Public Gardens
- Snowdrops Herald False Spring
- Christmas Events in California
- South of England Christmas Events
- Halloween in California
- Garden Sculpture and Art at Sudeley Castle
Posted by
Caroline Hayes
Snowdrops are flowering beside summer annuals and cherry trees are thick with blossom. Find out what happens when seasons collide.
The mildest December for over 100 years has tricked plants in public gardens across the midwest and Eastern Seaboard into thinking it's Spring. The result is a rarely seen rush of mid-winter, late winter and spring flowers, with Daffodils, Tulips, Witch Hazels, Snowdrops, Camellias, Magnolias, Cherry Trees and Christmas Roses appearing all at once.
At Tower Hill Botanic Garden near Boston, where temperatures have hit 20 degrees above the seasonal average, a Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) is flowering, a late January event usually, and Snowdrops (Galanthus) here are threatening to do the same, with shoots already above ground.
Their elegant ivory flowers don't usually appear here until the end of January. Even more surprising, they are already flowering at Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, where they weren't expected until March and in New York, at Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, a Cherry tree in full flower is astonishing visitors.
Elsewhere, last year's annuals are still flowering and this year's Tulips are beginning to emerge. Most expert gardeners agree that this apparent chaos presents no great danger to plants, although a sudden cold snap could damage these premature flowers and diminish later displays.
More predictable January flowers include the scented and tattered flowers of Witch Hazels (Hamamelis) at Polly Hill Arboretum in Martha's Vineyard, which has one of the largest collections of the shrub in the country, Camellia Sasanquas and Japonicas at Huntington Botanical Garden and the Descanso Gardens, both in Southern California, which also has, at the Los Angeles Arboretum, the winter's first Magnolia flowers.
Snowdrops can also be seen at the Montrose Garden in North Carolina, which has a Snowdrop Walk.
The January birth flower is the Carnation.
At Tower Hill Botanic Garden near Boston, where temperatures have hit 20 degrees above the seasonal average, a Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) is flowering, a late January event usually, and Snowdrops (Galanthus) here are threatening to do the same, with shoots already above ground.
Their elegant ivory flowers don't usually appear here until the end of January. Even more surprising, they are already flowering at Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, where they weren't expected until March and in New York, at Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, a Cherry tree in full flower is astonishing visitors.
Elsewhere, last year's annuals are still flowering and this year's Tulips are beginning to emerge. Most expert gardeners agree that this apparent chaos presents no great danger to plants, although a sudden cold snap could damage these premature flowers and diminish later displays.
More predictable January flowers include the scented and tattered flowers of Witch Hazels (Hamamelis) at Polly Hill Arboretum in Martha's Vineyard, which has one of the largest collections of the shrub in the country, Camellia Sasanquas and Japonicas at Huntington Botanical Garden and the Descanso Gardens, both in Southern California, which also has, at the Los Angeles Arboretum, the winter's first Magnolia flowers.
Snowdrops can also be seen at the Montrose Garden in North Carolina, which has a Snowdrop Walk.
The January birth flower is the Carnation.
Christmas Events in California
Posted by
Caroline Hayes
California's public gardens will be filled with music, light and magic this Christmas as they host the state's best outdoor holiday events.
There's plenty to do this Christmas in California's arboretums and public gardens. Why not head for the outdoors and see jungles, forests and groves lit up with millions of Christmas lights; collect cuttings and make your own unique Christmas wreaths; or attend a traditional Christmas concert?
Event: Wreath Making Workshop
Collect cuttings from San Mateo's Central Park and make a unique Christmas wreath. Frames supplied. Reservations essential.
California's horticultural theme park is celebrating Christmas with festive feasts, moonlit ice skating and a visit from Santa. Don't miss the nightly "Home of the Holidays" parade at 8:30pm.
Ninety thousand magical lights will illuminate Quail Botanical Garden's 35 acres of tropical rainforests, bamboo groves and the West Coast's first interactive children's garden. Activities include Christmas crafts, marshmallow roasting, visits with Santa and music.
Collect greenery from Los Angeles Botanic Garden's jungles, forests and gardens and use it to make a traditional Christmas wreath. Bring your own gardening clippers, gloves and wire cutters.
Festive music from the Palos Verdes Symphonic Band in the Hall of Horticulture.
