Cornell Plantations: Ithaca, NY

[Kristl Walek]

I've returned from a whirlwind trip to visit the Cornell Plantations in Ithaca, NY. With glorious autumn weather and the leaves at their early stage of colouring, things could not have been better.

Ithaca is a lovely small city in beautiful natural surroundings, befitting the ivy-league university.

Cornell Plantations comprises 14 individual gardens and a 150 acre arboretum.

Quoted from their website:
http://www.plantations.cornell.edu/

"Cornell Plantations also manages 3500 acres of biologically diverse natural areas including bogs, fens, gorges, glens, meadows, woodlands and other valuable communities and features. These ecologically fragile areas, obtained by gift and purchase, are protected for research, education, and the enjoyment of informed visitors."

The main purpose of my visit was to see their Acer collection (one of their core collections) which was quite impressive, considering this garden is in northern New York and even though many of the rare, exotic species were still in their infancy.

I did not take many photographs because???? I suppose I was not in the mood. Also walking through the large arboretum all day is tiring without thinking of anything else.

I arrived at the Gift Shop, which is also the area where bloom was still to be seen. In the courtyard here was a hot mix of tender plants.

In the surrounding gardens the majority of the herbaceous plants still going strong were North American native species.

Campsis radicans Flava
Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowering'
Chelone lyonii
The beautiful Aster oblongifolius, and the pink cultivar 'Raydon's Birthday'
Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eiler'
Monarda citriodora

I did not photograph their wonderful collections of ornamental grasses, which were at their peak right now.

[Kristl Walek]

The arboretum is huge....and I barely scratched the surface of all there was to see.

The setting is beautiful---and I wish I had had the energy to take more photographs.
The Canada Geese certainly enjoyed it as much as me.

Here is only a tiny, tiny sampling of some of the Acers in their collection. I was particularly excited to see the A. carpinifolium although many of the Asian snake-bark species were very lovely.

[Kristl Walek]

A few more of the woody species.

[Kristl Walek]

and the last set...

take a good look at the Chionanthus virginicus---that blue sea behind it is seed!!!!!!!!
the plants were literally hanging on the ground they were so heavy with berries.

[Brian Ellis]

Kristl,
Seeing the Cornus Kousa reminded me of the Early Autumn Show of the Norfolk and Norwich Horticultural Society.  Under "Any other Fruit" was Cornus Kousa, the exhibitor said they are edible but there is more seed than food!

[Kristl Walek]

Brian,

I beg to disagree with that exhibitors comment, because unless plants are a lot more fertile across the ocean, the rather large fruit normally has only 1-2 seeds.

[Brian Ellis]

Kristl, I think looking at your picture that the fruit exhibited was a lot smaller and less luscious!