Plants in Bloom

This shrub’s iridescent clusters of berries persist after its leaves drop, providing winter sustenance for many species of birds.

Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ (beautyberry) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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This shrub’s golden autumn leaves fall to reveal striking red, orange-red, and yellow-orange stems, lending credence to its cultivar name.

Salix alba ‘Flame’ (flame willow) in the Water Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Native to South Africa, this three-season bloomer can be trellised as a vine or grown as a shrub.

Plumbago auriculata (cape leadwort) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This native tree is known for its custard-like fruit and unusual brownish flowers. Its large leaves turn a lovely yellow in fall.

Asimina triloba (pawpaw) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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The lovely berries of this native holly relative persist through winter, sometimes spring. These fruits are a welcome food for hungry birds as the weather cools and other options get scarce.

Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Gold’ (winterberry ) in the Discovery Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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The bare, bright crimson stems of many dogwood cultivars provide vibrant color in fall and winter.

Cornus alba Baton Rouge = ‘Minbat’ (PBR) (dogwood) in the Water Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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After its bright-yellow blooms fade in fall, showy goldenrod continues to feed wildlife with its lovely seedheads. 

Solidago speciosa (showy goldenrod) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Lee Patrick.

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Not all conifers are evergreen. This tree, native to China, is deciduous. The needles take on a striking gold color in the fall before dropping off in the winter.

Pseudolarix amabilis (golden larch) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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This native North American tree has fall foliage that may vary from yellow to orange to red, sometimes on the same tree—or even the same leaf!

Acer rubrum (red maple) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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Actually an evergreen shrub, not a bamboo, Nandina domestica produces bright red berries in autumn that persist through winter.

Nandina domestica (heavenly bamboo) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Medinilla multiflora is commonly known as the Malaysian-orchid, though it is neither a true orchid nor native to Malaysia. Native to the Philippines, this species (like many orchids) is an epiphyte: an “air plant” that grows on top of other plants, rather than putting roots in the ground.

Medinilla multiflora (Malaysian-orchid) in the Tropical Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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In fall, the oak-shaped leaves of Hydrangea quercifolia produce vivid shades of purple, red, and gold.

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snow Queen’ (oak-leaved hydrangea) on Magnolia Plaza. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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One of the several maple cultivars in the Japanese Garden, Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum’ displays stunning fall color.

Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum’ (Japanese maple) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Brian Funk.

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This popular garden plant has flower heads that are darker and larger than those of other native asters. They also have more ray flowers, and can reach a height of up to five feet tall. 

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster) in the Water Garden. Photo: Alvina Lai.

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A native tree found in wooded wetland areas, the black tupelo can tolerate a wide range of conditions, from standing water to dry, drought-ridden soils. Its brilliant red autumn foliage can be seen in the Water Garden, the Plant Family Collection, and at the Visitor Center.

Nyssa sylvatica (black tupelo) in the Water Garden. Photo: Sarah Schmidt.

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The maidenhair tree’s fan-shaped leaves turn from green to gold gradually, sometimes creating bands of color. They fall almost in unison, leaving a carpet of yellow leaves beneath the tree.

Ginkgo biloba (maidenhair tree) on the Overlook. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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One of the several maple cultivars in the Japanese Garden, Acer palmatum ‘Lutescens’ displays dazzling yellow color in fall. In Japan, such leaf colors inspire the tradition of momijigari, or autumn leaf viewing, in which foliage fans travel to gardens, parks, and into the mountains to admire the show.

Acer palmatum ‘Lutescens’ (Japanese maple cultivar) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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The luminous fall color of Japanese maples light up the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden in autumn. Acer palmatum was long cultivated in Japan before its introduction to Europe in the 19th century.

Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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The tubular, star-like flowers of this shrub give off a fragrant scent after sunset. 

Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’ (jessamine) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This enormous tropical orchid weighs over 300 pounds and rarely blooms—but when it does, it’s magnificent, with hundreds of yellow-and-brown-spotted blossoms. Even in its native habitat in Southeast Asia, the species blooms infrequently, reportedly once every two to four years.

Grammatophyllum speciosum (tiger orchid) in the Aquatic House. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Native to Thailand and Malaysia, this small tropical tree is distinctive for its pinwheel-shaped blooms. 

Gardenia carinata (golden gardenia) in the Entry House. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Japanese maples are a popular bonsai tree, known for their brilliant fall color and easy cultivation. The Bonsai Museum offers a colorful autumn display.

Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) in the Bonsai Museum. Photo: Sarah Schmidt.

