With their copper-colored peeling bark and interesting arrangement of branches, paperbark maple trees make a wonderful addition to the winter landscape in the Hudson Valley.

Known botanically as Acer griseum, these showy, slow-growing trees also offer deep green leaves with a silvery underside in spring and summer and a crimson-colored crown in fall. At full upright maturity, they will reach a height of 40 feet.

Here’s a wonderful paperbark maple I found at the NY Botanical Garden.

Paperbark maples are hardy to USDA Zone 4, but they do best when planted in a somewhat sheltered spot with filtered instead of direct sunlight and moist, well-drained soil.

For the most part, they are pest and disease resistant. Like all maples, they have very shallow roots, so be careful what you plant around them.
Allen Paterson, the author of “Best Trees for Your Garden� (Firefly, 2003), suggests planting a few paperbark maples in your garden instead of a solitary specimen.

“It often looks lonely,� he writes. “A little grove of three or five planted 15 feet apart would make a wonderful legacy.�

Native stone is one of the Hudson Valley’s great treasures.

Earlier this week, I wrote an article for the paper about a new exhibit at the Westchester Arts Council’s Arts Exchange building in White Plains. It celebrates the work of eight stonemasons and looks at all of the great works in stone in Westchester.

The old stone walls in northern Westchester get lots of attention in the show. Here’s one at the John Jay Homestead in Katonah (photo by Frank Becerra Jr.).

There are also photos of some of the great private homes in the county, like Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate in Pocantico Hills (photo by Susan Farley).

The masons’ work was not finished when I visited last week for a preview, but the photos alone are worth the trip to see the exhibit.

Tomorrow night at 7:30, Susan Allport of Katonah is giving a free talk on the stone walls of Westchester. She is the author of “Sermons in Stone: The Stone Walls of New England and New York� (W.W. Norton, 1994).

Here’s email from Pam Freeman:

“Tuesday, March 11, 2008 7:00 pm
Curbing Biodiversity Loss.
Dr. Stuart Pimm, Keynote Speaker

“On Tuesday, March 11th at 7:00 pm the Cary Institute is offering a special public lecture by world renowned conservation biologist Dr. Stuart Pimm. His talk will explore the role that carbon offsets can play in protecting land and curbing biodiversity loss. A Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University, Dr. Pimm is an expert on endangered species conservation, biodiversity, species extinctions, and habitat loss. He has authored over 200 scientific publications and four books, including the critically acclaimed “The World According to Pimm: a Scientist Audits the Earthâ€?. Free and open to the public, the event will be held at the Institutes’ Auditorium, located at 2801 Sharon Tpk., Millbrook, N.Y. Questions? Please contact Pamela Freeman (845) 677-7600 ext. 121 or e-mail freemanp@ecostudies.org

“Saturday, March 22, 2008 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Full Moon Walk

“On Saturday, March 22nd at 6:30 pm the Cary Institute will host a Full Moon Walk. Would you like to find out what is out and about on the Spring Equinox? During a short, and safe, wildlife “moonwalkâ€? we will look and listen for frogs, birds and other creatures along our path. We will end a the Cary Institute’s Environmental Monitoring Station and, in this moonlit field, look for animals, enjoy the night and learn about how the Cary Institute is striving to understand the air and water quality of our region. Free and open to the public, the event will begin at the Institute’s Plant Science Building parking area located at 2801 Sharon Tpk., Millbrook, N.Y. Questions? Please contact Kim Notin at (845) 677-7600 ext. 303 or e-mail notink@ecostudies.org”

As friends and blog readers know, I’m crazy about hummingbirds — and I grow lots of stuff I know they like.

Ed Bonci, a Westchester master gardener and great dahlia grower who lives in Eastchester, sent me a cool link with amazing up-close photos of baby and nesting hummingbirds.

Be sure to click through to the end to see the toothpick and penny in the nest, for size comparison.

Here’s a link to some of my earlier posts on hummingbirds.

Here’s an article on hellebores that I wrote for one of our Home&Design magazines a couple of years ago:

“With their bold, nodding flowers shaped like buttercups, early-blooming hellebores are the perfect antidote to the moody, melancholy days of late winter, when the snow and slush just won’t seem to go away and crocuses and daffodils are just beginning to climb out of the ground.

A decade ago, hellebores were considered rare collectors’ plants, unknown to most of the gardening public except perhaps in England. But propagation methods have improved in recent years, and there’s been new interest from more and more gardeners.

