Fall Color at Sonnenberg Gardens

Enjoy this photo essay of Autumn Color at Sonnenberg Gardens.

Photo Tip: Patience is a Virtue

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and bumble bee (Photo: K. Burkard)

Having taken thousands of photos of natural subject matter, botanical photos are my favorite. Other than movement caused by wind, plants are some of the best behaved subjects you could ever take a photo of. They can wait patiently for hours in the same pose and they never deny you when you wish to take their portrait. They are more than happy to accommodate.

But the fauna that visits that flora? They are a jittery bunch. They flit from bloom to bloom with reckless abandon rarely pausing long enough for a good view let alone a well-composed photograph. So how do you get shots like this one?

First watch the flowers and you will see the rhythm of the pollinators. It is much like a dance from flower to flower. You'll see that they visit each flower in turn and that no flower is unvisited for long. Then pick your floral subject. Pick a beautiful, perfect bloom. Now see the photo you want in your mind. Set your focus, get the sun and shadow to fall as you need, and whatever else you need to do to get that envisioned shot. Now the hard part, quietly wait. Your shot will come if you have the patience for it.

Dahlias in the Gardens

Due in part to a very generous donation from the Dahlia Society of Rochester, we have planted some of our front display gardens (the beds between Admissions and the Finger Lakes Wine Center) with beautiful dahlia plants. If you are unfamiliar with them, dahlias are tender, perennials that feature a long-lasting floral display of daisy or chrysanthemum-like flowers. They come in a wide variety of colors and forms.

We encourage you to visit and check out our dahlias. There are a variety of colors and styles but all are very photogenic as the images below can attest! In order to plan your visit, please see our website for hours and directions.

 



Things are Heating up in the Greenhouse

If you have visited our greenhouses recently you may have been treated to a rare sight. Our tree philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum; syn. Philodendron selloum) is in bloom. Actually, more than one of them are currently in bloom. Our gardeners say they have never seen them in bloom. And many people, who keep these  as houseplants, have never either for this plant must be large in size and at least 15 - 20 years old to flower.

Philodendron bipinnatifidum flower

The flower of this plant may remind our visitors of other Araceae family members - like our native wildflower jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) - for the flower has a sheath-like bract or hood called a spathe and a fleshy stem with the flower cluster called a spadix.

Confused? They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words so check out the labeled picture to the right. Other tree philodendron flower vital stats: the flowers are typically over 1 foot long, contain about 3000 white "florets" on the spadix or stalk, and last only two days.

The tree philodendron is monoecious which means the flowers have both male and female structures. The male flowers are located on the top half of the spadix, while the middle region contains sterile male flowers, and the female flowers are located at the base. As you can see by the pictures in the gallery below, the flowers are not very showy and can be missed if not looking for them. So just how does this plant attract its pollinators?

This plant has an unusual hook for its pollinators. It has heat-producing or thermogenic flowers that when they heat up causes a pheromone to be released. This pheromone attracts Cyclocephala beetles, which are a New World scarab beetle genus. The flower then provides them with heat and nectar for two days before forcing them out (by the action of the flower closing). Covered in pollen, the beetles move onto the next flower where they pollinate it.

What is most astonishing to botanists and scientists, is that this plant can raise the temperature of the spadix to 104-113 degrees F and hold it to a constant temperature regardless of the ambient air temperature which may fluctuate from 40 - 80 degrees F. The flowers can actually feel hot to the touch. This degree of temperature regulation is unheard of in the plant world.

Be sure to visit Sonnenberg soon to see these amazing flowers for yourself. If you can't make the visit, read more below and enjoy our gallery of images at the end of this article.


References & More Study Available at:

http://biologicalexceptions.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html
http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/pow/Philodendron.htm
http://biologicalexceptions.blogspot.com/2011/10/is-it-hot-in-here-or-is-it-just-my.html
http://www.damninteresting.com/warm-blooded-plants/


Gallery:

Click on the images below to see the larger, full-sized image.

Philodendron bipinnatifidum plant & flower

Close up of flower

Close up of flower

New leaf unfurling 

Leaf scars

An eye-like leaf scar detail

Old Buildings

Inspiration

Blizzard of 2014

While it does not compare to my memories of the Blizzard of 1977 which crippled this part of NY, the Blizzard of 2014 was an event to remember. One of the things I will remember, is the stunningly beautiful day that followed. It was bitterly cold, but full of blue sky and sun. The photos below show Sonnenberg Gardens in a blanket of white in the day after the blizzard.



The Palm House under a coating of snow

Snow piled high to clear the roadways

A frosty and snow covered Sub Rosa Garden



The Italian Garden and Glorietta in a coating of white



Italian Garden wall with blown snow

Welcome!

Welcome to our new blog, Strolling Through Sonnenberg. This blog will feature a variety of stories, articles, and photos about all aspects of Sonnenberg - history, horticulture, new projects, and more.

We hope you will enjoy the virtual stroll through all that is Sonnenberg Gardens.