Blog

The weather may have turned a bit cooler lately, but that hasn’t deterred the plants here at Willowwood, where spring is really at its peak. Redbuds and dogwoods are blooming; look for them near the entrance gate and along the woodland edge, visible across the meadows as you drive in. Crabapples have joined the chorus, and some of the later cherries and magnolias are still holding on to their flowers. Another stellar woody plant at its best now is Burkwood Viburnum, Viburnum x burkwoodii, which can be found growing near the Tubbs House. This viburnum has lovely clusters of small white flowers with a delicious, spicy fragrance.

LILACS are just beginning to bloom: take a stroll through the Lilac Collection to spot some early bloomers like Syringa vulgaris ‘Nadezhda’, Syringa x hyacinthiflora ‘Esther Staley’ and Syringa x hyacinthiflora ‘Lamartine’. Plenty of others are in bud and will be opening over the next few weeks, just in time for the Willowwood Foundation’s annual Lilac Party, Sunday May 15.

And several of the azaleas donated by Mrs. Lois Poinier are now blooming – go up the drive past the Tubbs House and past the Stone House up the walkway and they are off the path to the right.

Tulips continue to bloom in the beds in the Cottage Garden, Roserie, Pan’s Garden and elsewhere. The Rockery and Chive Walk are filled with all sorts of botanical treasures this time of year. Newly in bloom there are wood poppies, Stylophorum diphyllum, bleeding hearts, Dicentra sp., Trillium grandiflorum, Lathyrus vernus, and pasqueflower, Pulsatilla sp. Many of these herbaceous spring bloomers are spectacular, but don’t hold on to their flowers for long, so be sure to plan a trip to see them soon!

The weather forecast for this weekend looks wonderful, so plan a stroll or walk through the Willowwood Arboretum

Mornings at Willowwood have been filled with the lively sounds of bird chatter, and night time temperatures here seem to be finally inching higher. Daffodils, magnolias, forsythias and cherries continue to put on a cheerful show throughout the arboretum, and the addition of tulip flowers opening has really made it look like spring.

On your next visit, spend some time in the Cottage Garden, where tulips can be spotted alongside Virginia bluebells, also now in bloom. Keep an eye out for pulmonaria, with its white-spotted leaves and delicate flowers in shades of pale purple and blue. Also well worth noticing is Ipheion uniflorum, a dainty bulb from South America with grass-like foliage and star shaped flowers.

Newly blooming woody plants include Chaenomeles japonica, Japanese quince, and several types of spiraea. Look for the coral flowers of Japanese quince in the bed between the Stone Barn and the Shingle Barn. A lovely white-flowered spiraea, Spiraea thunbergii ‘Mount Fuji’, can be found not far away, at the corner of the Stone Barn near the pergola.

Reported by Sara Perzley, MCPC Plant Records Specialist & Propagator