Lost Gardens of New England

Will Spring ever come?  After a full day of snow showers that did not cling to the lawn or roads yesterday, we awoke this morning to a coating of snow all over. It quickly melted as the sun came up and stayed shining for the whole day.  It was not much above freezing, but we ventured out to New London to the Lyman Allyn Art Museum to see a traveling exhibit, "The Lost Gardens of New England".

It was an interesting display of art, some photos, architectural renderings and landscape architects' plans.  Several gardens in Connecticut were included. I have visited  Roseland Cottage in Woodstock and the Harkness Mansion in Waterford. Both are being restored, but many historic gardens are now gone. There are parking lots or front entrance landscape beds where once lovely, planned estate gardens once thrived.

The exhibit also shows the history of garden styles in America and European influences upon their design. The gardens evolved over time to reflect architectural trends and changing American ideals. The exhibit did a nice job of showing all these aspects.

Here's a link to the exhibit in a multimedia presentation by Historic New England.

Sorry, I have no photos of my own.  A sign said they were not allowed, but a woman took photos of everything while she chomped on her chewing gum beside me!

Blooming!

Those daffodils bloomed overnight!
Spring is on its way!

New Life for Some Houseplants

I wish I had taken some photos before I began to prune.  But, here is what the Areca palm and the Ficus tree look like now:

They fit the space they call home in the corners of the living room at the clubhouse.

They have needed a pruning for a year or more, but this seemed to be the 

right time to give them some new life with pruning, adding potting soil, 

new sphagnum moss and some fertilizer.

A spritz of water on the old frond 

and that new frond that has not yet unfolded 

should help to keep the dust down.

When I bought the moss and potting soil at Paul and Sandy's

I saw some plants that I just had to have on the coffee table

to get me through to Spring in 2 weeks.

A primrose, some Tete-a-tete daffodils and 

a Codlaeum variegatum (as labeled).

I would call it a croton.

Can't wait for the  daffodil buds to open.

I hope the croton does okay in the cool room.

Maybe the temperatures will be more moderate in the coming weeks?

I couldn't resist a new cyclamen.

Spring has arrived at my house!

Orchids Blooming at Home

I came home to all three orchids blooming at once!

That hasn't happened in a couple years.

Thanks to my neighbor who carefully tended them 

while I was away.

They look so wonderful with snow behind them out the window.

Yes, it's above the window sill!

Outdoor Weather Once Again

When it's 50 degrees and partly sunny, it's time to be out again.  I had two garden moments today: one wild and one tamed.  At the Audubon Preserve just outside Sea Pines, I saw a trillium in the parking lot.  It was not wild, but planted and marked!  Still, a native wild flower in its habitat.

This was more wild--a Chickasaw Plum blooming 

amid the Saw Palmettos and the Loblolly Pines 

near an opening in the forest close to a  pond.

On our return from birding, we spotted two hardy gardeners 

out in their plots at the community gardens.

Just a little sun and some moderate temperatures

will bring those "rare birds" out!

Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens

Several garden surprises here, both old and new. The visitor's center is just two weeks old and some of he gardens are not even planted yet.  I did find some great plantings and scenarios in the older gardens near the old Craftman-style custodian's cottage.

First surprise:  Bamboo.  Hundreds of varieties.

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Turns out that these bamboo groves were experimental and date from the 1920s.

Second surprise: a Mediterranean garden.

These oranges were growing in a planting backed by

a stucco building wall painted a great yellow orange

 which also warms the spot and allows the warm climate plants to thrive.

Third surprise: a rain garden near the lake.

Compared to the large rain garden near our lake at home, it was a small kidney-shaped swale that strained run-off before it entered the lake.  The plants were native to Georgia so I didn't recognize many of them, especially this tree.

Possomhaw?

Third surprise: Crape Myrtle allee (which I recognized after a week in the South but wished I could have seen in bloom).

Easy clues to identifying Crape Myrtle: structure of limbs and texture and color of bark.

Other surprises: the tea bushes garden was not yet planted, the formal garden paths were laid out but not planted, the children's garden and the butterfly garden were just a sign saying "Future site".  The bamboo maze paths and two story look-out were built but the bamboo not yet planted.  Biggest surprise:  I'll need to return in 3-5 years to see it all as I expected it to be.

Signs of Spring in the South

Also at Wormsloe Plantation just south of Savannah, Georgia, if you can look down 

instead of up at the huge live oaks, you can find small signs of spring's arrival.

These lovely blooms were near the custodian's cottage along a path.  

Are they like our snow drops or more like lily of the valley?

In the courtyard of the museum building, I found some forsythia blooming.

Delightful!