What's in Bloom?

In the middle of May, the arboretum collection is displaying a variety of creamy white flowers. The oak-leaf hydrangea bushes (Hydrangea quercifolia) and sweetbay magnolias (Magnolia virginiana) have been in flower for several weeks now. You can't miss the hydrangeas, but you'll need to go looking for the sweetbay flowers. The flowering magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora) have been in bloom all over town, but the trees in the arboretum collection have just now started blooming. On the slopes of the arboretum the viburnums are producing clusters of white flowers, and in the wet areas along the drainage the lizard-tail flowers can be seen. The large leadplant bush (Amorpha paniculata) breaks with the color scheme, showing us its purple and orange flowers in a wild display of racemes.

Oak-leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) flower

Evergreen Sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana var. australis)

Flowering Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)

Ashe's viburnum (Viburnum ashei) is a large bush covered in white flowers, located near Mickle Hall.

Lizard-tail (Saururus cernuus) flower and leaves

There are several substantial patches of lizard-tail in the arboretum, along the main drainage that runs north to south.

The purple and orange flowers of the Amorpha paniculata bush add a dash of extra color to the arboretum this month. 

Amorpha paniculata racemes and leaves