and whitens as it opens may be my favorite and look for it near the entrance to the Heartland Harvest Garden. New varieties for the spring plant sale have flowers almost as large as camellias! The late season daffodils are now at peak but other unique bulbs can be observed around the gardens. The interesting Guinea Hen Flower or Checkered Lily (Fritillaria meleagris) blooming in the Rock & Waterfall Garden is a great bulb that does best in a site that is wet in spring.

The ground flora of the Rock & Waterfall Garden is really kicking into bloom with gorgeous Summer Snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum), various Epimediums (Epimedium rubrum shown) and the hat-like new leaves of native Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) interspersed. Now through early May is the peak color of the Rock & Waterfall Garden but it will be another week or so before the azaleas are in full bloom -- and they are looking great for a superior display this year.

The sunny weekend forecast sounds marvelous for a springtime visit to Powell Gardens with temperatures in the low 60's on Saturday and 70F for Sunday. If you've never been here in spring before, you are in for a real floral treat!

Spring Has Sprung!

2011-04-07T08:39:00.015-05:00

Spring has really sprung at Powell Gardens and the gardens are giddy with flowering flora. The sights and scents of the flowers are especially captivating after a winter without them in the landscape.

We had a freeze Wednesday morning (29F) and I thought our magnolias would be toast but they were just tight enough in bud to endure and burst forth now with glorious flowers. This is the Galaxy Magnolia (Magnolia liliiflora 'Nigra' x M. sprengeri 'Diva'). The scents of this and some other magnolias are somewhat musky but remind me of my experience-rich childhood and the neighborhood saucer magnolia.

The path by the Trigg Building is now a tunnel of softly sweet-scented Star Magnolias (Magnolia stellata). The star magnolia flowers are a bit disheveled on close inspection but overall wonderful -- they endured hot winds (Sunday), cold winds (Monday), hail and torrential rain!

Magnolia 'Butterflies' (Magnolia acuminata x M. denudata 'Sawada's Cream') is one of the best yellow-flowering magnolias with small waterlily-esque, delightful and musky scented flowers. This magnolia always draws attention at the Visitor Center trolley stop and should be in full bloom this weekend.

The burgundy goblets of Magnolia 'March till Frost' is a complex hybrid ((Magnolia liliiflora x cylindrica) x Magnolia 'Ruby') that does repeat flower a bit all season. It did survive the vagaries of this spring and is gaining rank on my list of Magnolia favorites.

This unassuming shrub in the Heartland Harvest Garden grabbed my attention as I walked by with its phenomenal and alluring aroma. The small yellow flowers of Clove Currant (Ribes odoratum) are a sweet and rich with a clove-like scent. I also remember this shrub from childhood when it bloomed in older neighborhoods of my hometown as I walked home from school. It lost favor from gardeners for many years but now is back in popularity as it produces edible black currants great for preserves and pies (and fresh eating too)!

The plum trees are also in bloom in the Heartland Harvest Garden and just starting to open in the natural areas of the grounds. The HHG has a superb collection of plums ( Plum 'Burbank Red Ace' shown) and their flowers are wonderfully fragrant. I must admit the plum blossom scents took me back to my childhood visiting my Grandpa and Grandma on the farm in Iowa. They grew on the fencerows perfuming the air in spring and Grandma always made a memorable preserve out of the plums and mixed it with apple.

Two plums in particular stand out in our collection: The Shiro Plum shown here grows on the south side of the Learning Shed and has a beautiful spreading crown. Its plums are yellow when ripe and a favorite of Horticulturist Matt Bunch.

Our other favorite is the Toka Plum shown here just south of the corn crib. It is sometimes called the bubblegum plum because its sweet plums have a remarkable bubblegum-like flavor which Matt described and then read that was another name for this plum! This is the plum whose ripening plums are depicted on our set of note cards available to Friends members. If you have room for just two plums, plant Toka and Shiro and they do pollinate each other. We do have many more varieties, each with their own merit and I captured their images for documentation and future reference (but I don't want to put you to sleep looking at them all here).

The Perennial Garden's beds are filled with Daffodils and spring has burst forth throughout Powell Gardens. The weekend sounds like it will be warm and mild and that predicted rains will happen at night! Come explore the fabulous flora now in bloom and may its sights and scents bring back fond memories or create new ones to reflect upon. Springtime is my favorite season with renewal of life in a burst of beautiful optimism for all to enjoy.

Suspended Animation

2011-03-30T13:24:00.011-05:00

Day number seven of gloomy skies and temperatures at least 15F degrees below normal. It stopped spring's progress in its tracks and is making many flowers last a long time. At least it has not gotten cold enough to do much damage to any flowers or emerging vegetation. You can see on this view from the trolley stop into the Perennial Garden that the early Daffodils are in full bloom. We have many 1,000's of daffodils and these should remain in phenomenal bloom through the predicted seasonal (warmer!) weekend. Ice Follies Daffodil (Narcissus Large Cup Division II) has soft yellow center's again this spring as the temperatures have been so cool -- this makes 3 cool springs in a row! Often they are at best cream and sometimes look fully white during our warm springs. Gold Tide Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia 'Courtasol') is in full bloom and a Plant of Merit because it is a low growing forsythia that won't engulf an entire garden. Forsythia is always a blast of color in the early spring landscape. More subtle are the fragrant clusters of pink flowers on the Dawn Viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense) which often blooms by early February for us -- only to be killed off by a harsh freeze. This is a big shrub (easily 8 feet tall): look for them on the south ramps of the Visitor Center. Magnolias are always freeze tender and the buds of most are bursting forth from the warm spell a week ago. This is Magnolia 'March 'til Frost' which is a rebloomer but its spring bloom is the fullest with deep burgundy goblet-shaped flowers. Only time will tell if these will all open ok -- actually so far so good. The delicate flowers of White-Forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum) is related to Forsythia but is NOT a true Forsythia. The flower buds were depicted in an earlier blog but the delightful blooms really add early spring sparkle to the landscape. It forces very easy indoors in winter as do all these early spring flowering shrubs. This shrub takes more time than forsythia to become a nice landscape plant and also requires some pruning so it doesn't become a disheveled mess (thinning older canes for forcing is a good thing!). It is a very rare shrub in the wilds of Korea. The lichens are loving this weather and since "Alice algae and Freddy fungus took a like'n to each other" these symbiotic alive organisms prosper from each other and don't harm the tree (hackberry shown). They are a good indicator of good air quality and such images cannot be found from Greater Kansas City's more urban core. Japanese Cornelian-Cherry Dogwood (Cornus officinalis) is one of our earliest blooming small trees and its clusters of tiny yellow flowers cover it in a yellow haze. These will produce tart red fruit by late summer -- edible but very tart. Look for These and their European relative (Cornus mas) throughout the grounds. The flowers of Cornelian-Cherry Dogwoods are very frost and freeze resistant. The vivid red berries on the American Holly (Ilex opaca) on the north end of the Visitor Center also made me take a photo to share today. These beautiful berries have been colorful for almost 6 months now. May you make plans to come visit Powell Gardens this weekend and enjoy the early spring landscape. After more than a week of gloom it will be a breath of spring and fresh air! Most of the spring beds are planted including in the Heartland Harvest Garden. Our plant sale list is now on-line so start making your wish list for that event the first weekend in May. The spring flower and companion plant seeds available now in the Gift Shop are also on-line so be prepared to pick some of them up and get your garden for the 2011 season already underway. The sun will come out soon!

