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Winterthur’s Winter Break

February 4, 2010 by Karen

February 1—March 8, 2010: Winterthur will close for a winter break. Winterthur Members will continue to have dawn-to-dusk access, Tuesday through Sunday, to the gardens and grounds to enjoy walking in the winter splendor. On inclement weather days, access to the grounds may be restricted for safety purposes. Weather-related closings will be announced on local radio stations. Please call 800.448.3883 for details.

March 9, 2010: Spring Season begins! Winterthur reopens at 10am.

For more information, please see: http://www.winterthur.org/about/winter_break.asp

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February’s Miracle Flowers

February 4, 2010 by Karen

Flowers in February always seem like a miracle. Below is a selection of quotes about the February garden at Winterthur as noted by H.F. du Pont during his lifetime.  (Compiled by Maggie Lidz, Winterthur’s estate historian.)

 Feb. 1, 1954 to his sister Louise Crowninshield: Had cocktails after church with Ann Marvel and walked home. It was cold but lovely and sunny. The primula malacoides have been so beautiful that I shall never go to Boca Grande till about this time.

Feb. 2, 1922, to his friend garden designer Marian Coffin: I was so sorry you could not arrange to stop here on your way north, as it was a perfect weekend and the terrace was abloom with jasmine nudiflorum, two large Hamamelis mollis, numerous snowdrops, big patches of Adonis amurensis, some yellow crocus and the sweet-swented Lonicera.

Feb 5, 1943, Garden Diary: Hamamelis mollis mass of bloom terrace near gazebo. Worth not going to Fla. to see it.

Feb. 8, 1925 Garden Diary: Many snowdrops came in warm week after coldest Jan.

Feb. 8, 1932 to his sister Louise: It was delicious weather yesterday and a lot of people were playing golf, and there are new clumps of flowers coming in bloom.

Visiting the winter garden at Winterthur, circa 1906. Photo courtesy of the Winterthur Archives.

Feb. 16, 1944, to his friend Architect Bert Ives: We had our first real snowstorm of the winter two days ago. Before that the Snowdrops were out and my Hamamelis Molis were a mass of blooms. We have had a delightful winter so far and I really don’t think I shall ever spend the whole winter at Boca Grande again. I certainly am not going there until after the war is over.

 Feb. 22, 1954, Garden Diary: Crocus imperati dep purple. Crocus chrysanthus E.P. Bowles on terrace lovely yellow. Also C. vernus ‘Vanguard” on terrace. Daphne ready to open. Sarcococca hookeriana in bloom.

 Feb. 25 1944,  Ruth W du Pont, H.F. du Pont’s wife  to his sister Louise: The Adonis Amurensis or some such name, bright yellow flowers, are all out on the bank on the way to the bend, also countless snowdrops, Aconite and Hamamelis of course. We have not closed the conservatory this year and it is perfectly beautiful, cineraria in great profusion and primulas, all very swell.

 Feb. 26, 1918: Garden Diary: First snowdrop. In rhododendron bed near house.

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Forget about the Groundhog, the Robins Are Here!

February 2, 2010 by Karen

(Rosemary Krill shares a garden story on Groundhog’s Day 2010.)

The groundhog saw his shadow, and the skies are gray today, but spring is on its way. I’m sure of it. As a child, I learned that the first sight of a robin meant that winter was over. I aim to see a robin by St. Patrick’s Day each year. Today, as I was walking near the Cottage, I saw a flock of robins in the large holly tree near its front door. There must have been at least ten or fifteen.

And this wasn’t the first time! Maggie Lidz alerted us that the winter jasmine was in bloom in early January. On Sunday, January 10, I decided to go for a look. It was a bright day, but very cold. I guessed I would be alone in the garden. But, no! As I walked up Garden Lane toward the 1750 House, I was amazed to see a flock of robins foraging near the path. I stopped counting at thirty-five. They were moving so fast, I was sure I was miscounting. The robins were a very welcome sight, as were the jasmine blossoms.

My knowledge of birds does not extend too much farther than enjoying their antics. I had always heard that robins settled in for the winter, deep in their forest homes, and only came out again when they were ready for warmer weather. I would be happy to hear comments from those who know more about their habits.