(For images, click here for Sunshine Farm and Gardens in Renick, W.Va., or here for Terra Nova Nurseries in Canby, Ore.)

“Winning the coveted Plant of the Year designation in 2005 from the Perennial Plant Association has also helped push hellebores into the hands of a gardening public hungry for hardy, deer-resistant plants that bloom when little else does.

“I love them,” says Jeanne Wilcox, a landscape designer who lives in White Plains. “When I worked at Nabel’s two years ago, I sold them to everyone.”

“You can come out in March, in the snow, and they’re in bloom,” she says.

Hellebores come in a wide variety of species and named and unnamed cultivars, but the best known and easiest to grow are the Oriental hybrid hellebores (Helleborus x hybridus) commonly known as the Lenten rose. In warmer climates like North and South Carolina, they do bloom during Lent, the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Sarah Matlock of Ossining says that she has early-blooming varieties of hellebores that bloom as early as February. “Of course, it depends on what kind of winter we’re having,” she says.

Hellebores are also extremely long-blooming perennials. Even in June, hellebores still in full flower can be found in garden writer and educator Lee Reich’s robust garden in upstate New Paltz. Reich, who grew up in Scarsdale and Yonkers, calls hellebores, along with hardy cyclamens, the “plants of the future.”

“They’re such great plants,” he says. “They bloom for so long and they look good even when they’re not in bloom.”

Growing hellebores requires a bit of patience, though. Like peonies, seedlings grow slowly, often taking three years to come into bloom. But the plants form dense clumps that eventually reach 2 to 3 feet wide and 2 feet high.

Once in bloom, the plants are irresistible. Colors range from speckled creams to rich chocolate purples and include many yellows, pinks, greens and reds. Many of the flowers have a heavy combination of spots and freckles and appear almost two-toned.

Hellebores like a spot in the garden with dappled shade, good drainage and rich, loamy soil, but they will tolerate a fair amount of clay (good news for Rocklanders). Also like peonies, they have deep, temperamental roots and resent being transplanted or moved, so try to pick a good spot where they’ll be happy for a long time.

They do particularly well under old deciduous trees, which provide full sun in winter and spring and a broad protective canopy of leaves in summer.

The flowers face downward so a hillside site that allows you to look up at the flowers would work well. This would also give them the good drainage they crave.

“You have to bend over to see the flowers, which I kind of like,” Wilcox says. “And the flower stays on forever.”

They work particularly well as cut flowers, she says.

Matlock, who gardens with mostly full sun in her Ossining back yard, keeps her hellebores in a shady spot, combining them with early-blooming bulbs such as snowdrops.

“They look pretty nice underneath a witch hazel I have because it starts pretty early, too,” she says.

Other early-spring bloomers that look good with hellebores include epimediums, anemones, trilliums and primroses. Plants with contrasting foliage, such as ferns, hostas, heucheras and variegated lamiums, also make great combinations.

The dark green leaves are thick and glossy, standing up to snow and wind for much of the winter. Hellebores are not officially evergreens, but the leaves stay green most of the year, only turning brown and tattered in late winter as the snows begin to melt and blooms begin to form.

Simply snip off the tattered foliage around the new buds and new growth will quickly appear.

The leaves of the plant contain poisonous alkaloids that may bother gardeners with sensitive skin (just wear garden gloves), but those same alkaloids and other poisons make the plant extremely distasteful to deer, voles and other pests. Aphids, though, can sometimes be a problem.

Hellebores can be found in nurseries throughout the spring, summer and fall. Prices are rather high, especially for the named varieties, but many hellebores throw off lots of seeds and self-sow generously.

Trade your seedlings with friends and neighbors to bring new varieties into your garden. Once you try this wondrous perennial, you’ll probably be hooked. Some say it’s the first sign of becoming a serious gardener.

Barry Glick is a great plantsman with a fine eye for hellebores. He’s also more than a little bit of a nut about the plants he loves.

Barry owns Sunshine Farm and Gardens in Renick, W.V. It’s mostly wholesale, but Barry has always had a soft spot for home gardeners who want some of his often rare and unusual plants.

According to his Web site, Barry maintains more than 50,000 flowering size stock helebores for seed production.

If you don’t have any hellebores yet, you’re missing a great deer-resistant plant with loads of winter interest.

