Winterthur Garden Blog

With last week’s rain, the Winterthur Garden has rebounded. Perhaps all of our gardens breathed a sigh of relief when the rain began to fall last week.

Here’s what is in bloom this week at Winterthur – come and enjoy!

1. Hydrangea paniculata (Peegee Hydrangea—white)
2. Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste-lamb shrub—blue)
3. Hibiscus syriacus (Rose-of-Sharon—lavender)
4. Hydrangea paniculata (Peegee Hydrangea—white)
5.  Vitex agnus-castus (Chaste-lamb shrub—blue, pink, white)
6. Eupatorium purpureum (Sweet Joe-Pye Weed—white)
7. Lilium superbum (Turk’s-cap Lily—orange)
8. Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Dwarf Plumbago—blue)
9. Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage—purple)
10. Abelia grandiflora (Glossy Abelia—white)
11. Lagerstroemia sp. (Pink)
12. Magnolia grandiflora  (White)
13. Astilbe chinensis  (Chinese Astilbe-pink)
14. Canna sp. (Yellow in pool)
15. Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei (Crape-myrtle—white)
16. Nymphaea odorata (Water Lily—white, pink)
17. Clethra alnifolia  (Summer-sweet—white)
18. Hosta ventricosa (Lavender)
19. Hosta sp. (White)
20. Rhododendron prunifolium (Plumleaf Azalea—orange-red)
21. Cyrilla racemflora (Swamp Cyrilla—white)
22. Hypericum  mutilum  (Dwarf St. John’s Wort—yellow)
23. Ligularia sp. (Tall yellow)
24. Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan—yellow)
25. Hydrangea paniculata (Peegee Hydrangea—white)
26. Syringa  “Cally’s Wishing Star” (Dwarf Lilac—pinkish lavender)
27. Weigela ‘Red Prince’ (Scarlet)
28. Asclepias tuberose (Butterfly-weed—orange)
29. Daucus carota (Queen Anne’s Lace—white)
30. Hydrangea macrophylla (Various colors)
31. Lathyrus sp. (Sweet Pea—purplish red)
32. Cosmos sp. (Various colors)                  

I recommend an essay by Mary Seton Corboy about why we garden. I love how she describes the dignity and connection achieved by working the soil. See what you think!

From WHYY’s web site: July 16, 2010 – Mary Seton Corboy founded the Greensgrow Farm in 1998. She and her team of gardeners have become a national model of perseverance and commitment to urban farming. Corboy transformed a superfund site into a thriving garden that is still in full swing. In her essay she explores her belief in the power of physical labor.

http://www.whyy.org/91FM/thisibelieve_philly.html

By Maggie Lidz, Estate Historian

During the month of July, water, or the lack of it, is a constant theme for people who live in Delaware. Below are a series of excerpts from family letters about how to keep cool during this long hot month! H.F. du Pont created the Glade Garden in the early 1930s. Now eighty years old, it is still one of the most beautiful places n Delaware to  cool off on a steamy afternoon.

The Glade Garden at Winterthur

July 13, 1849, Evelina du Pont Bidermann, the first owner of Winterthur, wrote  to her son and daughter in law in Paris: We have a delightful Spring near the garden where the water continually wells from the ground and which is so cold as if it had been put in the ice. I often visit it and we intend this autumn improving the way to it that Gabrielle and Marguerite may enjoy going there as it is the rendezvous of various birds & tortoises who go to drink. I often fancy our dear children’s little footprints in the lawn and in the alleys and long to transplant these little living flowers to our shores or rather our woods of Winterthur where I hope they will share the happiness that they will give us.

July 22, 1941 H.F. du Pont, the last private owner wrote to W.A. Brooks: I am here [Winterthur] from Southampton for my every other week visit and am thankful that is has finally got dry enough so that we can thresh our wheat. A few more wet days and it would have sprouted in the fields and you know what that means to a farmer.