Greenhouse Preview

2011-03-18T10:36:00.013-05:00

Powell Gardens' NINE greenhouses are in full swing of production for the 2011 Growing Season. A quarter million plants are in production now; 240 varieties for the spring gardens, 600 varieties for the summer gardens and 420 varieties for the Spring Plant Sale!

Golden Ranunculus or Persian Buttercups (Ranunculus asiaticus) in Greenhouse #6 grabbed my attention with their glorious warm yellow flowers. Yes they are closely related to the little woodland buttercup growing wild around here. Greenhouse #6 finishes many of the spring display crops so they look fabulous when they go to the conservatory or elsewhere in the gardens.

Fairy Primroses (Primula malacoides) in various shades color a bench in greenhouse #6; a perennial favorite flower for the cool, spring season for us.

Fragrant Stocks (Matthiola incana) fit the bill as well!

Here's an overview of part of Greenhouse #6. The plants in the foreground are for the spring plant sale.

Greenhouse #7 stores many of our unhardy edible plants for the Heartland Harvest Garden and our collection of banana varieties (Musa spp. ) is bursting at the seams and aching to go outside after all danger of frost has past in May.

What on earth is this? It's a fresh new banana flower! This is 'Williams Hybrid' banana, the huge foot long flower bud is just starting to emerge though you can see the "fingers" of baby bananas (the female part of the flower) in the upper right. The pointed "beak" part of the flower is where the male flowers are located but not yet opening. It takes about 10 months for bananas to ripen so we won't be able to enjoy these until next winter!

These are benches of seed trays and seed flats where all seeds begin their germination journey at Powell Gardens in Greenhouse #4.

The seedlings are then transplanted by hand into cell packs where they can bulk up and be ready for transplanting into the gardens.

Here's a mass of perennials destined for the Spring Plant Sale here on May 7-8. These will be transplanted into larger pots next week so they will become top-of-the-line perennials for you to purchase and take home.

Shrubs for the Spring Plant Sale got their start back in February and should be nice full plants for you to purchase by early May.

Kudos to super Greenhouse Staff and volunteers who grow all these crops so that the plans and designs of the Horticulturists and Gardeners become a reality. Our glorious gardens all begin here: from seeds and cuttings all transplanted by hand. It always makes me feel good watching these "babies" grow and mature each season. May they bring us great beauty and joy; sustaining our bodies and souls in the 2011 gardening season.

Spring Conservatory Display 2011

2011-03-10T11:51:00.017-06:00

Our Spring Conservatory Display opens to the public on Saturday, March 12, 2011. Orchids steal the show as usual but look for Begonias and other spring flowers and colorful tropical plants from all colors of the rainbow. Fairy Houses are a hot gardening trend and 33 custom made in house styles will be set in the flower-filled indoor garden.

Miltonia Orchid has a face reminiscent of a pansy and its cheeriness on this springy day really grabs your attention.

This red-leaved Cordyline (sometimes called cabbage palm, though it's not a palm) is native to New Zealand but it's spiky foliage is becoming very popular here as a container plant.

Pastel Ranunculus with crape-paper-like flowers are set with dark red cyclamen for a beautiful composition. Ranunculus are a classic spring only annual with gorgeous flowers. It's hard to believe they are first cousin to our wild buttercups so their other common name Persian Buttercup doesn't belie.

The intricacies of some orchid's flowers make them look unreal. This one is on our tree of cork and I couldn't reach its name.

Moth Orchids (Phalaenopsis) are a great orchid for beginners and new hybrids are giving them more colors and patterns than their ever popular white standard. This is a the new cultivar 'Mei Dar Blackberry.'

Pink Ranunculus with pink-flowered and silvered leaved Cyclamen create a very harmonious combination. The silvery Dusty Miller in between also color echos the cyclamen leaves to make them stand out even more.

Autumn Carnation Encore Azalea is in full bloom and is one of 10 of these popular repeat-flowering azaleas considered hardy through zone 6. We will be planting these 10 hardiest cultivars outdoors in the gardens for the first time this year.

The slipper orchids like this Paphiopedilum are always popular and intriguing.

Colm. Calatante 'Solar Flare' is the label on this interesting orchid in shades of orange.

Golden yellow Ranunculus are as welcome as the sunshine today. These are Persian buttercups for sure.

The stunning fan shaped leaves of Bismarckia nobilis palm are surely a study in texture and form. Their chalky blue coloration makes them a stand out among palms.

This unique orchid is a cross between two Genera and is why the "X" is seen before the Genus of its botanical name: X Degarmoara 'Jay Yamada Kauai'.

The translucency of this orchid makes it look completely different when back-lit. Many orchids are stunning that way so be sure to look at them from many angles.

This Cattleya 'Binosa' with purpled lips and green petals and sepals is another of the 1,000's of the variations in the Orchid Family. Over 25,000 species have been cataloged and many more hybrids and cultivar selections make it the most diverse plant family on Earth. Come enjoy its splendor along with many other flowers and foliage to help chase away the winter blues. On display March 12th through Easter Sunday with an ever changing display as various orchids are rotated in from the greenhouses as they come into bloom. Don't forget to see the small bulbs that are the outdoor harbingers of spring and listen to the new bird arrivals in the garden too. The Eastern Meadowlarks finally sang this morning, a couple weeks later than normal. Spring is almost here!

What Zone are We?