Two millions dazzling lights and christmas displays in California's only native plant and animal museum.
Event: Wreath Making Workshop
Collect cuttings from San Mateo's Central Park and make a unique Christmas wreath. Frames supplied. Reservations essential.
- Garden: San Mateo Arboretum, San Mateo, California 94401
- When: December 9, 9:30am to noon
- Admission: $20 non members; $10 members
- More Info: info@sanmateoarboretum.org; 650-574-1677
California's horticultural theme park is celebrating Christmas with festive feasts, moonlit ice skating and a visit from Santa. Don't miss the nightly "Home of the Holidays" parade at 8:30pm.
- Garden: Bonfante Gardens, Gilroy, California 95020
- When Daily from Dec 15 to Dec 23 2006; Friday through Sunday from Nov 24 to Dec 10, 4pm to 9pm
- Admission: $27.99 adults (11 and older); $21.99 children (3 to 10). Additional fees for ice skate hire.
- More Info info@bonfantegardens.org; 408-840-7100
Ninety thousand magical lights will illuminate Quail Botanical Garden's 35 acres of tropical rainforests, bamboo groves and the West Coast's first interactive children's garden. Activities include Christmas crafts, marshmallow roasting, visits with Santa and music.
- Garden: Quail Botanical Gardens, Encinitas, California 92024
- When: Dec 7 to 10, Dec 14 to 23 and Dec 26 to 30; 5pm to 9pm
- Admission: $8 adults; $6 members; children (3 to 12) $3; children under 3 free
- More Info: info@qbgardens.org; 760-632 0917
Collect greenery from Los Angeles Botanic Garden's jungles, forests and gardens and use it to make a traditional Christmas wreath. Bring your own gardening clippers, gloves and wire cutters.
- Garden: Los Angeles Arboretum Botanic Garden, Arcadia, California 91007
- When: December 13 2006, 10am to noon
- Admission: $25 members; $30 non-members (all materials included)
- More Info: jillberry@arboretum.org; 626 821 4623
Festive music from the Palos Verdes Symphonic Band in the Hall of Horticulture.
- Garden: South Coast Botanic Gardens, Palos Verdes Peninsula, California, 90274
- When: December 10 2006, 2pm to 3:30pm
- Admission: Free with garden entrance fee
- More Info: 310-544-6815
Two millions dazzling lights and christmas displays in California's only native plant and animal museum.
- Garden: California Living Museum (CALM), Bakersfield, California 93301-4533
- When: November 24 to December 30 2006, 5:30pm to 9pm
- Admission: $5 children (3 to 17); $10 adults; $7 seniors (over 60)
- More Info: 661-322-5200
South of England Christmas Events
Posted by
Caroline Hayes
Craft has never been more hip and public gardens and historic houses across the UK have caught on with their own unique Christmas craft courses and events
Public gardens in the UK will soon demonstrate everything from collecting foliage and flowers for Christmas garlands and wreaths to making christmas cards and gifts. The South of England's Victorian walled gardens, arboretums, 18th-century parkland and deer parks will be just some of the settings. (Other regions coming soon.)
Buckinghamshire
Event: Christmas Wreaths and Garlands
Festive workshop using foliage and flowers collected from "Britain's largest work of art".
Where: Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire MK18 5EH
When: December 3 2006, 11am to 1pm
Admission: £5 per person plus normal garden admission
Info: 01280 822850; stowegarden@nationaltrust.org.uk
Cambridgeshire
Event: Christmas Decorations Workshop
Christmas decorating workshop using festive plants and shrubs in and around one of the finest walled town gardens in England. Lunch included. Booking essential.
Where: Peckover House and Garden
When: December 16 2006, 10am to 4pm
Admission: £25
Info: 01945 583463; peckover@nationaltrust.org.uk
Devon
Event: Christmas Decorating 'Hands-On' Workshop
Learn how to make Christmas garlands, topiary and wreaths. Take time off to walk in Killerton's beautiful parkland and hillside garden. Includes lunch and afternoon tea. Booking Essential.
Where: Killerton, Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon EX5 3LE
When: Dec 5 to Dec 6 2006, 10am to 4pm
Admission: £25
Info: 01392 881345; killerton@nationaltrust.org.uk
Hampshire
Event: Christmas Decoration Workshop
Christmas craft workshop with Head Gardener Fran Zaenglein in Europe's largest winter garden and arboretum.
