Several years ago, Lucinda Fleeson packed up her comfortable life and English garden in Philadelphia and moved to Hawaii, the Extinction Capital of the World. Traditionally a reporter, Lucinda accepted a development position at the National Tropical Botanical Garden on the island of Kauai to work with Dr. Bill Klein (former Director of the Morris Arboretum).

Her position came with a no-frills cottage (at first barely habitable) but it was set on the edge of a rainforest amid mango trees and bamboo groves teeming with geckos and visited by wild pigs. The ocean, lush green mountains, and rocky coves were just down the red dirt road.

Not only do we get a glimpse of Lucinda’s life as she greets the challenges of this move and what she takes on personally and professionally, but we also learn about Kauai’s history, traditions, beaches, volcanoes, food, spiritual places, and especially its plant life and those closely connected to saving it. So much of what we think of as tropical Hawaiian plants are actually all introduced to the Hawaiian Islands and not native. While working at the National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lucinda learns that the native plants are dying at an alarming rate. Through her journey we meet plant hunters and propagators trying to save endangered flora and scientists studying geological and climate changes.

Waking Up in Eden allows us a glimpse into the inner workings of a botanical garden and to the mysterious, glamorous life of Robert and John Allerton as well as other historical characters that influence and inspire Lucinda’s own life.

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I’ve been lucky the last couple of days to be out of my office and in the collections preparing for the Witch Hazel Family Seminar tour. Hamamelis is one of my favorite groups of woody plants. As I’ve spent more time studying this genera, I have noticed how varied the blooms and even the fragrance of the different cultivars can be. The following are what I think are the most fragrant witch hazels in our collection.

Fragrant planting of Hamamelis vernalis along Sharples Dining Hall. photo credit: R. Maurer

One of the best scents on campus right now is between Sharples Dining Hall and a stand of Hamamelis vernalis .  Also known as the spring witch hazel and reaching a height of nine feet, H. vernalis blooms with small red-to-yellow flowers as early as December. While not known for its floral display, many of H. vernalis cultivars are known for the best fall color among witch hazels including: H. ‘Autumn Embers’ and H. ‘Sandra’.

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Early Bright' espaliered in the Thersea Lang Frangance Garden. photo credit: R. Maurer

A stroll into the Fragrance Garden engulfs you in a fragrance of Hamamelis mollis ‘Early Bright’, a Scott Arboretum introduction. A fantastic, mature specimen is espaliered against the wall of Clothier Hall. A cultivar of the Chinese witch hazel, H. ‘Early Bright’ was selected because its vibrant yellow blooms enliven the landscape two weeks earlier than other H. mollis.

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Early Bright' photo credit: R. Maurer

Hamamelis x intermedia, the hybrid witch hazel, is a cross between H. japonica and H. mollis originally crossed in 1928 at the Arnold Arboretum. Ranging from deciduous shrub to small tree, H. x intermedia hybrid is always among experts favorite witch hazel cultivars. Some of the newer introductions are quite fragrant.

In the lawn near the Cornus florida var. rubra on the north side of Kohlberg Hall you’ll find Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Fire Blaze’. It is still a small specimen but smells great and has pretty apricot-orange blooms. As with most H. x imtermedia cultivars, ‘Fire Blaze’ blooms from February to March with a great vase-shaped habit.

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Strawberries and Cream' photo credit: D. Mattis

Walk down Metesequioa Allée towards Clothier Hall and make a point of getting up close to Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Strawberries and Cream’. I don’t know if it is psychological but to me it really does smell deliciously like strawberries and cream! The flowers are beautiful too with a mixture of soft red and pale yellow – also reminiscent of a strawberry. A rounded shapely shrub, ‘Strawberries and Cream’ blooms from February to March.

Lastly, tucked in the Pinetum is a small specimen of Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Orange Peel’. This is another one that I think may be playing with my senses, but to me, it really does look and smell like little bits of orange zest. An 1988 introduction from Kalmthout Arboretum of Belgium, ‘Orange Peel’ not only has large pale orange flowers, it displays good fall color.

Be sure to come out to the Scott Arboretum today before these unusually beautiful, and very fragrant blooms fade away. P.S. – Catch another great scent currently floating around the Arboretum office and the Winter Garden – Chimonanthus praecox ‘Luteus’.

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Earlier this month I was visiting family in southern California and returned to Descanso Gardens where I used to work. Descanso is a public garden located in La Canada Flintridge, California and in addition to camellias and roses, it has an impressive display of California live oaks, Quercus agrifolia. I have always been inspired by the beautiful structure and canopies of oaks at Descanso and it made me think of how mature trees make my favorite gardens so special.

