It’s Not Over Yet at Hershey Gardens

October 22nd, 2013

   Like all of our gardens and yards these days, Hershey Gardens is sliding into cold-weather hibernation.

The Four Seasons Statues at Hershey Gardens.

   But for all that’s done and dwindling, it’s amazing how much can be going on still in a mid-autumn garden.

   My wife and I spent the mildly crisp afternoon this past Sunday wandering Milton Hershey’s 23 acres just below Hotel Hershey.

   This was a “pleasure visit.” Usually when I’m over at Hershey Gardens, I’m covering an event or focusing on a particular something for a column.

   Not that those aren’t pleasurable… it’s just that this kind of visit gave me a chance to poke around the corners and peek under the hood.

   Have you ever seen the Four Seasons Statues at the far right end of the Gardens?

   I never did before Sunday. They’re at the edge of a peaceful, grassy plot near where Milton Hershey used to sit and read his newspaper in the evenings.

The Susquehanna Bonsai Club display in Hershey Gardens’ Butterfly House. Notice the shadow of the “real” trees outside through the mesh covering.

   Did you know that a bonsai display is now in the Gardens’ Butterfly House? The Butterfly House closes in mid-September every year, and for the past couple of years, the Susquehanna Bonsai Club has set up about two dozen bonsai specimens in that previously unused fall space.

   The temporary bonsai display stays up until Nov. 10.

   There’s even some talk about someday building a permanent bonsai exhibit at the Gardens. Also a conservatory, if you’ve never heard that proposal.

   You might also be surprised to see how many roses are still blooming in the main Rose Garden.

   I’d estimate the show is still about 25 percent of peak June level – pretty good considering the Rose Garden has more than 5,000 rose bushes.

   Most roses take a lot of care to keep healthy, but in exchange for the effort, they really do pay off with one of the longest bloom periods of any woody plant.

Roses still blooming away in late October at Hershey Gardens.

   Also still going reasonably strong – as of Sunday, at least – were thousands of annuals in the Seasonal Display Gardens and beyond.

   Most annuals could bite the frozen dust this week if the forecasters’ frost predictions are correct.

   Yank your annuals when they turn to mush, but so long as they’re alive and blooming, let them keep going. I’ve had some cold-tough, spring-planted alyssum, dusty miller and blue salvia blooming some years into Thanksgiving.

   Hershey Gardens’ annuals get pulled before then mainly because the staff has to convert that space into bulbs for next spring.

   In our region, October through mid-November is prime time to get those tulips, daffodils and hyacinths buried.

   All of this interest and action is on top of the main highlight – the brilliant foliage of trees and shrubs.

New Guinea impatiens are among the annuals still blooming at Hershey Gardens.

   Hershey Gardens has an excellent collection of fall-foliage specimens, ranging from the fire-engine reds of dwarf cut-leaf Japanese maples to the towering yellow oaks.

   One of my favorite fall-foliage plants isn’t a tree or shrub at all. It’s a native perennial called threadleaf bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii), which is a 3-foot bushy plant with narrow, ferny leaves that turn a burnt gold this time of year. Hershey Gardens has a few in the Perennial Garden.

   Get there soon if you want to cram in one more plant fix before the snows threaten.

   Monday through Thursday hours end at the end of October. Then it’s Friday through Sunday only starting the first week of November (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

   Halloween fans might also like the Pumpkin Glow that takes place this Friday and Saturday (Oct. 25 and 26) from 6 to 8 p.m. This annual event features 150 carved and lit pumpkins accenting the grounds – plus costumed trick-or-treating for the kiddos 12 and under.

   More details on everything are online at www.hersheygardens.org.