Today is a beautiful day to walk the Winterthur garden – I managed to come inside long enough to put up these few images and I am heading back out.
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Throwing down the garden gauntlet – where have you seen snowdrops in bloom at Winterthur? In your search for snowdrops, be on the lookout for the Winter jasmine in bloom on the south staircase of the Reflecting Pool garden. A cheery bright yellow for a dark winter’s day.
For more info about Jasmine and Galanthus in the Winterthur Garden, please see Maggie Lidz’ blog entry: http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/2011/12/15/jasmine-in-bloom/
Posted in Garden, Plants | Tagged galanthus, jasmine, snowdrops, Winterthur Garden | Leave a Comment »
Allison Dunckel in Winterthur’s communication group writes:
When visitors come through the Winterthur gates and park in the visitors Parking Lot, they will now see a sign designating Winterthur as one of 36 sites on the new Delaware History Trail. The Visitors Parking Lot sign contains a site code specific to Winterthur that visitors can record in their Trail Passport on their smart phone. The Trail Passport can be downloaded from visitdelaware.com/History/.
Once a trail-goer visits a minimum of 18 sites on the trail, they can turn in their passport for a free copy of the limited-edition book, Landmarks and Legacies. The site code also links visitors to the Winterthur Web site for additional information.
The history trail brings together 36 historic sites that highlight the state’s heritage as a way to introduce Delawareans and visitors from out of state to the sites in Delaware.
For more information, visit the Delaware History Trail Web site
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Well folks, believe it or not, I’ve been told that people are actually reading the stuff I write. So to the 20 of you who read the Winterthur Garden blogs that I wrote twice and to my wife who accidentally made my snow blog her default internet home page (I wouldn’t change it for her…was that wrong?), I say thanks.
As I mentioned in a prior musing I just think the people I work with are “the stuff”. Hard working, intelligent, and fun, my coworkers here in the Winterthur Garden Department never fail to make my day entertaining or challenging (or both).
With all that being said, I want to take the time this winter to introduce you to my work siblings. I’m not doing this in any real order and only one or two at a time. And, just so you know, every intro will be approved by the horticulturist featured.
Big Man for a Big Job
This is Kevin.
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and this is his area of responsibility.
Yep. That is a map of the entire property. Although currently his main responsibilities are caring for the turf in the garden, in his 25 years with Winterthur Kevin has worked and continues to work everywhere and anywhere he is needed. You might see this US Navy veteran on a mower 9am trimming the edges in the Sundial Garden and swear it is his twin on the back hoe at 9:30 digging out some overgrown plants in Azalea Woods. But unfortunately for us there is only one Kevin.
Knowledge, experience, attention to detail, and the ability to quickly transition from one difficult task to the next make him not only a “go to guy” for his team but a “go to guy” for the department as well. He can run any piece of equipment from a string trimmer to our largest snow plow (which he pretty much lives in during a snow storm).
However at 6’6” he manages to be the stealthiest man I’ve ever met. That’s why I said “you might see him…”. Oh, he doesn’t hide. He’s one of those horticulturists that seek out places in the garden that have not had any attention that week and corrects that situation promptly. Because he’s been here so long he knows the nooks and crannies a wondering visitor may see and makes sure that area is properly detailed to his satisfaction.
So, if you’re walking through the Pinetum and see some freshly cut grass around a sign post chances are you just missed Kevin. You’ll need your best tracking skills, a fair knowledge of the garden, and you better pack a lunch if you plan on keeping up.
But if you are one of the fortunate souls to run into him, stop and introduce yourself. He enjoys talking to visitors about what he’s doing and maybe you can talk him into revealing some of his secrets that you can use in your own garden.
By the way, you gotta love a guy that took vacation time the day before Thanksgiving to help his Mom make pies.
Posted in Garden | Tagged horticulturist, Winterthur Garden | 1 Comment »
Maggie Lidz, Winterthur’s estate historian and curator of garden and estate objects writes:
There is a wonderful surprise for anyone who climbs the staircase up to the East Terrace on a sunny winter day. A soil pocket in the staircase wall allows the sweetly fragrant Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) to spill down the staircase wall. This yellow-flowered plant, more often found further south, is warmed by the wall and protected from wind by the weeping Norway Spruce. There has been a winter blooming jasmine at Winterthur since at least 1918 and as it usually begins to bloom beginning in late Christmas, seems to signify Christmas on the property.
