Huntsville Botanical Gardens Part Deux

Part II of my posts on the Ramsey family's visit to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens sees many more fabulous sights along with lots of butterflies. These few posts I have put on this blog cannot begin to scratch the surface of all the Huntsville Botanical Gardens has to offer but I hope you've gained some great garden ideas and have enjoyed all the pictures. The above butterfly is what I believe to be a Gulf Frittilary in the Butterfly House portion of the gardens.

This flower is no longer in bloom but is still beautiful in my book. It is the common Joe Pye Weed. I love this native wildflower in my garden and was impressed by the large healthy swathe of them here at the botanical gardens.

White beautyberries are a new to me plant. Right next to these bunches of the white beautyberries were the usual purple beautyberries. I can't decide if I like one more than the other as they are both great plants. The berries normally will persist on the bushes until December here in my Tennessee garden. Birds love them.

The formal herb garden was a delight. All of the beds were raised up with quite a variety of herbs. The beds were grouped according to usage. For instance: there might be an ornamental bed, a culinary bed, or a medicinal bed with the appropriate herbs growing in each bed. This process makes it easier for interested parties to learn about herbs. Herbs are not my strong point so I enjoyed perusing the various beds.

Along with the herb beds there were some unique plants in this fenced in garden area. The one that caught my eye the most was this root beer plant. The plant itself is fabulous as the leaves are quite hairy.

Japanese anemones are splendid fall bloomers. This large stand of them was simply gorgeous.

I am a huge fan of Japanese maples and the Huntsville Botanical Gardens had quite a collection of several types of Japanese maples. These two were labeled 'Bloodgood'. 'Bloodgood' is a very commonly grown upright Japanese maple. I wouldn't call this color spectacular but the play of the sunlight on the leaves is still quite an eye catcher.

These two columns were part of the Children's Garden area. They were a nice focal point from the pathway. Note the clear blue sky. Fall in the south and especially in Alabama is traditionally a season of clear blue skies, low humidity, and wonderful sun. There is not usually much rain to contend with during the southern fall season.

Now this Japanese maple is quite a unique Japanese maple. I've never seen a bush/groundcover type Japanese maple. The cultivar is listed as 'Goshiki Kotohimo'. I tried Googling this cultivar but could only come up with 'Goshiki Kotohime'. I do believe the two to be the same. This is a dwarf Japanese maple that might be an option for those who are space challenged. It is supposed to be an excellent tree for containers and bonsai.



Well, you know it is getting close to the holiday season. As such many botanical gardens tend to have scarecrow displays. The Huntsville Botanical Gardens have a great collection of scarecrows and actually apparently ran a contest. We could see the winning markers and found the creativity of the people who created these scarecrows just unimaginable. The lady above obviously is "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary".



I'll finish out this post with my two favorite guys. They were great sports to come along with me on the trip and I was simply delighted they were able to take part in a hobby I am very passionate about....


in the garden....


Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden