Featured Bloom
Japanese Wisteria
This wisteria, native to Japan, is highly prized for its very long, fragrant racemes of flowers in late spring. The flowers do not all open at once, but begin to open at the base of the raceme and open progressively to the tip. In the Wisteria Garden, the vigorous twining vines are grown on a heavy arbor and also trained into tiered tree forms supported by metal poles.
See what’s in bloom … and enjoy the beauty of our Gardens.
-
Princess-tree
Paulownia tomentosaThis deciduous tree native to China, produces large, fragrant, panicles of lavender flowers in the spring. The wood of this fast growing tree is highly prized and used to make furniture and musical instruments. Japanese craftsmen prize princess-tree wood for making the koto, a six-foot long, stringed instrument that is the national instrument of Japan. Kotos create music when the strings that bridge across the hollow body of the instrument, are plucked. The unique sound is distinctively energetic and reflective because of the resonance of the princess-tree wood.
-
Japanese Flowering Dogwood
Cornus kousaCornus kousa, commonly known as Japanese flowering dogwood, is native to eastern Asia. This tree delights in all four seasons. In late spring, after the foliage has emerged, it has an abundance of creamy white bracts which are long lasting. Flowers are followed by bright, red fruit that is a compound berry about one inch in diameter and resembles a raspberry. These fruits are edible and a sweet and delicious addition to the tree's ornamental value. The deep red fall foliage and the stunning exfoliated bark give fall and winter interest. Cornus kousa is slower growing and later blooming than other dogwood trees. With age it reaches 30 feet high and can look quite stately.
-
Greater Yellow Lady's Slipper
Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescensThis orchid was once more common in southeastern Pennsylvania, but has become rare due to habitat loss. Lady’s slipper orchids can be incredibly long-lived; the plants seen here were planted in the Garden in 1963. The greater yellow lady’s slipper was the first species entered into Longwood’s plant conservation program.
-
Pomegranate
Punica granatumLongwood Gardens received this pomegranate bonsai in 1998. It was collected from a hedgerow and its training as a bonsai began around 1960. The tree has been shaped in the informal upright style characterized by an upright trunk that curves or bends. In this tree the thick, nicely tapered trunk bends and twists subtly, making for a very natural representation of a very old tree. The effect is enhanced by the scars on the trunk. Though natural on this tree, bonsai growers sometimes make such scars on purpose, to give the same weathered look.
-
Tulip-tree
Liriodendron tulipiferaThe tulip-tree grows tall like a spire and produces yellow-green, tulip-like flowers in spring. It is an abundant hardwood that does not absorb water easily, and it has a fairly straight wood that is easy to cut. The wood is used in piano case parts, such as the top, legs, and music desk. It is also a popular wood for the keyboard as well as the core wood used in panels and surfaces to be veneered. Also called yellow-poplar, it grows in moist areas throughout the midwestern and eastern United States.
-
Cucumber Magnolia
Magnolia acuminataMagnolia acuminata is native to eastern North America, reaching its largest size in the southern Appalachian Mountains. It typically occurs in moist soils in wooded valleys, bluff bases and thickets along the river with other deciduous trees. Its common name, cucumber magnolia, refers to the shape and color of the fruits when they are young. This magnolia produces slightly fragrant, tulip-like flowers. In color they are a mixture of glaucous green and yellow, but specific color forms can be found varying from a blue to a yellow.
-
Wild Cranesbill
Geranium maculatumWild cranesbill has delicate pale to deep pink flowers that bloom in early to mid-spring. It has a deeply cut leaf and grows best in a woodland setting in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil. Forming loose 2 foot mounds in shade, this native geranium will also grow as a groundcover in sun. Hardy to zone 4, wild cranesbill is native to all counties of Pennsylvania.
-
Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatumMayapple is a native herbaceous plant that produces a single, 3 inch, white flower that is tucked under its wide, palmate, umbrella-like leaf. Commonly found in woodlands and hillsides, mayapples spread to form colonies and grow best in shade. They produce a small green apple-like fruit, giving the plant its common name. Mayapples are self-incompatible, needing cross pollination to fruit. They are native to all counties in Pennsylvania.
-
Pineapple Guava
Acca sellowianaNative from southern Brazil to northern Argentina, this large shrub with evergreen leaves has exotic flowers, and delicious fruits. About the size of an egg, the fruits taste somewhere between a pineapple and a guava, hence the common name, pineapple guava. Fruits may be eaten raw or whipped into a curd as is common in Brazil, but others prepare pineapple guava into ice creams, jams, compotes and baked goods. Unfortunately, ripe fruits bruise very easily and are usually not exported or shipped great distances, which likely explains their exotic identity.
-
-
Ornamental Onion
Allium ′Millenium′ -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Robin's-plantain
Erigeron pulchellusErigeron pulchellus ’Lynnhaven Carpet’, robin’s-plantain; a profuse display of flowers in the Perennial Garden
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Japanese Wisteria
Wisteria floribunda ′Alba′This wisteria, native to Japan, is highly prized for its very long, fragrant racemes of flowers in late spring. The flowers do not all open at once, but begin to open at the base of the raceme and open progressively to the tip. In the Wisteria Garden, the vigorous twining vines are grown on a heavy arbor and also trained into tiered tree forms supported by metal poles.