As you enter the gardens and stroll past the wonderful bronze of Carl Linnaeus, you are invited to take a seat on the deck over looking the boulder garden. If you have never enjoyed this breathtaking vantage point, now is the time.

Sit Back and Relax

Cool breezes and a great view make the deck
above the Boulder Garden a great spot for lunch.

Shaded by 100 year old Red Cedar trees you can hear the clear, sparkling water as it cascades and bubbles its way over the rocks and stones lining the small streams that flow into the large garden pond.

As the water slowly warms, the Koi and Goldfish begin to stir and move about signaling an end to their winter sluggishness. This is not unlike the many plants in the garden and how they are reacting to the warming soil. Lush new life in the garden is sprouting daily as winter has turned to spring and the many different varieties of plants in the gardens add new growth.

Many of the perennials are flowering with beautiful colors that provide a glimpse of things to come. This is a great time to visit the garden often as things are changing daily.

What's New

Visitors enjoy the Boulder Garden

Peggy Eaton, Curator for the boulder garden, has had her group of Linnaeus Teaching Garden volunteers busy with everything from pruning to cleaning, transplanting and adding new plants to the garden. This year, we have added hundreds of flowering bulbs which should put on quite a show as they all come into bloom.

The Linnaeus Teaching Garden has many varieties of the Encore Azalea to see and appreciate. Encore Azaleas repeat bloom and provide the show and splendor of their flower color throughout the summer and fall. Peggy reminds us that several of the varieties in the boulder garden had flowers on them continuously from the first heavy bloom period in the spring until we had a good hard freeze. We added several new varieties of cold hardy Encore Azaleas last spring. They are all doing well and are ready to dazzle you with their exciting array of colors.

Barn Dance Rose

One thing you may not know about the Linnaeus Teaching Garden. It is not only here for you to enjoy all the wonderful plants and landscaping, but we also want to learn from our experiences with the plants. One of the reasons we are planting and displaying so many new varieties of plants is that we are going to be evaluating them during the different seasons for their growth, color, and hardiness among other criteria.

Some of the other plants that we are evaluating in the boulder garden are several of the many varieties of maintenance free roses that are planted throughout the garden. Just a few of the several roses in the boulder garden that are loaded with buds and ready to explode with color are the Dortmund Climbing Rose, Day Dream Rose, Belinda’s Dream Rose, Pink Meidiland Rose, and a new variety added this year, the Julia Childs Rose.

Sunny Days Ahead

Golden Ragwort and grasses by boulders

Most of the boulder garden is in the sun, so we have many varieties of flowering perennials and other plants that do well in full sun. We have several new varieties of Crapemyrtle – Dynamite, Red Rocket, and Pink Velour. We also have many varieties of native plants, such as Black Choke Berry, Corral Berry, and Service Berry. Several of the ornamental grasses and sedges - like Blue Sedge grass and Mexican Feather Grass - are also planted in the garden. New this year is the Fothergilla with its interesting blue green foliage and showy fragrant flowers.

These are just a few of the many, many new and exciting plants that are in the boulder garden, but I can not stop without mentioning just a few of the gorgeous perennials. We have several varieties of Dianthus tucked into the rocks and crevices, along with Marcus Sage, St. John's Wort, Little Darling Daisy, Variegated Iris and Golden Ragwort with its beautiful golden yellow flowers. Several varieties of Sedum are creeping and crawling their way over and around the rocks. It is all so charming that you must come and enjoy these wonderful gardens for yourself.

So pull up a chair on the deck or sit on the wall and take in the beauty of the sights and sounds of the Linnaeus Teaching Garden.