Blooms of Note
To our visitors: please do not pick or dig up our flowers. They are here for everyone’s enjoyment.
We will gladly give you resources to acquire flowers for your own garden. Thank you.
The Giant Coneflower (Rudbeckia ‘Golda Emanis’) is blooming is the Water Wise Demonstration Garden. This native perennial can grow to six to eight feet tall with silvery blue leaves and a dark cone surrounded by bright yellow leaves. There is a coloring page of this plant to download.
Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) is growing several places in Hatcher Garden. Also known as Oswego Tea and Red Bergamot, this plant bears a showy head of bright red, tubular flowers forming a clustered head atop a three foot stem. This native red head of course attracts hummingbirds and other pollinators.
The White Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata) is blooming in the Children’s Garden below the Children’s Garden Gazebo. Water lilies were planted by Harold Hatcher in what is now the Upper Pond and it is good to see them back again. The scientific name means: Nymphaea alludes to the beautiful water nymphs of Greek Mythology and odorata reflects the fragrant smell they generate. Water lilies are nyctinastic (sleep movement); they are open during the day but close at night to protect the pollen.
Shrubby St. John’s Wort (Hypericum prolificum) is currently blooming in the Water Wise Demonstration Garden. A puffy array of anthers surround the pistil that sits atop 5 petals. The shrub forms into an informal shaggy mound with narrow green leaves that is drought tolerant.
The Spotted Bellflower (Campanula punctata) or Canterbury Bells is also blooming in the Water Wise Demonstration Garden. The maroon spots on this bell-shaped flower are only seen on the inside of the long pink petals. The plant spreads by rhizomes and can become invasive. There is a coloring page of this plant to download.
Located near the lower pond and across from the John A. Nevison Teaching Amphitheater, the bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) is now blooming. A couple more are growing near the Water Wise Demonstration Garden and Josephine Hatcher Woodland Garden as well. A small deciduous shrub related to the buckeye tree growing near the entrance of the garden, it has the same five segmented compound leaves. The striking white feathery flower with its red anthers on the stamens looks like a bottle brush, hence the name.
Gaura Whirling Butterflies (Oenothera lindheimeri) is currently blooming at the entrance of the garden. Also known as Wand Flower, Apple blossom Grass, and Bee Blossom, it is a native of the Southeastern United States. Named after plant collector Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer, who is often called the Father of Texas Botany, the bright white flowers with pink sepals grow on a dark stem that waves in the wind, hence its name wand flower.
Splendor in Every Season
There’s always something in bloom at Hatcher Garden. While blooms cannot be predicted with complete accuracy, the following list offers a sample of what you may see throughout the year.
Note: ‘Single quotes’ indicate cultivar names and “double quotes” indicate common names.
Spring
Ajuga reptans ‘Burgundy Glow’
Ajuga reptans ‘Chocolate Chip’
Amsonia hubrichtii (bloom) “Threadleaf Bluestar”
Azalea, many colors
Azalea, native
Baptisia sphaerocarpa ‘Screaming Yellow’
Cercis canadensis ‘Alba’ “White Redbud”
Cercis canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’ “Weeping Redbud”
Cercis canadensis ‘Traveller’
Clematis armandii “Evergreen Clematis”
Daffodils, assorted cultivars
Dianthus ‘Bath’s Pink’
Erythronium americanum
Fothergilla (bloom)
Galanthus nivalis
Geranium ‘Rozanne’ “Woodland Geranium”
Hyacinth, assorted cultivars
Iris sibirica 'Caesar's Brother'
Kerria japonica
Leucojum aestivum “Summer Snowflake”
