Ep 161. Wonders of Willowwood with Bruce Crawford
Mon, May 20, 2024 3:26PM • 10:08
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
plant, bruce, crawford, sharing, garden, years, tree, gardens, trunk, armpits, flowers, admired, willowwood arboretum, nature, carpenter ants, carpet, waterfall, siberian, age, bulbs, no mow may, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Bruce Crawford, Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens, it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello there, it's Mary Stone on the screen porch and Jolee has just joined me - she's looking around for carpenter ants. Thanks to those that reached back after last week's chat about the Comical Sagas plus Solutions of Carpenter Ants. One of them is to allow them to do their thing in nature, but please not in our mulch or screened porch. So move those roaming workers outside before they call their buddies into your home. Anyway, I look forward to sharing today's chat about the Wonders of Willowwood Arboretum. We spoke about Willowwood in Episode 34 forest bathing Willowwood champion trees, but this visit was extra special because of Bruce Crawford, a self-proclaimed plant nerd I've known for years, sharing his depth of knowledge. Formally, Bruce was head of records Gardens, which is the Botanic Garden at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. But Bruce joined the Morris County Park Commission as the Manager of Horticulture. They are lucky to have him as are we who delight in the public gardens we enjoy. I look forward to sharing the story and it starts like this.
Mary Stone 01:35
Hello fellow listeners and readers. It was April Fool's Day when I entered Willowwood Arboretum, and the meadows had not yet emerged, but we're dancing with daffodils. I made my way to the parking lot, where Bruce Crawford greeted me and gave me a grand tour much more than I expected, sharing fascinating features of plants, plus clever design ideas.
Mary Stone 01:57
When you visit Willowwood, you feel like you're visiting someone's home and you are located in Chester Township, New Jersey. It was the country residents have brothers Henry and Robert Tubbs who purchased the property in 1908. Both were garden enthusiasts who went far and wide to gather plants. What joy to see the early spring colors, Bruce described how the carpet of yellow which is winter aconite transformed into a carpet of purples and blue of the Siberian squill and Grape Hyacinth. Classic,
Bruce Crawford 02:28
I think what's fun for people to come here is that you what you see is not five years of growth, but you're actually looking at close to 100 years of growth. And when they started to plant things, and so when you look at some of the bulbs, they've succeeded, so it would be impossible to plant that many. But when they seed, you know, obviously it takes over an area and it's a blue carpet or a yellow carpet or whatever. So it makes it quite interesting. And some of the carpets are already vanished. So the yellow carpet is already gone. So now we're into the blue carpet.
Mary Stone 02:56
So was winter aconite the yellow carpet?
Bruce Crawford 03:00
Very successful carpet too
Mary Stone 03:02
Scilla siberica,Siberian squill, is a compact dwarf plant with spikes of Sky-Blue blooms that is stunning in lawns naturalizing easily, and it's a lovely edging in mixed borders. I have some just popping in my grass. I have no idea how they got there. Bruce shared a nifty gardening tip. They planted 2000 Scilla bulbs in lawn areas in the fall by merely lifting the sod, putting in the bulbs and placing the sod back. Easy peasy. With a clever way to help our pollinators in early spring.
Mary Stone 03:36
I asked when they'll mow the lawn knowing that plants must photosynthesize before going dormant. And they don't mow until the end of May music to my ears. I just love the benefits of No Mow May. We've spoke about way back in episode 103.
Mary Stone 03:49
I'm not a big fan of Grape Hyacinth , Muscari armeniacum, and Bruce admitted he wants wasn't either. It's quite formal, although he explained how a flower has a twirl in it and blends beautifully amongst other plants, which is quite lovely and less formal. It's clusters of tiny cobalt blue bell-shaped flowers resemble upside down grapes, hence the common name. So now I have a new appreciation for muscari. Isn't it wonderful how we become fond of something we once didn't like? There's a life lesson than that.
Mary Stone 04:23
One little cutie I have to share Jeffersonia diphylla called Twin leaf, but Bruce coined it Lung Plant because it looks like a dainty set of lungs that grows 12 to 18 inches with white star like flowers. There's only one other species and that's native to Asia. He said somehow when the world split, it ended up here which is fascinating. It likes part shade and thrives in moist woodlands and I've noticed it in mine. So now I have the name.