Where: Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum, Jermyns Lane, Ampfield, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 0QA, England
When: Dec 2, 10am to 4pm
Admission: £39.50 including lunch and materials
Info: 01794 369 318; info@hilliergardens.org.uk
Kent
Event: Christmas Wreath Making
Create your own Christmas wreath in the Great Hall. Beyond it lie the 1000 acres of the Knole's famous deer park.
Where: Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0RP
When: December 6 to December 7 2006, 10am to 1pm
Admission: £50
Info: 01732 462100; knole@nationaltrust.org.uk
London
Event: Christmas Decorations Workshop
Gardening staff will reveal how to choose and use garden greenery for knock-out homemade Christmas decorations. Includes a private tour of Osterley Park House decorated for Christmas, with the staff that did the decorating. Osterley's 18th-century grounds are another attraction.
Where: Osterley Park and House, Jersey Road, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 4RB
When: December 7 2006, 10:30am to 3:30pm
Admission: £25
Info: 020 8232 5050; osterley@nationaltrust.org.uk
Herefordshire
Event: Festive Foliage Workshop
Make unique Christmas table decorations with traditional Christmas plants and shrubs. Includes a light lunch. The surrounding parkland will be open from dawn to dusk.
Where: Croft Castle, Yarpole, nr Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 9PW
When: December 16 2006, 10am to 3pm
Admission: adults £10; children £5
Info: 01568 780246; croftcastle@nationaltrust.org.uk
Sussex
Event: Children's Christmas Workshops
Kids can learn to make decorations and gifts. For parents, there is the garden with its rare and exotic plants, sunken garden, lakes, cascades and topiary. No booking required. All materials provided. Parental supervision is essential.
Where: Nymans Garden
When: December 10, 11:00am to 1:30pm and 1:30pm to 3pm
Admission: children £2 + normal admission charge
Info: 01444 400321; nymans@nationaltrust.org.uk
Buckinghamshire
Event: Christmas Wreaths and Garlands
Festive workshop using foliage and flowers collected from "Britain's largest work of art".
Where: Stowe Landscape Gardens, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire MK18 5EH
When: December 3 2006, 11am to 1pm
Admission: £5 per person plus normal garden admission
Info: 01280 822850; stowegarden@nationaltrust.org.uk
Cambridgeshire
Event: Christmas Decorations Workshop
Christmas decorating workshop using festive plants and shrubs in and around one of the finest walled town gardens in England. Lunch included. Booking essential.
Where: Peckover House and Garden
When: December 16 2006, 10am to 4pm
Admission: £25
Info: 01945 583463; peckover@nationaltrust.org.uk
Devon
Event: Christmas Decorating 'Hands-On' Workshop
Learn how to make Christmas garlands, topiary and wreaths. Take time off to walk in Killerton's beautiful parkland and hillside garden. Includes lunch and afternoon tea. Booking Essential.
Where: Killerton, Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon EX5 3LE
When: Dec 5 to Dec 6 2006, 10am to 4pm
Admission: £25
Info: 01392 881345; killerton@nationaltrust.org.uk
Hampshire
Event: Christmas Decoration Workshop
Christmas craft workshop with Head Gardener Fran Zaenglein in Europe's largest winter garden and arboretum.
Where: Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum, Jermyns Lane, Ampfield, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 0QA, England
When: Dec 2, 10am to 4pm
Admission: £39.50 including lunch and materials
Info: 01794 369 318; info@hilliergardens.org.uk
Kent
Event: Christmas Wreath Making
Create your own Christmas wreath in the Great Hall. Beyond it lie the 1000 acres of the Knole's famous deer park.
Where: Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0RP
When: December 6 to December 7 2006, 10am to 1pm
Admission: £50
Info: 01732 462100; knole@nationaltrust.org.uk
London
Event: Christmas Decorations Workshop
Gardening staff will reveal how to choose and use garden greenery for knock-out homemade Christmas decorations. Includes a private tour of Osterley Park House decorated for Christmas, with the staff that did the decorating. Osterley's 18th-century grounds are another attraction.
