In a garden full of beautiful views, stunning combinations and stellar specimens I feel remiss at not pointing out every single “must see” experience in the garden. One that I will not overlook, however, and is in its full—and unusual—flower is our dove tree or Davidia involucrata var. vilmoriniana, located just behind the Dorrance Gallery (where the soup tureens are on display). These curious looking flowers are made up of two white bracts (“petals”) of unequal length which surround the actual flower (lots of fun technical terms to describe this spherical flower that I will thankfully spare the reader).

Looking up into this majestic tree—and it is a very old, large specimen, planted in 1904—one can see hundreds of these odd flowers tucked beneath its foliage. At eye-level, one can not help but notice the handsome orange and brown scaly bark which on our multi-trunked tree is prominently featured.

As the flowers age, the long white bracts begin to drop and when finished, the ground beneath is “littered” with what looks like tissues in a Halloween prank gone awry. This occurrence lends itself to one of its other common names, “handkerchief tree”; a more descriptive but slightly less elegant name. Whether in full flower or after flower mayhem this tree is truly sight to behold.

Maggie Lidz, Winterthur’s Estate Historian, has gathered a selection of quotes about Winterthur in spring.
May at Winterthur has astounded people since the early 19^th century. H.F. du Pont kept careful records of the sequence of bloom in his garden and wrote excited letters to his friends and family about the what was in flower.

Read through Maggie’s selection of quotes in the document below for some insight into H.F. du Pont’s love for his garden.

May Winterthur Quotes