July 1942 to Albert Ely Ives: We have been here all summer and it has been very pleasant. Everybody else is staying home also.

July 18, 1845 Evelina Bidermann to her son in Paris: I wish I could send you in this letter some of our flowers trees and grass of our garden and also the bright blue sky without a cloud we have today , the moaning of a refreshing breeze throught the foliage the cooing of doves the livelier chirping of little birds and the many rural sounds which surround me as  I write by the open window.

July 18, 1941 to Mrs. Chamberlain Chanler, HF271: After a long draught here, it is raining its head off and everything is rotting away. The trials of a gardener are manifest!

July 21 1902, Pauline du Pont to her sister Anna:  We have had some delicious water-melons and pretty good peaches and lots of white raspberries.

July 23, 1943 to Bessie Andrews: Everyone is gardening furiously, freezing and putting up all kinds of vegetables for next winter. With the help of several boys we manage to keep the place looking quite nicely. The poor despised farmer has at last come into his own! We have beef cattle, sheep etc. and o our own slaughtering, so we don’t bother with those terrible rationing coupons.

July 29, 1854: Evelina du Pont Bidermann to her son and daughter in law in Paris about her grandchildren: I wish they were here to see a new flower I have, a Japan lily It is in bloom now and very beautiful. My night blooming cereus is going to have four large blossoms.

Wednesday, July 21st, 11:30 a.m.

(note change in date from garden brochure)

Winterthur’s Specimen Trees

Trees provide the majestic framework for much of the Winterthur Garden. Carol Long, assistant curator of the garden, leads a brisk walk as we cover the property in search of these trees of character.

Included with all admission tickets, members free.

Meet at the Winterthur greenhouses, a short walk from the visitor center, at 11:30. Please wear good walking shoes.

For more garden lectures and walks in 2010, take a look at this link:

http://www.winterthur.org/calendar/garden_programs.asp

Want an escape from this nasty heat wave? Take a leisurely walk in the shade of Winterthur’s grand trees. Feel the temperature drop as you walk from the bright sunshine into the cover of deep, refreshing green.  Breathe in the freshly filtered air of the Winterthur Garden.

What’s in bloom this week? The July 7th bloom report lists Vitex (a blue shrub seen at the entrance drive and on the road to the parking lot), Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), Rose-of-Sharon, Sweet Joe-Pye Weed, Dwarf Plumbago, Russion Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia), Oakleaf Hydrangea, Crape-myrtle (Lagerstroemia), Astilbe, Black-eyed Susan, Ligularia, Cosmos and Verbena bonariensis.

The main attraction for me, though, is always the stately, verdant trees…and I’ll admit, the wonderful stone walls that are home to a colony of chipmunks.

Enjoy the Winterthur Garden this summer!

Wednesday, July 14th, 11:30 a.m.

(note change in date from garden brochure)

Happy Cat Veggie Garden Tour

Do you know where your tasty vegetables come from? Come meet the farmer! The vegetables for purchase at the Winterthur Farm Stand come directly from the Winterthur property. With Amy Bloom-Mountz, garden horticulturist, take a tour of the vegetable plots and discuss what varieties are being grown and how we manage our vegetable garden.

Note: July 14th’s Wednesday at Winterthur will be held in a building adjacent to the greenhouse headhouse, building 114.  Amy will provide a demonstration/presentation instead of a garden walk.

Wednesday, July 7th, 11:30 a.m.

Tree Climbing Demystified

Have you ever been curious about how arborists safely get to the tops of those tall trees? Join Winterthur’s arborist, John Salata, as he explains and demonstrates the equipment and techniques arborists commonly use for ascending and working in trees. Don’t try this at home!

Included with all admission tickets, members free.

Meet at the Winterthur greenhouses, a short walk from the visitor center, at 11:30. Please wear good walking shoes.

For more garden lectures and walks in 2010, take a look at this link:

http://www.winterthur.org/calendar/garden_programs.asp