Feb
18
A sneak peek at spring
Thanks to Johnny Gibbons for his beautiful photography in the Haupt and Ripley Gardens. (Click on any image to expand it.)
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- Snowdrops (Galanthus) are blooming in the Haupt Garden.
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- The name Galanthus comes from the Greek gala “milk” and anthos “flower.”
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- Galanthus is a small genus of about 20 species in the Amaryllis family.
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- Most snowdrops flower in winter but some species flower in early spring and late autumn.
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- Galanthus nivalis is the best-known and most widespread representative of the genus.
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- Witch-hazel (Hamamelis) is a genus of flowering plants, with three species in North America and one each in China and Japan.
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- The name “witch” in witch-hazel has its origins in Middle English wiche, from the Old English wice, meaning “pliant” or “bendable.” Hazel is derived from the use of the twigs as divining rods, just as hazel twigs were used in England.
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- Witch-hazel is a popular ornamental plant, grown for clusters of rich yellow to orange-red flowers which begin to expand in the autumn and continue throughout the winter.
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- Ricepaper plant (Tetrapanax papyrferus) in bloom near the Moon Gate in the Haupt Garden.
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- Tetrapanax papyriferus is a fast growing evergreen shrub, often has multiple trunks. The foliage is dramatic, 1 to 2 feet wide, deeply lobed, gray-green leaves that are held on long stalks. Clusters of creamy white flowers bloom in winter at the end of the stems.
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- The pith of the ricepaper plant’s stems was traditionally used by the Chinese to make a very fine paper.
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- A final glimpse of a single snowdrop.
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Posted: 18 February 2011
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