Category: Bloom Reports

And just like that, the world is awash in the verdant green of fresh spring growth and colorful flowers. Spring really came out like a lion this year! As this year’s bulb display fades, we come into mid-spring perennials and trees. Willowwood is known for our Wisteria display, and we take great pride in maintaining our plants to optimize flowering. I’m happy to report that Wisteria Watch is over and we are currently at peak bloom! We have multiple arbors on the property with Wisteria floribunda in all its pendulous purple glory and the more unusual Wisteria sinensis ‘Alba’ in Pan’s Garden. 

We’ve also just entered the season of another iconic Willowwood collection: Lilacs! A walk through our extensive collections is wonderful for the senses: so many different scents and textures to enjoy, such as Syringa vulgaris ‘Sensation’, with its white-margined flowers and classic lilac aroma. Don’t forget to stop at the Cottage Garden, which is an explosion of different textures and colors of flowering perennials, including budding roses like the (planted in 1940) Rosa x rehderiana ‘Marie Pavie’. 

 If you’d prefer more shade, a walk in the woodwalk is always delightful, but even more so with the candy-colored masses of Primula japonica (originally introduced to Willowwood in 1930!) in bloom. This variation in flower color is completely natural and random, so every year’s display is a pleasant surprise. The Woodwalk is home to a plethora of Japanese Maples of all different textures and colors, like the Acer palmatum ‘Koto-No-Ito” with its highly dissected leaves. 

While it’s easy to lose time in the core area of the arboretum, many of our collections of more obscure species are worth taking a gander at. The lantern-esque flowers of Enkianthus campanulatus var. sikokianus in the Orchard are an unexpected color for early spring; foreshadowing for their spectacular fall color in the same red-orange. Nearby, the demurer Staphylea pinnata, the European Bladdernut flowers catch early morning light beautifully. 

by Bonnie Semmling

How wonderful it is to live in a world with flowers. Right now, I can’t think of anywhere that it is more floriferous than Willowwood. Although it is still early spring, many tougher-than-they-look spring flowering bulbs and perennials are up and at it. Meanwhile, swelling buds and emerging shoots remind us that there’s much more to come. A stroll through the Rosarie is exemplative: among the bright daffodils contrasted by clumps of Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’, the flower buds of “prairie smoke”, Geum triflorum, are beginning to unfurl. 

Right now, the Rockery, adjacent to the Tubbs’ House, is awash in blue and yellow. Drifts of Scilla siberica, Scilla(Chionodoxa) sardensis, Scilla (Chionodoxa) forbesii ‘Violet Beauty’, and Anemone blanda are punctuated by Narcissus“Rip Van Winkle”, Primula elatior (known affectionately as “oxslips”), and emerging Mertensia virginica, the Virginia bluebell. I find the Narcissus “Rip Van Winkle” to be particularly appealing, their double flowers floating over a “sea” of blue Scilla like stars on a clear night. 

While the traditional tulip display is due later in spring, a few “species tulips” are out, gracing us with their adorable blooms. Throughout the property, but especially in front of the Tubbs’ House are the cheerful Tulipa turkestanica and T. humilus “Alba Coerulea Oculata”. 

The delightful emerging gradient of flower buds of Stachyurus praecox, adjacent to the Propagation House. The specific epithet of this one, “praecox”, is a Latin term that means “early”. This one will be in full flower very soon! If you cannot wait, throughout the woodwalk one can find the fragrant, dangling flowers of Pieris japonica. Resembling, but not closely related to the “lily of the valley” (Convallaria majalis) we have to look forward to later in the season. 

Of course, we cannot forget the real star of the show: the Hellebore! Throughout Willowwood you will find a plethora of Helleborus selections, ranging from the surprisingly charming H. foetidus to the creamy flowers of Helleborus x nigercors“Honeyhill Joy”, seen here in the Cornus Mas Bed.  

By Bonnie Semmling.

It is the dawn of a new year. Another year of growth, of progress, love, and of course, gardening! 

There is not one moment in the gardens at Willowwood that is uninteresting; even in the absence of the raucous colors of flowers abuzz with pollinators that grace us in the growing season one can find interest. Now is the time to enjoy the structure and textures of the garden: bark, fruit, buds (as they swell in anticipation of spring, or perhaps a warm spell). Some structural interest is unexpectedly whimsical, such as the remaining sporophylls of sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) or the fruit of the appropriately named blackberry lily (Iris domestica). (Click the images to enlarge them).

Even in this time of dormancy flowers can still be found at Willowwood, like this ‘Christmas Gold’ witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), a selection of our native species with especially dense flowers and a light, spicy aroma. 

A look to the meadows will reveal numerous winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata), their branches upright and studded in red fruit, as in the case of the straight species. An exception is the ‘Winter Gold’ cultivar whose fruit instead reads more like a pale vermillion: this difference can be especially striking when planted along its red-fruited sisters. 

