Boston Flora

Tag: Siena Scarff

  • February and March – Orchid Courtyard Display at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

    While the temperatures drop outside, the Courtyard remains temperate with the green of ferns, and the sounds of water in the fountains. Tall, majestic calla lilies surround the Courtyard’s mosaic set off by unusual orchids, including exotic Paphiopedilum or slipper orchids with maroon and green flowers; Ansellia or leopard orchids sporting many clusters of yellow flowers with brown spots; and large, showy Phaius tankervilleae or nun’s cap orchids that have been grown in the Museum’s greenhouses since Isabella’s time. The orchids on display are native to Southeast Asia and Africa. Throughout the year, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s always-blooming Courtyard is transformed through a series of nine dramatic seasonal displays that reflect Isabella’s passion for gardens as well as the skill and dedication of the Museum’s horticulture staff. From bellflowers to nasturtiums to Japanese-style chrysanthemums, there’s always something new to discover thanks to the changing seasons and the rotation of plants. Most of the plants for the Courtyard are grown in the Museum’s temperature-controlled Hingham greenhouses and trucked to the Palace location, where they are rotated in to keep the displays in peak condition. For hours and complete information visit http://gardnermuseum.org

    ©Siena Scarff

  • April- Hanging Nasturtiums at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

    Cascades of blossoming nasturtium vines make their brief but dramatic appearance above the Courtyard, celebrating the arrival of spring at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (Nasturtium blooms last about three weeks.) The annual Hanging Nasturtiums display continues an annual tradition started by Isabella Stewart Gardner during the week before Easter, marking the valiant return of color to The Fenway.

    Nasturtium vines (Tropaeolum majus) are planted in late summer and cultivated in the Gardner Museum’s greenhouses throughout the winter to prepare them for their spectacular spring debut. The vines require continuous care in the greenhouse to ensure dramatic length—up to twenty feet—and require up to ten workers to install in the Museum. The result is a stunning display that cannot be found anywhere else!

    In the Courtyard garden below, typical companions include azaleas, blue cineraria, ivory and cream daffodils, and Cymbidium orchids punctuate a green background of ferns, palms, and pines. The Gardner Museum’s signature Clivia miniata are also often on display and now include beautiful lemon-colored blossoms from Allen Haskell’s nursery specimen, playing off of the orange variety that have been a part of the Museum’s collection for over forty years. Abutilon stiratum (flowering maple) are often used to flank the steps and the statues to complement this amazing exhibit of springtime color. A trip to the Gardner Museum in the coming weeks is a profound experience for the senses. The Hanging Nasturtiums Courtyard display is made possible in part by the Museum’s Sorenson Fund for Horticulture.  Photo: Siena Scarff, 2012.