A Visit to the National Botanic Garden

 

"Duck" fountain?

Last week I finally had a chance to visit the new National Botanic Garden in Chantilly, VA. I read about this new botanic garden from my Cooperative Living magazine, published by the Rappahannock Electric Cooperative which serves our area. The magazine did a three-page article with wonderful photos about the garden and its owners. Peter Knop and his Polish-born wife Beata have spent over thirty years creating this garden on the large farm he inherited from his family in Loudon County.

Built entirely from recycled construction materials, the gardens feature a large lake with many small islands which have one particular variety of bamboo growing in each. The bamboo is grown to feed the pandas at the National Zoo. The owners admit to being nuts about bamboo.

 

One of the many islands on the lake and the boathouse.

Bridge to another island on the lake.

View of the Lakeside pavilion and stone steps.

 

The main attractions of the garden are Beata's sculptures and the sculptural stone and earth constructions like Hobbittown, the Stone Barn, several other pavilions, and the still-under-construction Castle, which will not be completed for some years.

 

Entrance drive into the garden.

Looking the other way from the entrance.

Stonework by the main entry.

 

Being geographically near me in northern Virginia, I had purchased a ticket to visit--at this time the garden is only open to the public for a few days each month. My ticket was for June, but on the designated day they emailed me to say that the garden would be closed, due to severe thunderstorms expected that afternoon. They offered to reissue my ticket for another day.

I couldn't make it on the other open days in June, but I was able to get an alternate date in July. And so it was, on the hottest day to date, I took a bag lunch and my plein air painting kit to explore the gardens. Fortunately most of the garden is nicely shaded by woods.

 

The parking area.

From the parking area I walked down toward the picnic area near the big lake. I was hungry, so I sat down to eat my sandwich and take in the scene. I carried along a tote bag with my painting equipment.

 

The picnic area from the Lake Pavilion.

After lunch I was ready to explore the garden, but not burdened with my painting gear. There were only a few people there besides myself, quiet and contemplative--it was probably safe to leave my bag at the pavilion by the lake shore, where I would likely paint later on.

 

Bridge leading to the Stone Barn

I started out towards the other pavilions: the large gazebo and the Stone Barn were reached by crossing a small wooden bridge painted red, reminiscent of Monet's Japanese bridge at Giverny. A number of sculptures, some of them steles, adorned the paths along the way.

 

Path toward the Stone Barn.

Stone Stele.

 

At another covered pavilion a set of steps led to Hobbittown, a whimsical stone construction rising up a hill. Everywhere one looked there were fascinating details: sculptural rocks, round boulders and balls, light posts, fountains, planters. The plants themselves seemed to be the least of it, although clearly chosen with care and an eye for form and color. I happen to be a big fan of Hakonechloa grass--apparently the owners are too!

Another large pavilion.

The steps to Hobbittown.

 

I managed to climb through parts of Hobbittown, though it was quite risky for someone my age. I'm sure it's intended more for children and young people to climb through.

 

Hobbittown.

A doorway in Hobbittown.

My next stop was at the hottest spot--the arid or cactus garden. There wasn't much in bloom there, except for a lovely specimen of Texas Yucca (not a yucca at all--it's Hesperaloe parviflora). I have the same Mexican grass (Nasella tenuissima) in my garden but I wish I had space for some of that gorgeous Yucca rostrata!

The path to the cactus garden.

The cactus garden.

Texas Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora).

 

From here I thought the path would lead to the area they call Kyoto, but I was mistaken-- a fancy gate enclosed an area off limits to the public. I walked back in the merciless sun to take in more sculptures in the shadier part of the garden. The first one resembled some giant insect, so I called it the Big Bug.

 

The Big Bug sculpture.

I generally don't care much for modern-day abstract sculpture of this scale, finding most of them much too obtrusive and clashing with the nature it's supposed to enhance, but these were very clever and seemed to fit in nicely with the surroundings. All are made from recycled and discarded materials. None of the sculptures had labels that I could see, though I'm sure they have titles, so I gave them my own nicknames.

 

Atlas Shrugged?

Bird-shaped sculpture.

Two metallic sculptures.