2011-03-10T08:51:00.010-06:00

I'm often asked what zone are we: referring to the USDA winter hardiness zone map. The hardiness zone map links areas together that have, on average, similar winter low temperatures. They are broken down into 10F degree intervals; 5F degrees into sub zones a & b. Most plants are given a hardiness zone rating to correspond with this mapped area. On existing maps we are in hardiness zone 5b at Powell Gardens so on average our winter low should be between -10F and -15F. Since we had -11F at our official weather station this past winter that looks right on. The only thing is that if you average our winter lows out for the past 15 years we would average around -5F here. In the past 15 years we've been as cold as -12F and as mild as +17F; with a reading of -27F in 1989! I was just in Wichita where it allegedly got to minus 17F last winter -- but at Botanica, the Wichita Gardens, I saw no or little damage to tender zone 6 plants. Clearly there is more to it than the minimum low.

This Chicagoland Green Boxwood (Buxus hybrid 'Glencoe') is listed as hardy fully through zone 5 (-20F) but burned badly this past winter and has done the same at the Kauffman Memorial Garden in the past. It is a good example why I don't like hardiness zones because as I get more experience under my belt I see why my mentoring professor (Robert W. Dyas) wouldn't teach us winter hardiness zones. I followed his advice: look around and see what is doing well in a particular region, paying most attention to things that have done well for many years.

This badly burned Green Bay (registered trademark) Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana 'Green Shadow')is supposed to stay evergreen to -20F as well but I wouldn't call this evergreen. The plant will be fine as only the leaves are winter burned but it is not living up to its billing here. I'm glad we are here to do a lot of testing for the Greater Kansas City gardening community.

I had to take a picture of our 'Taylor' Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei). We planted this many years ago for trial as a below zero hardy palm. It has always died back but funny thing is this one always sends up a new basal shoot every summer, only to be killed back the next winter. Sure it can survive a rare below zero event in North Carolina but not the predictable and sustained below zero weather here. You could go to a lot of trouble and put winter protection around a plant like this and it might survive better.

Our Bracken's Brown Beauty Southern Magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora) are living up to their name: brown. At least that's the way they look from their southern side where the leaves were winter burned (consistently the most burned of our hardy southern magnolias each year). Evergreen shrub China Girl Hollies are fine at its base.

The same Bracken's Brown Beauty Magnolia is green on its shady side where the leaves weren't burned by the abrupt change in temperatures caused by the sun's warmth after our bitter cold. So our hardiness zone depends on how you look at it. From gardener's I have talked to; local lows ranged from the single digits below zero in the city's heat island and wooded hilltop gardens like my own, while it was a sustained -15F below in low and outlying regions where cold air settled -- a difference of more than 10 degrees across the region that was largely due to microclimates. Where does your garden sit? A visit to Powell Gardens will show you what does well here and what was disheveled by this colder than average winter. Very few things were killed by last winter but we plant things accordingly: plant more tender plants in sheltered microclimates and the tough ones in low, open places. Gardener common sense.

Meteorological Spring!

2011-03-01T13:34:00.020-06:00

Today is March 1st so meteorological spring begins!!! March, April and May are by far my favorite time of year. Though I've heard some talk of wanting a divorce with Mother Nature I say bring on her wildest weather so indicative of this season. From the most benevolent beauty to vicious bouts of winter relapses this season is always a wild ride but I dare you to make it fun like a carnival and not let it get you down. Spring and summer WILL come.

Vernal Witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis) is still in bloom and has been off and on for more than a month (photo from last year). The tiny but fragrant spidery flowers are always welcome this time of year and the petals simply roll up if inclement wintry weather returns.

The Snowdrops (Galanthus spp.) are also in bloom and the first honeybees are out foraging too (photo from last year). Snowdrops are just getting started though some have been in bloom since December. They are not even close to peak in the Rock & Waterfall Garden which has many thousands to carpet the ground with floral snow.

The Pansies (Viola x witrockiana) are also starting to bloom though they look like they just got out of bed -- newly arisen from a blanket of snow that finally was washed away by Sunday's torrents. If you think they don't look good you'd be wrong, these plants are ready to flower and grow with the warmer days. In just a couple weeks they should be stunning -- a good reminder to plant pansies in the fall get ahead of the spring gardening season.

The Starbor Kale (Brassica oleracea) looks stunning with crinkly foliage that survived the winter unscathed. I will say I have never seen kale weather the winter as well! There was some value in having unprecedented snowfall: as mulch!

Here a sweep of Starbor Kale has some bedraggled plants to the left but those plants that may not look so good are actually in great shape too! They are Snapdragons and you can clearly see the alive green basal foliage at the base of each dead stem. The snapdragons too, have weathered the winter at almost 100% -- the highest percentage ever. In a couple weeks we will cut off the dead tops and either transplant or let the plants grow where they are for a peak spring bloom in May.

Most of the hardy, early-flowering shrubs are not quite in bloom but you can see the swelling purplish buds of this White-Forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum) which is (after the witchhazels) one of our first shrubs to bloom with white or blush pink flowers.

Most evergreens weathered the winter well but you can see some background plants that did not like the winter so well here. The foreground is a Japanese White Pine (Pinus parviflora 'Gyokoshu hime') in great shape but the Citation Yews (Taxus x media) behind it did not like the wet winter.

'King's Gold' Threadleaf Sawara Falsecypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera "Filifera") is probably our brightest golden evergreen in the Conifer Garden north of the Visitor Center. It got a little bit of winter burn (brown foliage) but we know it will recover quickly in spring and that this particular plant was newly planted last summer so did not have a complete chance to get established. Always make sure to give plants a chance to establish before condemning them from a bit a winter damage.

The related 'Lemon Thread' cultivar has been in the ground a couple years and is in perfect shape. These golden, thread-leaf Chamaecyparis pisifera (pronounced kam-ee-SIP-ah-ris, peh-SIFF-er-ah) are some of the best conifers for gardens in our region and are considered Plants of Merit

This wonderfully cute, tiny and ferny-leaved evergreen is a new cultivar of Hinoki Falsecypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Emelie') named by Larry Stanley of Stanley & Son Nursery after the late Emelie Snyder (wife of Marvin Snyder). This evergreen gem is not as tolerant of our winter winds and does better in a protected location in our region. We put a few cut evergreen boughs over this newly planted one for the winter to make sure it gets established and it did weather the winter in near perfect condition.

This may be our bluest needled evergreen in the Conifer Garden and it was one I was in doubt about how it would weather the winter. It is the 'Silberzwerg' Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) native to the Pacific Northwest. Obviously it weathered the winter in perfect condition and may become a good choice for a blue-needled conifer in sites where blue spruce fails.

This little evergreen groundcover is rarely seen in these parts but is a neat choice for a sheltered spot. It is the Dwarf Sweet Box (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis) which will have tiny, but wonderfully vanilla scented flowers soon. This plant is in the same family as boxwoods but makes a nice low, evergreen groundcover.

