The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is a great place to visit at just about any time of year. Part of the
Arboretum's mission is "to inspire and delight all visitors with
quality plants in well-designed and maintained displays, collections,
model landscapes, and conservation areas."
One of everyone's favorites at the Arboretum is the hosta glade. On the day we were there, the sun was blazing and temperature was over 95F. A perfect day to be in the hosta glade, although not the perfect day for taking pictures of it. On the left is Mom, relaxing in the shade. On the right is Spouse, admiring the plantings. Click to enlarge either picture.
I really like the Japanese garden, which includes a waterfall and koi pond, several paths, and the use of Minnesota native trees and perennials to achieve a Japanese look. Unfortunately, the sun was so bright the day I took this picture that you don't get a sense of the serenity of the place. Plus, by late summer the water starts to look a bit skanky.
I don't plant a lot of annuals at home, but the annual garden at the Arboretum is pretty inspirational. When it's the beginning of August and all the traditional garden perennials look like they've seen better days, these annuals are just hitting their stride.
Another crowd pleaser is the rose garden. I don't have any roses at home, mostly because of the deer, but it's really fun to walk through the Arboretum's roses and imagine taking a bunch of them home. The picure below only shows half the garden - the other half is to the right.
It was too sunny to get a full picture of the rock garden, but here's a close up of some sedum and hens and chicks growing in pockmarked rocks.
Lastly, this is a flower that I thought was really cool. Called Belamcanda Chinensis - Blackberry Lily - it's in full bloom in mid-July to early August.
Coming tomorrow - my favorite garden at the Arboretum.
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