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502 241 4788

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6220 Old LaGrange Road
Crestwood, KY 40014

502-241-4788

grow@yewdellgardens.org

Fall Hours 2020

Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm

Sunday, 12pm-4pm

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Find peace in the gardens. 🌿 Ben, age 5, takes in the beauty of the season.

Megan’s third pick for her spooky plant takeover:

Hamamelis virginia – Witch Hazel

Witch Hazel is good for many things. It has many medicinal properties; it is an anti-inflammatory, is full of antioxidants, helps reduce skin irritation, and anyone who uses witch hazel as a toner knows that it can help reduce and keep away blemishes.

In the garden witch hazel is a beautiful specimen. It typically stays fairly small, has amazing fall color, and has very interesting flowers that bloom in the late fall/early winter, a time when not much else is in bloom.

While the Witch part of the plant’s name doesn’t have anything to do with witches (it actually comes from a Middle English word, wyche, which means bendable or pliable (and is also where the word wicker comes from)) Witch Hazel does have a rich history in Folklore. Because of its powerful ability to draw out elements, Witch Hazel is said to be one of the best trees to use to make a dowsing rod from. These dowsing rods can be used in water witching and help to locate water sources.

Megan’s second choice for her spooky plant takeover:

Quercus nigra – Water Oak

Oaks are a great choice for low or wet spots, if you have the room for them.

Oaks are a very important symbol in many cultures and are often seen as the tree of life. The German’s have a belief that elves and fairies live in the holes in the oak trees. Some other cultures believe that spirits are able to enter and exit through the knots and holes in the tree.

Next week, plant a trip to Yew Dell to experience our self-guided Spooky Plant tour! This tour is one of several activities we have planned for Fall Week (October 27th-November 1st) to celebrate the season and Halloween. For more details, follow the link in our bio 🍂

Horticulture Apprentice, Megan Johnson, is doing a social media takeover today! She is sharing her favorite spooky plants found at Yew Dell and interesting facts about them. First up... pumpkins 🎃

Cucurbita sp. – pumpkin

Pumpkins are in the same family (Cucurbitaceae) with cucumbers, zucchini, squash, and some melons. I’m sure many gardeners aren’t surprised by this since all of these plants are vigorous growers and have a habit of taking over the garden bed. While the pumpkins we typically use for carving aren’t great for making pumpkin pie the seeds, when roasted, make a great snack. Also, did you know that you can eat pumpkin flowers?!

Here at Yew Dell we like to celebrate not only the plants themselves, but the stories they contain. The tradition of carving pumpkins began as a Celtic ritual. They believed that the light from the carved pumpkins (originally they used turnips!) would help keep away bad spirits and help guide the good spirits through their journey to the afterlife. Many cultures believe that this time of the year is when the spirit realm is closest to that of the living making Halloween the perfect time to remember and honor loved ones that have passed.

Fall fairy houses are beginning to show up along the path to the Fairy Forest! The last of the houses will be delivered tomorrow. Plan a visit to the gardens next week for Fall Week! We will have several self-guided activities for the whole family to celebrate Halloween. Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who have helped make our gardens look so festive this fall season! #fairyfriday

Garden mum (Chrysanthemum 'Hillside Sheffield Pink')

Here’s an opinion from the garden: Perennial mum >
Annual mum.

This mum is more unruly than the balls of mum you can buy at the stores now. It’s way more satisfying to have it come back every year. And it spreads, so if you have one, the next year you can divide it and have two or three!
#whatsinbloom

Photo taken by volunteer photographer, Maria Margulis.

#DidYewKnow there is a pet cemetery at Yew Dell? The area in front of the corn crib serves as a resting place for Klein family pets. Theodore carved the headstones, beginning his interest in stone carving which is seen all around the grounds. Continuing the tradition, an artist carved a cat headstone as a memorial to Persimmon, the first garden cat of Yew Dell Botanical Gardens. #spookyseason #tbt #TheodoreThursday
Plan your spooky visit to Yew Dell! Next week, we will be celebrating Halloween Tuesday, October 27th through Sunday, November 1st. We have several family-friendly activities planned including a Spooky Plant self-guided tour, Scarecrow and ArBOOretum scavenger hunt, and a fall fairy house display! Boo Dell might be canceled, but nature isn’t. 🍁 🍂

Beautiful morning at Yew Dell. #PollinatorMeadow #OverlookGarden

Bulb planting around the castle began this morning! Thanks to @wave3news for coming out to document our volunteers in action. They planted a total of 3000 bulbs. Now we wait for spring... #TheBigBloom #WeLoveOurVolunteers

You wore the perfect shirt for the occasion, Oliver. #yewsmell #corpseflower

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