A quick visit to Missouri Botanical Garden

Like many, our weekends are shifted one day to Sunday/Monday, and on Mondays we like to get out and do something different and fun. We didn't have a lot of time this past week but we decided to take a quick walk around Missouri Botanical Garden.

We visited in late March last year, so this may be the earliest I've ever been here. Some things never change regardless of the time of year you visit -- the Climatron will always draw your eye -- but as expected the planting beds look so different in late winter.

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Hellebores were attracting honeybees...

...and even though the woodland bulbs were not yet in full swing...

...I still got a boost from the bright, fresh foliage!

Daffodil foliage and bald cypress

There's still time to see winter trees, so wonderful and branchy...

...and many of them were already blooming! The garden has a large collection of witchhazels, all in bloom right now:

Some fragrant, some not. Why don't I have any of these in my garden? I'm going to say that the deer will probably eat them. That's my excuse. (Anybody know if it's true?)

So much pretty so far, but what's this?

Something is missing here! Know what it is? Here's a hint:

The bamboo grove has been removed! A sign said that it had been removed to make room for "more plantings". Booooo! This is what they removed (photos from Oct 2011):

I don't think there's anything else that they can plant here that will have the same impact as the bamboo did. This was the largest of three plantings, and had been there for decades. I am one unhappy garden member. 

Still, there's so much more to see here -- it's not always about bamboo, right?

The crocus field just getting going:

Moving on to the Japanese Garden, where texture and form combine to create beauty:

If you don't visit in winter, you won't see the pruning required to keep these trees and shrubs looking so magical:

And magical they are...

This tree is the star of the Japanese Garden for me, beautiful from top...

...to bottom:

This area was quite nice too...

...with the winter-damaged blades looking like silver in the sunlight:

I'm glad they hadn't mowed this area down yet. So wonderful!

We were only at the MBG for 45 minutes or so, just enough time for a quick walk around the perimeter essentially. Most of the beds looked like this:

So there wasn't nearly as much to see as there is during growing season. 

Still a fun and wonderful visit. If you're in the St. Louis area, you really should visit (and consider becoming a member -- which makes short visits like this a no-brainer!)

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