Just one of many Gardens of Versailles

Eileen Kull

The Gardens of Versailles are incredibly vast, they are on land that is 800 hectacres . Most of them consist of wide open spaces, with hedgerows and fountains on every corner.

 

 

I found it interesting that the hedgerows were not boxwood, but 

Carpinus betulus (hornbeam) a deciduous plant native to Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, and Western Asia. It looked like a variety of beech to me. 

I prefer interesting landscaping, which was why my favorite garden was the Jardin du Roi. An oasis of beautiful landscaping in the middle of vast expansiveness. It was the site of many fountains dating back to 1617, but the fountains were eventually moved during one of many renovations and in 1817, Louis XVIII ordered the Île du roi and the Miroir d’Eau to be completely remodeled as an English-style garden, which must be why I like it so much.

 On the grass with the Magnolias was a perfect place to be on this beautiful day

  

 I wish I knew what this tree above was called, the photo doesn't do it justice, it was absolutely beautiful

 A very old Pine tree

A very old Ginko tree

clean lines against dainty leaves

the sun on the lense

What a photogenic garden!

Longwood Gardens at Christmas

Michele K. Koskinen

I recently visited Longwood Gardens for the Christmas Lights and profusion of decorated trees,poinsettias and other holiday plants. It never fails to make me happy. Along the way I found the legacy of this garden started with the Pierce family in the 1600's and then was purchased by Pierre Dupont in early 1900's to save the trees slated to be cut for timber. In the ensuing years, he made a garden worthy of the most beautiful European gardens like Versailles.

If you have not visited, I encourage you to go and ramble. The conservatory is full of wonderful plants and specimans that show true botanical diversity. The gardens displays change with the seasons and there are often performances in the warmer months. I have included a few photos of my visit and a link to the gardens. Enjoy.

For more information on Longwood Gardens:
Story of Longwood

A visit to Winterthur Gardens

 Winterthur in the winter is lovely. You can still find the late bloomers:

  

 

The landscapes offer picturesque panoramic views:

It is a great place to take nature photography:

Magnolia fingers

               

While birds take over the tree branches

Apartment Complex!

And to watch squirrells frantically forage :

Luckily the freezing cold weather hasn't hit us yet, there's still time to enjoy the outdoors! Hope you all had a great holiday!

Cultural History of the Poinsettia

Submitted by Linda Grimwade Philadelphia Master Gardener 

Euphorbia pulcherrima    

In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is called Cuitlaxochitl (from cuitlatl, residue, and xochitl, flower) meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil." The Aztecs used the plant to produce red dye and as an antipyretic medication. Today it is known in Mexico and Guatemala as "Noche Buena", meaning Christmas Eve. In Spain it is known as "Flor de Pascua", meaning "Easter flower". In both Chile and Peru, the plant became known as "Crown of the Andes".

The plant's association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson "blossoms" sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias.  From the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations.  The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, and the red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus.

Poinsettias are popular Christmas decorations[1] in homes, churches, offices, and elsewhere across North America. They are available in large numbers from grocery, drug, and hardware stores. In the United States, December 12 is National Poinsettia Day.

Big Spring, Texas is well known for its poinsettias as the "lighted poinsettia capital". When the Comanche Trail Festival of Lights first began the dam at the big spring held four huge poinsettias made of rebar welded together in the shape of a poinsettia flower. Each flower was made up of 5 leaves. The leaves were decorated with red Christmas lights. The four poinsettia flowers were an awesome sight to see entering Big Spring from the south. Each year more flowers were added to the dam and inside the park until Comanche Trail Park has by 2006 added seven poinsettias, making a total of eleven lighted flowers on the dam and countless flowers inside the park, making Comanche Trail Park the Christmas Poinsettia capital. (wikipedia)

A visit to Grumblethorpe in Germantown.

It's a beautiful autumn day and time to do something spur of the moment. I need to walk in a garden somewhere close and just enjoy the day. I have several choices in Germantown and Chestnut Hill. Penn State Extension has a high tunnel at Grumblethorpe.(click for map) let's go to Germantown. 

Upon arrival, my husbund and I are greeted by volunteer Richard Vogel and Heather Zimmerman who is the manager and has worked with the Penn State Extension Philadelphia Master Gardeners.  We photograph the chickens and hear the story of why they are here. It seems that the school tours gave the volunteers the idea to allow children to see where eggs come from and the types of eggs different chickens lay. No roosters, as they would wake everyone in the neighborhood. Not a good thing.

The garden is ready for winter and the leaves are falling from the many trees especially from the 250 year old ginkgo and over 100 year old crabapple. Moving along the paths we

hear the history of the gardens and what is being planned in the near future. There are beds of flowers, vegetables and a newly started orchard. There is a documented list of plants from the early gardens and it will be used as a reference to restore the flowers beds. The garden's vegetable beds provide for the farmer's market and other venues. Varities of Kale are still actively growing.

Kale and the huge Ginkgo with Richard

In the rear of the property is the high tunnel ((More information). It is providing the perfect setting for growing vegetables for the farmer's market year round as well as protecting plants in the spring before they are planted. Next to the high tunnel there are bee hives to provide honey and pollination.

Hair Agrometer

Weather Station

A view of the house through the massive ginkgo.

Cornus Mas / Cornelian Cherry Dogwood.

So what did I see today that excited me. The most interesting aspects of the garden for me were the beautiful trees shedding their leaves and showcasing the wonderful bark and structure. The massive ginkgo, the crabapple, maples, virburnum and cherry dogwood all getting ready for a winters sleep. This is the beginning of the winter interest in the garden that I love. 

Before touring the house, we walk through the kitchen herb garden and find Heather cleaning up for the winter. We talked about the gardens and volunteer opportunities including the school tours and of course, the general gardening chores.