Where: Osterley Park and House, Jersey Road, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 4RB
When: December 7 2006, 10:30am to 3:30pm
Admission: £25
Info: 020 8232 5050; osterley@nationaltrust.org.uk
Herefordshire
Event: Festive Foliage Workshop
Make unique Christmas table decorations with traditional Christmas plants and shrubs. Includes a light lunch. The surrounding parkland will be open from dawn to dusk.
Where: Croft Castle, Yarpole, nr Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 9PW
When: December 16 2006, 10am to 3pm
Admission: adults £10; children £5
Info: 01568 780246; croftcastle@nationaltrust.org.uk
Sussex
Event: Children's Christmas Workshops
Kids can learn to make decorations and gifts. For parents, there is the garden with its rare and exotic plants, sunken garden, lakes, cascades and topiary. No booking required. All materials provided. Parental supervision is essential.
Where: Nymans Garden
When: December 10, 11:00am to 1:30pm and 1:30pm to 3pm
Admission: children £2 + normal admission charge
Info: 01444 400321; nymans@nationaltrust.org.uk
Posted by
Caroline Hayes
If you want a spine-chilling but family-friendly Halloween, California’s arboretums and botanical gardens are waiting for you
California’s arboretums and botanical gardens will play host to garden goblins, forest ghouls and talking birds this Halloween when they stage some of the spookiest Halloween events and parties in the state. Read on to find out more about twilight adventures in ghost-ridden forests, storytelling in scary groves, and trick-or-treating amid the shifting colors of autumnal landscapes.
Event: Spooky Stories in the Redwood Grove
Berkeley’s enchanted grove will come alive this Halloween with talking pumpkins, birds and trees as well as storytelling with Bobbie Kinkead and Jean Ellisen. Costumes welcome.
Where: The University of California Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive #5045 Berkeley, California 94720-5045
When: October 28, 10am to 11:30am
Admission: $10 for one child and one adult; $3 for each additional child or adult; $8 for members
More Info: Garden@uclink4.Berkeley.edu; 510-643-2755
Event: Halloween Party and Parade
Thirty-five acres of tropical rainforest, bamboo groves and native Californian plants will be the backdrop for trick-or-treats, songs and a parade. No masks or scary costumes allowed.
Where: Quail Botanical Gardens, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas, California 92024
When: October 30 10am to 11:30am
Admission: normal fee plus $10 for materials
More Info: info@qbgardens.org; 760-632-0917
Event: Halloween Twilight Tour
A gem hidden in the foothills of Montecito, Lotusland Botanical Garden will bewitch and entrance visitors this Halloween with its atmospheric fall gardens and their spooky inhabitants.
Where: Ganna Walska’s Lotusland, Santa Barbara, 695 Ashley Rd, Santa Barbara, California 93108
When: October 28
Admission: $40 for members; $50 for non-members
More Info: mpetrini@lotusland.org; 805-969-9990
Event: Haunted Garden in the Arboretum
Visit Fullerton Arboretum this Halloween and join Frankentstein, Count Dracula, Bela Lugosi, bats, bullfrogs, goblins and ghouls. Snacks and drinks provided.
Where: Fullerton Arboretum, 1900 Associated RD, Fullerton, California 92831-1659
When: October 28 to 30 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Admission: prebooked adults $10 and children $6; at the door $13
More Info: lmckenna@fullerton.edu; 714-278-4792
Event: Tree-ker-Treat
Trick-or-treating in the only horticultural theme park in California, which includes six gardens and the world-famous Circus Trees.
Where: Bonfante Gardens, 3050 Hecker Pass Hwy (Hwy 152), Gilroy, CA 95020
When: October 28 to 29 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Admission: Free with park admission
More Info: info@bonfantegardens.org; 408-840-7100
Event: Spooky Stories in the Redwood Grove
Berkeley’s enchanted grove will come alive this Halloween with talking pumpkins, birds and trees as well as storytelling with Bobbie Kinkead and Jean Ellisen. Costumes welcome.
Where: The University of California Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive #5045 Berkeley, California 94720-5045
When: October 28, 10am to 11:30am
Admission: $10 for one child and one adult; $3 for each additional child or adult; $8 for members
More Info: Garden@uclink4.Berkeley.edu; 510-643-2755
Event: Halloween Party and Parade
Thirty-five acres of tropical rainforest, bamboo groves and native Californian plants will be the backdrop for trick-or-treats, songs and a parade. No masks or scary costumes allowed.