As almost usual, our Nandinas (Nandina domestica 'Compacta') have been completely winter-burned. This plant is NOT dead and will fully recover with new growth later in spring. I have always thought Nandina is only fully hardy in zone 7 where temperatures do not go below zero. Here they are root and often stem hardy but the leaves almost always are killed by winter.

Our Needle Palms (Rhapidophyllum hystrix) seedlings also have survived the winter unscathed. This hardiest of shrub palms still requires a sheltered place against a wall or foundation. I have had this palm for many years here and it is actually better to let it be and DO NOT mulch it heavily in winter which seems to just invite rot which is worse than any winter damage. These palms grow slower than "molasses in January" so give them time! Powell Gardens' plants were purchased from Plant Delights mail order catalog, a great source for needle and other "hardy" palms.

The Southern Magnolias also fared better than last year through the winter. When I look at pictures of them from last March, those on the south side of the Visitor Center had leaves completely burned. This is the Victoria Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) on the north side of the Visitor Center and it's leaves didn't burn much at all despite temperatures near -10F. Many Southern Magnolias leaves burned badly again this winter but be patient because no stem or bud damage appears to have happened just like last year. New growth will quickly usurp any damaged leaves later this spring and the cold winter will be forgotten.

Here Daffodils a.k.a. Narcissus are emerging with Sparkler Monkey Grass below and Goldsturm Rudbeckia above. With the rains of Sunday it was just like magic how many spring bulbs burst through the soil surface. Yes, the winter garden may look tired and flattened by all the snow but the new foliage of the 2011 growing season is set to grow! May all you gardeners have weathered the winter well and be ready to "bloom" this coming spring. A visit to Powell Gardens now is a great inspiration to the beauty of the early spring garden. I just got word the first Iris (Iris reticulata) just opened this afternoon on the Island Garden. With each passing mild day the bulbs of early spring will begin to carpet the gardens and usher in the new season at last. Enjoy!

(All the photographs except the first two were taken on February 28, 2011 by Alan Branhagen at Powell Gardens.)

Spring Preview: Winter Windowsill Flowers

2011-02-17T09:22:00.011-06:00

Come sit a spell in the beautiful "Feather Your Nest" display at the Powell Gardens' conservatory and you can experience some of the wonderful flowers for the winter windowsill. Many of our most gorgeous flowers require short, cool days to do their best so they are a winter only flowers in Kansas City. Winter is truly waning outside and we all have spring fever for the fragrance and color of flowers!

Blue-flowering Cineraria with silver-leaved Dusty Miller and a white-flowering Cyclamen create a gorgeous composition in the Webster House Garden Room display in the far left corner of the conservatory.

Vivid fuchsia Cinerarias (above) and Kalanchoes (below -- pronounced kal-en-ko'-ee) compose similar vibrant colors.

New hybrids of Cyclamen continue to amaze me with their unique range of flower colors and foliage patterns. All the hybrids are derived from just ONE species: Cyclamen persicum.

How about this Cyclamen with lighter edged rich pink flowers and silver edged leaves!

Hybrids of Kalanchoes also show an amazing array of flower colors from this hot pink to white, light pink, yellows, orange and reds. Kalanchoes are succulents and a more adapted to the average dry air of a winter home. They need to dry out between watering for best results. They are easy to keep from year to year but will only bloom in the short days of winter.

Pink Fairy Primroses (Primula malacoides) are a favorite of winter windowsills. They must be kept in a cool, bright window and not be allowed to dry out between watering.

This picture shows Kalanchoe on top, lavender Stocks (Matthiola incana) in the middle and Cyclamen at the bottom in the display. Stocks are a wonderful cool season annual that will bloom well in a sunny indoor window and thrive outdoors from mid-March into May. Their intense spicy fragrance is one of the most memorable of spring.

Red Powder Puff (Calliandra haematocephala) is also blooming in the display. This is actually a shrub from Bolivia but does well in containers here and can be brought indoors to a sunny window for the winter.

Come out for a visit to get a preview of spring with these flowers in the Powell Gardens conservatory. The birds are a delight all around the Visitor Education Center and on the grounds as well.

It is the Great Backyard Bird Count on Sunday, February 20, 2011, at Powell Gardens so come to participate in that if you want to learn more about birds. Winter is waning and the Killdeer are back, the Vernal Witchhazels in bloom and the Snowdrops on their way too. The Byron Shutz Nature Trail is open but requires boots because of all the melted snow. A Great Horned Owl is soon to hatch her winter clutch of eggs on last year's Red-tailed Hawk nest on the trail. Everything from geese to eagles, blackbirds to robins should be on the move back northward so it should be a great weekend for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Spring Peepers (a species of frog) were heard this morning so all the signs are there that a new season is on its way -- I love the anticipation of this time of year. Monday will mark only one more month until the Vernal Equinox, the first day of Spring!

Post Blizzard Views

2011-02-04T11:08:00.016-06:00

Wow! I never thought I would see this much snow in Greater Kansas City. The blizzard of February 1, 2011 dumped 14" of snow on Powell Gardens. We are open for visitors and we hope you will take time to experience this truly rare event.

The Visitor Center's prairie style architecture looks marvelous in the snowy landscape.

The Heartland Harvest Garden also looks snug in its blanket of snow. The snowy landscape really depicts the feel of a farmstead on the rich Midwestern plains.

The parking lot is plowed and its landscape's trees are finally gaining some size to punctuate its broad expansive feel. This Powell Gardens landscape is evolving from sunny prairie to a savanna -- a prairie with scattered trees.

Evergreen, deciduous, marcescent: do you know what they all mean? The dark evergreens with picturesque form in this shot are evergreen 'Cannaertii' Redcedars (Juniperus virginiana). They hold their foliage year-round. The oaks just beyond them are Pin Oaks (Quercus palustris) and have hung on to their dead leaves: that's called marcescent. Small, young trees in the foreground and the old hickory in the background are bare now: deciduous.

These two young White Oaks (Quercus alba) are also marcescent. Many species of oaks do this and since they cannot speak, we can only speculate why. One theory is they held their leaves to make them less appealing for browsing animals to eat. Remember that great herds of elk once roamed throughout the Midwest and those old marcescent leaves were not appetizing and deterred them from munching on nutritious buds beneath. When most oaks get bigger they usually become completely deciduous.

The tree with the picturesque winter pods is a Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus). Its botanical name makes a lot of sense if you understand Latin: Gymno is naked -- because after its large multi-leaflet leaves drop the tree is very open with coarse twigs; appearing naked. Dioicus describes that the species is dioecious: meaning male and female flowers are on separate trees. The tree above is a female and her flowers form the pods with hard seeds. The tree to its immediate right is also a Kentucky Coffeetree but it is podless: it's a male, its flowers only produce pollen.

