The Botanical Art Garden at Herrontown Woods, nicknamed the Barden and packed with more than 150 species of native plants, has a steady stream of blooms through the summer. This is a rich, complex, dynamic landscape that contrasts with the more static "trees n' turf" landscapes we tend to see around town. Walk the paths of the Barden and see if you can find the latest flowers to unfold.
Bottlebrush buckeye (
Aesculus parviflora) is a popular shrub for landscaping. Native to the southeast U.S., it creates abundant flowers in the shape of a bottlebrush, pollinated by many kinds of insects, including the beautiful syrinx moth.
Another attractive shrub of the southeastern U.S. is the
oak-leaved hydrangia (Hydrangia quercifolia). Though its natural range is centered in Alabama, it graces many yards in Princeton with its large blooms and rich fall color.
Growing in the swale next to the parking lot is
lizard's tail, named for the shape of its squiggly spires of flowers. It's latin name is pretty squiggly as well:
Saururus cernuus. Like pickerelweed and arrowhead, it thrives in wet ground, and can be found growing along the shores of Lake Carnegie. It can spread once established.
Shrubby St. Johnswort, deer resistant and growing to four feet high, provides a month-long display of small yellow flowers. Its latin name,
Hypericum prolificum, could refer to its many flowers or the many new plants it can produce from seed, which we pot up and make available for sale.
One of my favorite wildflowers is
tall meadowrue (Thalictrum pubescens), which grows in an informal way with tall, topply stems. Its clouds of delicate, miniature flowers attract miniature pollinators.
Pokeweed can get as big as a shrub, even though it dies back down to the roots each fall. It can provoke ambivalence, looking sometimes weedy, sometimes elegant. The course vegetation contrasts with the beautiful flowers and berries. In North Carolina, I once saw a man carrying an armful of the spring foliage home to cook in a special way.
While pokeweed (
Phytolacca americana) can imitate a shrub, its relative in Argentina, the ombu
(Phytolacca dioica), forms an unorthodox tree with spongy wood.
The Barden is a special habitat seldom seen in Princeton. We intentionally manage it as an open woodland where shrubs get enough sunlight to form abundant berries for the birds. My love of
elderberries extends back to childhood and the delicious pies and jellies we made from its berries, which will turn dark purple when ripe.
The Barden is a special habitat seldom seen in Princeton. We intentionally manage it as an open woodland where shrubs get enough sunlight to form abundant berries for the birds. My love of elderberries extends back to childhood and the delicious pies and jellies we made from its berries, which will turn dark purple when ripe.
