A Quilt Garden, Dreaming of Flowers in Winter

I’ve been saving this post for a couple of months to give us some flowers to see in deep winter.  These pics are from my visit to the NC Arboretum last spring for the Lego Exhibit.  There is so much to do and see there, that you cannot do it all in one post.  One of my favorite things at the NC Arboretum is the Quilt Garden. The staff changes this every year, so it is different each spring. The Quilt Garden is a grid of planting squares surrounded by concrete strips. It gives the impression of quilt blocks surrounded by sashing. There are even cornerstones in the sashing made of stone. Last spring the quilt blocks were butterflies.

There is a viewing balcony you can walk up to see the garden from a higher view.

A close up view of one of the butterfly blocks.

And here is the other block.

The same small purple flower was used as the ‘background’ in both blocks.  I think it is a dianthus. These are Agearatums.

It is a lovely place to sit and just enjoy being outdoors. It is relatively quiet here too, depending on the number of visitors at the time.

All over the Arboretum are gorgeous flowers in the spring and summer.  Their pots of mixed flowers are such an inspiration for my veranda pots.

This bromeliad garden was in full bloom.

This rooftop garden was a surprise. The hydrangea bush next to it has a multitude of blooms.

Springtime means lots of pollinators are out in abundance.

This fascinating little guy is a Hummingbird Moth. This was the first one I have ever seen, and there were dozens of them on these purple flowers – perhaps a variety of impatiens.  Phlox!

Beautiful isn’t it?  I entered this photo in the State Fair photography contest, but it didn’t get a ribbon.

Here’s another hummingbird moth on a different flower.

There are wonderful hiking trails on the property, and we had a nice walk in the woods that day too.

Of course, I took about a hundred pictures!! There was just so much beauty everywhere. Something about walking in the woods, with green everywhere is just so relaxing.

Occasionally you’ll come across a real surprise too, like this giant mushroom. It was a bright bit of yellow color in an otherwise mostly green landscape.  I love the moss behind it on the tree trunk.

Heading back to the car, we kept going by lovely masses of color.

I love white flowers. I think these are a variety of stephanotis.  Phlox!

One last stop, the Mason bee garden.

Mason bees are non-aggressive, solitary bees that make their homes in holes in trees or bark, or wood. You can actually attract them to your garden with a bee house made of wood tubes.

Purple petunias were almost done.

Here and there you can see the mountains surrounding the arboretum through the hedges. The statue is of Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr., who first thought of an arboretum as part of a plan for the Biltmore Estate gardens.

These red beauties were in a huge pot near the visitor’s center.  I should have taken a picture of the identification card, I am not sure what these are.  But the red color was just vibrant! (Update – Salvia)

The NC Arboretum is definitely a place to visit, in many different times of the year.  The early spring is really beautiful with all the bulbs in bloom, and I hope to get there this year at the right time.

My amaryllis is making good progress now! This picture was taken Saturday, and I should have a bloom soon. Looking at it this close kind of reminds me of the plant in Little Shop of Horrors, LOL!!

Are you dreaming of flowers and springtime?  Is there an arboretum near you?

 

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