Exhausted, I walked back to the lake pavilion to cool off and start painting. My gear was undisturbed where I'd left it, but my watercolor of the view of the lake didn't turn out to be very satisfying after all--a bit washed out and pedestrian. I'm afraid I haven't painted much plein air this year and am a bit rusty.

 

View of the National Botanic Garden Lake, watercolor, 11"h x 14"w.

The actual view.

After getting the painting this far, I left it and wandering about, ran into the owners--taking a break from their labors, they were talking to some other visitors, so I stopped to listen and eventually joined the conversation. They asked me if I'd visited Kyoto, and I said no, I'd been stopped by the closed gate. It turned out I'd been in the wrong area--the place they call Kyoto was along a completely different path! 

 

The Castle exterior.

A peek inside the castle under construction.

 

Once they gave me the directions, walking past the Castle, I  was able to find it. Good thing I found out, or I would have left  the garden without seeing this lovely and unique creation, inspired by Japanese gardens.

 

The entrance to the Kyoto garden.

Stonework in Kyoto garden.

 

The waterfall was quite a complex construction, I've never seen anything like it! There were so many unusual elements: the curving waterway, the steps, the ever-shifting perspectives were fascinating.

 

The Kyoto waterfall.

Stonework at the waterfall.

Water reflections with bamboo.

Another sculpture here seemed to echo the stonework of the waterfall, and the Japanese teahouse completed the tableaux.

 

Sculpture in Kyoto garden.

Another view of the sculpture.

Japanese Teahouse in Kyoto garden.

The garden closed at five, and by now I had just enough time to get my gear from the lakeside pavilion and get back to my car before driving out into the rush hour traffic to get home. I craved the lovely Victorian garden cart by the lakeside pavilion for my own garden--wonder where they found it?

Bald cypress with knees.

Victorian garden cart.

I'd love to come back for a peek another time, perhaps when it's cooler. There's still a lot of the garden I didn't get a chance to see. And being a work in progress, I'm sure there will be some new things to admire, and maybe more plants too!

A Visit to Brookgreen Gardens

Entering Brookgreen Gardens.

Recently I went down to Myrtle Beach, SC, with my husband Herb for a conference of the Dragon Society that Herb was interested in writing about. I went to keep him company and help with the seven-hour plus drive. But, I was looking for something to do to amuse myself while Herb was at the conference. Searching on-line, I found out about a wonderful botanic garden just a few miles south of Myrtle Beach--Brookgreen Gardens.

Brookgreen Plantation was founded in the 1760's, and was once the largest rice plantation in the U.S. Today, it's famous as a lovely sculpture garden with the largest collection of figurative art in the U.S., and for its wonderful botanic garden adorned with hundreds of  250-year old live oaks dripping with resurrection ferns and Spanish moss.

Lake at Brookgreen

I 'd brought my watercolor kit and sketchbook, intending to spend the day there painting. I arrived late in the morning and after parking by the Welcome Center, decided to walk around and explore a bit before settling on a spot for painting. I took the path around Jessamine Pond, where a white heron was scouting by the shore. 

 

Indian Pipes (Monotropa uniflora)

As I looked down underneath the pines, among the fallen pine needles I came across one of my favorite flowers--Indian Pipes (Montropa uniflora) right at my feet. I examined the pine needles, which were quite long, and counting bundles of three, I guessed these were from long-leaf pines (Pinus palustris) which are native to the southeastern coastal area.

There were many young Camellia bushes under the tall trees surrounding the pond--they were full of buds, indicating that these were varieties of spring-blooming C. japonicas. I took in some of the sculptures artfully arranged at strategic points along the path, taking pictures with my phone.

The live oak Allee.

As the path around the pond straightened into a long vista of the live oak Allee, I spotted the first of many of the  fall-blooming Camellias along the way. Camellia sasanqua is the species that blooms in the fall, and there were many tree-sized ones here. I was able to read the metal tags of some, others didn't have any tags, but they were all covered with lovely white and pink flowers and buds. Ah, to be in a climate zone where one could grow these!

