Saturday, September 23, 2006

The Plantations at Cornell

I think this Canna is Tropicana. What do you think Zoey? If you've visited Zoey's Perennial Passion, you'll see what I mean.


As I mentioned in the previous post, Kylie and Ko's wedding ceremony took place at The Plantations at Cornell University. These gardens are so beautifully planned and maintained, a real feast for the eyes, and so full of beauty!

We went back the following day and spent more time just relaxing and enjoying the beauty of it all.

To walk through them is a truly inspirational learning experience. The photos I took will be a handy reference for me, to show which plants pair well together; how tall or short a particular plant grows.... helping to see where in a border to place it; which plants grow well in shade or sun; climbers, grasses, interesting foliage, and plants I've never seen before. There are so many other lessons to learn here. I'd love to go through with a guide to answer my questions!

I'll have to do a couple of posts in order to show you just a sampling of the gardens. As you can imagine, I took a LOT of pictures :)


This is the Orange garden for the orange lovers among you. It's gorgeous!



Dahlias and coleus...a wonderful combination!

There were so many exquisite dahlias! I'll show you more of them in the next post.



This walkway was lined with huge planters.....


...and covered with fantastic vines. I'd love to see them during their bloom period. Ross was checking out the planter to see how it's made.



Here's Ross standing under what I think is a yellow-flowered Trumpet Vine. I've only seen the orange-flowered one before. Look at that curving trunk!



At the other end of the walkway is a beautiful Japanese garden filled with several varieties of Japanese Anemone, among many other things. This one is a double pink.



And here's a white single Japanese Anemone. I just love these flowers in all their variations.



This pathway leads to the site where the wedding ceremony took place. There are several "garden rooms", created by the lovely stone walls, rustic wooden fences, trees and shrubs.



There's the wedding site, under the big shade tree.



A tall border on the left of site.



And looking back towards the gift shop.



This is the border on the opposite side.



Another one of the many beautiful dahlias.



Further over, in another area, there are grasses (for Alice) interspersed with many other plants, most not flowering at this time. I think this may actually be part of the Japanese garden.



This border is filled with herbs, kale and many other interesting and unsual plants, as well as some old favorites. I love the mahogany colored tree with umbrella-shaped leaves. Does anyone know the name of this? Posted by Picasa

I wish you could've all been there to see these beautiful gardens. They're worth a trip, and free to the public. Be sure to take some time to visit them if you're ever in Ithaca, in beautiful upstate NY.

19 comments:

Anita said...[Reply]

So may nice photos, thanks Kerri! My favorite ones are the white and pink Japanese anemone and the herbal border. I do not yet have them in my garden.

Anonymous said...[Reply]

Congrats with the very beautiful garden!

Susie said...[Reply]

Kerri,
This looks like such a lovely place to just wander and linger. Each area is prettier than the one before, yet has its own special beauty.
We've already made up our minds to see the East Coast. We'll be hoping to see this (and you of course) when we do!
xoxox

Carole Burant said...[Reply]

I love visiting gardens like this one...it reminds me a lot of the Royal Botanical Gardens I went to this summer. Such beautiful flowers and your pictures are so clear!! Hugs xox

Alice said...[Reply]

Oh what bliss - thank you, thank you. Those gardens really are beautiful, with so much to see and learn from.

Your photos are so lovely, and I really appreciated the grasses.

Can we look forward to seeing more planter boxes on the farm, in Cornell style? The additional height in a garden created by the boxes leads to lots more design opportunities.

Thank you so much, Kerri, for this stroll around these delightful gardens. I'm getting ready for the next little 'walk'.

LindaD said...[Reply]

What an amazing place for a wedding. I'd like to do it over in a place like that! - Beautiful photos.. they make me feel as excited as a kid in a candy store...

Anonymous said...[Reply]

That is Canna Tropicana for sure. I have some in my Arizona yard!

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...[Reply]

The gardens are beautiful, thanks for sharing them. I've been to Ithaca many times but didn't know they were there, I've never stopped at Cornell but I use some of their web sites often. Maybe I'll check them out in the spring and also stop by Buttermilk Falls or one of the other parks down that way that I haven't been to in years.

Val said...[Reply]

Cannas bring back memories from our first garden - they grow well in Australia! I love the grasses too. And had a laugh at your hubby checking out his next project. It's off to the hardware shop tomorrow!

What a beautiful place for a wedding, and you are fortunate to have access to it.

WendyAs said...[Reply]

What a lovely garden. I love the windy paths steeped in greenery. Thanks for those photos.

Christine Boles said...[Reply]

Thank you for sharing these, Kerri~

squire said...[Reply]

We have an arbor in you park and I just love.

Sigruns German Garden said...[Reply]

Your photos are so lovely and so interesting. Is Ross shy?? ;-))

The Canna Indica Tropicana I have also in my garden, she is growing very fast.

Sigrun

Diana LaMarre said...[Reply]

Yup, that's Tropicana.
I love the mix of those orange dahlias and coleus.
I also like the color in the big planter that Ross is standing by. I tried to enlarge the pic to see what everything planted was, but I can't quite make it out.
It sure was a beautiful place for a wedding.

Pamela said...[Reply]

What a treasure! So much beauty to behold. You are so impressive the way you know all the names. It is delightful visiting. :) Hope the honeymooners are doing well!

Anonymous said...[Reply]

I had not read the blogs in a while and was pleased to see the beautiful wedding photos and the garden photos. What a beautiful area. I hope to get up there maybe next summer. You need to make a calendar with all those beautiful photos. Look at shutterfly.com - they have easy ways to make calendars; they would be great Christmas gifts for you to give! (just a suggestion) I am such a fan of your photos, I wish you could hear me as I scroll through your post -"ah, oh, wow"! Thanks Kerri!

Sissy said...[Reply]

Kerri,
The copper leafed plant that looks like a tree is really the castor bean plant. It is incredible in that perennial bed and I have got to have it!!
I have never had Japanese Anenome, but I must have it, as well!

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...[Reply]

The Gardens at Cornell are just so beautiful and what a great setting for Kylie & Ko's wedding. It certainly added to the wonderful festive ceremony of a wedding and also what a blessing that the weather was so nice for the occasion. I bet you got lots of beautiful pictures of the couple with all the lovely flowers in the background.

Jellyhead said...[Reply]

These are such picturesque gardens...no wonder Kylie and Ko chose this spot for their wedding ceremony. Lovely photos, Kerri!