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Boulder Garden Feature Article
After you stroll down the Linnaeus Garden’s entry walk and past the magnificent bronze of Carl Linnaeus, you arrive at the deck overlooking the Boulder Garden.
View from the Top
View from the top down toward the Linnaeus Learning Center Barn.
Shaded by 100 year old Red Cedar trees, you take in a breathtaking view of our wonderful Boulder Garden, stretching wide to your east and west and sloping south in bright sun to the Learning Center barn. Three sparkling streams gurgle and splash in front of you as they cascade to the pond below where red, white, and speckled koi and goldfish swim and hide among the water lilies and lotus blossoms.
Bright pink dianthus, vibrant golden ragwort, snowy service berry and Red Rocket crape myrtle are sure to catch your eye. Blue sedge grass and Mexican feathergrass add movement and soft texture against the boulders. And the scents of roses and cedar mix with other fragrances in this intoxicating vista location.
Time to Explore
Bright dianthus catch the eye.
Leave your shaded perch to explore up close the more than 4,000 exciting perennials, annuals, trees and shrubs of the Boulder Garden. Varieties of maintenance-free Earthkind roses such as Pink Meidiland and Belinda’s Dream line the handicapped-accessible path that winds east. Native black chokeberry, coralberry and serviceberry can be seen from the stairs and footbridge that descend in front. There are so many wonderful plants to discover, both large and small. As you explore the nooks and crannies of the Boulder Garden, look for Chocolate Chip bugleweed, Wild Horses daylily, Firestar pinks, Paprika yarrow, CanCan coral bells, Crème Brulee coreopsis, Hardy Pink ice plants, Encore azaleas and so much more.
Challenges of a Full-Sun Garden Near Water
Visitors enjoy the east path
The footbridge is a favorite place for little ones to view the fish.
Although the Boulder Garden appears to be in full-sun, it is actually made up of several micro-environments such as shady areas behind boulders, wet areas, and dry sloping areas with fast drainage. Each presents its gardening challenge. As a teaching garden, we are constantly evaluating our plants, pulling ones that do not do well, and adding others we hope will thrive. “This year we plan to tackle the steep sloping area along the inside east path,” say Bob and Judy Mileff, co-curators. “This area has been uninspiring, and we are going to see what we can do to really make it pop.”
Another challenge of this garden is protecting the water. Unlike the chlorinated pool in our Fountain Garden, we keep the streams of the Boulder Garden as natural as possible. So it is very important to prevent fertilizer from draining into our pond and causing algae blooms. “To do this,” says Bob “we very carefully dig holes around our plants to place our time-release fertilizer.”
We also try new techniques that can give visitors live demonstrations of what might work in their gardens. This year, for example, we are trying to get our red Dortmund and white climbing roses to twine together over the trellis near the greenhouse, hoping for a stunning mixture of white and red blooms overhead.
Come Back Often
Co-curator Bob Mileff enjoys a rest among the boulders and plants.
From the top to the bottom and all sides in between, there is so much to see in the Boulder Garden, and each day brings new plants into focus.
Will Bob and Judy succeed in creating that stunning mixture of red and white blossoms? Come visit us often and see.
By Beth Rooney
