What's in Bloom?

Last week we had to say goodbye to the wildest of the wildflowers, as the arboretum was in need of a good mowing. So long daisy fleabane! We'll see you next year! But there are still plenty of beautiful blooms this week. Below are a few highlights from the irises, vines, shrubs and trees adding dashes of spectacular color to the grounds of the arboretum.

Purple Louisiana iris hybrids growing in the floodplain. The arboretum's iris collection is comprised of plants collected from across the state of Louisiana, including at the Caroline Dormon Nature Preserve.

Iris flower detail

Our native wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) has been flowering for a few weeks now.

These flowers are from a large Carolina allspice bush (Calycanthus floridus), growing alongside the arboretum drainage. The shrub is highly decorated in blooms this year.

Virginia willow (Itea virginica) located on the northeast corner of the main bridge running through the arboretum.

Little-leaf snowbell (Styrax americana) flowers are lightly fragrant.

The dewberry vines (Rubus trivialis) are now producing fruit.

What's in Bloom?

It's the first day of spring. Trees are blooming. Vines are blooming. Wildflowers are blooming. Flowers are easy to find this time of year. Some flowers are large and hard to miss, attracting the eye with brilliant hues. Other flowers are subtle, small and white. And other flowers don't look like flowers at all; they look like 'weeds'. Below we have a small selection of the great variety of plants in bloom.

The red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) is still in bloom, with even more flowers this week. The red flowers contrast with the green foliage, forcing us to notice them.

The bees notice them, too

In contrast to the red buckeye, the silverbell (Halesia diptera) produces a small, inconspicuous flower. We used a clipboard for a backdrop to more easily see the flowers.

Looking up, the silverbell flowers are more obvious.

The crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) produces red-orange flowers, in the shape of a trumpet.

Even though they are brilliantly colored, crossvine flowers are easy to miss because the vine climbs up high. This vine has grown happily with a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda).

This is the first iris bloom of the season in the arboretum. This particular plant (Iris fulva) is a volunteer, growing in a drier spot than it should be, suggesting that the sprinklers have been doing a good job in this part of the arboretum.

Iris fulva detail

Additional Louisiana irises have opened up in the wetland.

Senecio glabellus is one of those 'weedy' looking wildflowers. It grows happily in wet areas. The flower smells like honey.

We are holding off on mowing the grass in the arboretum because of plants like the daisy fleabane (Erigeron sp.). They are truly wild, growing wherever they please. There are several healthy patches in the arboretum. And, like the Senecio, they have a pleasant smell. Enjoy them while you can!