In Pan’s Garden you will find the perfumed blooms of Viburnum farreri, a more unusual selection that flowers in bursts from November to February. The aroma of these is best admired while seated on the back porch of the Tubb’s House during a sunny winter day, where we would love to see you visiting. Willowwood Arboretum is open 7 days a week from sunrise to sunset. Please check the Morris County Park Commission website (Willowwood Arboretum | Morris County Parks (morrisparks.net) for more information for planning your visit.

By Bonnie Semmling.

With Halloween just around the corner this Monday, this weekend kicks off the festivities for families throughout the state. While no festive events are scheduled at the arboretum this weekend, visitors are encouraged to come visit to enjoy the orange leaves, natural spider webs, and enjoy the trails while covered in early morning fog for some spooky fun!

We were worried that the drought this summer would cause the plants to turn brown rather than showcase their usual bright colors but the significant rain in the last two months has helped revive the plants for a brilliant display. This weekend will be a great time to enjoy fall color since the Japanese maples are finally reaching their peak. Some favorites are the bright yellow Acer ‘Waterfall’ near the small waterfall in the Cypress pool, the Acer palmatum ‘Ornatum’ which was planted by Robert Tubbs in 1910, and the intensely red Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ across from the Metasequoia. Fall foliage can be tricky to time at Willowwood since different types of trees have different timing. The native maples changed colors early and have lost most of their leaves while the Japanese maples only began to change colors this week. The Katsura have already dropped their sweet, yellow leaves but the Ginkgo has recently turned colors to a summery yellow. Meanwhile, a pear tree near the lilac collection in highland park turned a bold orange this week just in time for Halloween. As always, nature’s timing is on mother nature’s schedule.

Overnight frosts have already hit the gardens this month and sent the gardeners for their pruners and shovels to remove spent plants from the gardens. However, several late-season bloomers haven’t been discouraged by the cold weather. These include asters such as Aster tataricus ‘Jindai’ and Aster oblongifolius ‘October Skies’ which are both in bloom in the cottage garden. There are also Anemone throughout the garden such as Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’ in Pan’s Garden. A staff favorite, Tricyrtis formosana ‘Amythestina’ is also in bloom around the large wooden barn closest to the main house. Seasonal fruits are also appearing in the garden such as Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Gold’. 

We hope that you enjoyed visiting the Willowwood Arboretum this year and will come back to visit again!

With the growing season coming to a close, please be mindful that the annual wildlife management program will be in effect with several closures in December and January for firearm hunts. For up-to-date information on park closures and events, please visit the morrisparks.net website. 

By Zinnea Cheetham

“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” 

— Maud Hart Lovelace

Today marks the official beginning of summer, the Summer Solstice. Now that the warmer weather is here to stay for the next few months, the riot of spring blossoms have faded and the gardens are lush with green foliage. A new bench has been placed in the cottage garden and cozy nooks await to hide out from the sun. The gardeners have been busy planting annual flowers to continue the cheerful floral display until frost and have integrated containers of plantings into the gardens for extra color. 

The horticulturists have also been busy with new planting projects. One of the largest has been the rosarie, located behind the nursery and wooden barn. After several years, the rosarie garden has re-opened to the public and has been planted with a wide variety of plants. Some of the new woody and perennial plantings include an Amelanchier canadensis ‘Autumn Brilliance’, Aronia melanocarpa, Geum triflorum, Acanthus, and Physocarpus Sweet Cherry Tree. The back gate to the garden was also recently replaced and the fountain re-installed for the season. We’re sure we’ll see many people resting on the bench under the rosarie pergola listening to the water again now that the garden has been re-opened. And while you’re there, be sure to admire the striking blue on the pointy Eryngium amethystinum flowers and look at the large white blooms of the Clematis languginosa ‘candida’ growing on the pergola.

Around the main gardens many perennial plantings are beginning to flower such as the native Opuntia humifusa cactus near the greenhouse, Monarda didyma ‘Gardenview Scarlet’ in the cottage garden and the Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ in front of the Tubbs house. Another interesting Hydrangra in flower is Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Midoriboshi-Temari’ in the rockery near the house which has colorful star-shaped flowers. The rockery and Pan’s Garden are also good gardens to admire in the summer for their use of color and texture in shady areas as they are full of ferns, grasses, and variegated plants. 

The arrival of summer also means that the lilac season is ending at Willowwood. The last lilacs of the season to bloom are tree lilacs which are still flowering in highland park and also along Main Street in Chester. The fluffy cotton candy like blooms seem like an appropriate summer flower since they are so large and pale as though they are trying to match the puffy clouds above them. If you’d like to see the gardens, be sure to come by between 8AM and dusk when the front gates are open for free to the public! The Willowwood Arboretum is open year-round as part of the Morris County Park Commission park system. 

Reported by Zinnia Cheetham, Plant Records Curator Specialist MCPC