Last weekend, I took 23 students to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Each fall, they turn part of the arboretum into a fairy tale village built with pumpkins, and this year they used over 100,000 of them to create such a spectacle. I wanted to share some photos from our trip. Though you may not be able to build a display of thousands of pumpkins, there were other great plants there that can help to enhance your garden for next year. Enjoy the inspiration!
A photo of yours truly (third from right) and other students from SFASU who went on the trip. For some it was their first trip to the Dallas Arboretum.
It is amazing to see how they craft and decorate buildings using pumpkins, squash, and gourds.
A lovely pumpkin mandala pattern surrounds this pumpkin house.
Many areas of the pumpkin village had a theme. Here is a design that features the story of Jack and the beanstalk.
And, here of course is the sword in the stone… err… pumpkin.
I find myself mesmerized by the pumpkin patterns, seeing them all laid out and in such abundance.
A close up of the pumpkin mandala pattern.
These white and gray pumpkins were used to convey a sense of water in one area near a bridge.
Outside the pumpkin village, the arboretum held other beautiful sights. Symphyotrichum oblongifolium (probably ‘Raydon’s Favorite’) bloomed en masse along this curve.
Here’s a useful lesson in photoperiodism. I was wondering why these asters that were right down the path from the ones in the image above weren’t flowering very well. I suspected at first that the shade had something to do with their lack of blooms, but once I looked up, I saw there were lights in the trees. Asters need short days to initiate flowering, and the blooms were interrupted by the lightning. Those along the lower edge are probably shaded enough to flower.
Hamelia patens 'Grelmsiz' LIME SIZZLER (firebush) is a wonderful foliage plant for sunny spots, and the leaves redden with abundant light. Here in the deep south our seasons are long enough to even get some black fruit to form (center right).
Another shot of Hamelia patens 'Grelmsiz' LIME SIZZLER (firebush), only this time the plant was in full shade. Like with the asters above, as a curious plantsman I love seeing plants growing side by side in different environments and how they react accordingly.
From top left to lower right, Canna ‘Cannova Yellow’ (canna), Plectranthus scutellarioides ‘Main Street Beale Street’ (coleus), Alternanthera ‘Little Ruby’ (Joseph’s coat), and Portulaca ‘Colorblast Double Yellow’ (purslane) fill this bed with color. In the Plantery, we’ve had good success with both ‘Main Street Beale Street’ and ‘Little Ruby’ in summer annual plantings.
The Dallas Arboretum plantings capitalize on creating a show. To me it is interesting to see the juxtaposition of the rising tropical Alocasia (likely ‘Portora’ elephant ear) and the fall Chrysanthemum (mums).
I love visiting plant trials at the Dallas Arboretum to learn about what cultivars do well in our area. Here, left to right are Euphorbia hypericifolia DIAMOND SNOW, DIAMOND MOUNTAIN, and ‘Inneuphdia’ DIAMOND FROST. DIAMOND FROST was a good intermediate between the two for growth, not too short and not too lanky.
I was eager to see their Profusion zinnia trial to see which cultivars looked best late in the season. The three I was most impressed with were Zinnia hybrida ‘Profusion Fire’, …
…, Zinnia hybrida ‘Profusion Lemon’, …
… and Zinnia hybrida ‘Profusion Red and Yellow Bicolor’. My colleague Carol Reese turned me on to this cultivar for how the ray florets shift from a rich yellow and red at opening to a faded pink over time.
I’m a sucker for a good celosia, and I was most impressed with Celosia plumosa ‘Flamma Orange’, which was named a 2022 All American Selection winner. I’ll be sure to add this cultivar to next year’s seed wish list.
I was surprised to see an anise hyssop thriving in Dallas. Usually, we are too humid for them, and they melt. But, the peach-colored Agastache MEANT TO BEE ‘Queen Nectarine’ looked fabulous.
I was reminded in seeing their Osteospermum trial that I need to try my hand at more African daisies. My favorite selection was this BRIGHT LIGHTS HORIZON ‘Sunset’with its warm, vibrant pink flowers.
‘Candy Cane Chocolate Cherry’ pepper has variegated leaves and variegated fruit!
Last fall, I was very impressed with Celosia argentea var. plumosa ‘Dragons Breath’ (celosia) that we grew in the Plantery. The foliage turns brilliantly colored red as the days shorten in full sun, and they are topped with fiery panicles of blooms.
We saw a couple of Monarchs working this Salvia ROCKIN’ PLAYIN’ THE BLUES. Even in the fierce winds, they clung to the racemes with all their might. They seemed to really like this cultivar. They would fly off and come right back.