In my mind, no summer is complete without a visit to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. My sister and I took our annual trip to the Arboretum mid-July. As always, there was plenty to see. On the way in we were greeted by a sculpture made of street lanterns,
beautiful, blooming coneflowers,
and kaleidoscope planters.
The planters were being featured throughout the Arboretum. They are the work of Robert Anderson, a metal artist from Wisconsin. He was inspired by his wife’s kaleidoscope collection. I think they are fantastic. Kaleidoscopes are so fun and to incorporate plants into them is genius.
After we peeked through the gift shop, we headed out of Oswald visitors center to meander our way through the gardens. Just outside the front door was an annual bed planted in a grid formation.
This appeals to the orderly side of me. It looks so clean and tidy. And every plant is labeled.
On the way to the Terrace garden, we enjoyed the flower beds around the front of the visitor’s center. There was a gabion hedge and some gorgeous ligularia.
Here is the Terrace garden. There was a nice mix of sun and shade plants.
Look at that rodgersia!
The tall oriental lilies were especially impressive.
They were well over 6 feet tall! And so very fragrant!
Near the Terrace garden are the daylily beds. They were incredible. We visited at the perfect time of the season to enjoy them.
Sargent’s carries a nice variety of daylilys, but the number of different kinds at the Arboretum is mind blowing.
These are just a FEW of the daylilys that were flowering during our visit.
Off we went to the Rose Garden.
We may have missed the best part of the rose show but there were still plenty of roses blooming.
As were many of the clematis lining the Rose Garden fence.
There were large flowered ones as well as pretty bell shaped varieties.
On our way into the Perennial garden, this was our view. How nice is that hydrangea? Weren’t the hydrangeas beautiful this season?
The perennial garden was beautiful. Summer is a such a wonderful time to enjoy them. I have been seeing Summer Beauty allium all over. Did you know that it is a sterile variety? Instead of spreading by seed and showing up throughout your garden, the initial clump will increase and stay in the spot you planted it.
I love the globe thistle flowers. The way they float above the foliage has an almost ethereal effect. I also like the way they mixed yarrow and astilbe in the same bed. It is a plant combination I wouldn’t have thought of putting together.
This is just a small portion of our summer visit to the Arboretum. in my next post, I will show you the next leg of our visit.
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Written by Cathy Maxson
Cathy Maxson is Sargent's Gardens Perennial Growing manager. In addition to making sure Sargent's grown plants thrive, she enjoys growing in her own garden, canning fruits and vegetables, traveling, and walking her dogs.
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