Last Class

Our last class for the Master Gardener course before the final was a field trip to one of my favorite places, Rutgers Gardens, to study deciduous trees and shrubs. This is what is currently greeting visitors at the entrance:

No, those aren't the ones I helped plant last fall. Here is a pretty little garden next to Holly House. I wish my hellebores looked this good!

I don't know what kind of a shrub this is. For some reason, it wasn't covered in the lecture/tour.

I love the bark on this tree. I think it's a shagbark hickory (I forgot to make notes):

These are two Saucer Magnolias growing close together:

And this is a Star Magnolia.

More daffodils in front of the Superintendant's house. Sorry, I love spring bulbs!

This is a failed experiment. Many years ago, they were trying to grow a magnolia hedge. I think it looks pretty good!

We were escorted on our tour by Rutger, the official Rutgers Gardens Greeter. He made sure we got across his territory safely. Once we crossed the road into the shade garden, he turned back to escort another group.
I wanted to get a picture of this garden because I didn't have my camera with me last spring when I was working in the area replanting ornamental grasses. It's right next to the shed where they dry flowers to make potpourri.
This is another view from the other side of the fence. The ornamental grasses garden is just out of the picture on the right. On the left in the background is the shed where the flowers are dried.
This was our final stop. It's a variety of cherry tree that blooms before the other cherries in this area. I loved it because it looks like a big pink cloud.

Once the tour was finished, I headed over to the stretch of road where we planted bulbs last fall to see the results. I was very disappointed. Can you see the Glory of the Snow?
Here's a better picture. They are too small to be planted along a road. They need a smaller, more intimate setting to really show off. Even when they multiply, they won't really stand out here.
And the daffodils are also too small for this type of planting. It needs larger ones like the daffs in the first picture of the entrance.

Our final exam (or "evaluation" as they call it) is in two weeks. Thankfully, it is open book. Then we start planting the herb and veggie gardens for our project. We have to also complete 60 hours of volunteer work. That shouldn't be too difficult, working first in the greenhouse starting seeds and then working in the gardens all summer.