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Winter Beauty

February 2, 2010 by Karen

Al Orr, a Winterthur staff member, recently shot these scenes with the camera on his cell phone. He asked if a telephone takes photos with enough resolution for the blog. What do you think? Looks like a great way to capture photos “on the fly!” 

 




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Galanthus Galore

January 29, 2010 by Karen

So, it’s 20 degrees at Winterthur this afternoon.  I thought this would be a great time to take a nice photo of a snow drop. Wrong! The galanthus are smarter than I, staying curled up and protected along the March Bank.  Here’s a photo of what I thought it would look like, taken last year. Maybe it will entice you to come on a slightly warmer day to see the snow drops.

After my disappointing snow drop search (they were there, just curled up!), I found a lush tree full of robins. It’s a large beech tree adjacent to the museum store near a row of berry-laden holly trees. The robins are also protecting themselves from the cold air, puffing their feathers to trap insulating warm air. 

Meanwhile, the koi in the glade garden have slowed their metabolism and spend their days floating in the water in a kind of suspended animation.

One more photo to share, taken a few weeks ago when we had just a skiff of snow on the ground. Bundle up and enjoy winter in the Winterthur Garden!

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Ode to Winter

January 15, 2010 by Carol

Winter is neck in neck with autumn as one of my favorite seasons. Spring’s beauty is unrivaled hands down but in the gardening world, is fraught with a hefty to do list and although summer’s long days are invigorating the heat and humidity dampen my enthusiasm. Fall is in a league of its own—cooling temperatures, return of rainfall (this year a little too much) and a symphony of color peaking at the same time. I enjoy and anticipate the time when I can put the garden to bed—especially after a tough gardening year. Autumn though comes with a “beat the clock” mentality; do this before the first frost; do that before the leaves drop; do the other thing before the ground freezes. Then comes winter…ahhhh.

Most people do not like winter—especially gardeners; but not this one. First off, I love the cold. I like to play a game with Mother Nature—her cold temperatures vs. smart layering of clothing. Sorry Mother Nature but wool, fleece and down win! Winter provides for me what most who garden relish; time for quiet contemplation. It makes one have to search for beauty and savor it—the long, narrow shadows in a forest, silhouettes of plants, still, sunny days, the emergence of flowers that brave the cold temperatures, and the ever so slight increments in daylight. For those who have experienced it there is nothing like walking through a woodland filled with beech and seeing the lowering sun shine through the persistent, tawny colored leaves. And let us not forget the wonderful muffled silence of a heavy snowfall.

Winter is filled with all of the structure and beauty of a garden without the distraction of color or the cloak of leaves. It allows us to see the bones of a garden—as if we were viewing a picture in black and white—to see its composition and what makes it good or what it might need to make it better. For most plants it is a perfect time for corrective pruning since the framework can be easily viewed and without haste. It is a time when we allow our brains instead of our bodies do the work; browsing plant catalogs, attending lectures, reading gardening books for more than 15 minutes at a time—all this without a nagging, never ending chore list hanging over our heads (except for the one that we create for ourselves for the springtime).

For many the winter is far too long but for me it goes by much too quickly, especially at Winterthur where the garden comes alive so early in the winter. For those who need that first shot of “spring” a few snowdrops have popped throughout the garden (I won’t tell you where so you’ll have hunt for them) and the winter jasmine had already started is sporadic flowering. I however am going to divert my eyes to these “signs of spring” and bask in the quiet off season.

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January in the Winterthur Garden

January 10, 2010 by Karen

It is such a wonderful surprise to see flowers blooming in winter and H.F. du Pont planned his garden to maximize that pleasure. Here are notes that he wrote over his lifetime about the Winterthur garden in January. – - -Maggie Lidz, Estate Historian.

The photo was taken at Winterthur January 31, 1913 of blooming crocus. Courtesy of the Winterthur Archives

Jan. 1, 1940, Garden Diary: Picked bunch violets and Johnnies terrace. Xmas Roses, Jasmine, Hamamelis mollis lovely. Winter snowdrops 2/3 out. Adonis amurensis.

Jan. 2, 1955, Garden Diary of H F du Pont: First Galanthus path to Bend.

Jan. 4, 1931: 1 tiny snowdrop woods path.

