clear: calm: 59ºF

No whites or tropical hues after Labor Day. What rules in fashion seens to apply to botanical gardens too. The week after Labor Day the display gardens here changed. Out went the reds, oranges, and electric blues. In came the more subdued mannerly pin cushion mums with their support cast of muted greens and grasses. Since I’m rarely here when the people who do the work are, I don’t know what happened to the orange ornamental peppers, the blue Russian sages, the red pentas, the hibiscus, and elephant ears that spent the summer here. Now though, the look of the display gardens is far more formal with colors that lean toward the sensible. A pin cushion mum named ‘Helen’ leads the display with deep, rusty red blooms.

A few of the smaller beds already are filled with plants that will stay until spring. There are pansies of course and Coral Bells (Heuchera) too. Both winter over better and better as this area trades its Zone 5 climate for a 6. A new comer this year is the extensive use of Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) in the winter gardens. The Garden choose a variety developed by Proven Winners called ‘Goldilocks,’ I planted this same variety in my perennial bed about three years ago and found that it keeps coming back stronger each spring. Its brassy lime color fades and bronzes in winter, but it shrugs off cold weather and long spells of frozen ground. Proven Winners says it’s good to -40ºF.

A large section of the botanical garden that surrounds Henry Shaw’s 19th century country house has been closed for redevelopment. The new area will be named the “Victorian District.” I’ve not seen details of the plan nor do I know what the completion date is so I don’t know what or how things will change here. Even before the tear-up began though, this part of the botanical garden already seemed drenched in Victoriana. Besides the house, the area has a museum building that dates to the mid-1800’s, an English maze, a tower observatory, and a formal Victorian garden. Until the renovations are complete, I’ll be a sidewalk superintendent looking at transformation from behind barricades and fences. I’ll not be alone though. The statue of this botanical garden’s founder Henry Shaw that once welcomed visitors into the Victorian area has been moved to the sidelines too. Together we watch and wait.

For years I’ve planted an Elephant Ear plant named ‘Black Magic’ (Colocasia esculenta) in the center of a large container box that I have at home. ‘Black Magic’ never disappoints. It gives me a continuing supply of dark burgundy-colored leaves from early summer until frost. Next year though, I’d like to try something a bit different so I’ve been looking more carefully at the elephant ears planted here at the Garden. I think I’ve settled on one. Here it’s labeled Alocasia ‘Frydek,’ but I’ve also seen it referred to as African Mask. The leaves are soft. The finish is what paint stores call satin – midway between flat and gloss. But it’s the creamy, spiky looking veins that shoot off the central rib that I like best about ‘Frydek.’ On some leaves the vein patterning is formal, regular, and symmetrical. On others, unpredictable. As the botanical garden does, I plan to surround my container planted ‘Frydek’ with burgundy companions.

The patch of Siam Tulips (Curcuma alismatifolia) I was so taken with over a month ago is still in bloom. Unfaded beauty and a long life aren’t necessarily opposites. Today I checked with Flora, my Gardener’s Encyclopedia, and found that what I thought were flowers aren’t. Flora says they’re bracts – poinsettias come to mind. The bracts, it says, enclose a three-petalled flower. Not wanting to pry (particularly in a botanical garden), I couldn't see the true flowers. Apparently few others have either because I couldn’t even find a picture of them with a goggle search.


One winterberry. Tossed or dropped by a bird. Dead center in the drain of a fountain edged with brass-sculpted ducks in flight. Whoever managed this is a sure bet for winning an over-sized stuffed animal at the ring toss game at any carni.

I was looking at the website of the botanical garden in Belfast. The opening paragraph of the description listed the distinctive features visitors could expect to find there: “Our facilities include an alpine garden, bowling green and pavilion, a children’s playground, giant bird feeders, flower beds, Palm House, rockery, rose garden, shrub borders, specimen trees, sculptures, Tropical Ravine and several walks. We also have public toilets.” What? No mention of snack bars and gift shops?