Page | 1 Bright Spots

A SELF GUIDED WALKING TOUR

September 28, 2016

Did you know… All summer the Lego brick sculptures and the butterfly exhibit in the Conservatory have garnered everyone’s attention, but the sculptures are gone and the butterflies are soon to follow. It’s time to consider a hard working carnivorous predator in the garden that can evoke more shrieks than smiles. Argiope aurantia, or the yellow garden spider, is one of the largest occurring in Virginia. Argiope is Latin for “with bright face,” aurantia is translated variously as “orange- colored” or “gilded”. The female is .5”-1.1” across the body without the legs and its yellow and black markings are quite dramatic, so it can be quite intimidating. The web is a big orb, almost invisible except for the center which has a distinctive zigzag of silk that looks like it might be writing, hence another common name, “writing spider.” This zigzag band is called a stabilimentum. Aurantia likes to build its webs in shrubbery. It waits head down at the center of the orb for prey which includes a wide range of flying insects: aphids, flies, moths, beetles, wasps, mosquitoes and even grasshoppers. So Aurantia is a very beneficial predator in our gardens. If you have trouble feeling cozy around spiders, it might help to know that A. aurantia is the spider that stars in Charlotte’s Web.

Sources: http://newstimes.augusta.com/stories/2009/10/11/new_551372.shtml; http://www.spiders.us/species/filter/virginia/; http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial- 24_spider_blackandyellow_argiope.htm

*Notable : Several times a month, Garden Volunteers record the most dramatic seasonal displays and highlight exceptional plants in the garden and Conservatory. +Denotes Virginia Native