Mary Stone 04:52
The Tubbs were big on experimenting and the gardening crew has kept the tradition. I admired how they clip twigs have forsythia and push the ends of each twig and a series of arches creating a charming yellow flowering fence edging the gardens. Bruce asked what my favorite plants were that we observed that day and I said the old trees, some are in a drastic decline. I admired how they allow them to stay standing, finding beauty and aging. There's a half dead view in the front they decorated with Tillandsia last year. Air plants have become a trendy household plant. They are epiphytes in nature, meaning their roots function only as an attachment to other plants or rocks for support. The roots don't absorb water or nutrients. It's their leaves that have a structure called try combs that trap moisture and dust for nourishment. Such a fascinating plant. This year they plan to dress up the old you with orchids, embracing the beauty of its last years. There is beauty and aging, the changes have lives well lived. It's true of people in plants. Even though appearances shift from what used to be. There are creative ways to make that time of the plant's life beautiful in people. It starts from inside. I think it's true of plants too.
Mary Stone 06:12
There's 100-year-old waterfall Japanese maple. I adore this tree and spec it often in designs and cascades like a waterfall with lace like lustrous green leaves that turn a stunning golden color with streaks of orange and red in the fall. It was craftily pruned, clearly done in its early years, revealing the trunk and branching like a sculpture. It just goes to show when you develop a strong structure, resilience indoors. The waterfall Japanese Maple that thrives in moist soil has been handling flooding in the garden area that began in recent years because of the new developments surrounding Willowwood.
Mary Stone 06:50
I couldn't help but admire the Cornus Kousa, the Japanese dogwood planted almost 80 years ago. Cornus Kousa displays white cartoon-like white flowers of happiness and late spring and Bruce pointed out, when it's young Kousa doesn't have nearly the character, the trunk transforms to a gorgeously patchy brownish gray bark as it ages. Their specimen has extra bumps and lumps on the trunk. Sound familiar? It's where the old branches healed over Bruce explained. Indeed, our scars are badges of growth as we age, and growth is a beautiful thing.
Mary Stone 07:28
There's so much more to share. We may have to have part two of this podcast, but I'd like to end with the only tree with armpits. Willowwood's enormous Dawn Redwood is a national champion tree. Dawn redwoods are ancient trees that lived during the dinosaur age with feathery bright green leaves that turn orange or reddish brown in the fall. Planted in 1950. The national champion was a seedling from Princeton University. It now stands 112 feet with a 60-foot-wide canopy. And the circumference of the trunk is a whopping 212 inches.
Bruce Crawford 08:04
It’s the only tree I know with armpits.
Mary Stone 08:07
tell me that?
Bruce Crawford 08:09
Well see where the branch connects. It looks like it has an armpit.
Mary Stone 08:13
That's pretty funny. Does anybody else call them armpits?
Mary Stone 08:16
I adored learning the observation came from Bruce Hamilton, a legendary plant science instructor who taught at Rutgers University. Bruce then gave the captivating history of how Dawn Redwoods survived. Fossils were found in Germany's East coasts, North America, Japan, China, and so forth. It wasn't until World War Two that they actually found it in a valley in China. And so the National Arboretum and the Arnold Arboretum went over in 1947, and got seeds. This tree was part of the original reintroduction. 70 million years ago, this was a prominent tree species, and it almost went extinct.
Mary Stone 08:54
Thank you, Bruce, your knowledge is immeasurable, and you share it so graciously. Many who are privileged to meet you catch a bit of your self-proclaimed plant geekiness it's a glorious gift. Garden dilemmas, AskMaryStone.com.
Mary Stone 09:10
Bruce was so gracious to spend so much time with me and maybe there'll be other segments to the visit that I can share it another time. But meanwhile, I want to thank you for sharing this time together. I can't believe how our community is growing and so many kind words and encouragement. It means so much to me as does our time together. And I hope you feel the same way. I look forward to the next time on the screen porch. Have a great day.
Mary Stone 09:38
You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden Live life have a great day