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Jasmine bloom quotes from H.F. du Pont:
Dec. 25, 1918, Garden Diary: Spring snowdrops for past week. Jasmine also.
Dec. 28, 1940, to his landscape architect Marian Coffin: The weather has been springlike with golf everyday— jasmine blooming on the limestone coping of the steps, …. We have in the house now big branches of Apple Blossom Pyrus and of red Pyrus, vases of spirea arguta, two kinds of Hamamelis, Viburnum fragrans and Jasmine.
Dec. 30, 1946 to his sister Louise: Before Christmas I picked some snowdrops and the house is full of three kinds of hamemelis, jasmine, lonicera etc.
Jan. 14, 1950 to Nell Montgomery (Mrs. Robt.) HF 350: 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.
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Maggie Lidz, Winterthur’s estate historian shares:
“I have bought a charming old summerhouse…” HF du Pont to his landscape architect, Marian Coffin, May 21, 1929.
Earlier this year I posted a blog about Winterthur’s Latimeria Summerhouse (April 1, 2011). http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/2011/04/01/latimeria-summer-house/ The white-latticed garden structure anchors the Winterthur Peony Garden and has been the source of much romantic speculation.
The six-sided pavilion, topped with a slatted, ogee roof and triple-tiered pagoda, has a history that dates back to the mid-nineteenth century.
All of the original wooden framing has been replaced over time because of the natural effects of weather, but even its modern form, it still has the power to evoke other eras. Here are two photos of the view from inside, one taken in December, 2011, and the other the winter of 1932.
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Charles Hummel, Winterthur’s curator emeritus, recently donated some material that helps sheds more light on the early history of Latimeria, the estate where the summerhouse originally stood. The material, collected for a research project that resulted in a September, 1955 article in Delaware History, “John Richardson Latimer Comments on the American Scene,” does not include any information on the summerhouse in particular, but it does include new information about the garden.
As noted in April, the garden at Latimeria was renowned. John R. Latimer (1793-1865), a successful China trader, returned to his native Delaware in 1834 and devoted himself to the embellishment of his newly-purchased country house, Latimeria. Andrew Jackson Downing singled out the garden out in the 1850 edition of his enormously popular book, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America (which you can find in the Winterthur Library Rare Book Room):
Below Philadelphia, the lover of beautiful places will find a great deal to admire in the country seat of John R Latimer, Esq. near Wilmington, which enjoys the reputation of being the finest in Delaware. This place has all the advantages of high keeping, richly stocked gardens and conservatories and much natural beauty, heightened judicious planting, arrangement and culture.
Even into the early decades of the 20th century, Latimeria, by that point completely mired in the city, still held a certain allure.
The 1938 Delaware: A Guide to the First State described it as “an impressive mansion of faded charm and genteel shabbiness” with a “delightful old garden.” After Miss Mary R. Latimer, the 95-year-old niece of John, died in 1929, H.F. du Pont, who was remodeling the Winterthur house and garden and on the hunt for embellishments for his estate, purchased a group of the antique Latimeria garden ornaments from the Latimer heirs.
Those ornaments included the summerhouse, a birdhouse, box bee hives, a pagoda-top circular bench, a latticed Chinese pagoda gate, and a pair of gates topped with urns.
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In 1984, Howard Lattomus, one of the Winterthur carpenters who helped move the pieces to their new home, was interviewed by garden historian Val Libby. “They were falling apart,” he recalled.
One of the most interesting photos that Charles Hummel has donated to the library is of the greenhouse at Latimeria.
To the far right on the photo is a birdhouse.
A similar, but not identical, birdhouse can be seen in a 1932 photo of the Winterthur garden.
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There are also photos of the remarkable Gothic stable that Henry du Pont pronounced “pretty & in good taste” in 1839 (see the April blog http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/2011/04/01/latimeria-summer-house/).
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Just before the house at Latimeria was torn down in 1941 to make room for badly needed military housing in Wilmington (the Latimer Estates at Fourth and Broom, still there today), du Pont acquired some paneling from the house and installed it near the Port Royal Parlor as a china closet. Charles Hummel’s collection of Latimer family blue-and-white Cantonware may soon be seen in Winterthur’s Latimeria Room.
