Woodland Wonders!
As days lengthen and temperatures rise, the trees and shrubs unfurl their verdant leaves and the understory comes alive. Have the fairies been hard at work? Read on...
Walking through the woodland garden in May, Rhododendrons of screaming colors demand your attention, but don’t forget to look down and admire the more modest beauties of the forest. As days lengthen and temperatures rise, the trees and shrubs unfurl their verdant leaves and the understory comes alive. Yellow Meadow Foam appears in waves, trumpets of blue Ajuga march down the South Trail and everywhere you look Fairy Bells, our native Prosartes smithii (previously known as Disporum smithii) dangle delicate pairs of cream-colored bells under glossy dark green leaves. Bright orange to red fruits make an encore later in the season.
Look for the Asian version Prosartes cantoniense ‘Night Heron’ poking its mahogany spears towards the spring light. The fairies must use the pale dangling bells set against the dark leaves to light their way in the night.
Growing nearby is the much overlooked, Western Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum). Spreading by rhizomes that carpet the forest floor, this dense mat of shiny heart shaped leaves is in full bloom, but you wouldn’t know it unless you were crawling on your hands and knees as the flowers are at ground level underneath the low foliage. Take a moment to get up close and personal and you will be rewarded. Maroon and slightly hirsute, each of the flowers’ three lobes narrows to a twirling point, earning its less common nickname “Long Tailed Ginger”. A member of the Pipe Vine Family, Aristolochiaceae, Asarum is not to be confused with culinary ginger, which is a member of the Zingiberaceae family.
Along the North Trail during the late winter months, Fringe Cups (Tellima grandiflora) spread their grape like leaves into gorgeous basal clumps. The Fringe Cups that colonize our Gardens have especially dark leaves in their early form, graduating to bronze, and when the knee high stalks of pink-white folded cups appear, the leaves become lush green with black veining, a glorious recurrence with each passing day.
There are too many lovely woodland plants to mention in this blast so please pay us a visit. Don’t miss the show!