If you are into native plants like me, Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA is a perfect place to visit, especially in spring when many wildflowers are in bloom. Garden in the Woods is a 45-acre woodland property owned and operated by the Native Plant Trust whose goal is to showcase and promote the beauty of plants native to New England. The purpose of my visit today was to observe in the wild the trillium, a plant that Garden in the Woods celebrates during the first week of May.
Trillium cuneatum, aka sweet Betsy, has a lovely citrus fragrance and it ended in my shopping cart at the end of our tour.
Yellow is my favorite color in the garden and this Trillium lutheum, which is also fragrant, has been on my wish list for a long time. Unfortunately it was not available for sale at Garden in the Woods.
There were a few varieties of white flowered trilliums in bloom and I went home with Trillium grandiflorum.
Some more trilliums.
In addition to trillium, there was a wide variety of other lovely wildflowers that were in bloom at this time of the year and that made our visit worthwhile. Uvularia grandiflora, or large-flowered bellwort, is a beautiful spring ephemeral that I added to my garden last year and that I was delighted to see growing in its natural habitat.
Virginia bluebells is another plant that I grow in my woodland garden but it has not flowered for me yet and I may have to move it to a sunnier spot. It is a lovely larger wildflower that makes an appearance in spring and then goes dormant the rest of the year.
Mayapples and celandine poppies were everywhere.
Pulsatilla vulgaris (Purple pasque flower anemone) is a rare native plant that I had never seen before. It must not naturalize as well as some of the other plants as we saw only one or two of these flowers at Garden in the Woods.
There were some swampy areas where one could observe wildlife as well as plants. The cute turtles on the logs were my son’s favorite.
One of the plants at the swampy area.
I love the purple and green foliage of these irises. They must be quite a sight to see when in bloom.
No woodlands would be complete without ferns. I think they are especially pretty in spring before their leaves unfurl.
Columbine cultivars are quite popular in the garden. This here is the straight species.
Rest places abound at Garden in the woods. I love the rock placed on this bench that reminds of a pillow on a bed.
In case you are wondering what the plant surrounding the bench is.
Another beautiful wildflower that blooms in May.
There is a fun area for the youngest visitors.
At the end of the trail, just before one goes back to the visitor center, butterfly murals remind visitors of the beauty of native flora and fauna.
Many of the native plants that are on display at the Garden in the Woods can also be purchased there. Here is what I added to my native plant collection today: prairie smoke, Trillium cuneatum and Trillium grandiflorum.
Love the Shade 