Check here regularly for notes from our horticulture staff and volunteers highlighting what’s currently in bloom as well as interesting plant features they’ve spotted.
Do you have a question about something you’ve seen? Email plantinfo@hsvbg.org.
Hover over images for plant names. Click for larger view.
February 24, 2020
Hyacinths and MORE daffodils!!!
Hyacinthus sp. come in a variety of colors and sport loose or dense racemes (clusters) of strongly fragrant flowers that may have a single or double form. They were a favorite of Victorian-era gardeners.
February 17, 2020
Lenten rose in the Dogwood Trail and Mathews Nature Trail, and the Cornelian cherry dogwood in the Dogwood Trail are peaking now. The ‘Diane’ witch hazel in the Mathews Nature Trail is also in peak bloom, and the buds of the ‘Dodd’s Crystal Cascade Falls’ Pieris in the Bush Azalea Trail are beginning to open!
February 10, 2020
Loads of daffodils, pansies, camellias, and quite a few native wildflowers that are EARLY!
February 3, 2020
Exfoliating bark of Oakleaf hydrangea (multiple locations)
- Variegated foliage of Cleyera japonica ‘Tokyo Sunrise’ (Garden of Hope)
- Fragrant sweet olive in bud (multiple locations)
- Mahonia x ‘Winter Sun’ (north end of the Dogwood Trail)
- Vibrant mosses and the serene sound of flowing water in the Fern Glade
The Fern Glade features a number of evergreen ferns:
- Japanese holly fern has lustrous, glossy foliage this time of year
- ‘Brilliance’ autumn fern is an attractive evergreen fern that features a kaleidoscope of colors in its new growth
- Southern wood fern is an Alabama native that really shines in winter
- Arborvitae fern has nice bronzing in its foliage right now
- Siebold’s wood fern offers interesting foliage texture
Camellias are the stars in the Bush Azalea Trail!
January 27, 2020
- Pieris japonica (Japanese andromeda) in the Dogwood Trail and Bush Azalea Trail
- ‘April Blush’ and ‘Taylor’s Perfection’ Camellias
- Hamamelis mollis ‘Wisley Supreme’ (most fragrant of all of the witch hazels) in the Bush Azalea Trail (by the first bridge)
- There are a lot of interesting non-bloom plant features to see right now, such as foliage or bark color and texture that is overlooked later in the year. Examples include the striped bark of Staphylea trifolia (American bladdernut), the beautiful texture of False Solomon’s seal, and the exotic-looking variegated leaves of the Arum italicum (Italian lords-and-ladies) in the Azalea Trail.
- Cryptomeria (Japanese cedars) all over the Garden are putting on their pollen cones, and mosses, Resurrection ferns, and shelf fungus are abundant, too.
- Spiraea thunbergii ‘Ogon‘ in the center of the Dogwood Trail
- Taiwan cherry (Prunus) east of Lake Lonnie
- Japanese cornelian cherry (Cornus officinalis) and stinking hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) in the Dogwood Trail
- The berries in the garden are the main attraction! Look for Finch’s Gold (Ilex decidua).