What’s in Bloom

These deciduous conifers have a narrow growing habit and a beautiful bronze fall color.  Adapted to grow near water, pond cypress are a standout in Peirce's Woods.

Osmanthus heterophyllus is a broadleaf, evergreen shrub, indigenous to Korea, Taiwan and Japan, with glossy, deep green leaves with spines that resemble hollies. The little white blossoms that appear in October and November fill the garden with fragrance.  ‘Gulftide’ is a selection that grows to 5 feet tall and 3 feet across. It thrives in either sun or partial shade, and any type of soil, even dense clay.  Holly osmanthus is not eaten by deer and has no serious pests or diseases and can be cultivated as an individual specimen, combined with other shrubs, or shaped into a lovely hedge.

Dawn redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, similar in appearance to bald-cypress, is a living fossil, having existed as long as 50,000,000 years ago. Fossil records show its presence on both the North American and Asian landmasses, and it was thought to be extinct until the early 1940s when a Chinese official found an unidentified cypress-like tree in a remote village in central China. The opposite leaves are deciduous, a rare feature among conifers. They emerge bright green in spring, mature to deep green in summer, and turn a foxy, red-brown in fall. The excellent foliage colors, ornamental bark, and straight trunks have made them popular ornamental plants in gardens.

This beautiful hybrid orchid produces black flowers with a spicy fragrance.  As an orchid in the Catasetum alliance, it loses its leaves over the winter when it goes dormant and flowers.  During this time it receives very little water and has no active growth.

Japanese camellias have glossy evergreen leaves and rose-like flowers in various shades of pink, red, and white that bloom at Longwood throughout the winter.  These beautiful flowering shrubs were one of Pierre S. du Pont’s favorite flowers and one of the first species planted in the Conservatory upon its completion in 1921.

Trees with ornamental bark can add texture and color to the winter garden.  This paperbark maple has beautiful exfoliating, cinnamon colored bark, which is a garden highlight any time of year.

Ginkgo biloba is a large deciduous tree that can grow to 100' tall, with leathery fan shaped leaves that turn bright yellow in autumn. This tree is considered a living fossil because it has remained unchanged and is the last living member of the order Ginkgoales, a group of plants that inhabited the earth around 200 million years ago. It was common during the Jurassic and Cretaceous era (206-65 million years ago), where its canopy would have been shaped by browsing apatosaurus, a long-necked giant. Ginkgo has long been cultivated in China; some trees in temple grounds are believed to be over 1,500 years old. Its status in Buddhism and Confucianism led to further distribution to Korea and Japan, before it was encountered by Europeans in 1690, who spread it throughout the western world. One of the largest G. biloba trees in North America can be found at Longwood Gardens, planted in the late 1700s by the Pierce family. The male trees are vastly preferred in America, especially ornamentally, because the seeds have a rather odorous outer layer.