Where: Quail Botanical Gardens, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas, California 92024
When: October 30 10am to 11:30am
Admission: normal fee plus $10 for materials
More Info: info@qbgardens.org; 760-632-0917
Event: Halloween Twilight Tour
A gem hidden in the foothills of Montecito, Lotusland Botanical Garden will bewitch and entrance visitors this Halloween with its atmospheric fall gardens and their spooky inhabitants.
Where: Ganna Walska’s Lotusland, Santa Barbara, 695 Ashley Rd, Santa Barbara, California 93108
When: October 28
Admission: $40 for members; $50 for non-members
More Info: mpetrini@lotusland.org; 805-969-9990
Event: Haunted Garden in the Arboretum
Visit Fullerton Arboretum this Halloween and join Frankentstein, Count Dracula, Bela Lugosi, bats, bullfrogs, goblins and ghouls. Snacks and drinks provided.
Where: Fullerton Arboretum, 1900 Associated RD, Fullerton, California 92831-1659
When: October 28 to 30 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Admission: prebooked adults $10 and children $6; at the door $13
More Info: lmckenna@fullerton.edu; 714-278-4792
Event: Tree-ker-Treat
Trick-or-treating in the only horticultural theme park in California, which includes six gardens and the world-famous Circus Trees.
Where: Bonfante Gardens, 3050 Hecker Pass Hwy (Hwy 152), Gilroy, CA 95020
When: October 28 to 29 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Admission: Free with park admission
More Info: info@bonfantegardens.org; 408-840-7100
Garden Sculpture and Art at Sudeley Castle
Posted by
Caroline Hayes
Sudeley Castle is home to an Elizabethan knot garden, a Tudor parterre and a flying garden
Read the article to get inspired by this astonishing fusion of old and new.
Sudeley Castle isn't entirely unique though. In fact, many of the world's most famous herbaceous borders now come with cutting-edge art. Lismore Castle's gardens, among the oldest in Ireland, are home to contemporary garden sculptures by Antony Gormley, Marzia Colonna and Eilís O'Connell and back in England, the hugely successful Yorkshire Sculpture Park continues to display some of the best modern and contemporary garden sculpture in Europe in the 500 acres of its 18th century parkland.
Chatsworth House in Derbyshire will soon follow suit with "Beyond Limits". From September 8 to October 27 this year, 25 contemporary garden sculptures will be shown in its Capability Brown landscaped gardens. Artists will include Marc Quinn, Lynn Chadwick and Jean Dubuffet.
At Sudeley Castle, there's plenty of garden art to get excited over but my favorite is Dump Truck by Wim Delvoye, which is, well, a dump truck, but life-size, semi-transparent, and made from corten steel moulded into an intricate web of Gothic arches, parapets and window tracery.
It doesn't look as out of place as it sounds, especially against Sudeley Castle's elegantly decaying ruins. The metal is already starting to rust and change color. It does what gardens have been doing for a very long time - it transforms itself. Dump Truck will eventually turn bright orange.
Sudeley Castle isn't entirely unique though. In fact, many of the world's most famous herbaceous borders now come with cutting-edge art. Lismore Castle's gardens, among the oldest in Ireland, are home to contemporary garden sculptures by Antony Gormley, Marzia Colonna and Eilís O'Connell and back in England, the hugely successful Yorkshire Sculpture Park continues to display some of the best modern and contemporary garden sculpture in Europe in the 500 acres of its 18th century parkland.
Chatsworth House in Derbyshire will soon follow suit with "Beyond Limits". From September 8 to October 27 this year, 25 contemporary garden sculptures will be shown in its Capability Brown landscaped gardens. Artists will include Marc Quinn, Lynn Chadwick and Jean Dubuffet.
At Sudeley Castle, there's plenty of garden art to get excited over but my favorite is Dump Truck by Wim Delvoye, which is, well, a dump truck, but life-size, semi-transparent, and made from corten steel moulded into an intricate web of Gothic arches, parapets and window tracery.
It doesn't look as out of place as it sounds, especially against Sudeley Castle's elegantly decaying ruins. The metal is already starting to rust and change color. It does what gardens have been doing for a very long time - it transforms itself. Dump Truck will eventually turn bright orange.