Schedel Revisited

It was a nice day on Sunday. Perfect for taking a stroll through a garden. So we picked up Adam and Kara and headed north to Schedel Arboretum and Gardens. It was my second visit there this summer, but it was the first time for both Kara and Adam and Romie, too.

When the growing season is basically five months long, a month or two can make a big difference in how things look and Schedel was perfect proof of it.

May 22, 2009

The annuals that were just being planted when I was there in May had matured into full and lush beauties, though the cannas are yet to bloom.

July 12, 2009

This was my third visit ever, and each time I've been here was at a different time of year - fall, spring, and now summer - so I tried to focus on things I'd not noticed as much in previous visits. For example, I'd never taken the footbridge over to the other side of the lake. The view from over there is a different kind of pretty.






The swans were showing off for us.











I didn't know there was a bamboo "forest" on the other side, complete with a path for walking through it.


There was some poison ivy on the path, which Kara and I didn't notice until it was too late, and we had worn flip-flops, so we were sure to wash our feet as soon as we got home. Kara announced that she wasn't allergic to it, although both her dad and I are, so time will tell if she inherited our allergy or not. Actually, I hope we both were able to wash our feet soon enough before that question can be answered!

There are many containers with tropicals and unusual annuals grouped in various areas around the property.



And it's lily season!

Orienpet Lily 'American Heritage'

More scenes from the day...

The Forget-Me-Nots were in full bloom down by the water.

The stairway descending from the house area.

If you look to your right once you reach the bottom of the stairs, this is what you see.


I'm coveting this gorgeous Tricolor Beech tree.


Several tropical Hibiscuses were in bloom.

Art and sculpture are an integral part of the Schedel experience and there was an exhibition being held while we were there.

"St. Francis"
by Barry Woods Johnston
$13,500

Here's a unique way of doing things - watercolor on pleated paper - that gives you two art pieces in one. I absolutely loved these works by Lucy Jane Webster. There were several on display and for sale at $350-400 each.

View from the left


View from the right

Yes, it's the same picture!

Schedel shares the excess plants from their gardens with the public by offering them for sale at prices too good to resist. The last time I was here I bought one Japanese Anemone plant for $2.00. There were more available this time and I bought two more to add to those I already have in my garden, since I now seem to have inadvertently stumbled upon The Secret to growing them.

We couldn't leave Elmore without stopping at Bench's Greenhouse, just a few miles away, which was still selling their entire plant inventory at 40% off. This time, I showed remarkable restraint, only purchasing two small Delphinium nudicaule 'Laurin' to replace one I'd had a few years ago.

At that time, I didn't realize it was a perennial and planted a different plant in its place in the fall. The following spring, a small sprig of it came up, but transplanting it proved to be the fatal blow. This is a charming plant that I'm glad to have once again.