Here’s an email from Barry about new hellebore offerings:

“For years now I’ve ignored your desperate pleas for Double and Anemone Flowered Hellebores. I’ve been so selfish in hoarding them. Yes, I’ve wanted to keep them ALL for myself. I’ve been overprotective and stingy. But now, I’ve had an epiphany, a revelation of sorts and I can bear the guilt no longer! (Not really, excuse the drama. I’ve just run out of room and putting kids through college ain’t getting any cheaper :-))

“So today is your lucky day, your prayers have been answered, your dreams are about to come true and I’m gonna make you “An offer you can’t refuse”. (More drama, I just can’t resist it >:-})

“But seriously folks………………….

“The ‘Sunshine Spectaculars’ are the results of years and years of controlled breeding, fanatic attention to detail, insane obsessive compulsiveness and copious record keeping. Each year I painstakingly hand pollinate almost 1000 parent plants that I’ve selected for a multitude of qualities such as depth of color, anemone flowers, double flowers, size of flowers, shape of flowers, vigor, symmetry, lack of symmetry, floriferousness (is that really a word?) etc. For example, one of my favorites, 2002-039 appears below:

“I must confess that I’ve been selling them discreetly to arm twisting visitors for the last couple of years. These folks are the desperate Hellebore fanatics that have travelled here from all corners of the universe and have been able to overpower my sensibilities by waving money directly in my face. I’ve charged them $25.00 for each 2” pot in hopes of discouraging their purchase, but they were only too glad to pay that sum for an unflowered seedling after seeing the parent stock in full flower. You too can see their parents in flower if you come visit me here this Spring, or if you can’t make the journey, go here.

“Each image is a thumbnail and when you click on it, your screen will be flush with color.

“Now, $25.00 may seem like a lot of money for a 2” pot of a plant that hasn’t flowered yet. However, when you look at the parents and understand that double and anemone flowered pollinations produce over 80% double and anemone flowered results and consider that even the few that don’t come true are spectacular selections in their own rights, it IS a reasonable price!

“But, I’ll make it even more palatable for you. If you order a set of 3, which would normally be $75.00 plus $12.00 shipping for a total of $87.00, you can just send me $50.00. If you order 2 sets of 3 for $100.00, I’ll include an additional one for FREE, and you’ll get 7 for $100.00 DELIVERED. That’s HALF PRICE!!

“My supply of these treasures is NOT endless, so please email reservations@sunfarm.com for a reservation # before filling out the order form at http://www.sunfarm.com/orderform.pdf

“I look forward to sharing these unique plants with you.

“Happy Helleboring,
Barry
Barry Glick aka Glicksterus maximus aka The Cyber-Plantsman
Sunshine Farm & Gardens
HC 67 Box 539 B
Renick WV 24966 USA
304-497-2208
EMAIL – barry@sunfarm.com”

In warm winters, witch hazel really will bloom in January. Many serious gardeners I know say they would never have a garden without it.

Even in cold, snowy winters, witch hazel can be counted on for blooms by mid-February or early March.

This common shrub with wispy spidery flowers in a range of citrus colors from yellow to apricot-red often grows to the height of a small tree.

Here’s one I shot at the NY Botanical Garden a couple of weeks ago.

This one seems to have held onto its leaves.

Aren’t the flowers wonderful?

Known botanically as Hamamelis, witch hazel doesn’t like a windy site, but it tolerates a wide range of light conditions. Like flowering dogwoods, these versatile deer-resistant shrubs make a good understory plant near oaks, beeches, pines and maples. They also do well along a stream or around the edges of woodland sites.

In a suburban yard, plant them where you can see them up close, perhaps near the garage or outside the back door.

Here’s another variety, ‘Barmstedt Gold,’ also at NYBG, in the home gardening area.

After the blooms fade in spring, interesting 3- to 4-inch green leaves with scalloped edges emerge all along the brownish-gray branches. In fall, they turn a gorgeous yellow that lights up the landscape.

Plant them in rich organic soil and keep them well watered the first year or two. In general, they don’t need much pruning.

Witch hazel looks particularly good with early-blooming bulbs such as snowdrops, winter aconite and crocus.

If I don’t have to go anywhere, I love a good snowstorm. But in late February — no, not so much.

Looking for a shot of color in this dull, dreary winter? The annual orchid show at the New York Botanical Garden kicks off tomorrow and runs through April 6.

Thousands of luscious orchids will be on display in an illusory tropical paradise in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the largest Victorian-style glasshouse in the country. This year, the show casts a spotlight on Singapore, one of the great orchid centers of the world.

Here’s an image by John Peden and NYBG of Dendrobium Suzanne Neil:

The six-week show has proven to be one of the most popular exhibits at the Botanical Garden since it started six years ago.