Jan. 7, 1930, to his sister Louise: It is simply perfect here. It has been so for the past week, and I picked a large bunch of snowdrops the day before New Year’s.

Jan 8, 1949, to Louise: I am frantic not to be home playing golf and finding the first snowdrops.

Jan. 9, 1931 to his sister Louise: I have Marian and Mrs. Nevius on the train with me now and we are still having wonderful weather with no sign of snow, so we expect to do and lay out a great deal of planting today.

Jan. 10, 1928 to his brother-in-law Frank Crowninshield: We have just been having two spring like days and tell Louise that the Snowdrops, Adonis, Witch hazel and other shrubs are in bloom.

Jan. 14, 1950 to Nell Montgomery (Mrs. Robt.): We have had a perfect winter with the Hamamelis Mollis and Jasmine Nudiflora absolutely in full bloom for the last ten days and very beautiful.

Jan. 16, 1921, Garden Diary: Snowdrop Rhodo [bed] near house and path to bend.

Jan 17, 1934, to his friend, landscape designer Marian Coffin: The weather has been quite perfect for the last two weeks; all the snow is gone and we have no more of that terrible cold. In fact, there are quite a lot of spring Snow Drops in the woods, and some of the early yellow Japanese perennial the name of which I cannot remember at this writing.

Jan. 20, 1949, to his friend, architect Bert Ives: Except for two weeks of snow before Christmas we have had a wonderful winter and I have many big branches of blooming shrubs, some blooming out of doors and some were forced a little. Also I have picked several bunches of snowdrops.

 Jan. 23, 1933 to his sister Louise: It is simply divine here with the temperature above 60. The golf course has been perfect and the terrace has been abloom with two large Hamamelis Mollis, numerous snowdrops, big patches of Adonis Amurensis, some yellow crocus and the sweet scented Lonicera Fragmentissima.

 Jan. 26, 1945, HF to his sister  Louise: I have never seen the woods more beautiful, every tree like silver for several days.

 Jan. 29, 1919, Garden Diary: Adonis am. Full bloom bank to Bend. Snowdrops in profusion for two weeks.

—Do you keep a garden diary? What’s happening in your garden on this January day?—kls

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Snowdrops and Winter Jasmine

January 9, 2010 by Karen

Maggie Lidz observed snowdrops and winter jasmine in bloom this week in the Winterthur Garden. What have you seen?

One of the best things about working here is the pleasure of the garden. The winter jasmine is in bloom now. It has been hanging down the staircase wall since 1931. A special soil well was created within the wall. There is also a nice clump of snowdrops blooming on the East Terrace. If you feel adventurous there are a sprinkling of them blooming on the March Bank.

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Cold Day for a Frog

January 8, 2010 by Karen

Talk about a photo op – this morning the Winterthur Garden is gorgeous with a light covering of snow.  I strapped on my Yaktrax so I wouldn’t slip on an icy patch, grabbed my camera and spent about an hour focusing on the beauty of the winter garden. One stop was Enchanted Woods where I snapped this photo of a very cold frog statue.

If you’ve lived around rhododendrons, you will have noticed how their leaves serve as a kind of natural thermometer. The temperature was about 28 degrees F when I was out.  This article, by KYW’s Phran Novelli, suggests that the leaves curl below 34 degrees F. “It varies a bit, but in general as the temperature drops below 34 degrees Fahrenheit or so, the leaves start to cup and curl under.  Around 25 degrees, they’re curled up and drooping from their petiole (that’s the little leaf stem) and by the time it’s down in the teens, rhododendron leaves will be hanging almost perpendicular and curled so tightly, they look like string beans.” http://www.kyw1060.com/pages/5976197.php

Hope you will take time this winter to enjoy the Winterthur Garden!






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Sunrise at the Test Barn

January 7, 2010 by Chris Strand

The sunrise view outside my office window has been spectacular almost every day this week. I don’t usually have much luck capturing sunrises with my camera because there is deceptively little light. In this case I used a primitive setup – I flipped a trash can over to use as a tripod and set the camera on self-timer to minimize vibration. The exposure times were between 1/25 and 1/2 of a second and required about 2 dozen tries before I could get an image that captured enough light and color.

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