Powell Gardens, melding native and exotic plants

Powell Gardens is a unique marriage of native and exotic plants. I took this picture yesterday because it is such an interesting composition. The drifts of planted, non-native daffodils (Narcissus spp.) are showy and beautiful but they are woven into the native grasses and other native plants. No native plant dares have such large flowers this early. The small tree center left is a native redbud (Cercis canadensis) and usually one of our first showy flowering native plants. It's not yet in flower though it was flowering by now for the prior 11 springs. The evergreen is a wild seedling of Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) and the tree overhead is a Post Oak (Quercus stellata) with a few marcesant leaves still clinging to its lower branches.
We weave in non-invasive exotic plants to enhance the aesthetic experience of Powell Gardens but keep the natives as the warp and weft to celebrate our spirit of place. Without the native plant "bones" to the garden, we would look like anywhere in the world. In late summer (with the daffodils dormant) this image will show no exotics with billowing native grasses, wild sunflowers, goldenrods and asters.


The cool spring of 2008 has made many of the bulbs look like the images in the catalogs for a change (Most bulbs are Dutch grown where the maritime springs are much cooler). Ice Follies Daffodil (shown) has a creamy to yellow center, but in our more typical warmer springs the flower are never as yellow and just look creamy white. Daffodils are a reliable, deer resistant showy flower for spring. Their clumps persist and can naturally multiply into extensive drifts. They do not self-sow or become invasive. They are true spring ephemerals and go completely dormant by midsummer.


Blues are one of my favorite flowers and the native blue-flowering plants are not yet in flower. Here deep blue 'Delft Blue' Hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis) and Grape Hyacinths (Muscari armeniaca) put on a show in the west seating area of the Island Garden. The color theme for this space is quiet contrasts between blue and scarlet. If you visit you will see the scarlet Tulip praestans 'Fusilier' which provides the contrast. Shortly, native Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata) and Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) will be the natives providing the blue color to this planting.


Forsythias are as flamboyant as ever this spring. New hybrids of these often ubiquitous shrubs have really made them more interesting landscape plants. This is the newer cultivar 'Gold Tide' which is a low grower and Plant of Merit (green sign depicted). Look for our planting near the Visitor Center trolley stop. Forsythia's flower power in early spring make them dear to many with spring fever. They are mostly sterile hybrids and pose no threat of escaping to natural areas.

Our native Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) is also in bloom now with yellow flowers but the flowers are tiny and not so showy. Fragrant sumac's flowers are nectar rich however and are important early nectar source for many insects. Fragrant sumac is a better plant than forsythia through the seasons with striking red, fuzzy berries against its lush green foliage in summer, and vibrant orange to scarlet fall color. Fragrant sumac will never outsell Forsythia because gardeners are apt to buy their plants in spring, not thinking through the whole seasons and what a plant has to offer the landscape. Fragrant Sumac can be seen in the parking lot (where we only display plants native to Kansas and Missouri), Island Garden and Perennial Garden. Drifts of wild fragrant sumac can be seen on the Nature Trail.

Daffodils and Magnolias

The Daffodils a.k.a. Narcissus are blooming in colorful drifts of cream to yellow and orange throughout Powell Gardens. If you have not been to Powell Gardens in a while we have planted more than 100,000 more bulbs in the past couple seasons. The early magnolias are also in full bloom -- foliated in fragrant flowers of blush pink and white.

Larkwhistle Daffodil is a Cyclamineus Narcissus that has naturalized well over the past seven years on the Island Garden (in front of the arbor).

Here a drift of Tete-a-tete and a few Jetfire Narcissus contrast with blue-flowering Siberian Squills (Scilla sibirica) in the Rock & Waterfall Garden.

Star Magnolia's (Magnolia stellata) elegant and fragrant white flowers have really shone this spring. They have attracted more insects than usual because they are blooming nearly a month behind schedule. Painted Lady and Question Mark butterflies as well as myriads of honeybees have been visiting their blossoms.

A Star Magnolia is foliated in flowers with no leaves to take away from their exuberance. They leaf out after flowering.

A honeybee visits the bloom of Leonard Messel Magnolia (Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel'). Leonard Messel has turned out to be one of the hardiest of all spring blooming "precocious" magnolias. It was a chance seedling in an English Garden and originally thought to be hardy only to zone7. Luckily gardeners are always trying plants to test their limits and we now know this hybrid is hardy through zone 4 and one of the best for the Minneapolis-St.Paul region. It does great in Greater Kansas City too, having blooms that are tolerant of some frost.

All photographs taken by Alan Branhagen at Powell Gardens on April 7, 2008.

Chapungu: Sculpture in the Garden

Powell Gardens' CHAPUNGU, Nature, Man & Myth sculptures are carefully being placed in the garden. This display of art in the garden is scheduled to open on May 10 but to place more than 50 sculptures weighing a ton or more each takes time. A visit now will give you a preview of what is to come but the viewing the display in its entirety with proper interpretation will provide the best experience.

Troy Young in our maintenance department uses our backhoe to pull the sculpture from its crate and transfer it to a garden vehicle. The sculpture is "Horse" by Ephraim Chaurika, made of serpentine and weights 1,600 lbs. The artist stated "When I saw a horse for the first time, it took my breath away. So strong and proud and yet so beautiful. I will always try to capture that in the stone."

Here Troy gently lowers "Horse" to a garden truckster.

The final destination is reached by a Bobcat where Powell Gardens' maintenance staff and Chapungu curatorial staff make the final placement. Note the sheets of plywood laid down to not disturb the ground or brick paths. You will find "Horse" in the Perennial Garden.

The sculptures are arranged in a story of themes and Nature can be observed in the Perennial Garden. This sculpture is "Wild Horses" by Fungayi Mwarowa.

Look for "Myth" sculptures on the Island Garden to the Rock & Waterfall Garden. "The Mudzimu Bull" sculpture by Joseph Ndandarika is made of serpentine and can be seen on the Island Garden. "The sekuru (respected elder) has died. We pass his spirit into a young bull. After two years the bull will be killed and the spirit is released to the ancestors."

"Man" themed sculptures are in the landscape between the visitor center and the lake. "Chief's Advisor" by Joe Mutasa is made of lepidolite. "The advisor presents a balanced picture so that chief can make a fair assessment."

The most moving of the sculptures is "Melancholy Girl" of opal by Tapfuma Gutsa. This front on shot startled me and I can't explain the beam of distorted light off the sculpture's head. Tapfuma states: "As a child I was so happy and so carefree. Now I am saddened by my life and our family circumstances."

We are so blessed in this country I cannot imagine a life in such a country of turmoil like Zimbabwe.

The sculptures are very beautiful and masterful. They tell a universal story of the human experience, very moving if you take the time to carefully observe their nuances and read the artist's story.

All photographs taken by Alan Branhagen on April 8, 2008 at Powell Gardens.