Village Condominium Association

The Village Gardens' Finale
by J. F. Weiler

The village burning bushes’ color was superb this year! The brilliant vermillion red leaves were intense. The many different types of hostas provided a nice color contrast with their large, greenish-yellow and golden-brown leaves. And pansies are still smiling upward from amongst the leaves. I think of pansies as delicate, yet they grow for the longest season.

This seasonal transition is best described by Joni Mitchell when she sings:
“I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down …”

A Favorite Tree Park

Arnold Arboretum’s 265-acre park provides great walking paths amongst trees gathered from around the world. Arboretum collectors travel the earth looking for new woody plants to add to the Explorer’s Garden, located on the sunny south side of Bussey Hill.

Included in the Explorer’s Garden are: beautybushes, cedar of Lebanon conifers, Ernest Wilson silk trees, Sargent crabapples, seven-son flower trees and winter hazels, which bloom in late winter!

A dawn redwood, Arnold Arboretum	Linden trees, Arnold Arboretum. There are many Linden trees in the Village landscape
Photos by J.F. Weiler

The Arboretum also offers free talks. Registration is requested. Register at http://Arboretum.harvard.edu or phone 617-524-1718. The Arnold Arboretum is located at 125 Arborway, Boston.

Deadly Nightshades: From Potatoes to Poisons

Presentation on Wednesday, December 7th from 7 to 8 p.m. Gregory Anderson will discuss the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which includes edible potatoes and tomatoes that we all grow in our gardens and poisonous mandrake, henbane and belladonna, which we do not want in our gardens.

Ginko: A Fresh Look at a Living Fossil

Presentation on Tuesday, December 13th from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Peter Del Tredici will discuss the Ginko biloba, one of the oldest trees on the planet. Del Tredici has recently visited remote areas of southwest China searching for wild Ginko trees. The Ginko fruit are used in traditional Chinese medicine to improve memory, which I think I will try out!

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Written for the Dec. 2011Village Newsletter.