Saturday, January 19, 2013

Friday January 18 at the National Arboretum





From  the top: Sunrise over the Youth Garden; A Prunus mume flowering  on Prunus Hill; Camellia 'Lady Clara'; Idesia polycarpa fruit; Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues'



It had been cloudy for a week with rain here and there and those of us most prone to Seasonal Affective Disorder were indeed sad. ...no biting cold, no snow, just depressingly gray weather. The day didn't start out spectacularly but it turned into the kind of day that makes you glad you're alive. And glad you're a gardener. I spread gravel on trails in the morning and blew paths in the afternoon but the day was so wonderful that it didn't matter I could only smile agreement with the visitor who opined that I had the greatest job in the world.

It isn't especially early but it's still great to see the Flowering apricots beginning their season.'Lady Clara' is really 'Akashigata', a Japanese camellia renamed in the country. Not a good practice in my opinion. It doesn't always flower in the winter but then this has been an interesting winter! The Idesia is quite a large tree, maybe 80 feet?. I left this branch on it so there would be some low hanging fruit. Literally. That planting of 'The Blues' shows the grass at its winter finest. I have loved the cultivar since I first met it and recommend it highly. It's almost prettier in the summer when it is blue, but the low sun of winter just, just,.... Well anyway, I like the way the interns used it in this design.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

that was a great group of interns that year :)

Beautiful post!! Miss you and USNA