This scene in the drifts of snow in the parking lot also shows some plants with long black pods. These neat winter interest plants are Wild Senna (Senna / Cassia marilandica). Yes they are relatives of the coffeetrees in the same bean or legume family. The pods of this gorgeous perennial hold well all through the winter landscape unless a Wild Turkey finds them to snap them up for lunch.

This past fall I began to worry about a drought because it was SO dry. Now all the snowfall has provided wonderful moisture and protection to the gardens. Underneath the thick drifts of snow on the terrace garden beds lie happy little pansies and violas snug in their winter blanket.

Temperatures at KCI airport recorded -12F tying a record on Thursday morning. The low at Powell Garden's official site in a cold pocket was -11.5F, the coldest it's been here since 1997. The local low varied from around -5F to 10 degrees colder in open, low lying areas. This Victoria Southern Magnolia is one of the hardiest and should be fine through this cold snap. It always helps to know your microclimates and plant more tender plants in mild positions sheltered by buildings and existing mature trees.

Horticulturist Donna Covell is our Greenhouse Grower and her work keeps her in a much different environment! We have 9 greenhouses and they are full of flowers for spring at Powell Gardens and for our Centerpiece Display we will be installing next week at the Metropolitan Lawn and Garden Show at the American Royal in Kansas City.

Our Metropolitan Show Garden will be the 'Garden of Eat'n' showcasing edible plants and its 30 x 3o' vegetable garden was designed by Heartland Harvest Garden Horticulturist Matt Bunch who here is inspecting Ruby Perfection Cabbage for the display.

Here's Ruby Perfection Cabbage with ferny-leaved Fennel behind, also destined for the Metropolitan Lawn and Garden Show.

Dark red-leaved 'Bull's Blood' Beets are in the foreground with Society Garlic's vertical variegated leaves in the middle with purple basil and chard in the background. A beautiful landscape can easily be created by the wonderful foliage colors and textures of many of our favorite edible plants.

Flower like these fragrant Stocks will also enhance our Metro Show Garden so you will experience a complete preview of spring and a well grown garden. Make sure to mark your calendar for February 11th -13th and come see us at the Metropolitan Lawn and Garden Show. We'll have all sorts of tips and ideas for you to grow your own edible garden at home. Until then don't let cabin fever keep you indoors, get out and experience the wonderful winter landscape now on display at Powell Gardens! It may be several more lifetimes until we experience such a snowy landscape again.

Sunrise in a January Ice Fog

2011-01-28T08:09:00.012-06:00

Whining about winter is a waste of time! This morning's sunrise shrouded in ice fog and a wintry Powell Gardens' landscape forced me to grab the camera and savor such a glorious experience. Moments like these are special and to be savored as part of our 525,600 minutes we're lucky to enjoy each year.

Sunrise over ancient oak January, 28, 2011: our ancient White Oak (Quercus alba) just below the sun in this image and below our lake's dam has stood on that spot for well over 150 years.
It is alive and I wonder what the morning brings to it....

The sun's warmish glow through fog behind the two ancient trees in front of the Visitor Center also captured my imagination. The ancient Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) left, is in decline but oaks are well known to grow 100 years, thrive 100 more, decline 100 years and take 100 more years to depart. The ancient tree to the right is a sturdy Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata).

The camera barely captures the essence of bands of ice fog shrouding the grounds -- here with Chapel in the background.

A look to the south is fog free and the waning sliver moon punctuates the icy scene. (Do you know how to tell the moon is waning?)

The Visitor Center ensconced in its woodland grove at the brow of the hill on this wintry morning -- An E. Fay Jones - Maurice Jennings classic piece of architecture.

Here you see the Meadow Pavilion and sweep of meadow on the east hill opposite the Visitor Center. My what a different view this will be in a short time. The meadow will be burned in March to stimulate the billowing prairie grasses and wildflowers for 2011's growing season. What will our summer be like?

I noticed the layers of ice fog were not perfectly horizontal but followed the lay of the land! This image is from the outer part of our parking lot, which is an arboretum of the native trees of Kansas and Missouri. You'll see more species of oaks here then you ever thought there were and future generations will be able to park their cars under their shade.

You can barely make out the Heartland Harvest Garden in the background. What an ethereal moment! The barn is left, corn crib almost center, arbors far right.

This Redbud (Cercis canadensis) silhouette in the morning fog begged a photo. This wonderfully gnarly tree is actually less than 30 years old.

Sunrise over the Trigg Building with Perennial Garden just below... "red sky in the morning, sailor's take warning" is NOT to be today. The forecast is for an exceptionally mild day between 50F and 60F degrees across Greater Kansas City. May everyone take a moment to enjoy this day and come visit the waning wintry landscape of Powell Gardens this weekend. A big thank you to all who have helped make Powell Gardens a reality where such a beautiful garden can be experienced throughout the year.

Winter Plants in the Perennial Garden

2011-01-20T14:52:00.020-06:00

Powell Gardens received 8 inches of sparkling fresh, powdery snow overnight creating a clean insulating blanket of white over the gardens. Today's crystal blue skies and peaceful atmosphere made a walk through the Perennial very special. Here's what some of the "bones" of this delightful winter landscape look like now:]

A view from the south "Shade Native Garden" end of the Perennial Garden across our frozen lake to the Visitor Center on the far hill depicts the quiet beauty of the garden's scenery. We have cleared a walking path through all the main walks of the garden so any visitor may experience the beauty of our winter landscape. Rarely do we have so much snow!

The sculpture armillary and its shadow: we are a day short of one month past the Winter Solstice so the long shadows are getting shorter each day as we are now two months out from the Vernal Equinox (Spring!). Tomorrow, 2/3rds of the dark half of our year is over!

The Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) grove in the Woodland Garden portion of the Perennial Garden shows off very lovely wintertime trunks caked in bluish-gray lichens. Every time I walk through these clumps of trees I think of why I never promote "standard spacing" for plants. This would not have the same feel if they were all 10 or 20 feet apart! Be brave, dare to plant things (other than birches) in clumps and groves.

The horizontal branches of a Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) still support snow. I actually like the brown pea pod fruit as a bit of extra ornament. Some have told me they hate it that the pods hang on the tree and look ugly, to each their own I guess but this is how our native redbud is supposed to look in winter.