Camellia sasanqua with Spanish moss

Camellia sasanqua x 'Sweet October'

 

Camellia sasanqua

Sculpture in the gardens

I learned from Elaine Hawkinson, one of the very helpful and knowledgeable horticultural volunteers at the garden, that this part of South Carolina is considered to be USDA zone 8b, which the USDA map shows as having average low temperatures from 15 to 20 F degrees. Alas, my own zone 6b can average a low from -5 to 0 F degrees, and in some rare years, we've experienced as much as 10 degrees lower here!

 

Camellia sasanqua

 

Seems that South Carolina's coastal zone is the ideal climate for Camellias, as well as many other sub-tropical plants, both native and cultivated. The soils are probably ideal too, being swampy and acid.

 

Fountain and sculpture under the live oaks

Orchid with Resurrection ferns and Spanish moss on massive oak limb

The gardens are so large it was impossible to see more than a fraction in the short time I had, so I concentrated on the areas surrounding the Welcome Center. Here was a shady garden artistically planted with a mix of natives and exotics such as Euonymus americanus, also known as 'Hearts a' Busting,' and a pink Anemone japonica. There were fragrant clumps of white Ginger lily (Hedychium coronarium), a Salvia that was new to me, Salvia madrensis, and in a sunnier area, a spectacular Cuphea micropetala.

 

Strawberry tree (Euonymus americanus)

Anemone japonica

Hedychium coronarium

Salvia madrensis 'Red Neck Girl'

Cuphea micropetala

The kitchen garden had the sort of plants one would expect: herbs, salad greens, peppers, eggplant, okra, and a fountain with a marvelous sculpture of birds in flight at its center. Further along, there were more Camellia bushes, and a delightful sculpture of a Faun, or perhaps the ancient god Pan, in another of the garden "rooms."

Kitchen garden bird fountain

Sculpture of Pan

I came across a huge Brugmansia with gold trumpets, while another large thicket of Hedychium perfumed this part of the garden. This species of Hedychium coronaria was called "Mariposa" in my native Cuba, and considered our national flower, although it is a native of southeastern Asia rather than the Americas.

Angel trumpet (Brugmansia)

Deep in shade I found a familiar plant I'd never seen in bud--the large eight-pointed leaves indicated it was Fatsia japonica, which I knew only from indoor specimens. The buds look like miniature rounded corn cobs, but as the buds develop, the flowers will look more like the airy umbels characteristic of flowers like Queen Anne's lace.

 

Flower buds of Fatsia japonica

Hardy Gloxinia (Seemannia nematanthodes)

 

Candlebush tree (Senna alata)

Another subtropical plant that called for attention was a bright red Hardy Gloxinia (Seemannia nemantathodes)--these are natives of South America. A small tree with candlelabras of deep yellow flowers and distinctive pinnate leaves that close at night, Senna alata (formerly Cassia alata) decorated this section of the garden. Outside the Welcome Center I found a table displaying many of the plants flowering in the garden, labelled with their common and botanical names--a very useful reference!

Botanical education display

There was one intriguing plant that I wasn't able to identify, and Elaine was not familiar with it either. The flowers are unusual, and I'm hoping that perhaps one of my readers may be able to identify it, or give me some clues. Below are two photos of the mystery flower, showing the leaves with the  tall blooming spike, and a close-up of the flowers.

Mystery plant.

Mystery plant.

Under a green ash tree.

 In the last garden room I entered, there was a very large tree labeled as a green ash. This was an unusual sight for me, accustomed to seeing only dead or dying ash trees in our area--the emerald ash borer has destroyed thousands of ash trees in the Shenandoah Valley. To see so healthy and beautiful a specimen as this was memorable.

 After my walkabout around the gardens, I decided to skip lunch and went back to my car to get my painting gear. I set up right by the pond I'd first walked around. My first glimpse of the gardens seemed the most iconic view, and here I'd stay shady and cool during the hottest part of the afternoon.

 

Brookgreen Gardens watercolor, 10"h x 14"w.

 I spent the next few hours there, happily working away until about four in the afternoon. I wasn't completely finished with my painting, but my body was stiff from sitting, and I had enough down on paper to be able to finish it later with the aid of my photos. Here's the finished painting.

ADDENDUM:

The plant data team at Brookgreen identified my mystery plant as Turk's Turban, Clerodendrum indicum, a native of  Southeast Asia, introduced into Hawaii and the southern states. It's also known as Tube Flower in the southern U.S.