Winterthur Garden Blog » crocus

The Tommies are at Peak!

Karen — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:14:51 +0000

Today is “the” day to see the tommies (Crocus tomasinianus) in full bloom on the East Terrace at Winterthur. They can also be found on hillsides near the fire station and greenhouses. Their delicate purple flowers with yellow stamens are a welcome sight in early spring.

Other wonderful sights today: the butter yellow of the aconites and the linen white of snowdrops on the March Bank.

Come and enjoy! And tell me where you spot the best tommies.

Photo by Jeannette Lindvig

Filed under: Garden, Plants

This Week in the Garden 3-19-10

Carol — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:27:18 +0000

It is amazing to think about the fact that two weeks ago we still had a fair amount of snow on the ground. Now, the woodland floor of many of our garden areas are covered in a multitude of flowers, with more to emerge with the impending warm weekend. I know that we are just about to enter spring but I am going to ask you to fast forward and start thinking about fall. Yes, a gardener’s mind never rests. As we walk around in late winter and spring, it is the best time to make notes for fall bulb orders. By taking a weekly walk through a garden section such as the March Bank you can get a perfect idea of how you might layer bulbs and perennials to really maximize color in your own home landscape. It is also a great way to see the growing habits of plants both in flower and as the foliage matures. For example you may really like the yellow, buttercup-like flowers of winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) and enjoy its attractive foliage both in and out of flower but not like the fact that the plant can sow around in the garden. Public gardens are a great resource for guests to gather ideas that can be then be implemented at home; all without the toil and expense of an “experiment”. If you have not yet seen the winter bulb display try and visit soon—our snowdrops, snowflake, winter aconite and crocus will soon be yielding to the massing of blue glory-of-the-snow and squill.

Filed under: Garden, Garden Tips, Plants

This Week in the Garden, March 7-13, 2010

Carol — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:09:50 +0000

Walking in the garden this week you would not know that we were snow covered for a full 4 weeks prior. Snowdrops, winter aconite, adonis, crocus and spring snowflake are in flower in the Glade Garden, March Bank, Azalea Woods, Quarry Garden, Icewell and East Terrace. Amongst some of the last remnants of snow, hellebores are awakening in the Winterhazel Walk.
All things considered, the garden faired well. Evergreens throughout the property saw the most damage with the hardest hit areas being the Pinetum and the white pine grove in the Visitors Parking Lot. Our greatest loss however was to a Japanese Umbrella Pine, Sciadopitys verticillata, in the Pinetum as a portion of another tree fell into it, completely sheering the umbrella pine of its branches. Cleanup of storm damage occurred while some snow pack was still on the ground as it made it a “less mucky” way of traipsing back in forth as we fetched brush.
Now that the snow—for the most part—is gone we have been busily raking some of the finer debris in preparation for spring. Lawns and woodland bulb display areas have seen an accumulation of twigs, branches, pine cones, and seed pods as well as pockets of leaves. Raking not only gives an instantly neater appearance but also, in the case of lawns, helps to “fluff up” the grass that was been weighed down under heavy snows. Late winter pruning has continued especially on our summer flowering shrubs and “haircuts” have been given to many of our Liriope beds.
The wonderful break in weather has allowed us to gain much headway in our accumulated gardening chores. The longevity of the snow cover however has changed some of our planned tasks—either by a few weeks or delaying it for a whole year but such is the nature of gardening. To complain about it is futile—nature always has the final word and try as you may, you can not argue with that!

Filed under: Garden, Garden Tips, Plants

Get Out and Enjoy the Garden (Before the Rain)

Chris Strand — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:50:54 +0000

It seems counterintuitive, but with rain in the forecast, now is a great time to get out and see the garden. Warm temperatures and rain have a way of completely transforming a garden. Unfortunately, the crocus pictured above on the East Terrace will get battered but the daffodils, squill, and scilla that are just starting to push up will race into bloom. So make sure to get out into the Winterthur garden or your own garden to enjoy the early spring display.

If it is too rainy this weekend, we’ll still get to enjoy talking about the garden. On Saturday, Rick Darke, will be sharing his photography and insights as he talks about the “wild garden.” Click here for details. Hope you can join us for this lecture, which takes place on Saturday at 11:00. If your adventurous, bring your wellies and go for a walk through the garden.

Filed under: Garden, Lectures

Tommies, Aconite and Witchhazel

Karen — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:24:34 +0000

With the warm temperatures, the Winterthur Garden popped today – come and see! Pick up a spring bloom sheet at the visitor center desk or at the galleries reception area and head out into paradise!

* sparkling white snowdrops and snowflakes

* golden adonis and butter-yellow aconite

* delicate lavender “tommy” crocus

Spring is (almost) here!

Filed under: Garden