Lunaria annua (bloom) “Money Plant”
Magnolia soulangeana “Tulip Magnolia”
Mertensia viriginica - “Virginia Bluebells”
Ornithogalum umbellatum “Star of Bethlehem”
Philadelphus coronarius “Mock Orange”
Phlox divaricata ‘Woodland Phlox’
Rhododendron hybrida
Spirea vanhouttei “Bridal Wreath Spirea”
Trillium cernuum
Trillium grandiflorium
Trillium recurvatum
SUMMER
Achillea millefolium Yarrow
Aesculus parviflora “Bottlebrush Buckeye”
Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’
Asclepias tuberosa “Butterfly weed”
Buddleja davidii “Butterfly Bush”
Caryopteris divaricata ‘Snow Fairy’ “Bluebeard”
Cephalanthus occidentalis ‘Sputnik’ “Buttonbush”
Clerodendrum trichotomum (flower) “Peanut Butter tree”
Coreopsis verticillata ‘Zagreb’ “Threadleaf Coreopsis”
Delosperma cooperi “Ice Plant”
Digitalis purpurea “Foxglove”
Echinacea ‘Magnus’ “Purple Coneflower”
Gardenia, many cultivars
Hemerocallis “Daylily” assorted cultivars
Hibiscus hybrid ‘Moy Grande’
Hosta, many cultivars
Hydrangeas (Oakleaf, Mophead and Lacecap) – many cultivars
Illicium floridanum “Florida Anise”
Indigofera ‘Little Pinkie’
Koelreuteria paniculata “Golden Rain Tree”
Lantana ‘New Gold’ and others
Liriope ‘Royal Purple’ and others “Monkey Grass”
Musa basjoo “Banana Tree”
Penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’
Physostegia virginiana ‘Miss Manners’ “Obedient Plant”
Salvia ‘Black and Blue’
Salvia ‘Hot Lips’
Salvia ‘Lipstick’
Trachelospermum jasminoides “Confederate Jasmine”
Tradescantia “Purple Heart”
AUTUMN
Acer palmatum “Japanese Maple” many cultivars
Acer saccharum “Sugar Maple”
Amsonia hubrichtii (foliage) “Threadleaf Bluestar”
Callicarpa americana “Beautyberry”
Camellia sasanqua
Chasmanthium latifolium “Northern Sea Oats”
Chelone lyonii ‘Hot Lips’ “Turtlehead”
Chrysanthemum ‘Country Girl,’ ‘Michelle’s Pink,’ and others
Clerodendrum trichotomum (seed) “Peanut Butter tree”
Cotoneaster salicifolius “Willow-leaf Cotoneaster”
Crinum “Crinum Lily”
Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ “Montbretia”
Cyclamen hederifolium “Hardy Cyclamen”
Euonymus americanus “Strawberry Bush” or “Hearts-a-Bustin”
Eupatorium dubium ‘Little Joe’ Joe Pye Weed
Fothergilla (foliage)
Gingko biloba “Maidenhair Tree”
Hedychium coronarium “Ginger Lily”
Hibiscus mutabilis
Hibiscus syriacus “Rose of Sharon” or “Althea”
Impatiens capensis “Jewelweed”
Leucanthemum ‘Becky’ “Shasta Daisy”
Liquidambar ‘Slender Silhouette’ “Narrow Sweetgum”
Lobelia cardinalis “Cardinal Flower”
Lunaria annua (seed) “Money Plant”
Lycoris radiata “Surprise Lily”
Mahonia eurybracteata
Muhlenbergia capillaris “Pink Muhly Grass”
Osmanthus fragrans ‘Fudingzhu’ “Tea Olive”
Parrotia persica ‘Select’ “Persian Ironwood”
Polianthes “Tuberosa”
Rudbeckia “Black Eyed Susan”
Rudbeckia maxima “Giant Coneflower”
Salvia leucantha “Mexican Sage”
Solidago ‘Fireworks’ “Goldenrod”
WINTER
Lonicera fragrantissima “Winter Honeysuckle”
Magnolia stellata “Star Magnolia”
Mahonia bealei ‘Winter Sun’ “Leatherleaf Mahonia”
Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’
Nandina domestica
Pachysandra “Japanese Spurge”
Prunus mume ‘Peggy Clarke’ “Flowering Apricot”
Acer palmatum 'Sango-kaku' “Coral Bark Maple”
Camellia japonica “Harold Hatcher favorites”
Edgeworthia chrysantha “Paper Bush”
Eranthis hyemalis “Winter Aconite”
Hamamelis “Witch Hazel”
Iris reticulata
Jasminum nudiflorum “Winter Jasmine”
Lilium formosanum “Formosa Lily
year-round
Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’ “Sweet Flag”
Cyrtomium falcatum 'Rochfordianum' “Holly Fern”
Cephalataxus harringtonia ‘Dukes Garden’ “Spreading Yew”
Conifers (Gazebo Conifer Garden and ACS Selection Garden)
Distylium ‘Vintage Jade’ “Blue Leaf Isu”
Heuchera ‘Caramel’ and ‘Key Lime Rickey’
Ophiopogon “Mondo Grass”
Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’ Switch grass
Poncirus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’ “Hardy Orange”