The pods of the Japanese Pagodatree (Sophora japonica) make a nice contrast with the blue winter sky. This color would not be anything special in the brilliance of our summer sun but adds a good bit of interest to the winter landscape. This tree is much revered in Eastern Asia where it graces many temples in China, Korea and Japan.

The twisting-pendant branches of Scarlet Curls Willow (Salix x erythroflexuosa) are almost cranberry red on the sunny side but the camera mutes them to an almost champagne color. None-the-less this is a very lovely tree in the winter landscape. It's a hybrid between the Corkscrew Willow and the Golden Weeping Willow. You can see the snow-covered tapestry hedge in the background.

Here's an overall view of the Scarlet Curls Willow in the middle of the Perennial Garden.

The curling bark of the "Paperbark" Chinese Fringetree (Chionanthus serrulatus) is completely different from typical Chinese Fringetrees (Chionanthus retusus) which have very dark stems. They are now considered the same species but they are two different plants in the landscape! The Paperbark form has prettier bark in the winter but is a shy bloomer of frilly-fringed white flowers in late spring.

The exfoliating bark of the Peking Tree Lilac (Syringa pekinensis 'China Snow') is polished with whiter horizontal dashes called lenticels that make it look a cherry rather than a lilac. Take a moment to feel how polished and smooth the fresh bark looks after the outer papery bark has peeled away.

I know the Seven Sons Tree (Hepatcodium miconioides) gets a write up in many of my blogs. The freshly exposed bone white bark with remnant strips of the sandy old bark always gets my attention in fall and winter when I walk by. The bark will age back to a sandy tan only to slough off again next season.

The interesting patchwork of gray and furrowed bark on this native Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) trunk is the result of a fungus that makes it slough off. It doesn't harm the tree and is characteristic of the Swamp White and White Oaks (Quercus alba) which otherwise would have much more flaky bark.

The warty trunk of this Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) is exceptional in the "Woodland Garden" north end of the Perennial Garden. You can see the frozen lake, prairie grasses in the meadow and the chapel in the background. Can you identify the tree to the back and right? It's a Swamp white oak with its patchy gray trunk; the tree to the back left is a Shagbark Hickory with its characteristic shaggy bark.

The Sparkleberry Hollies (Ilex serrata 'Sparkleberry) have endured below zero temperatures and lost a bit of their red sparkle. We got down to -7F one night at Powell Gardens last week. The snow cover was a good insulating blanket for most plants. The more urban core of Greater Kansas City did not even drop below zero!

A Serbian Spruce (Picea omorika) is beautifully flocked with snow. This is one of the finest evergreen trees for our region. This tree in the middle of the Perennial Garden is atypical as usually Serbian Spruces are very narrow, tall pyramids. We have an unusual form: there's a 'Fat Albert' Blue Spruce but certainly we can think of a better name for this plant.

Powell Gardens' winter gardens are more beautiful than ever with such a brilliant white blanket of snow. Dare to come take a walk and experience the quiet, peace and serenity of the landscape. Remember that Cafe Thyme is open Friday-Sunday with Lon Lane's Inspired Occasions' new menu so you can have a marvelous meal before or after your hearty walk. The roads to and the paths through the gardens are plowed of snow and readily accessible.

Feather Your "Nest"

2011-01-14T10:04:00.017-06:00

For the first time since the Powell Gardens conservatory opened to the public nearly 14 years ago in February 1997, our display inside it will focus outward! The massive floor to ceiling expanses of glass designed by Faye Jones - Maurice Jennings offer uninterrupted garden views outward and allow maximum light inward. Our "Feather Your Nest" display inside the conservatory features four "vignettes" of garden rooms for you to sit and look outward to the Terrace Gardens and their birdlife. The vignettes are by Perennial Gifts & Good Earth Gifts (the Visitor Center's and Harvest Garden's gift shops respectively); Downtown Kansas City's Retro Inferno; Brookside's Pear Tree Antiques; and Crossroads' Webster House. Come experience these beautiful garden rooms and watch the birds at our feeders right outside the glass. Pick up some great ideas of garden room decor from our generous vendors while in indoor comfort with the perfume of blooming flowers and the beautiful winter landscape all around.

Cardinals are always an attention getter in the winter landscape as the bright color of the male's plumage demonstrates. You will see these birds at the feeders! FYI their "official" standardized name is Northern Cardinal as there are other species found southward in the Americas. This photo was shared with us by volunteer and Friends Member Linda K Williams.

I took this shot looking out from the conservatory and you can see 3 male cardinals and other birds at the feeders, the Visitor Center's stunning icicles and the bones of the winter landscape beyond.

The Terrace Gardens on the north side of the Conservatory are lit by the low angle of the winter sun which really shows off the beautiful evergreen Southern Magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora). Southern Magnolias are not only beautiful in the winter landscape but provide cozy shelter for wintering birds.

The Terrace Gardens to the south of the conservatory are more backlit and thus the evergreen Southern Magnolias look much darker, almost black-green.

A view east from the Conservatory shows our thriving evergreen Hazel Smith Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) taking the center stage with the winter garden landscape beyond. Next year I mentioned to staff that we should decorate the Giant Sequoia as a Christmas Tree now that it has grown tall enough to be readily seen from the conservatory and Terrace Gardens. This plant was donated to us by Marvin Snyder as a small, trial plant. Yes, this is the largest tree species in the world from the Sierras of California and can live over 2,000 years. I always wonder what it will look like many generations from now. Note the wonderful icicles too -- makes me think I'm looking outward from a monster's mouth!

Blue Jays are another colorful bird you will see at our feeders. They always stuff themselves with food then fly off to cache it for a "rainy day." By doing this with nuts and acorns, Blue Jays have planted many of our wild forest trees. Photo by Linda K Williams.

Downy Woodpeckers are the most common woodpecker here and have been coming to the feeders regularly. You can tell this is a male bird by the red on its head -- females are simply black and white.

You will also see the beautiful Red-bellied Woodpecker. YES, that's its name! Everyone notices its brilliant orange-red on the top and back of its head and the gorgeous black and white zebra patterning on its back first. It was named back before binoculars when birds were shot to see up close and museum specimen birds are lying flat on their back in trays so the first thing noticed when curators were naming our birds was their RED BELLY, which you can see in this photo by Linda K Williams. I always laugh when I remember my then young nephew asking me to "call the president" to rename this bird!

Here's our biggest woodpecker the Pileated Woodpecker (its almost the size of a crow) taken right outside Cafe Thyme by our Education Director, Eric Jackson one day at lunchtime. This magnificent woodpecker shows up in the gardens from time to time (actually there was one around this week). This particular one was oddly tame and would allow visitors to step outside and take its picture!

