We took advantage of one of the last warm days around to catch some late Autumn action at Olbrich Botanical Gardens last week before all the leaves fell. The freeze got a bunch of stuff a couple weeks ago. It was a sad day.
Bridge to Thai Pavilion
Thai Pavilion
Crazy Cabbage
I love ornamental cabbage & kale. Next year I vow to have more of both out back.
What’s this?
I even took a pic of the tag of this plant, but deleted it. Since moving back to Wisconsin my botanical Latin has gone down the tubes. I used to be so good, but it took lots of time to look up every damn plant I took a pic of. I googled that stuff to make sure my spellings were right on, but don’t have the time for that sort of shenanigans anymore. *update, there has been a positive identification of Amsonia hubrichtii by facebook fan George, thanks George!
Reflection
Matti & Zoe
Shorts and sandals weather last week, not so much this week…
I love Olbrich Botanical Gardens. It used to be a beautiful twenty minute bike ride from my old apartment, so I was there all the time. Especially during my old school photography class days. The outdoor gardens are totally free and the Bolz Conservatory only costs a buck. The Conservatory is always a great spot to visit for a little humidity and heat in the freezing, super dry months of January and February. Here’s a great little page from the website about their sustainability practices.
Yucca filamentosa 'Bright Edge'
If I was still living in Wisconsin, this would definitely be growing in my garden. Hardy to zone 4 and still looking super foxy in late October, you can’t really go wrong.
Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow'
Wholly hotness!!! Another sweet plant that would be growing in my zone 4 Wisconsin garden if I still lived there. I didn’t even know what a Euphorbia was until I moved to California.
Euphorbia myrsinites magic
Here’s a shot from the rock garden section that was full to the brim with Euphorbia myrsinites. I’ve heard that it could be “weedy”, but it looks like it could make a rockin’ ground cover. Betcha it’s bunny proof, too. I also ran in to a sweet little patch of Euphorbia cyparissias rubrifolia while walking back downtown.
Callicarpa dichotoma 'Early Amethyst'
Okay, so this is pretty much a post about plants I’d grow if I lived back in Wisconsin. Love the chartreuse leaves & bright purple berries on this cutie.
Succulent kaleidoscope
There was a big old bowl full of sedums with a giant kaleidoscope set up. The bowl spins for succulenty visions.
Sedum 'Angelica'
More Sedum.
Thai Pavilion
No visit to Olbrich is complete without checking out the Thai Pavillion which was gifted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison from the Thai Government and the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Additional random fact from the website: “The pavilion is only one of four located outside of Thailand. The others are in Germany, Norway, and Hawaii.” Nice.
Colchicum autumnale
Naked Ladies of the midwest! Wikipedia claims that Colchicum autumnale is also approved by the USDA as a medication for gout. I’m going to shut up now and show you a bunch of cool meadow grass pictures that I love, but have no idea what they are.
Grassy Love
Happy Place
Gorgeous Grass
More grass
Want to see Olbrich in late May? Here are a bunch of posts from my trip back over a year ago (I went a little blog crazy):
This beautiful Thai Pavilion or Sala was a gift from the Thai Government to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. UW-Madison has one of the largest Thai student populations in the country (I had no idea). Only four pavilions exist outside of … Continue reading →
