Cornell Plantations Botanical Garden Tour

This evening, I gave a tour of the Botanical Garden for the Cortland Garden Club.  With a light mist to start the tour, it ended with a rainbow.  The Brian Nevin Welcome Center was closed this evening, but is open during the week other than Mondays.

We toured through the Container Garden, the Ground Cover gardens, talked about the Rhododendron garden that blooms in May, discussed the giant Magnolia that is unique to this climate, then moved into the herb garden with 17 different sub gardens.  On to the Young Garden that focuses on plants and our senses and celebrations. We finished in the Winter Garden with its huge millstone. While there, we talked about the Heritage Garden and the Barbara McClintock shed and her research. One hour went quickly!

Here are some photos I took prior to the arrival of the club members.

Garden Glory!

I can't get enough of the early morning beauty in the garden and the lotus pond.  The soft light gently touches the flowers and also provides some nice back lighting.  Here is what I took this morning of the lotus and the fragrant lilies. The latter are very aromatic and the scent wafts for many yards to be enjoyed while sitting and contemplating the day.

There was a much needed rain last night and one of the lotus looks a bit wheepy with the moisture.

Cornell Plantations Grand Opening

Today was the grand opening for the new visitor's center at the Cornell Plantations. The "green" building has been cited for architectural awards and is very attractive.  The Brian Nevin center fits nicely against the Rhododendron Knoll, with wheelchair access to the bottom of the knoll from the second floor of the building.

As a docent for the Plantations, I volunteered to help out today and enjoyed seeing so many people come out to enjoy the new facility.

The Rhododendrons are in excellent bloom and were hybridized to handle this ecological region.  Attached are a few images I took with a point and shoot camera, since I did not bring the Canon Rebel with me.

There is always something to enjoy at the Cornell Plantations, with drop in tours on weekends and scheduled events for other times during the season.  The Botanical Gardens include the Rhododendron Knoll, the Herb Garden, the Ground Cover Garden, the Young Garden, the Winter Garden, and the Container Garden.  Extending outside of the Botanical Gardens are the Arboretum and the Wildflower Gardens, in addition to several other gardens on the main campus.

Check out the website for visitor information and other programs.  http://www.cornellplantations.org/

Cornell Plantations

The Cornell Plantations includes many acres on campus and includes the gorges, the arboretum, the botanical garden, the wildflower garden, and several other sites. It is a wonderful place to wander and take pictures all during the year. I just took a walk this afternoon and photographed several plants in the gardens. This was with the macro lens that I am still getting used to.