This White-breasted Nuthatch is another bird you will see, it's our "upside down" bird that forages on trees in the opposite direction as its unrelated woodpeckers. Photo by Linda K Williams.

Black-capped Chickadees always cheer up winter days with their busy antics. Their winter plumage always appears well tailored and spiffy too. Photo by Linda K Williams.

You'll see many American Goldfinches at the tube feeders as well. Yes, this is what they look like in their winter plumage. Photo by Linda K Williams.

I had to show a reminder of what the goldfinches will look like in a short 10 weeks in their bright breeding season plumage! Photo by Linda K Williams.

White-crowned Sparrows are one of my favorite winter birds at the feeders. These birds nest way "Up North" in Canada and spend the winter down here. The white racing stripe on the top of their head makes this adult bird easy to identify though to some, a sparrow is a sparrow even though we have many species here in winter. Photo by Linda K Williams.

Here's a test for beginning birders: Sparrows! The front one is a White-throated Sparrow, you can tell by the yellow in front of its eye even though you cannot see its characteristic white throat. But what's the sparrow in the back? It's a immature White-crowned Sparrow with auburn stripes on its head. Photo by Linda K Williams.

If you are suffering from the winter doldrums come out to Powell Gardens' "Feather Your Nest" display and enjoy the view and all the birdlife. Also remember that we will have feeders outside Cafe Thyme which opens Saturday (January 15th) as a Lon Lane's Inspired Occasions venue with a fantastic and delicious NEW menu. Come enjoy a magnificent, fresh lunch and I guarantee some interesting birds will be just outside the windows to add to the ambiance.

Thank you to Linda K Williams for sharing her bird photos for this blog. Visit her website at www.lindawilliamsphotography.com to see more beautiful images of local nature.

Winter Landscape Surprises

2011-01-06T07:41:00.016-06:00

The winter landscape at Powell Gardens embraces the spirit of the season with beautiful dried grasses, bare bones of deciduous shrubs and trees, an abundance of fruit and a diversity of evergreens in many shades beyond green. Some nifty smaller perennials and surprising seedlings have added to the wonder of the garden. I am always humbled that there is something new to see and learn on every one of my routine inspections of the gardens.

Winterberry Hollies (Ilex verticillata) outside the Visitor Center are still ablaze with fiery red berries. This is the cultivar 'Winter Red' which becomes a large shrub over time (>8 feet) and can even be pruned into a mini-tree as our Horticulturist Duane Hoover has done at the entrance to the Kauffman Memorial Garden.

Red Sprite Winterberry is a much more compact cultivar that seldom matures taller than 4-5 feet. Remember these beautiful berry-studded shrubs are female plants and require a pollinating male -- actually 'Winter Red' is a late bloomer and requires the male cultivar 'Southern Gentleman' to set fruit while 'Red Sprite' is an early bloomer and requires the male cultivar 'Jim Dandy' to set fruit. We have several other cultivars of winterberry holly planted near the Visitor Center and 'Scarlet O'Hara' and 'Maryland Beauty' are also very beautiful now.

Every fall and winter I photograph the 'Asian Beauty' Linden Viburnum (Viburnum dilatatum) and it did not disappoint this year again with a heavy crop of red berries to color the winter landscape.

Crabapples also color the winter landscape but are not as vivid red as the winterberry hollies or viburnums. They still add a very nice splash of color to the browns and grays that are the bones of the winter garden's plants. This is the Zumi Crabapple (Malus x zumi or sieboldii) on the Island Garden where 8 of these glorious small trees provide lots of food for wintering birds.

The textures and subtle shades of winter evergreens are much appreciated through the winter. Green Giant Arborvitae's (Thuja plicata hybrid)sprays of flattened foliage is a lovely olive green with hints of bronze and gold.

Chicagoland Green Boxwood (Buxus hybrid 'Glencoe') also has bronzy-gold highlights to its evergreen leaves. This hardy boxwood was selected in Chicago for its good hardiness and foliage color in winter.

This English Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) donated to us by the late Andy Klapis has much more rich green winter foliage. English Boxwood is supposed to be marginally hardy here but this one from the long-time area nurseryman has always weathered our winters with beautiful dark green, shiny leaves. This shrub can actually become a small tree in milder climates -- a fun fact is that it is the heavy wood from which billiard balls were made from!

The remarkable chocolaty-purple winter leaves of Girard Fuchsia Azalea (Rhododendron Girard hybrid) offer a completely different color for the winter landscape that contrasts nicely with other greens. This azalea has vivid red-purple flowers in spring and is actually becoming one of my favorite of the evergreen azaleas. For the most part, the darker the flowers of the azalea, the darker its winter leaves are -- the light green-leaved azaleas in the garden now will all bloom white next spring.

The cute, fine Monkey Grass (Ophiopogon japonicus 'Sparkler') has jewel-like blue berries now. This is the first time I've seen this here. Is it an artifact of a summer with rainfall and humidity more like Louisiana? Our Propagator, Marie Frye has collected some of these fruits to grow and see if we get some interesting seedlings. Sparkler Monkey Grass is a very underutilized groundcover that has done very well in sheltered woodland areas of Powell Gardens. It is utilized abundantly in New Orleans as a never mow, evergreen groundcover around homes.

The beautiful winter leaves of Italian Arum (Arum italicum 'Pictum') are a fine addition to the winter landscape but with changing climate this plant appears to be becoming invasive at Powell Gardens. It used to never bloom here but now readily produces jack-in-the-pulpit-like spring flowers that produce wonderful wands of bright vermilion fruit in the fall. We are finding copious seedlings in the gardens now. Should we remove it before it becomes an invasive exotic?

This native sedge (Carex unknown species) near the beginning of the Byron Shutz Nature Trail is a contender as a wonderful groundcover to replace grass. It is shade tolerant, fine and evergreen, never needs mowing, water or fertilizer. We will be transplanting plugs into garden settings for trial and also sending some starts off to Missouri Botanical Garden's Shaw Nature Reserve for further testing where they have wonderful native groundcover trial beds and are even starting some new native turf trials! There are over 60 species of sedges in Missouri and very few of them have been tested for ornamental and turf purposes.

This cute tussock-type native (Carex unknown species) sedge only about 8" across also may have garden potential. It's evergreen, very fine and stays in a clump. A mass planting of these would be lovely in a garden! It's another native plant for trial in the gardens. Obviously I have some work to do identifying these sedges but their short bloom time in spring when you can key them out to species is when I am most busy!

