Archive for April 2008
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
I went for a walk during lunch today, and boy am I glad I brought the camera! On a steep, wooded hillside leading down to the Crum Creek I saw an incredible colony of trilliums, all in full bloom. What a sight! The white-blooming Trillium grandiflorum, or large-flowered trillium, covers most of the hillside, while the scarlet-flowered Trillium erectum, or red wake robin, grows along the periphery of the drift. Both species are native to Pennsylvania, but it’s not entirely clear whether this colony is wild, or was planted long ago by a local gardener.
Trilliums are one of the most…
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Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
One day last week I looked in the nest to see our baby mourning doves and they were GONE! Horrors – did they finally grow up enough to fly or had some nasty predator found the nest?
During lunchtime later that day, Shari grabbed my attention. Lo and behold, there was one of the babies down on the ground under the magnolia. He was bobbing around – not entirely steady on his feet – and both parents were nearby shepherding him carefully. We watched for several minutes as he joined his parents and waddled – really the only term that applies…
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
Corylopsis veitchiana, or Veitch’s winter hazel, is one of the most beautiful of the winter hazels that we grow here at the Scott Arboretum. It flowers in late March to early April, gracefully bridging the gap between the garden’s winter and spring displays. A member of the witchhazel family, or Hamamelidaceae, Corylopsis veitchiana shares much in common with its relatives – early bloom time and the emergence of flowers on bare stems are typical of witchhazels and their kin.
The flowers of Corylopsis veitchiana are, frankly, amazing. Weeping racemes up to 3 inches in length are adorned with up to fifteen small, buttery-yellow…
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