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John Castle, Winterthur’s Director of Facility Services reports on progress at the Brown Horticulture Learning Center construction site.
Winterthur is still waiting for permits from the County, which should come any day. In the meantime, there is still much work that is going on that does not require county permits, such as demolition, layouts and asbestos removal.
For more information on the center, please see this post: http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/2011/02/04/gift-to-garden-announced/
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Our wonderful volunteers have been at it again, taking inventory of the Winterthur Garden to see what is in bloom and berry. Here is their list from yesterday, November 30. http://www.winterthur.org/pdfs/CurrentWinterthurGardenBloomList.pdf
Be sure to come and walk in the garden soon. These crisp, bright, early winter days are perfect for an aerobic workout that satisfies both the mind and the soul.
What’s in bloom? Just a little bit here and there: forsythia, camellia, autumn cherry, and winter jasmine.
In berry? Winterberry holly, American holly, beautyberry, cotoneaster, and the Iigiri trees.
Idesia polycarpa (Iigiri Tree) near Pinetum and Dawn Redwood
Posted in Garden, Plants | Tagged iigiri tree, winter interest, Winterthur Garden | Leave a Comment »
Frank Quinnette, Estate Horticulturist and all-around witty guy writes:
Remember that cool TV show on PBS called “Connections”? The host James Burke would look at man-made objects and then take a historical sojourn to show who and what is responsible for its existence today.
I’m not JB but here’s my awkwardly truncated, minimally researched, and downright lame version of how the leaves in the picture below got to be where they are now and how a guy from the 18th century makes my supervisor have a relatively good day at work.
Let’s file this under “Who knew?” and get started. So welcome to “Connections in the Winterthur Garden.” I’m your host, Frank.
This is Winterthur’s leaf dump. The leaves we collect throughout the garden are brought here to compost so they can be returned to the garden as a natural soil conditioner. The darker pile in the back is last year’s pile ready to go at about half the size it was when it was originally dumped.
Pretty straight forward right? But did you know that if it wasn’t for a 300-year-old number cruncher, these leaves probably wouldn’t have ended up here? (They probably would have but just play along.) And because of his discovery my team mates and I can make our boss smile.
Meet Daniel Bernoulli. Danny here (pictured above) was a Dutch-Swiss mathematician who lived into his 80’s during the 18th century carrying on with a combination of work done by almost all his male relatives. Those works included probability, statistics, and fluid mechanics (I’ll bet their family reunions were a hoot!). Except for the fluid mechanics part most of his dealings are boring stuff to a jug head like me. However, fluid mechanics link Bernoulli with that big pile of leaves I showed you in the beginning.
Bernoulli came up with an algebraic equation that is in effect in everything from flying to flushing and all things where there is relationship between flow speed and pressure in a fluid system. Mostly he states that if you pass a fluid across a surface, the pressure beneath that surface will decrease as the speed of the fluid above increases. The pressure difference causes an action known as LIFT.
Do ya see where I’m goin’ with this? Right you are my friends! I’m sure you all guessed correctly that air is the fluid!
From left to right are horticulturists Leigh, Michelle, and Dave (all in proper safety gear I will add). And apart from the fact that Michele owns and will occasionally wear a curly white-powdered wig to work (I…I don’t ask) you might not see their connection with Bernoulli. However, that pile of leaves behind them indicates that they have become experts in applying his principle.
Michele uses air from her backpack blower (sans cool wig) at varied speeds to LIFT leaves into piles with a backpack blower.
Our intrepid gardeners put Bernoulli’s principle to the test by using air to LIFT the piled leaves into the leaf shredder. LIFT produced by the large fan in the shredder sends the shredded leaves into this truck to remove them from an area.
And finally, yours truly (notice I’m never outside the truck. I’m actually handcuffed to the steering wheel…they say it’s for my own safety…so thoughtful) uses hydraulic LIFT (same principle, different fluid) to dump the leaves into the pile I showed you in the beginning.
(OK, this last part is a reach, but it finishes my story).
This makes my boss Rob smile and LIFTs his spirit.