The various galleries in the glasshouse will feature a reflecting pool with a spiral planter filled with a rainbow of floating orchids, exotic trees with orchids clinging to branches and twining around their trunks and a full array of miniature orchids.

Psychopsis (formerly Oncidium) papilio (butterfly orchid), also by John Peden:

Designer Thomas Noel worked with the Philip Baloun, the original designer of the orchid show who died last year, to create the façade of a two-story pavilion that you might see in Singapore as well as a series of planting arches reminiscent of formal gardens there.

Docent-led tours, home-gardening demonstrations and Q&A sessions with experts will be available. The garden’s Web site, www.nybg.org, will feature a new orchid care tip each day of the show.

The show was curated by Francisca Coelho, senior curator and associate vice president for glasshouses and exhibitions, and Marc Hachadourian, curator of glasshouse collections.

Outside of the Haupt Conservatory, the Orchid Rotunda on the first floor of the library building will feature a display of Dendrobium orchids, including many specimens of these cane orchids that have been recovered by the Botanical Garden in its role as a Plant Rescue Center. Dendrobiums are epiphytic, meaning that they grow wholly upon another plant but are not parasitic and only depend on the host plant for support rather than nourishment.

Vanilla orchids will be on display in an exhibit on the fourth floor of the library building, “Plants and Fungi: Ten Current Research Stories.� On the sixth floor, you can see large 18th- and 19th-century folios with lavish orchid illustrations.

Want to take a few orchids home and try your hand at growing them? The Shop in the Garden near the Visitor Center will be selling thousands of orchids during the run of the show.

The Botanical Garden is at Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) and Fordham Road in the Bronx. For more information or to purchase tickets online, visit www.nybg.org or call 718-817-8700.

I’m a big fan of Tim Wood’s “The Plant Hunter” blog —it’s a great way to see tons of new plants. He’s the product development manager for Spring Meadow Nursery.

According to his most recent post, he’s just back from the American Nursery and Landscape Association Management Clinic in Louisville, where he met 42 new plants.

Are we getting overwhelmed with too many plant introductions each year, to the point that gardeners are becoming undone with too many choices in the nursery? He brings up lots of good points.

I tend to agree with him. Bring on lots and lots of new plants and let the market decide how they fare.

Any thoughts?

I know it’s a little far for Hudson Valley residents, but this looks like a great event at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Here’s email from Leann Lavin of BBG:

“GreenBridge, the Community Horticulture Program
of Brooklyn Botanic Garden,
Presents the 27th Annual Making Brooklyn Bloom:
Edible NYC: Green It! Grow It! Eat It!

Saturday, March 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

With Featured Speakers, Panel Discussions, Workshops, and Hands-On Exhibits;
Learn about Neighborhood Greening and Growing Local Fruits and Vegetables

“Brooklyn Botanic Garden presents Making Brooklyn Bloom, the Garden’s annual community horticulture event and spring gardening kick-off day, Saturday, March 8, 2007. For 27 years, BBG has produced Making Brooklyn Bloom—an event that has grown more popular as it has become increasingly resonant to the borough’s citizens. The focus this year is community agriculture and the many benefits of urban greening—including growing fresh, organic food. The free event offers hands-on workshops, experienced and passionate speakers who are nationally recognized trailblazers in local food phenomena, and exhibits by regional experts who will present innovative, organic, home gardening techniques. The experts will also provide ideas and techniques for greening urban communities, so that attendees can learn how to grow their own food easily and reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle. Other experts will describe the community health benefits that derive from cultivating open green space and keeping a focus on local food.

“That Webster’s 2007 word of the year is locavore is a clear testament to the explosion of interest across the nation in locally grown food and issues of food security and sourcing practices. Making Brooklyn Bloom, which has been educating communities on growing food since 1971, will showcase the pioneering work of organizations and community gardeners dedicated to sustainability and its incorporation into the urban lifestyle.

“This year’s event features a keynote panel, “From Seed to Table: Building a Healthy Food System,â€? which addresses the strategies and challenges of developing a food infrastructure that makes a healthy diet available to citizens at every socioeconomic level. Participants include Karen Washington, longtime activist for NYC community gardens and key player in the re-funding of the New York State Urban Food Systems Program; food security expert Mark Winne, whose research into public policy and urban food systems will provide a national perspective on the issue; and Kimberly Vargas, senior youth participant at Added Value, a non-profit, community-based organization in Red Hook, who will describe Brooklyn food systems—illustrated by vibrant photographs of Red Hook community food options, which will be on view in the BBG Rotunda.

