Cold Turkey, Really Only Good for Sandwiches

The Osborne in the last days of fall 2010.

Turns out it's harder to give up a daily dose of the Brooklyn Botanic than I'd thought. I didn't even last two weeks out of the internship program before finding myself back on the grounds for a late afternoon walk. Even though it's not quite winter, it's felt that way for the last two weeks, so it seemed like a fine enough time to check out what's interesting now at Brooklyn Botanic in the coldest season.



It's probably not accurate to say the seedhead of this Cardoon, Artichoke Thistle (Cynara cardunculus) is only interesting in the winter since it's been hanging around the Rose Arc looking lovely like this for quite a while now, at least since September. I wonder how long it will remain. To my eye, it's lovely from any view.



And as always, it's never a disappointment to spend any amount of time in the Native Flora Garden, no matter how small. Right now there's a lot to see down at ground level, like the beautiful white strips of this Birch bark among the fallen leaves.

November Rose

They certainly take their toll on the gardener. There are the countless hours spent deadheading in the blazing sun, the scratched up arms from battling with thorns, and shredded clothing (two pairs of pants for me this year). But the roses reward all that effort by going on and on and on and on. Below, the earliest rose at Brooklyn Botanic in April while the cherries were blossoming, and above, perhaps one of the last roses of the year still blooming in November.















'Father Hugo' in mid- April, the first rose to bloom.

Still Blooming

The leaves are changing and falling, yet some flowers still persist. Monkshood, above in the Perennial border and in the Plant Family Collection. Salvia lucantha below in the Fragrance Garden and Rose Garden.



And of course, the roses and the anenomes too. I needed three layers outside today, but these thin- petaled flowers that people think are dainty are out there in the elements night and day. How fierce.

Side benefit of the turf job in the Rose Garden

Getting to see ladybugs in their larval (above) and pupa (below)states. I thought that Sarah might have done a release as part of an IPM strategy to battle the aphids that were attacking the artichoke thistle in the annual border. But she didn't, which means the ladybugs got to those aphids naturally, which is pretty cool. One benefit of having a diversity of plants in the rose garden is that it attracts beneficials like the ladybug to come and duke it out with the pests, like aphids. Even when it's about bugs, it's still about the plants.

Got Milkweed?

Asclepias physcocarpa in the Rose Garden annual border, also known as Balloonplant, for obvious reasons once you've seen its seedpods. Another milkweed. People have been asking alot about this pretty tall plant. Native to Africa, it's both decorative and a host to the monarch butterfly. How awesome is that?





















Not to be outdone, our Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) was spotted tonight on a bike ride to Floyd Bennett and it was host to two species. The Large Milkweed Bug and what sure looks like a Monarch caterpillar. Thanks to Caleb Leech and Bugguide.net, I now know exactly what that orange bug (and it's a true bug) I've been wondering about is. Onocopeltus fasciatus. Say that three times fast for kicks. Or just call it the Large Milkweed bug and be happy.





















Maybe if we get lucky, we will catch the Monarch in its chrysalis. Joe and I spotted a few caterpillars on this one Milkweed plant near the bike path and will try to remember to keep our eye on the plant in the next few weeks. This last generation will fly south to Mexico to overwinter.

Those were days of roses

This post needs Tom Waits singing in the background. Rose garden rotation complete. Thanks to Susan and Nancy for gathering me at the end of the day when I was looking around and worrying about how much more needed to be done.

Looking up

and around and trying to capture the fleeting beauty of light on roses or pollination in action with this camera and its scratched lens is pretty much an impossible task. The pictures could never capture the beauty of some of these moments this year. But I'm glad I have it with me to try anyway when I look up from deadheading and see something fantastic and fleeting.

Firecracker, firecracker

boom boom boom.

Ipomea lobata, also known as the Spanish Flag Vine or Firecracker Vine is bursting with color out of the rose garden annual border. This garden is chock full of beautiful vines. From the edible Mexican Sour Cucumber Vine (tastes like it's pickled already) to the Moon Flower, which I haven't seen blooming yet because its flowers open in the evening, to the Cup and Saucer vine (Cobaea scandens), pictured below. Makes me wish I had a trellis to grow something up.

Abutilon

I love checking out the plants in the rose arc. Today I saw the loveliest orange flower, a type of Abutilon, in the Malva family. I was cutting down some amaranth that had toppled over and crowded it and there it was. Hopefully now this lovely plant will get a chance to shine. If not, there's always next year. It isn't hardy here in New York but Sarah plans on bringing it inside to overwinter. You can tell it's related to the hibiscus but the flower hangs down like a bell. I wish I remembered the species name and variety, but I don't. I think this one would commonly be called a flowering maple. I imagine there are some stunning ones in the tropics and one or two in Hawai'i that might be endangered there.

Dainty Bess

Even before my rotation in the rose garden, Dainty Bess caught my eye and now I think this little gal is my favorite. She's a Hybrid Tea from 1925 and aptly named. If I could plant only one rose this would probably be it.

After the rain

A mushroom uprising...and a beautiful sun-filled morning in the rose garden. We needed the rain.

Plant of the day

On a gray day, the Cleome (Spider flower) really shines and today I was asked a few times about this plant while working in the rose garden's annual border. You get a big bang for your buck with this plant. It's an annual with a long bloom time and just one of the fantastic flowers planted by Sarah in the rose garden's annual border.

It's been a constant bloomer while this border has grown and changed. (Pictured below as it was blooming on June 16 and July 14.)

All banged up

Day One of my three week rotation in the rose garden and I'm already all banged up. I took a beating training the climber today, but this was a very satisfying task when completed. I remember admiring the roses along this fence when they were just starting to bloom in mid-May. I would look up at them over the fence against the sky. Next year someone else will do the same and I will have played the tiniest part in making that vision happen.

Quite a show

Susan and I were completely knocked out walking by this section of the Rose garden's north border. It's like textbook garden planning: the various alliums in different stages of bloom and post-bloom, with the coneflowers and echinops, which should also hold interest long after bloom. One of the many perks of this internship is the opportunity to see the techniques you read about in gardening books actualized by a talented gardener. These aren't the best pictures and they were taken in full noon-day sun, and yet you can still see just how fantastic these plants are together.

Stealing moments

Two weeks ago, some stolen moments at work. I thought of them today while weeding and mulching in the rose garden, which is now dripping in petals. It was only two weeks ago that I was so dazzled by the buds alone.