Garden Photo of the Day

GPOD on the Road: Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Part 2

Another day in a great garden

By GPOD Contributor
Chrysanthemums

Today is part 2 of our visit to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham, North Carolina, with Teresa Watkins.

BirdhousesBirdhouses in the gardens

Vegetable gardensVegetable gardens with the fire of fall foliage behind them

yellow chrysanthemums with Japanese mapleHuge, beautiful, yellow chrysanthemums with Japanese maple (Acer palmatum, Zones 5–9) foliage behind them beginning to color up

ChrysanthemumsChrysanthemums are incredibly variable. This simple daisy form shows off the dramatic coloring of the petals beautifully.

purple mumThere is a fascinating combination of colors in this mum. Often we think of mums as just the standard, slightly boring, cushion mums sold everywhere potted for a fall display, but they are one of the oldest cultivated flowers, with an incredibly long history of breeding and display in Asia. Many varieties can develop huge, intricate blooms that are anything but common.

spider-form chrysanthemumTo display the huge, unusual flowers of these spider-form chrysanthemums to their highest potential, each plant is carefully pruned, each stem is staked, and many of the flower buds are removed so the flowers that do develop grow large and perfect.

Pure white mumsThese pure white mums offer such a fresh color against the ruddy colors of fall.

yellow mum

spherical bloomThis form is called incurve, with each petal rolling in to make a nearly spherical bloom.

yellow mumNarrow, rolled petals give this mum an airy, unusual look.

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Comments

  1. user-6948298 11/26/2021

    Those are bee habitat not birdhouses.

    1. User avater
      simplesue 11/26/2021

      I was gunna say that too...bug or bee houses for sure...easily mistaken for a birdhouse at a glance.

  2. User avater
    vanhatalosuomi 11/26/2021

    Thanks for the garden tour. I wish more chrysanthemums bore more of the resemblance to their showier and dramatic ancestors. The items most commonly found in shops are really rather boring in comparison.
    Thanks again for the photos!

  3. User avater
    simplesue 11/26/2021

    I had no idea there were so many different types of Chrysanthemums!
    The one called "incurve"...wow..just amazing.
    Also it's nice to see they are also growing vegetables in this big ornamental garden...and they look just as well done as the rest of the garden.

  4. User avater
    treasuresmom 11/26/2021

    Thanks for sharing.

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