 |
| Carolina Silverbell tree (Halesia carolina var. 'monticola'). |
It was a gorgeous spring afternoon and I was still aching from the previous day's exertions in my garden so I decided to take the afternoon off to visit the Virginia State Arboretum, and check out what was blooming. The Arboretum, AKA Blandy Farm in these parts, has so many different and lovely plantings, it was hard to choose where to start. I had in mind a few trees I wanted to check, like the Buckeye trees in the back forty whose seed I had collected and sprouted in my home garden.
 |
| The dogwood allee. |
But first I walked toward the main house and turned left into the dogwood allee--this view would make a lovely plein air watercolor, if I could get to it before the flowers fade. This afternoon I just wanted to look and photograph. As I walked down the path, a gorgeous red-flowered tree caught my eye.
 |
| Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia var. 'splendens') |
 |
| Close-up of flowers from A. pavia 'splendens' |
I was fairly certain that it was a Red Buckeye tree, yet the flowers were so profuse I had to check out the identifying tag--yes, it was labeled Aesculus pavia splendens, a variety of Red Buckeye with very dense panicles of bright scarlet flowers. I looked around to see if there were others of the same variety, but there was only one other tree, a much older specimen with less showy flowers. This one had no visible tag, but I presume the older tree was the more common A. pavia.
Turning off towards the hillside gardens I came across a lovely iris garden filled with colorful dwarf iris varieties. These below are two of them.
 |
| Dwarf iris |
 |
| Dwarf iris |
A little farther down the hillside I found the native woodland trail which I had never explored before, and turned in. This trail was shaded and under the tree canopy were some Virginia Bluebell (Mertensia virginica) plants setting seed, lots of native violets both blue and white, woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) and toadshade (Trillium sessile). One of the many Blandy Farm volunteers was working up a sweat pulling undesirable plants by the side of the trail.
 |
| Seed pods of Virginia Bluebells with native phlox and toad shade |
Further on there was an old stone chimney, presumably the remains of what was once an old house on the property, with Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) growing in its cracks. I've always been partial to romantic ruins, and found this very appealing.
 |
| Herb Robert growing in the cracks of an old stone chimney. |
It wasn't until almost at the end of the trail that I spied a huge tree covered with lovely white bells and recognized it as a Carolina Silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera var. monticola)--very similar to the tree I have in my garden, except that mine is not the var. "monticola.' In fact, there were not one but two enormous trees! I had no idea the Carolina Silverbell trees could get that big, and wondered how long ago they had been planted. Unfortunately Blandy's website doesn't say when, but it does mention that both are state champion trees, which means they are the largest specimens of this species in the entire state.
 |
| Carolina Silverbell tree (Halesia tetraptera var. monticola) |
 |
| Close-up of the Carolina Silverbell flowers |
Under the shade of these beautiful trees was another interesting shrub: Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus), whose flowers have the fragrance of the allspice in its common name.
 |
| Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus) |
I finished my round walking through the courtyard of the mansion to see what was blooming there. Several varieties of Viburnums such as V. carlesii and V. burkwoodii with their wonderful perfume adorned the corners, but my most interesting find was a large clump of Poet's Laurel (Danae racemosa) growing underneath one of the Viburnums and full of desiccated berries. I've been wanting to grow this plant in my garden and it's hard to find as well as quite expensive, so I collected some of the berries to try to sprout at home.
Once my exploration of the main garden was complete it was time to drive out to the Buckeye grove on the back of the property. The Buckeyes were all in bloom. I was particularly interested in seeing what the Aesculus x mutabilis flowers looked like, since that was the tree whose seeds I'd collected and sprouted. I expect my seedlings will be only one of the hybrid's parents, either the red A. pavia or A. sylvatica, the Painted Buckeye. Time will tell which when my seedlings eventually bloom.
 |
| Flowers of Aeasculus x mutabilis |
The flowers of A. x mutabilis turned out to be a pale, greenish yellow with touches of orange-red. I took photos and planned a return the very next day to paint them from life. There were several trees of this hybrid variety in the grove, a small specimen of A. pavia ' splendens' and another variety A. glabra, the Ohio Buckeye, whose flowers are very similar, although these hadn't opened yet.
Finishing my round I stopped to check out the Stewartias and Franklinias before heading back to my car. The first leaves of the Franklinias were just starting to unfold. The Stewartias had leafed out but no buds were showing--I'll have to keep an eye out since I want to admire them in full bloom.
