Longwood Trial Gardens and Dahlias

Longwood has a large area of Trial Gardens.  Here gardeners use new plants from

nurseries and horticulturalists to create "English Country Gardens" which viewers

might like and plant next year.  This is Trial Garden 1.

Trial Garden No. 2.  They often have names; this is called "Sunny Day" and uses a variety

of annuals you could find at your local nursery.  Notice the variety of color, texture,

and height.

"Flamenco Dancer Trial Bed."  This was one of my favorites, with lots of Caladium,
petunias, Black Sweet Potato, Papyrus, and Dahlias.

"Salsa Verde" Coleus, a new and decorative variety.

"Mystic Illusion - Orange" Dahlia with dark leaves

"Sunny Day" Mini-Dahlias; these are only about an inch across.

"Fancy Free" mini-Dahlias on a small bush one foot high; other dahlia  plants stood

five to six feet high.

"Fancy Free" Mini-Dahlias

"Bewitched" black sweet potato vine

"Seville Red" Caladium with big leaves

"White Spider Plant Flowers" - Cleome

"Flamenco Dancer" trial bed seen from south

"Adele" fiery red petunias, a new variety

"Yellow Moon" torenia - wish-bone flower

"Watermelon" caladium

"Endless Flirtation Bush Violet"

"Freckles" coleus

"June Day" yellow zinnias

"Strawberry Punch" Calibrachoa / Mini-Petunias / Million Bells

"Blue Dust" Ageratum

"Fourth of July" Trial Bed

"Elephant Ears Colocasia" and Yellow Zahara Zinnias

"Lava Flow" Trial Bed, with elephant ears / colocasia, pink cannas, strawberry punch

calibrachoa, and yellow Zahara zinnias.

"Fancy Free" Mini-Dahlais

Lavender Verbena on left.  mix of RedPetuanias, yellow Calibrachoa, and Pink Verbena

in center, and Pink Dianthus at top right

Yellow Honeycomb Dahlia

Burst of Charlotte Dahlia

Bunch of Lavender Dahlias, five feet high.

Orange Pinwheel Dahlia

White Tubular Dahlia

Lavender and White Dahlia

Sandra Whitcomb Dahlia

Bunch of Pale Orange Honeycomb Dahlias

Lost in Light Dahlia

Pastel Sun Dahlia

Red Wheel Dahlia - new variety

Saucy Lady Dahlia - eight inches across

Bunch of White Dahlias

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Longwood Water Lilies and Orchids

Longwood Gardens has seven large ponds for water lilies and aquatic plants.

These are hardy waterlilies; they tend to be smaller in size and greater in number

than the standard waterlily.

Two white day-blooming waterlilies.  Some lilies bloom during the day, and some bloom

at night.

A cluster of hardy yellow waterlilies and one of hardy white waterlilies.

These are "Water Platters."  They grow to be 8 feet in diameter and they can hold

between 80-100 pounds.  They are soft and spongy and have hundreds of air pockets,

like an air-mattress, and very strong veins for support.

Another pond with a variety of day-blooming water-lilies.

White waterlily.

Yellow Waterlily

Pale Blue Waterlily

Hardy White Waterlilies.  These stay in the ponds over the winter; the others must

all be taken into a greenhouse for a protection against cold.

Pink Day-Blooming Waterlilies.  There is always a docent standing by the waterlilies

to answer questions.

Water Platters and waterlily leaves of various colors.

Blue Waterlily

Blue Waterlily with dark leaves.

Pink Day-Blooming Waterlily

The Orchid House always has 300 orchids in full bloom for viewing.  Four working

greenhouses are filled with 4,000 orchid plants, and as soon as a plant begins to fade,

it is taken out and replaced with a blooming one.

There is always an expert standing by to answer questions about orchids.

Orchids are the most diverse and prolific of flowers.

Many types of orchids are always on view.

Some orchid flowers are large and showy, and other plants have many

small blossoms.

Two white orchids.

The Main Conservatory with purple curcuma and red canna.

A new variety of purple celosia.

Blossoms on a Flowering Maple tree.

"UItah" Anthurium.  Longwood has developed many different colors of

anthurium and uses them throughout the greenhouses.

Pink Anbthurium

Red "Dakota" Anthurium and pale yellow "Marcella" Guzmania.

Two Peach dahlias, the most prolific flower this time of year.

Orange and Yellow Tubular Dahlia

Large pink powderpuff Dahlia.

Pink-to-Red Cactus Dahlia

"Fiery Mexico" Dahlia

"Radiant Orange" Dahlia

Yellow Pinwheel Dahlia

"Burst of Lavender" Dahlia

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