A key to the successful operation of the Wilmot Botanical Gardens is the conduct of routine maintenance including chores such as mowing, weeding, trimming or replacing dead plants and shrubs and keeping our irrigation system in operation. Occasionally, larger projects requiring a totally different skill set present themselves. One such project has involved repair of our pergola just east of the conference center. This structure constructed of western red cedar was purchased as a kit about 10 years ago and was erected by carpenters from the health science center.

Gardening has been anecdotally touted to benefit the gardener’s mental health for more than 200 years.  However, in the last five years, a number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the effects of horticultural therapy on participant mental health have begun to emerge in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.  Randomized controlled trials are the gold standard for evidence-based medical research.  Moreover, science is most robust when research evidence and outcomes are independently observed and confirmed.

One of the reasons I love living in Florida is that I can garden and take walks outside year-round. There are many other states whose residents can benefit from nature and sunshine year-round; in fact, it’s been reported that only 1% of those living in Florida suffer from seasonal affective disorder while almost 10% of those in New Hampshire suffer from it. Statistics on seasonal affective disorder reveal that the amount of cases reported is much higher in the northern hemisphere. The more north, the more common the disorder is, most likely as a result of the progressively shorter winter days.

And Now, the Cycle Begins Again

Spring is a time in the garden for running about trying to get everything done, and I mean everything. After a few wintry beatings below 30 degrees, suddenly, all your plants are growing at once—and here come the weeds! Not that we didn’t have weeds during the winter months, but now they’re really coming into their own.

Margaret Davis, Japonica
Color: White to cream white with a few rose red lines and dashed and edged bright vermillion

Form: Full peony form

Growth Rate: Slow

Year of Origin Registration: 1963

Royal Velvet, Japonica
Color: Dark velvet red

Form: Semidouble

Growth Rate: Vigorous

Year of Origin Registration: 1989

Taylor's Perfection, Non-reticulata hybrid - C.x williamsii
Color: Light Pink

Form: Semidouble with occasional petaloids

Growth Rate: Average

Year of Origin Registration: 1975

Bon Bon, Japonica
Color: White splotched red with golden anthers

Form: Peony

Growth Rate: Vigorous

Year of Origin Registration: 1966

Happy Birthday, Japonica

Color: Light pink striped deeper pink with yellow anthers and white filaments

Form: Peony form - petals are fluted and ruffled

Growth Rate: Vigorous

Year of Origin Registration: 1979