Plant Material Location CENTRAL GARDEN and CONSERVATORY LOOP Notice the Upright Elephant Ear, Alocasia ‘ Portodora’ ,Canna, Lantana, In pots and around Salvia and others transitioning to Fall plantings the fountain Japanese Shield Fern , Dryopteris erythrosora 'Prolifica’, evergreen fern Right front corner with light green, feathery fronds bed OUTSIDE THE GATES TURN LEFT TURN RIGHT TO ENTER GEORGE BRAGDON DAFFODIL GARDEN Aster, Symphyotrichum nova-angliae ‘Andenken an Alma Potschke’, deep Right of path pink daisy-like petals surrounding a bright yellow center Page | 2 Windflower, Anemone x hybrida ‘Party Dress’, fluffy pink double flowers on Center raised bed long wiry stems to 3’ RETURN TO THE BRICK PATH, TURN RIGHT TO EAST and WEST TRIANGLE BEDS Bold-colored annuals (including Coleus, Canna and Mexican Petunias) Throughout transitioning to Fall plantings of Chrysanthemums and ornamental peppers. CONTINUE UP THE STEPS Ornamental Grass Garden +Prairie Dropseed, Sporobolus heterolepis, flower panicles rise above Both sides slender foliage Blue Grama Grass, Bouteloua gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’, tufted grass with Both sides narrow bluish gray leaf blades and chartreuse flowers on tall stems (new planting) *Switchgrass, ‘Northwind’, olive green to blue green Both sides grass topped by beige plumes Ravenna Grass, Saccharum ravennae, very tall, erect clump-forming grass Both sides, rear Conservatory Ponds Pickerel Weed, Pontederia cordata, tall, blue to purple flower spikes, heart- Throughout shaped foliage Hardy Water Lily, Nymphaea ‘Peaches & Cream’, ‘Red Flare’, ‘Evelyn Throughout Randig’ Victoria cruziana, huge floating leaves like round trays with turned-up Throughout edges; turning bronze Egyptian Papyrus, Cyperus papyrus, tall straight stems with globe of green Throughout “threads” on top CONSERVATORY East Wing Take time to appreciate the ever-changing orchid display FROM CONSERVATORY, PROCEED AHEAD TO FOUNTAIN GARDEN Sunken Garden Plantings of Elephant Ears, Cannas, Zinnias and colorful grasses Throughout Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia ‘Lipan’, mid-size tree, pink bloom Outside beds TURN LEFT ALONG TRIANGLE BEDS FOUNTAIN GARDEN Upper Level Abelia, ‘Little Richard’, low glossy-leaved shrub, small tubular white Throughout flowers, much visited by bees and butterflies, fragrant AT INTERSECTION TURN RIGHT TOWARD EDUCATION CENTER , THEN LEFT TO ENTER MEDITATION GARDEN RIGHT OF PATH Angels Trumpet, Brugmansia sp., tall stems with dramatic dangling Right side trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of yellow Cardoon, Cynara cardunculus, tender perennial with sharp dagger like Rear bed silver gray-green arching leaves, grown from seeds from Monticello Papaya, Carica papaya, dramatic plant with large deeply-lobed leaves Left corner bed MEDICINAL GARDEN LEFT OF PATH Page | 3 Castor Bean, Ricinus communis, bronze green deeply-lobed leaves. All Left side, outside parts of the plant are highly poisonous. grass circle Beauty Berry, Callicarpa americana, large shrub with vivid purple berries Left side, outside along arching stems and coarse oval leaves grass circle Madagascar Periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus, five white petals over bright Right side green oval leaves CONTINUE STRAIGHT AHEAD TO ENTER FOUR SEASONS GARDEN Patrinia scabiosifolia, panicles of tiny chrome-yellow flowers atop tall Front right bed stems Purple Muhly Grass, Muhlenbergia capillaris, wiry grass clump with a fog Front left bed of purple seed heads RETURN TO THE VISITOR CENTER OR ADD MAIN GARDEN PATH and LOUISE COCHRANE ROSE GARDEN LOOP FROM THE VISITOR CENTER, WALK THROUGH THE IRON GATE AND TURN RIGHT ONTO THE AGGREGATE PATH, THEN LEFT TO GO DOWN HILL TURN LEFT ON AGGREGATE MAIN GARDEN PATH Bold-colored annuals and tropical plants - Pineapple Sage, Chenille Plant, Both sides of path Copper Leaf, Joseph’s Coat, Purple Fountain grass Goldenrod, Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece’, low, compact plant with Right side in front bright yellow flowers on plume-like panicles of iron fence Bush Clover, thunbergii ‘Alba’, arching fountain-like habit, small Right side in front white flowers on pendulous panicles of iron fence Winterberry, Ilex ‘Winter’s Gold’, tall shrub with abundant gold berries Right of path Hydrangea paniculata ‘Pink Diamond’, tall shrub with white panicles aging Left in front of brick to pink wall *Windflower, Anemone hupehensis, pale lavender flower with yellow Right side on hill by center on long wiry stems Kousa dogwood Kalimeris, Kalimeris mongolica, white button flowers on lime-green stems Right of path TURN LEFT TO ENTER THE LOUISE COCHRANE ROSE GARDEN DIRECTIONS FOR LOCATING ROSE SELECTIONS ARE GIVEN FROM THE CIRCULAR LABYRINTH FACING THE LAKE Proceed left, then right under the wood trellis Rosa, ‘Lion’s Fairy Tale’ Modern Shrub, Kordes, 3-4’ tall, pale pink buds Right of path opening to creamy white, lightly scented Rosa, ‘Mystic Beauty’, Bourbon, Patterson, 2-3’ tall, pink, very fragrant Right side of path RETURN TO MAIN GARDEN PATH, TURN RIGHT AND TO THE VISITOR CENTER OR ADD LOWER GARDEN LOOP FROM THE SMALL TRIANGLE BED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MAIN GARDEN WALK, CROSS THE LOTUS BRIDGE Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica ‘Gamad I’ RAZZLE DAZZLE CHERRY, Triangle bed before low growing prostrate shrub with crimson panicles Lotus Bridge *Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Minibleu’ PETIT BLEU, shrub with a Left of path, far end profusion of blue flowers giving a cloud-like effect on attractive foliage of the bridge TURN RIGHT TOWARD GRACE ARENTS GARDEN Page | 4 A VICTORIAN GARDEN IN SHADES OF CORAL, PINK AND LIME WITH ACCENTS OF LAVENDER AND PURPLE *Japanese Rose, Rosa rugosa, showy orange red fruit called “hips” Perimeter beds follow blooms *Duranta erecta ‘Gold Edge’, small shrub with fine toothed leaves edged Outer borders in gold EXIT THROUGH THE GAZEBO,TURN RIGHT, PROCEED TO THE STONE CIRCLE + Rough-stemmed Goldenrod, Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’, low-growing Right of path at plant with arching stems, tiny bright yellow flowers circle WALK TOWARDS CHILDREN’S GARDEN,