I've found several seedlings of evergreen Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) around the gardens this winter. We never observed this until recently. A quick review of the USDA's Forest Service Agriculture Handbook states: "Neither seed nor seedlings can withstand a light freeze for 48 hours, and this may account for the limited natural range of the tree." Obviously our plants have not read this. The original native range of this tree was the deep South below the "Fall Line" but it is now naturally spreading northward from plantings.

Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) has also began to self-sow in various parts of the garden. This magnolia is native into Arkansas and Tennessee farther north than Southern Magnolia.

Consider your own walk through Powell Gardens and its Byron Shutz Nature Trail this winter. I'm sure you make some surprising discoveries of your own. You will certainly get some ideas on how to enhance your own yard and garden's winter landscape.

Meet The Poinsettias of 2010

2010-12-03T09:08:00.016-06:00

Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are Powell Gardens' premier Christmas and Holiday Season plant grown in our greenhouse complex. This fickle plant native to Central America and tropical Mexico is actually a shrub that can grow to 10 feet. Poinsettias bloom only on the short days of the winter solstice; it is actually the leafy bracts surrounding the tiny flowers that create the show!

The Greenhouse Gals: (left to right) Penny Hudson (part-time gardener), Kellyn Register (gardener), Donna Covell (Horticulturist) and Yubi (the greenhouse mouser) pose for a picture with our vibrant crop of poinsettias. Meet the various varieties of poinsettias they (along with Senior Gardener Eric Perrette) have grown for the 2010 season:

Poinsettia 'Freedom Early Red' may be our most showy red poinsettia with huge bracts literally covering the entire plant.

Poinsettia 'Novia Red' has vibrant red bracts that contrast beautifully with its green leaves. This is more of a classic poinsettia to me -- not as gaudy as Freedom Early Red above.

The vermilion bracts of Poinsettia 'Orange Spice' have a orange-red color more similar to the wild poinsettia.

Poinsettia 'Enduring Marble' has a smattering of pink on its otherwise large, red bracts.

Poinsettia 'Sonora White Glitter' has a splattering of white on its bracts, some bracts containing larger white and pink sections.

Poinsettia 'Tapestry' has yellow variegated leaves that really set off this plant from the others.

If pink is your color then Poinsettia 'Freedom Pink' displays the largest lovely pink bracts of any we've grown.

Poinsettia 'Polly's Pink' displays exceptionally vibrant pink bracts.

Poinsettia 'Winter Blush' has marvelous pink and cream variegated bracts. It also displays two tiers of flowers -- huge ones above smaller below.

Poinsettia 'Winter Rose Early Marble' has the crinkled tight bracts so popular in the winter rose series but with an nice blend of cream and pink.

White Poinsettias offer a classic color favored by many indoor designers and gardeners. The giant creamy white bracts (I sense salmon and lime overtones) identify this as Poinsettia 'Freedom White.'

Poinsettia 'White Star' has more starry bracts of a similar but perhaps whiter color.

Creamier, peachy-white bracts make Poinsettia 'Classic White' another favorite of white poinsettias.

Lastly, Poinsettia 'Ice Punch' still receives the most comments of the poinsettias we've grown this season. The variegated bracts are quite striking but in a good way.

All these poinsettias are on display in the Visitor Center's conservatory and some are for sale in Perennial Gifts too. Come visit them in person and pick your favorite variety.

Autumn's Crescendo

2010-11-16T08:19:00.016-06:00

The crescendo of autumn is at hand, a last burst of colors before the more monochromatic winter landscape sets in.

The White Oak (Quercus alba) on the north side of the Visitor Center is at peak of color in burnt reds; and flanked by Sweetbays (Magnolia virginiana) in the best golden attire.

White Oak is a favorite tree and one was planted on either end of the Visitor Center back in the spring of 1997 after the building's opening (this is a picture of the same tree in the above photograph). Both trees are now going on 30 feet tall and showing a strong upright, oval form with great fall colors. It's interesting to imagine what they might look like in 400 years!

Many Viburnums put on quite a show in late fall and this Catskill Linden Viburnum (Viburnum dilatatum) is no exception.

The fall leaf colors are not as spiffy on its neighboring cultivar 'Asian Beauty' but the berries are sure colorful. The fruit will add winter ornament well past leaf fall into winter.

This Missouri native Southern Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) sports beads of blue berries. Birds somehow have missed this particular one as some of our arrowwoods were de-fruited by migrating Eastern Kingbirds way back in late August. The birds are now at their winter home in Bolivia! Our berries helped fuel their migration which brings to mind Aldo Leopold's great quote: hemisphere solidarity is new among statesman but not the feathered navies of the sky.

The Koreanspice Viburnums (Viburnum carlesii) are burning reds now and a good choice for replacing your invasive Burning Bushes (Euonymus alatus). We have spotted and removed many more burning bush from the woodlands around the gardens even though Powell Gardens has removed all the plants from its gardens.

The Flying Dragon Hardy Orange (Poncirus trifoliata) has turned some interesting yellow hues and together with its "curlicue" green branching this image reminds me of an impressionist painting.

We have removed many of the tender plants from the Hummingbird Garden outside the Cafe and low and behold our Taylor Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) has returned. This is allegedly one of the hardiest palm selections from North Carolina and we planted one for trial many years back. It died to the ground but keeps coming back from the base, which is very unusual for this species as it normally has ONE growing point and if that is killed, the whole plant is killed. Plants always seem to defy what we write about them and try to make liars out of us whenever they can!

The views of the Heartland Harvest Garden from the silo overlook are quite wonderful as of Monday. Here the Kansas Star Quilt Garden of pasture and forage plants really stands out with autumn hues in the warm season grasses and greens of cool season grasses and legumes. This garden is at its finest now.

The Villandry Quilt Garden is also gorgeous from above with its late fall simplicity of winter cover crops in green mixed with a few summer leftovers and fall vegetable crops.

Blackberries are finally starting to turn their rich shades of red in throughout the Heartland Harvest Garden. Here they are quite nice growing in the fence on the edge of Barbara Damrosch's Author's Garden.

The masses of Oakleaf Hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) along the woodland edges near the Chapel's trolley stop are rich shades of red now. This bold American native shrub is the quintessential colorful crescendo to our fall color season.

The hollow base of the old Swamp White Oak in front of the chapel is not yet a crescendo of color but Horticulturist Richard Heter cut the stump a bit lower and planted a natural seedling of Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) in the center of the stump! One day the dogwood will grow through the stump and provide a blast of rich fall color too (You can't see it in this shot but the stump is hollow to the top: 115 tree rings from the hollow to the bark!).

I hope everyone takes a moment to take in the last glory of this exceptional fall season and does a little garden planning or planting to create future seasons of glorious autumn colors.