Plants

January

There is no better time to come and enjoy our impressive evergreens. Mount Auburn’s conifer collection is noted for its size and diversity. With more than 80 different taxa and more than 1,500 plants, it is comparable to the conifer collections at … Continue reading

February

Now is a great time for a second look at many of our deciduous trees and shrubs. Even without their more showy foliage and flowers, many of our plants have something to contribute to the winter landscape. From the the impressive size and shape of some trees … Continue reading

March

Early signs of spring appear throughout the landscape in March.  The cheerful yellow blossoms of witchhazel that appear early in the month and the beautiful carpets of scilla  that emerge by month’s end remind us that warmer days are soon on their way. … Continue reading

April

Mount Auburn is painted in shades of yellow, pink, white and lilac thanks to the daffodils, forsythia, magnolias, and redbuds now blooming.  For many, though, it is the April flowering of Mount Auburn’s 20+ varieites of ornamental cherries that truly signal spring’s arrival. … Continue reading

May

It is no wonder that Mount Auburn welcomes so many visitors each May.  Flowering dogwoods, crabapples, lilacs, and azaleas are just some of what is on display.  If you’ve never been to the Cemetery, now is the time to make … Continue reading

June

Though May might be the peak of spring bloom, there is still plenty of interest in June.  Rhododendrons, Mountain Laurel, and Kousa Dogwoods add plenty of late-spring color to the landscape. The annual and perennial plants planted in flower beds throughout … Continue reading

July

In July, make your way out to Willow Pond for a glimpse of our butterfly garden at its peak. As you walk at to the pond, you’ll notice a number of summer-blooming trees and shrubs adding seasonal interest to the … Continue reading

August

Late summer blooming ornamentals provide plenty of reasons to visit Mount Auburn, though perhaps the best reason to visit the Cemetery in August is to seek shade beheath the Cemetery’s dense canopy of shade trees.  Maples and oaks are among our shade … Continue reading

September

As the last of our summer-blooming plants make a showing in September, other plants begin showing the tell-tale signs of autumn’s approach.  Our wildflower meadow, located at  Washington Tower, is now at its peak as we bid farewell to one … Continue reading

October

By mid-October Mount Auburn’s landscape is awash in color.  As our many deciduous trees and shrubs begin to transform their foliage into jewel-tone shades of red, orange, yellow, and purple, other plants set out their fall fruits and nuts. Here are some … Continue reading

November

The diversity in Mount Auburn’s collection of trees ensures an prolonged foliage season each fall.  Even in November, there is still plenty of color in the landscape. From our noble oaks displaying autumn color to the fall-blooming witchhzel, there is plenty to see at the Cemetery.  Here are … Continue reading

December

As our deciduous plants drop their last leaves we welcome the winter season. Now is the time to explore Mount Auburn’s many plants displaying four season interest.  The diversity in our horticultural collections ensure that a visit to Mount Auburn at … Continue reading

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What’s in Bloom 2022

What’s in Bloom 2022
September 20, 2022

What’s in Bloom: Week of November 7, 2022

Witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, several locations

Mums, Chrysanthemum sp., several locations

Autumn Joy Sedum, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, several locations

Japanese anemone, Anemone hupehensis, several locations

‘Knockout rose’, Rosa ‘Radrazz’, Spelman Rd.

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Horticulture Highlight: Milkweed

Horticulture Highlight: Milkweed
August 28, 2022

…Now soon the monarchs will be drifting south,

and then the geese will go, then one day

the little garden birds will not be here

            -Howard Nemerov

Recently while at the Wildflower Meadow & Pollinator Habitat surrounding our Washington Tower, we lingered to contemplate a Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, and how passing time has brought a more positive opinion towards this one time commonly dismissed “weed”. Today, increased public knowledge that milkweeds serve as preferred food for the caterpillars of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), has turned countless former opponents into its protectors and even planters.   

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Horticulture Highlight: Amur Maackia

Horticulture Highlight: Amur Maackia
August 2, 2022

Beneath the green mysterious

tree standing at the dead center

of the garden

            Robert Bense

Having 5000 trees representing over 670 taxa, there are examples such as sugar maples, dogwoods and white pines, each with hundreds of individuals throughout our cemetery. To accomplish ongoing efforts of diversifying our living collection, we also grow lesser known, perhaps even mysterious, types of trees, shrubs, vines and perennials. One less well known and less frequently planted tree is Amur Maackia, Maackia amurensis.

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Horticulture Highlight: Bugbane, Black Cohosh

Horticulture Highlight: Bugbane, Black Cohosh
July 13, 2022

Horticulture Highlight: Actaea racemosa, Bugbane, Black Cohosh 

twisted like a mobius  

belt, before insinuating your noxious 

nectar – omnivorous, odoriferous, officious 

orifice-filler, you… 

-Mark Levine 

While in bloom, Actaea racemosa, Bugbane, Black Cohosh, with tall stems and long fleecy flowers is truly eye-catching. These same blossoms emit an unpleasant odor. Centuries ago, some thought this smell could repel insects, hence one common name bugbane. The non-entomological etymology has a basis from Algonquin Native Americans. Cohosh is derived from co-os, meaning pine tree, alluding to the pointed spikes. 

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