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This evergreen shrub produces fragrant white flowers that are followed by purplish-black berries. The berries are edible—but not particularly tasty.

Myrtus communis (common myrtle) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This flowering shrub belongs to the Caprifoliaceae, or honeysuckle family. Abelia species tend to be low-maintenance, with a bloom time that extends into fall.

Abelia ‘Rose Creek’ (Abelia ‘Rose Creek’) in the Osborne Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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It’s hard to miss this iconic plant, whose flowers resemble a bright bird in flight. In its native South Africa, when endemic birds drink the nectar of Strelitzia reginae, its petals open to shower their feet with pollen.

Strelitzia reginae (bird-of-paradise) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Known to bloom for long periods in Japan, this rather small tree flowers off and on throughout mild winters. The flower buds are pale pink, opening to white flowers.

Prunus ‘Fudan-zakura’ (everblooming cherry) on Cherry Walk and in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Euphorbia milii is a shrub-like tropical succulent from Madagascar with large, dramatic spines on its stems and branches.

Euphorbia milii (crown-of-thorns) in the Desert Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Native to the southeastern United States, this pretty understory tree produces small orange-red fruits in the fall. 

Crataegus viridis ‘Winter King’ (green hawthorn) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Lee Patrick.

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Sumacs are among the first trees to change colors in fall. Staghorn sumac is a native species, and its vivid foliage can be seen lighting up roadsides and forest edges this time of year.

Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac) in the Discovery Garden. Photo: Alvina Lai.

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This moisture-loving plant, native to central Africa and the Nile Valley, can grow up to 8 feet tall. The stems were used in ancient Egypt to make a material similar to paper called papyrus.

Cyperus papyrus (papyrus) in the Aquatic House. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Chinese juniper is an evergreen with scaly scented needles and brown bark that peels off in strips. Relatively salt-tolerant, it can thrive near roads and driveways.

Juniperus chinensis ‘Robust Green’ (Chinese juniper) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Ajania pacifica (gold-and-silver chrysanthemum) in the Osborne Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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These woody-stemmed climbers are known for their trumpet-shaped flowers. They produce a sweet fragrance, especially in the evening.

Solandra longiflora (chalice vine) in the Aquatic House. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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In autumn, the seedheads of this native clematis species resemble fluffy clouds. 

Clematis virginiana (virgin's bower) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Elizabeth Peters.

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Quercus stellata (post oak) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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Enkianthus perulatus ‘J.I. Pennock’ (white enkianthus) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Elizabeth Peters.

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Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’ (Japanese maple) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Elizabeth Peters.

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This versatile groundcover, native to China, has vivid blue flowers that appear later in the summer. Like many groundcovers, it spreads by sending out rhizomes, or horizontal underground stems.

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (hardy blue-flowered leadwort) in the Osborne Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Abelia chinensis (Chinese abelia) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Native to the Amazon basin, this bulb in the Amaryllis family bears large, fragrant, pure white flowers on slender stalks.

Eucharis × grandiflora (Amazon lily), blooming within the dense foliage of the Tropical Pavilion. Photo: Lee Patrick.

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This gracefully arching pale-green grass turns pretty colors of gold and orange in the fall, offering multi-season color and texture.

Hakonechloa macra (Japanese forest grass) on Lily Pool Terrace. Photo: Lee Patrick.

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Planted in 1916, this tree is one of the Garden’s most remarkable. It has multiple trunks and sprawls to 75 feet in diameter. To preserve this century-old tree as long as possible, cables have been installed to support some of the sprawling limbs. It still flowers every few years and displays vivid fall color.

Cladrastis kentukea (American yellowwood) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Sarah Schmidt.

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Longwood Garden’s cultivar of this naturally occurring holly hybrid, native to the southeast, was named “holly of the year” in 2022 and is hardy in more northern climes.

Ilex × attenuata ‘Longwood Gold’ (topal holly) near the Visitor Center. Photo: Lee Patrick.

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Chrysanthemums are a classic garden flower. Native to Asia and parts of Europe, they bloom through autumn.

Chrysanthemum ‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’ (chrysanthemum ‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’) in the Rose Arc Pool. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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The first of the hellebores to bloom is the Christmas-rose, so-called because it blooms around Christmastime and has a flower arrangement that looks similar to that of a rose.

Helleborus niger ‘Hgc Josef Lemper’ (Christmas-rose) blooming near the Flatbush Avenue entrance. Photo: Lee Patrick.

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Pycnanthemum muticum (clustered mountain-mint) on Magnolia Plaza. Photo: Elizabeth Peters.

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