Enjoy Your Visit — WALK THE GARDEN

Walk the Garden in May for the Colors of Spring

PHOTO: spring walk There are so many reasons why we love spring, but one of the most compelling is the return of glorious color to the formerly white and gray world. Of course, we are glad for the fragrance of flowers, for the warm breezes and longer, sunny days; and we’re grateful for the return of morning bird song, and the greening of our grass. But mostly, we cherish the colors that enliven our landscapes (and our hearts) — be they subtle or shocking — we welcome them all.

At the Garden, the colors of spring are layered, with blooming plants sequenced to maximize the impact of this treasured time. Spring bulbs are the some of the major players now and the Bulb Garden is a perfect place to see vibrant combinations of true perennial tulips (look for the red-striped leaves), tall hybrid tulips, cool-season annuals, and specimen flowering trees and shrubs. The gorgeous, pink Susan magnolia announces this garden’s entrance, while just inside, the pairing of a white Merrill magnolia underplanted with fluttering pansies in raspberry and cream is pure confection.

Tiny bulbs, such as pink and blue glory-of-the-snow and blue squill, along with grape hyacinth and masses of purple and blue pansies, form the Bulb Garden’s base coat. Soon to follow are rivers of tulips in coordinated tones of reds and yellows, with give-away names like ‘O’Hara’ and ‘Double Dutch’. Elsewhere are waves of creamy Francoise tulips sharing space with violet red, goblet-shaped Ollioules tulips. Mixing tiny flowering jewels with statuesque bulbs, such as crown imperial fritillaries or spherical alliums, creates a constantly changing color wheel, as well as adding an exciting bit of floral drama.

PHOTO: spring walk In contrast to the Bulb Garden’s landscaped setting, the Crescent offers springtime delights in a terraced, display space, where eight descending curved beds lead to the water’s edge, the view of Smith Fountain, and Bird Island abloom with a meadow of daffodils. Note the four colorful tulip schemes — all designed to create a powerful “Wow” for visitors and gardeners alike — by combining 12 varieties of single early tulips with Darwin hybrids, and triumph tulips, you, too, can extend the color show as long as possible. These beds change seasonally, and once spring has passed, they will be planted with a high-design mix of summer annuals.

In the more formal, full-sun Circle Garden, curving beds give way to geometric squares and rectangles, where flat planes of brilliant pansies and tables of pruned green boxwood are punctuated by yellow and white Sweetheart tulips, blooming above buttery toadflax, blue forget-me-nots, winking baby blue-eyes, and fragrant purple stock. Tulips have been carefully chosen to vary their bloom time so that new colors emerge as older ones fade away. In the secret gardens, adjacent to the main garden space, burgundy and blue violas and velvety, dark, perfumed stock are partnered with five different varieties of tulips in the central squares. Outlining the circle of the garden are Donald Wyman crab apples and weeping redbuds, while within, the yellow-flowering Cornelian cherry dogwoods echo the other tones of yellow flashing below in the tapestry of tulips and annuals.

PHOTO: spring walk An early spring visit to the Garden must include a walk though the Heritage Garden, where 59 English garden troughs overflow with inspirational combinations of bulbs and their companion plants. This signature display is artfully designed to showcase unusual cool-season annuals and beautiful bulbs, as well as provide a sophisticated study in the many textures of foliage. Again, careful thought is given to sequenced bloom time, and these plants will maintain their appeal through the end of May. Each container is a garden in miniature, filled with surprises and inviting combinations. Favorites include the peonylike Persian buttercups matched with Fantasy Violet with Yellow Eye tiny toadflax. Be sure to notice the unusual yellow and white tidy tips — an asterlike flower with striking petals. PHOTO: spring walk Gardeners seeking to add “something blue” to their own garden bouquets can choose from a delicious assortment of annuals, such as Sorbet Blueberry Cream violas, forget-me-nots, baby blue-eyes, and, perhaps the bluest of the blues, the electric blue felicia daisies.

The colors of spring are lighting up each garden space daily with new life and wonder. Every display bed, hillside, native habitat, and hanging basket blooms with the best this season can offer. The Garden has more than two million plants in its collections. How many colors can you count?