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 June 18, 2018

Kousa dogwood, Cornus kousa, many locations

Giant onion, Allium giganteum ‘Globemaster’, Flagpole

Virginia sweetspire, Itea virginica, many locations

Japanese spiraea, Spiraea japonica, many locations

Tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, several locations

Washington hawthorn, Crataegus phaenopyrum, Central Ave.

Japanese stewartia, Stewartia pseudocamellia, Mountain Ave.

Daylily, Hemerocallis ‘Stella d’Oro’, Story Rd.

Northern catalpa, Catalpa speciosa, Spirea Path

Climbing hydrangea, Hydrangea anomala ssp. Petiolaris,       Meadow Rd.

Love-in-a-mist, Nigella damascana, Greenhouse Garden

Foxglove, Digitalis sp., Greenhouse Garden

False sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides, Greenhouse Garden

Gerbera daisy, Gerbera sp., Greenhouse Garden

Black-leaf elderberry, Sambucus nigra ‘Eva’, Blue Jay Path

 ‘Aurora’ dogwood, Cornus xrutgerensis ‘Rutban’, Almy Rd.

Snowball viburnum,Viburnum plicatum ‘Grandiflorum’          Fountain Ave. , Swan Ave.

Weigela, Weigela florida, Sparrow Path

Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius, Chickadee Path

Peony, Paeonia lactiflora, Sphinx

Japanese tree lilac, Syringa reticulata, several locations

Pinxterbloom azalea, Rhododendron periclymenoides, Azalea Path

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

Rose, Rosa sp., many locations

Partridge-berry, Mitchella repens, Sumac Path

Inkberry, Ilex glabra, many locations

Black-leaf elderberry, Sambucus nigra ‘Eva’, Blue Jay Path

Mockorange, Philadelphus sp., several locations

Arrowwood, Viburnum dentatum, several locations

Siberian iris, Iris  siberica, Azalea Path

Beardtongue, Penstemon digitalis, Mountain Ave.

Lanceleaf coreopsis, Coreopsis lanceolata, Mountain Ave.

Phlox, Phlox sp., Mountain Ave.

Pickeral weed, Ponederia cordata, Willow Pond

Sweet bay magnolia, Magnolia virginiana, several locations

Common privet, Ligustrum vulgare, several locations

Deutzia, Deutzia gracillis, several locations

Petunia, Petunia sp., Lawn Ave.

Lady’s mantle, Alchemilla mollis, Amaryllis Path

Columbine, Aquilegea canadensis, several locations

Mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, many locations

Winterberry, Ilex verticillata, several locations

Pink-flower indigo, Indigofera  amblyantha, Linden Path

Oak-leaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, several locations

Catmint, Nepeta ‘Blue Wonder’, Azalea Path

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

Pincushion Flower, Scabiosa columbaria Azalea Path

False Indigo, Baptisia australis, Azalea Path

Water lily, Nymphaeaa odorata, Willow Pond

Linden, Tilia sp., several locations

Alpine aster, Aster alpina, Ash Ave.

Hosta Hosta sp., several locations

Cutleaf stephanandra, Stephanandra incisa, several locations

Creeping mint, Meehania cordata, Fountain Ave.

Sweet shrub, Calycanthus sp. several locations

Common alumroot, Heuchera americana, several locations

Linden viburnum, Viburnum dilatatum, several locations

Shrubby cinquefoil, Potentilla fruticosa, Field Rd.

Goldenstar, Chrysogonum  virginianum, Garden Ave.

Jackman clematis, Clematis xjackmanii, Admin bldg..

Bellflower, Campanulaa persicifolia, Yew Ave.

Bloody cranesbill geranium, Geranium sanguineum, Yew Ave.

Creeping phlox, Phlox stolonifera, Garden Ave.

Wild bleeding heart, Dicentra eximia, Main office

Gaillardia, Gaillardia sp., Ash Ave.

Bugleweed, Ajuga reptans, Garden Ave.

Yellow hawkweed, Hieracium caespitosum, Mountain Ave.

Spotted dead nettle, Lamium ‘White Nancy’, Daffodil Path

Begonia, Begonia sp., several locations

Lamb’s ears, Stachys byzantina, Story Rd.

Rhododendron, Rhododendron sp. several locations

Yellow flag iris, Iris pseudacorus, Auburn Lake

Creeping myrtle, Vinca minor, several locations

Bladder campion, Silene vulgaris, Mountain Ave.

Ohio spiderwort, Tradescantia ohiensis, Mountain Ave.

Impatiens, Impatiens sp., Fountain Ave.

Wild ginger, Asarum canadense, Dell Path

~

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.

…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…)

Mary, Mary, quite contrary

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockleshells…

                -Mother Goose

Contrarian or not, there are many gardeners and non-gardeners alike who would find that any gardens grow exquisitely fine if they include Carolina Silverbell, Halesia tetraptera. This mid-size tree, 30-40-feet tall (occasionally up to 80-feet) is native from West Virginia to Florida and west to Oklahoma. When in flower later in the month of May, these trees are often profusely bejeweled with dangling white, ½ to ¾-inch, bell-shaped flowers, beginning just before the trees leaf out and lasting for perhaps two weeks. The effect of viewing a good-sized, leafless tree covered with white flowers often stops visitors mid-stride. An ensuing curious effect occurs as the wilting flowers fall within the canopy envelope creating a snow-like appearance surrounding the base of the tree’s trunk. (more…)

…Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for ambition,

But some days I’d rather steep in my own kettle.

Give me chamomile, cowboys, cornelian cherries.

Let me sink, once again, into purposeless sleep.

                -Michael Steffen

After enduring a full month of March that was more often like a lion than a lamb, let us welcome the flowers of April. Sprightly, lightening our landscape in early April are the golden haze of flowers of the Corneliancherry dogwood, Cornus mas. Plants’ common names versus their Latin names may occasionally produce mini-conundrums, red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is not a cedar (Cedrus), mountainash (Sorbus) is not an ash (Fraxinus), blue beech (Carpinus) is not a beech (Fagus), tulip poplar (Liriodendron) is not a poplar (Populus), etc.

Corneliancherry dogwood is not a cherry (Prunus), not even in the same botanical family as cherries, Rosaceae, the rose family. Rather this is a less well-known species of dogwood, in the genus Cornus. This genus with at least 30 species is more often known for two of its showy ornamentals, our native flowering dogwood and the summer blooming kousa dogwood. (more…)