October - UT Gardens - The University of Tennessee

From the UT Gardens Curator
Good News
James Newburn
Now that the temperatures are cooling and there’s a
fall nip in the air, the UT Gardens again come alive
with color. Against the brilliant blue autumn sky,
nature’s rainbow of color gives us one last show.
In the perennial border the asters are the royal
ladies donning the purple. Whether it is the delicately
flowered light purple of the sturdy stemmed
Tatarian Aster, Aster tataricus, that reaches up to
five to six feet tall, or the deeper hued and more
low-growing New England Asters, A. novae-angliae,
these richly colored late bloomers are a must
have for any fall landscape. Also in the perennial
border White Doll’s Daisy or False Aster, Boltonia
asteroides ‘Snowbank,’ is a mass of snowy white
blooms about four feet tall while Solidago rugosa
‘Fireworks’ is an explosion of golden-yellow goldenrod
about the same manageable size.
Throughout the Gardens you will notice our collection
of Japanese maples brightly displaying their
fall colors of gold, yellow and red. My particular
favorite is Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku,’ or Coral
Bark Japanese Maple, which is aptly named for its
rich coral to red stem color. In many areas we have
paired these with choice conifers—for instance, a
blue spruce, Picea pungens, and Deodar cedar,
Cedrus deodara, in the lowest garden room next
to Neyland Drive, where the blue and grey-green
needles of the conifers showcase even more the
beauty of the maple’s bark and foliage. You might
try this combination in your garden.
Finally, in the herb garden you cannot miss the brilliant
yellow of the asparagus with its mass of finely
textured delicate foliage that is about four to five
feet high. Swamp sunflower, Helianthus angustifolius,
is probably one of the plants we get the most
questions about in the fall because of its prolific
blooming. Keep an eye out as well for the Tree
Dahlia, also with a very appropriate botanical name:
Dahlia imperialis. This majestic plant can reach
10-12’ tall here and only blooms if we don’t get
an early frost. If it is not nipped, its beautiful light
purple blooms droop high overhead and provide
one last spectacular flower display before winter
sets in.
I think fall is the best time of year, though, to focus
on the garden as a whole. Take the time either
here or in your own garden to step back and look
at the panoramic landscape. Enjoy the view that a
well blended garden of a variety of colors, textures,
heights, and forms provide when an effective
combination of deciduous trees, conifers, shrubs,
annuals, grasses, and herbs are utilized.
Well blended fall garden. clockwise from top center: Nuttall Oak, Eucalyptus,
Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’, Asparagus, European Hornbeam.
Membership in the Friends stands at nearly 800 in
late 2007, an increase of nearly 500 members from
late 2004.
The numbers of members supporting at much
higher levels has also increased substantially. In
late 2004, the Friends had no Benefactors and
no Patrons, four Sponsoring Friends, 17 Business
Friends, 10 Garden Clubs/Societies, and 26
Contributing Friends beyond the entry levels of
Family and Individual memberships.
News Briefs
Officers and new board members will be elected at
a brief business meeting before the lecture at the
Annual Membership Meeting Nov. 5. A postcard
will be mailed to all Friends two weeks before the
meeting with slate and reminder re the meeting.
Gardens director Dr. Susan Hamilton reports that
500 more of the trees and shrubs in the Gardens’
collection now are marked with new rodent-resistant
anodized aluminum labels, bringing to more than
1,000 the number of trees and shrubs with permanent
botanical labels. The UT Experiment Station
has financed these new labels to enhance the
appearance and interpretation of the tree and shrub
plant collection. Friends co-president Faye Beck,
graduate teaching assistant Andy Pulte, and undergraduate
Tony Clark worked with Dr. Hamilton on
correct plant nomenclature for the labels.
In August, the Friends board made a donation
to Camp Hart Scholarship in memory of Willie
Hart, whose company Ritchie Tractors has been a
supporter of Blooms Days for many years. Mr. Hart’s
son, Dr. Willie Hart, is on the faculty at UT and has
also been of great assistance at Blooms Days every
year. Friends who would like to add their individual
contributions can do so by sending memorials to
By 2007, we have 10 Silver Anniversary Friends,
seven Benefactors, six Patrons, six Business Patrons,
one Business Sponsor, 27 Business Friends, 24
Sponsoring Friends, 15 Garden Clubs/Societies,
seven Student Friends and 124 Contributing Friends.
Thanks to all of you! You have made it possible
for the Friends to do much more in a much more
professional manner to grow the Friends and
convert our support for the Gardens to a more
sustainable enterprise.
Galeux d’Eysines Squash
the Washington County Extension Office, 206 W.
Main Street, Jonesborough, Tenn. 37659-1320.
Recently seen at a farmer’s stand at the Knoxville
Market Square: Galeux d’Eysines Squash just in
time for Fall celebrations. This “creepy crawler”
giant squash (C. maxima) was first seen at the
Pumpkin Fair in Tranzault, France, in 1996 from
seed collected by Amy Goldman from La Ferme de
Ste. Marthe, Cour-Cheverny, France. Sweet, moist,
orange flesh, great for baking and in soups. Fruits
weigh 10-20 pounds and should be harvested
before overly mature (90 days) because the peanutlike
warts continue to grow and will cover the entire
fruit. Beautiful enough for table centerpieces.
Creepy enough for Halloween. Rightfully called
“bumpkins” by clever children. A sure seller for farm
and market stands.
Photo by Allison Roberts
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