It’s Poppin’: July 17

July 17, 2025

It’s summer! Did you enjoy the long holiday weekend? If you took time off from visiting our campuses, now is the time to come back, as our summer wildflowers are blazing with wonder.

Holden Arboretum

This week I visited the butterfly garden and three plants really stood out. First up is cup plant, Silphium perfoliatum. This giant member of the daisy family grows has pairs of large opposite leaves along its stem. The two leaves are fused at the base – a characteristic botanists call “connate”. The leaves form a cup which holds water for some time after rain, giving it the name cup plant.

Also in the butterfly garden and in the wildflower garden, the state endangered royal catchfly, Silene regia, is opening now. These bright-red, five petaled blooms are magnets for hummingbirds.

Finally, also in the butterfly garden, look for the ‘Haas’ Halo’ smooth hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens, which is showing off with big fluffy white inflorescences.

Cleveland Botanical Garden

In the gateway garden, near our weeping katsura tree, you’ll see quite a selection of hydrangeas, beginning with the sublimely pink mountain hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla Tuff Stuff.

To the north, find the pink Hydrangea macrophylla Endless Summer, the mauve-colored Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’, and the white Hydrangea paniculata Quick Fire creating a beautiful display of mid-summer color.

Once inside the campus, visit the butterfly garden and watch for hummingbirds that visit the tubular-shaped flowers of coral honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens ‘Blanche Sandman’.

Finally, swing down to the sunken garden and walk along the wall at the base of the north wall of Woodland Hall. We have several beautiful daylilies in full bloom, including the peach-yellow colored daylily pictured here!

Tom Arbour, M.En.

Curator of Living Collections

As Curator of Living Collections at Holden Forests and Gardens, Tom guides the acquisition and documentation of more than 20,000 plants and trees at Cleveland Botanical Garden and The Holden Arboretum. Significant arboretum collections include oak, crabapple, maple, conifers, and Ohio wildflowers. At the Cleveland Botanical Garden, two biome-based glasshouses contain plants of the Madagascar spiny forest and a rich neotropical rainforest community. Tom is particularly interested in connecting with those wanting to use Holden’s living collections for research. Please contact Tom to learn more about the broad collection of trees and plants at our two campuses.

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