When I lived in southern California I enjoyed the oaks at Descanso because they reminded me of the trees on the east coast – trees with stature and character, size and weight. (I never was able to appreciate those wimpy palm trees!) I am so thankful to be back at the Scott Arboretum where I can appreciate our own impressive collection of oaks every day.

Quercus bicolor along Magill Walk. photo credit: J. Jenney

Walking up Magill Walk with its two stately rows of swamp white oaks, Quercus bicolor, will never cease to inspire me. The canopy of the massive Q. macrocarpa that I can see in the Terry Shane Teaching Garden outside my office, fills my window with an intricate pattern of branches. Near the Q. macrocarpa and impressive elms, I’m sure many of you are familiar with the red oak, Q. rubra, that has the stone acorn dated 1880 at its base. The muscular, far reaching limbs of the Bender oak, Q. xbenderi, now a Marty Long sculpture of a twisting oak leaf, are still fresh in my mind.

Quercus macrocarpa in the Terry Shane Teaching Garden. photo credit: J. Jenney

Hearing Peter Raven’s recent lecture at the Scott Associates’ Spring Festival on the importance of biodiversity, made me think about the important role the Scott Arboretum plays in preserving and showcasing our collections – especially the trees that lend structure and grace to every part of the campus. Not all mature trees in the area are lucky enough to be growing in an arboretum that is dedicated to their well-being and preservation. As an example, the Scott Arboretum is a member of the North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC), which is a network of botanical gardens and arboreta working to coordinate a continent-wide approach to plant germplasm preservation, and to promote high standards of plant collections management. We are also working with local arborists on the best ways to prune and manage the veteran trees we have on campus.

Take a minute to imagine your favorite garden – and then try and remove the trees within that garden in your mind. It is almost impossible to think of the gardens we are lucky to have near us without the fantastic trees that frame them. I invite you to walk through the Scott Arboretum to admire our oaks and my other favorites: the purple beech next to the Scott offices and the tulip trees in the Amphitheater to name only a few. Though there is so much going on right now at ground and eye level with spring blooming plants, don’t forget to look up at the emerging canopy of green.

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The blooms of Hamaelis mollis 'Early Bright'. photo credit: J. Jenney

Althought I love the fragrance, the bright blooms arrive at just the right time in the winter when one is ready for something spring-like. I invite you to come see – and smell – this collection of fantastic late-winter-blooming shrubs. They will be in bloom for a few more weeks.

Right now the following plants are at their peak: Hamamelis mollis ‘Early Bright’, H. x intermedia ‘Primavera’, H. x intermedia ‘Jelena’, to name a few. I particularly recommend the excellent specimen of H. mollis ‘Early Bright’ espaliered in the Theresa Lang Fragrance Garden. The majority of the Scott Arboretum witchhazel collection is located behind Sharples Dining Hall and near the Faulkner Tennis Courts.

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Primavera'. photo credit: J. Jenney

Please join me on my tour titled “Witchhazels and Early Spring Blooms” on Saturday, March 7, at 1 p.m.

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It is a transition time for the seasons…I can feel and smell the autumn in the first part of the morning before the heat and humidity of the day set in. It is also a transition time in the gardens as well – with summer blooms fading and trees beginning to think about fall color. With the rain we have had in the last few days, leaves have plumped up again and the gardens, particularly in the Terry Shane Teaching Garden, feel lush and green. The varying shades and textures of green are set off here and there by touches of orange, yellow, brown and red. Not the showiest of plants, but adding to the mix of greens around campus, are the variety of ferns. An important element in the Shane Garden, Magill Walk, and the Glade Garden, ferns can act as a ground cover, backdrop and textural contrast to other bold foliaged plants. With fewer blooming plants showing off right now, ferns act as a filler and add green interest, setting off the few blooms that are on display in September.

A common but attractive grouping of native ferns is growing in the Glade Garden (this is a well-hidden garden below the Science Center that is worth seeking out after a good rain). Cinnamon fern, Osmunda cinnamomea; Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides; and maidenhair fern, Adiantum pedatum are mixed with other plants native to the east of the Mississippi River in this quiet, green space. These native ferns will be featured in an upcoming Horticulture Seminar with Gregg Tepper and Marcie Weigelt of Mt. Cuba Center. My favorite in the Glade Garden is the cinnamon fern as it is works well in a grouping or as a specimen plant with its gold fall color and cinnamon-colored fertile fronds. The texture created by the fronds is the perfect effect to fill the one corner of this garden.

Our September class on native ferns has prompted the Scott Arboretum to add to its mix of ferns several other native varieties, which will be planted in gardens around campus this fall. In the meantime, be sure to make it over to the gardens after it rains (or even better, when it is raining!) to see the lush, tapestry of green throughout the Scott Arboretum.

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