Plants

Mount Auburn’s landscape is composed of a diverse array of plants and trees that come into bloom at different times and in different seasons.  See both a calendar and a list view of What’s in Bloom below:

What’s in Bloom: Week of August 6, 2018

Japanese Pagodatree, Styphnolobium japonicum, several locations

Harlequin glorybower, Clerodendron tricotomum, Fountain Ave.

Rose-of-Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus, several locations

Chinese silk tree, Albizia julibrissin, Fountain Ave.

Trumpetcreeper, Campsis radicans, Chestnut Ave.

Summersweet, Clethra alnifolia, many locations

Orange coneflower, Rudbeckia fulgida, Rosebay Ave.

Panicle hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata, several locations

Sourwood, Oxydendrum arboreum, several locations

Russian sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia, Hyacinth Path

Fleeceflower, Persicaria affinis, Birch Garden

Balloon flower, Platycodon grandiflorus, Cypress Ave.

Bugbane, Cimicifuga racemosa, several locations

Phlox, Phlox sp., several locations

Evodia, Tetradium daniellii, Cedar Ave.

Corkwood, Poliothyrsis sinensis, Daphne Path

Heather, Calluna vulgaris, Garden Ave.

Oak-leaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, several locations

 ‘The Fairy’ rose, Rosa ‘The Fairy’, @ Sphinx

Rose, Rosa sp., several locations

Azalea, Rhododendron sp., Bluejay Path

Bee blossom, Gaura lindheimeri, Meadow Rd.

Goldenrod, Solidago sp., Mountain Ave.

Spotted mint, Monarda punctata, Mountain Ave.

Nodding onion, Allium cernuum Mountain Ave. 

Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, Mountain Ave.

Bee balm, Monarda fistulosa, Mountain Ave.  

Branched coneflower, Rudbeckia triloba, Mountain Ave.

Lanceleaf coreopsis, Coreopsis lanceolata, Mountain Ave.

Water lily, Nymphaea odorata, Auburn Lake

Hosta, Hosta sp., several locations 

Daylily, Hemerocallis sp., several locations

Shrubby cinquefoil, Potentilla sp., several locations

Meadow sage, Salvia nemerosa ‘Blue Hill’, Azalea Path

Pincushion Flower, Scabiosa columbaria Azalea Path

Butterfly bush, Buddleia ‘Nanho Purple’, Azalea Path

Joe-pye-weed, Eupatorium maculatum ‘Gateway’, Azalea Path

Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, Azalea Path

Obedient plant, Physostegia virginiana, Azalea Path

Mum, Chrysanthemum x rubellum ‘Clara Curtis’, Azalea Path

New York ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis, Azalea Path

Threadleaf coreopsis, Coreopsis verticillata ‘Zagreb’, Azalea Path

‘Knockout’ rose, Rosa ’Radrazz’, Spelman Rd.

Astilbe, Astilbe, sp., several locations

Bigleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla, Almy Rd.

Geranium, Geranium sp. several locations

False sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides, Greenhouse garden

Delphinium, Delphinium sp., Greenhouse garden

Snapdragon, Antirrhinum sp., Greenhouse garden

Common thyme, Thymus vulgaris, Greenhouse garden

Coneflower, Echinacea sp., Greenhouse garden

Love-in-a-mist, Nigella damascena, Greenhouse garden

Anise hyssop, Agastache foeniculum, Greenhouse garden

False aster, Boltonia asteroides, Greenhouse garden

Speedwell, Veronica spicata Greenhouse garden

Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, Greenhouse garden

German statice, Limonium latifolium, Greenhouse garden

Cosmos, Cosmos bipinnatus, Greenhouse garden

Gayfeather, Liatris spicata, Greenhouse garden

Spider flower, Cleome ‘Higro Pink’, Greenhouse garden

Sea holly, Eryngium alpinum, Greenhouse garden

Globe amaranth, Gomphrena sp., Greenhouse garden

Starflower, Helichrysum bracteatum, Greenhouse garden

Poppy, Papaver sonniferum, Greenhouse garden

Mountain bluet, Centaurea Montana, Greenhouse garden

Globe thistle, Echinops sp., Greenhouse garden

Baby’s breath, Gypsophelia paniculata, Greenhouse garden

Marigold, Tagetes sp., several locations

Pink-flower indigo, Indigofera amblyantha, Linden Path

Carolina allspice, Calycanthus raulstonii ‘Hartlage Wine’, Beech Ave.

