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The MAIN GREENHOUSE is the centerpiece of the holiday celebration
at Planting Fields. Our traditional display of Poinsettias and Cyclamen
in the greenhouse will again take your breath away.
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The Poinsettias, Euphorbia pulcherrima,
were named in honor of Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist who also
served as First Minister to Mexico, where poinsettias are native.
In the early 1800’s, Mr. Poinsett was intrigued by what he
called “Painted Leaves”, an appropriate name for a
plant with flaming red petals that are really specialized
leaves called bracts. |
Fortunately his position made it easy for him to
make others aware of this attractive plant. He propagated the poinsettia
and sent cuttings to other botanists and nurserymen throughout the United
States. It has since become a worldwide Christmas symbol. The native poinsettia
is a large and rangy plant, but with modern hybridizing techniques, it
can now be seen in small, compact varieties. Its color range has been extended
to include pink, off-white, and speckled combinations of colored bracts,
in addition to the traditional red.
It was in Mexico that poinsettias first appeared
as Christmas decorations.
There are several legends about how this tradition began. One
of the most poignant is that
of a very poor child who was in tears because she had nothing
to present to the Christ Child on Christmas Eve. As the tale
goes,
she was walking to church when she spotted some weeds in a nearby
field. She picked them and brought them to church. When she laid
the weeds before the altar, they were miraculously transformed
into brilliantly hued flowers with cascading red and green leaves,
the poinsettia.
Outside,
the bright leaves of autumn are past; the early winter landscape
has its own unique charm. The sculptured branches and trunks
of the deciduous trees
and shrubs are striking when mixed with the wide variety of evergreens
present in the gardens. Many primitive people saw evergreens
as symbols of eternal
life and renewal and many of our . |
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winter festivals originated with ancient pagan rites
for the winter solstice. On the shortest day of the year, our ancestors
begged the sun to return and bring its light and warmth with it. Evergreens
were traditionally used in the sacrificial rites to the sun.
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Visit the CONIFER TRAIL and
the DWARF CONIFER GARDEN to enjoy the many different
kinds of these plants represented here at Planting Fields. The
DWARF CONIFER GARDEN alone has more than one hundred and
fifty conifers. Some are not true dwarfs, but all are slow growing.
Included in this garden and on the trail are Pines, Junipers, Hemlocks,
Firs, False Cypress, Spruce, Cedars, and others. |
Evergreen lore includes the story
of Martin Luther and the Christmas Tree. While walking through the
woods on
a winter’s evening, he
purportedly was struck by the beauty of the stars twinkling through the
branches of what he thought
was a fir. He brought it indoors and lighted it with a multitude of candles
in an attempt to copy nature’s beauty. Thus the Christmas
Tree was born.
Broad-leaved
evergreens are also well represented in the Arboretum collections,
notably the Hollies, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Leucothoe, Cherry
Laurel, Leather-leaved Viburnum, and our native cactus, among
others. Many of these can be found in the SYNOPTIC GARDEN and
on the HOLLY WALK.
Because of its extensive HOLLY
COLLECTION, Planting Fields is one of the official
Holly Arboreta designated by the trustees of the Holly Society
of America. A selection of the most desirable species and named
varieties considered hardy for Long Island can be found in
beds 11, 14, and 15, (the G-K section) of the SYNOPTIC
GARDEN. An even more extensive collection is growing
along the HOLLY WALK in the NORTH
BORDER, in back of the SYNOPTIC and DWARF
CONIFER GARDENS.
Indoors and out, the holiday
feeling is in the air at Planting Fields. Come enjoy and share
it with friends
and relatives. The Arboretum can be enjoyed in all seasons by people
of all ages.
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 Arboretum
Monthly Highlights can be
found in the Visitor Center located
in
the Main Greenhouse. |
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