Longwood Summer 3

One summer, Pierre Dupont visited a villa outside Florence, Italy, which had a water garden.

He was fascinated, and when he came home, he told his gardener to build one for him.

This is it, the Italian Water Garden, with hundreds of jets of water shooting different

heights in different patterns.  It is very beautiful.

The fountains from ground level.  There are also beautiful fountains along each side

between the trees.

You can sit on a bench beneath the trees and enjoy the play of sunlight and splash of water.

Longwood has one of the largest waterlily collections in the world and displays

hundreds of them in eight large ponds.

Most waterlilies bloom for only three days, for three hours each day, from 11:30-2:30.

But some waterlilies bloom only at night.

Most waterlilies must be taken indoors during the winter, but some are hardy and

can survive underneath a frozen pond until the next spring.

Some waterlilies are uncertain of their sexuality and begin as females and

then end up as males.  This is a Lotus.

These are Hardy Waterlilies.  They tend to be smaller and more prolific

than the more delicate waterlilies.

Nile Blue Waterlily

White Waterlily

Midnight Blue Waterlily

The Idea Garden has perhaps two dozen large beds, 6x10 feet, in which they plant

various new varieties of flowers so they can see how they grow and bloom and

also so visitors can see new varieties of flowers they might like to have.

There are usually just four different types of flowers in each bed.

These are pink phlox.

White Phlox

Autumn Minaret Daylilies, a beautiful new shade of yellow/orange/gold.

Crimson Red Salvia and Redhead Coleus, Alocasia Elephant Ears
and Red Cannas in the center

Pink Petticoats Cannas

Pink Blush Cannas

For decades, botanists have been trying to develop a white zinnia.  They have every other

color.  This is the latest attempt and is quite good.  Double White Zinnias.

One of my favorite zinnias this year is Variegated Zahara Double Cherry Zinnia.

They are gorgeous and show infinite variety.

Zahara Double Cherry Zinnias

Chinese Anemones photographed against the sun.

Tangerine Zing Marigolds

Yellow Brugmansias - they hang down; the Datura stand up straight,
but same family, highly halucinogenic.

White Cone Flowers

Pink Frost Brugmansia - highly halucinogenic

Cabaret Deep Yellow Calibrachoa  /  Million Bells  /  Mini-Petunias
The Gardens had beds of these in many colors; they are very popular with gardeners/

Double Amethyst Calibrachoa  /  Million Bells  /  Mini-Petunias

Lemon Slice Calibrachoa  /  Million Bells  /  Mini-Petunias

Lavender Coneflowers

Pink Coneflowers

Blue Giant Lobelia and Yellow Rudbeckia / Yellow Coneflowers

Yellow Marguerite Daisies

Magenta Rose Mallows, cousins of hibiscus

Pink Cream Rose Mallow - very large, 12 inches across

Cranberry Crush Rose Mallow - very large

Luna Pink Swirl Rose Mallows

Alice Yellow Tuberous Begonias

Mango Nectar Tuberous Begonia

Pink Petticoat Tuberous Begonia

The Outdoor Theater has a stage of fountains, and jets of water play amidst colored
lights and many different movements.  They play for five minutes on every hour,
and then at night they play continuously from 9:00 - 11:00, as music plays.

The entrance to Longwood Gardens has a number of raised beds with special flowers.
This is a banana tree, variegated Tapioca, and Magellan Zinnias.

Another bed has a banana tree, red giant Hyssop, Sedona Sunset Coleus,
 sweet potato and Giant Red Leafed Crinum Lily..

Sedona Sunset Coleus

Close-up of Sedona Sunset Coleus, a wonderful new variety.

Several espaliers are being trained on the front wall.  On the right is a Blue Juniper tree
which is being trained, while on the left is a Trumpet Creeper Vine.

Trumpet Creeper Vine Flower

Some final dazzling dahlias from Longwood Gardens.

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I hope you have enjoyed this stroll through the gardens and gotten some ideas
for your own garden.


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Longwood Summer 2

One of the most beautiful areas in Longwood Gardens is the Garden Walk, a path the length
 of two football fields and lined with large flower beds on both sides, plus some fountains.

The gardens are organized into six major color areas: blue-purple, red, pink, fountain, orange, 

yellow and white.  This sunken garden is at the mid-point.

Not only is the path lined with flowers, but they are arranged in tiers, with the

shorter flowers at the front, then the medium sized, and finally the very tall

flowering plants at the rear, like a wall.

The rainbow of colors begins with the blues and purples.  These are Blue Lisianthus,

which look like roses and grow very easily on long thin stalks.   Later
you will see some pink ones and some white ones.  Beautiful.

Two lisianthus flowers.  They are never exactly the same hue of blue.

These are summer gladiolus.   They are very tall, so they are at

the back of the garden, with the blossoms at the top of the stalks.

Tibouchina, or the Princess Flower, has delicate stalks of deep purple flowers

and leaves which are soft like velvet.

The Purple Petticoat Datura has a large pure white flower with a deep purple

layer on the outside.

Giant Purple Hyssop.  The Hyssop comes in many colors.

Deep purple "Diva" dahlias, large and tall.  Dahlias are in each section of the garden,

as they come in so many colors and sizes and shapes.

Red geraniums began the red section of the gardens.

Red Cannas were used as backdrops.  I thought cannas were always messy and not

very beautiful.  Until this summer.  But I saw them used so effectively and

so beautifully at Longwood, that I would definitely have them in my garden.

My mother always loved them and we had beds in the front of the house; they

multiply quickly and so she always had extras to give to friends.

Tall Red Cannas.

Large red dahlias.  These were very tall and very large.

This is a large red Dinner-Plate Mallow.  It is about 12 inches across.  It is a big

cousin of the Rose-of-Sharon and Hibiscus.

And then we comet to the pink section of the garden, where these beautiful large pale

pink dahlias form the backdrop.

Raspberry-pink Giant Hyssop

"Kidd's  Climax" pink and peach dahlia, very large and tall.

 Pink Lisianthus

Raspberry-pink Gomphrena  -  Globe Amaranths

"Kidd's Climax" Dahlias

Giant Peach Dahlias

Pink Wax Begonias

Frosty Pink Brugmansia - highly hallucinogenic / Nightshade family

Calibrachoa Cabaret Pink - Million Bells  -  Mini-Petunias

Pink Cannas and other colors also

Pink Gomphrena  /  Globe Amaranths

"Pinky Winky" Panicle Hydrangeas

The Garden Walk through the Orange and Yellow sections.

"Pam Howden Dahlia," one of my favorites this year.

New variety of orange French marigolds.

"Solar Flare Dahlias."  These came in several shades.

Darker orange Solar Flare dahlias.

Orange Popsicle Canna

Pale Yellow Cannas

Cup-Flower Yellow  Rudbeckia and Orange Cannas

"Best Bett"  Mystic Dahlias, photographed against the sun.

Yellow Spider Dahlias

New variety of yellow French marigolds.

Two yellow spider dahlias

Two pale yellow gladiolus

And finally, the White Garden.  These are white lisianthus.

White Spider Dahlias

White Spider Dahlias

White Cleome, "Spider Plants"

White Cleome, Spider Plants

White Datura, shot against the sun

White Datura bush, in sunlight

White Angelonia

White Nicotine Plant

White Panicle Hydrangeas


This is what a summer garden should look like, I think.


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