See the connection? I told you. It’s a reach. No one really believes that their boss is happy. But see…I have proof! (I think).
Anyway…I actually just wanted to show you one of our processes for leaf removal here at Winterthur and introduce you all to my awesome hard-working team mates and the guy who looks out for us.
That’s it for “Connections in the Winterthur Garden”. See you next time. (Are we done? Can someone unlock the cuffs please? Guys?)
Posted in Garden | Tagged Leaf removal, Quinnette, Winterthur Garden | Leave a Comment »
Let’s see if I can explain a distant connection between clowns and trees. It goes back to a few weeks ago during a visit to my mother’s home in southern Iowa. Our goal for the week was to clean the basement storage area. We worked together sorting through boxes and shelves, deciding whether to keep, throw, or give away. My mother claims that if she hesitated for even a moment, onto the throw or give away pile the thing went.
Towards the end of the week, satisfied that we had done enough below ground, we moved on to the living room. I set about removing everything from the five wooden shelves at the end of the room, planning artistic arrangements, putting lessons of color and scale learned in the Winterthur Garden to good use.
By the end of the project, one of the things on my throw pile was an 8” tall porcelain-faced clown with a flashy green and yellow-striped outfit and a somewhat eerie smile. I was certain it would never fit in my new low-clutter design. The next morning, my mother rescued the forlorn clown and told its story. You see, before he died, my dad bought Mom sweet sentimental gifts – beanie babies, a bright red velour dog for Valentine’s Day, a heart-shaped golden locket, and this lovely clown.
Thinking about my dad, and learning about his sweet gift, transformed my view of this little clown. It changed from a creepy 1950s throw-back to a sweet reminder of my father’s love. Of course, Mom and I set it back in a prominent place.
That experience got me thinking. I have heard people say “it’s only things” and “why do Americans have so much stuff?” I am beginning to understand that our things are potent containers for our memories. Touching or seeing an object can bring back long-forgotten memories of people and events. The stories behind the things are the important part – the pink and yellow quilt my friend made when my daughter was born, the nautical oil painting my grandmother created in her 30s, the aluminum feed bucket my grandfather used to carry his grandchilden around the feedlot, the flipping calendar my in-laws used every day of their 57-year marriage. These things connect us to our families and our communities in strong, real ways.
Likewise, trees and shrubs can be the anchors to memories. Consider a lilac bouquet collected for a summer wedding. The oak tree that shaded a family picnic when everyone was there. The elm tree in the front yard that sheltered our home and held the bag swings. The mulberry tree the teenage me read under one summer. The kousa dogwood our dog once jumped into to snatch the sweet fruits. And, of course, the Winterthur Garden will always be dear to me as the stunning site of my daughter and her sweetheart’s June 2009 wedding.
It’s the stories, really, that are important because they connect us to the people we love. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by the people, plants, and clowns you love.
Posted in Garden | Tagged Garden memories, Winterthur Garden | Leave a Comment »
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More Photos Twitter Garden Updates
- In addition to winter jasmine and snowdrops; adonis amurensis, winter aconite, and leucojum are all coming into bloom. 1 week ago
- Winter jasmine, snowdrops, and witch hazels in flower - winter aconite just starting to peek out of the ground. 2 weeks ago
- Almost 60 degrees! More snowdrops pushing - daffodil and lycoris leaves starting to come up too. 1 month ago
- Snowdrops, winter jasmine, and winter honeysuckle in flower on a sunny December day. 1 month ago
- Tuberose still in flower in kids vegetable garden, Colchicum on Oak Hill, and Begonia grandis in Enchanted Woods. 4 months ago
Winterthur Weather Data- Current data summary at 2012/2/4 February 3, 2012Time of Observations: 2012/02/04 04:40:00 EST Gage Precipitation (60): 0 in Air Temperature: 34.4 deg. F Dew Point Temperature: 25.4 deg. F Wind Speed: 2.3 mph Wind Direction: 274.4 deg. (W) Barometric Pressure: 30.33 inHg Solar Radiation: 0 W.m-2 Wind Gust Speed (5): 2.7 mph at 9:37 Gage Precipitation (5): 0 in Relative humidity: 69 % Wind Chill: 34.4 deg. […]
- Current data summary at 2012/2/4 February 3, 2012