“No preregistration is required for Making Brooklyn Bloom, but it is suggested that visitors arrive at 10 a.m. to register for the day’s workshops.

“Workshops, many of them hands-on, offer expert guidance and inspiration for greening efforts and food cultivation. In “The Edible Palette,â€? BBG vice president of Horticulture Patrick Cullina will reveal how to landscape using edible plants that are as beautiful as they are delicious. “Raising Chickens and Bees in the Cityâ€? will demystify the practice of raising these critters within city limits and is taught by Owen Taylor, key member of the City Chicken Working Group and lead author of The City Chicken, and Sarita Daftary of East New York Farms! “Sustainable Watering Practices,â€? taught by Lenny Librizzi, an expert from the Water Resources Group, will introduce visitors to innovative practices in water conservation, including rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation. (For a complete list of workshops, please see below.)

“Making Brooklyn Bloom will also present a series of short documentary films that tell the personal, hard-fought stories of new developments in the healthy food system. “Ladies of the Landâ€? is a visual testament to the changing face of the farm community in the U.S., as it documents the lives of four women who begin farming late in life; “Worms in the Big Appleâ€? is a documentary about composting in New York City and the vibrant characters involved in it; and “Women Cyclesâ€? depicts the adventures of three women as they cycle from Washington, D.C. to Montreal, visiting community farming projects in both urban and rural areas along the way.

“Visitors should register by 10 a.m. at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1000 Washington Avenue to secure their first choice of workshops.

“Morning and afternoon workshop topics:

¨ Extending the Season with Cold Frames
Barry Rogers, BBG; Garden Apprentice Program participants

¨ Urban Soil Health, Testing, and Amendment
Uli Lorimer, BBG Native Flora Garden; Brooklyn-Queens Land Trust representatives

¨ The Edible Palette: Food-Producing Plants for the Decorative Landscape
Patrick Cullina, BBG vice president of Horticulture and Operations

¨ Savoring Home-Grown Herbs all Year Round
Sandra McLean, Slow Food NYC

¨ Grow it Anywhere in Windowboxes and Containers
Jennifer Williams, BBG Interior Displays

¨ Community Composting Systems
Charlie Bayrer, Hollenback Garden; Amanda Hickman, Greene Acres Community Garden; Roy Arezzo, Carleton Avenue Brooklyn Bears Community Garden; Claudia Joseph, Garden of Union

¨ Raising Chickens and Bees in the City
Owen Taylor, Just Food; Sarita Daftary, East New York Farms!

¨ Best Vegetables and Fruits for Brooklyn
Gerard Lordahl, Council on the Environment of New York City

¨ Brewing Compost Tea
Karla Osorio-Perez and Luke Halligan, BBG Brooklyn Compost Project

¨ Canning to Preserve the Harvest
Classie Parker, Five Star Community Garden

¨ The Sky’s the Limit: Growing Food on Trellises
Caleb Leech, BBG curator of the Herb Garden

¨ Integrated Pest Management
Jackie Fazio, former BBG director of Horticulture

¨ Seed Starting and Propagation
Solita Stephens, Olympus Garden Club

¨ Fruit and Nut Trees in the City
Paul Glover and Phil Forsyth, Philly Orchard Project

¨ Sustainable Watering Practices
Lenny Librizzi, Council on the Environment of New York City

Some workshops will be held at 11 a.m. and others at 3 p.m; the schedule will be announced at registration. Attendees will have a chance to choose one workshop from each time block, as long as space permits. Guests will receive a free spring gift bag! For more information, visit www.bbg.org or call 718.623.7209.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays. The Garden is closed on Mondays; open holiday Mondays, except Labor Day. Admission is $8 for adults and $4 for senior citizens (65 and older) and students with ID. Children under 12, all school groups, and Garden members are admitted free at all times. Seniors are admitted free all day Friday, and the Garden is free to the public all day on Tuesdays and until noon on Saturdays (except Saturdays of major Public Programs such as Sakura Matsuri). Enjoy free weekday admission (Tuesday through Friday) from November 20, 2007 to February 29, 2008. Visitor entrances are at Flatbush Avenue, at the parking lot gate at 900 Washington Avenue, and at Eastern Parkway. By subway, take the 2 or 3 train to Eastern Parkway or the B (weekdays) or Q train to Prospect Park. By bus, use the B16, B41, B43, B45, B48, or B71. Parking is available at 900 Washington Avenue for a fee. For more information call 718-623-7200. Additional information is also offered online at bbg.org.