Carolina allspice, Calycanthus raulstonii ‘Venus’, Beech Ave.

~

Mount Auburn Rap by Maria Lindberg

The squill is a thrill

Chionodoxa really rocks ya

Pansies and crocus bring it all into focus

Spice bush and lilacs delight the senses

Ivy twines around cast iron fences

Vinca hosta azealea silverbell

Escort the traveler on the way to the Dell

Orioles flit from spruce to beech

Hawks fly above with a warning screech

Turtles and bullfrogs and muskrats abound

Owls in their nests make nary a sound

Kingfishers herons and cormorants as well

Robins and phoebes have a story to tell

The Metasequoia of Auburn Lake

A perch for hawks and a migratory break

For warblers in May luring birders far and wide

Wonder and song are the gifts they provide

The American elm and the mighty oak

Guard the eternal sleep of the silent folk

Of Mount Auburn Cemetery

 If you see a tree or plant in bloom that is not on this list, please leave a comment below or email us at friends@mountauburn.org.

In the dogdays of summer as muslin curls on its own heat

And crickets cry in the black walnut tree

The winds lift up my life

And set it some distance from where it was…

            -Meena Alexander

End of July, beginning of August qualify as the “dog days of summer” from the eras of the ancient Greeks and Romans (July 24 – August 24), down through time to readers of the Book of Common Prayers (July 6 – August 7), on to contemporary readers of the Old Farmer’s Almanac (July 3 – August 11). Often including the hottest stretch of summer weather, this phrase’s etymology began with an astronomical connection to the rising of Sirius, the brightest star in our night sky, part of the constellation Canis major, the Greater Dog. (more…)

…And all rare blossoms from every clime

Grew in that garden in perfect prime.

            -Percy Bysshe Shelley

We encourage all to visit our newly renovated Asa Gray Garden. In collaboration with the award-winning Halvorson Design Partnership and R. P. Marzilli Landscape Contractor, this garden includes a diverse mix of 130 taxa of trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, annuals and bulbs which will provide four-seasons of color, texture and interest. An enlarged central water feature and reflecting pool help create a sense of calm within this newly re-designed meditative landscape.

…made him feel as if the fountain were an immortal spirit

that sung its song unceasingly

and without heeding the vicissitudes around it…

-Nathaniel Hawthorne

In lieu of specific plant discussion, we recall this garden’s namesake, the preeminent nineteenth century botanist, Asa Gray (1810-1888). The eldest of eight siblings of a farmer/tanner in Sauquoit, New York, he graduated from Fairfield Medical College in 1831. Lynn Barber in The Heyday of Natural History 1820-1870 states, “At the beginning of the nineteenth century, all laymen and most scientists believed that the earth and all the species on it had been created by God in six days towards the end of October in the year 4004 B.C.” Gray eschewed an incipient medical practice for a botanical life that led to decades of research and publishing. Later botanical renown positioned him to become the foremost American advocate of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), when in 1859, Origin of Species revealed the then heretical theory of evolution and the process of natural selection. (more…)

…Hey Blue

Ink on a pin

Underneath the skin

An empty space to fill in…

                -Joni Mitchell

We do not know what Joni Mitchell was thinking when she penned these words in 1970. Although, as with much fine artistry, there are multitudinous interpretations unknown to the artist. Herein with Baptisia australis, blue false indigo we focus on the flower color and the plant’s reliable capacity to fill in an empty space. Native from New York/Pennsylvania south to Texas and Georgia, this three-to-four-foot high and wide perennial, develops into a small shrub-like mass. Its alternate, leaves are palmately compound with three 1 ½ to 3-inch leaflets, developing into a bluish-green color. The flowers occur in late May – early June on long terminal racemes. Each flower is about 1-inch long, indigo-blue, although color ranges also to pale lavender or dark violet. (more…)