What's Blooming Now - May 7, 2012

April Showers Brought May Flowers!

The Gardens are full of life and energy. Different plants continue to begin blooming while your back is turned, all while the gardeners have been planting lots of new perennials, shrubs, and trees, and the annual flowers begin arriving Monday 7! Here’s a quick tour of some of the highlights:

Polly Horton Hix Design Gardens:
You’ll find ornamental onions (Allium species) everywhere in the Gardens now. Here is one that reminds us of something from outer space, Allium schubertii.

In the Cutting Garden south bed blues and yellows abound,  with perennial Yellow Foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora), ‘Jeanine’ ornamental onion (Allium), and Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ (Bluestar).

Heuchera ‘Rave On’ is a brand new coral bell for us. We are anxious to see how it does in the next few years.

A shrub combination that is very striking can be found in the Motion Garden: Sambucus (Elderberry) ‘Black Lace’ and Spirea ‘Gold Flame’.

Virginia Fairbanks Sun Garden
More alliums abound! This Allium christophii (Star of Persia) is a gem!

There are also plenty of Spiderworts (Tradescantia), pictured here with Eastern bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana) and False indigo (Baptisia australis).

Efroymson Wedding Garden
The roses are at their peak here and elsewhere in the Gardens.

Hilbert Conservatory
Folks are eager to see “The Avengers" in the theater, but in the Conservatory you can get a look at the Green Lantern, a Dendrobium orchid that is in bloom.


Look for the plant with some of the largest leaves (Alocasia ‘Calidora’ , a type of elephant ear) and you’ll  also find one of the most interesting  kinds of bloom, called a spath.
 
Ruth Lilly Shade Garden
Another spath-type bloom is evident in the Shade Garden now-, the Italian arum (Arum italicum).

Here are a few more shots of What's Blooming right now at the Gardens!

What's Blooming Articles 2012

February 2012 - Early Blooms
March 13, 2012 - Spring Has Sprung!
March 21, 2012 - What's NOT Blooming
March 28, 2012 - Gorgeous, Gorgeous, Gorgeous
April 16, 2012 - The Blooming Continues!

What's Blooming Articles 2011

March 16, 2011 - March Brings Spring Flowers
April 18, 2011- Spring is Popping!
April 19, 2011 - April's Flowers
May 4, 2011 - The May Bloomers
May 20, 2011 - The Flowers of Late May
June 21, 2011 - Welcome to Summer!
July 14, 2011 - Summer Bloom Reaches Peak
August 3, 2011 - Water Plants Star
August 18, 2011-Long Season Bloomers Make a Comeback
September 15, 2011 - The Blooms Continue!

What's Blooming Articles 2010

August 16, 2010 - The Dog Days of Summer
August 31, 2010 - Late Bloomers
September 20, 2010 - The Color is Still Going at the Gardens
September 29, 2010 - Color Continues Despite Dry Conditions
October 15, 2010 - Color Continues Into October