IMA horticulturist Geoff VonBurg chats with guides-in-training, led by Jim Kincannon, also an IMA horticulturist. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
I’m a guide in training at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and last night, just as the sky cleared and the sun broke through, about a half dozen of my counterparts strolled through the gardens tended by IMA horticulturist Jim Kincannon.
Sedum ternatum and crested iris at the IMA. (C) Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp
It’s part of our training to see these lovely beds and hear the horticulturists talk about their gardens and the perennials, trees and shrubs plants that live there. On this visit, we saw late-spring blooming plants, including a striking stand of Sedum ternatum, a woodland plant that is native to the Eastern United States. The sedum was fronted by crested iris (Iris cristata), a lovely miniature with blue flowers.
We saw some interesting plants, including a large self-sown area of Impatiens balfouri, which later in the season will get about 3 feet tall laced with blue, orchid like blooms, under a tree in a moist shady area.
Another impatiens, I. omeiesana, this one root hardy, Kincannon says, has a leaf with a yellow streak that resembles some of the New Guinea types. This one has a yellow flower and needs moist shade.
We also saw a mass planting of comfrey (Symphytum grandiflorum), a low-growing well-behaved ground cover for moist shade, in full bloom.
At the end of our tour lesson, we came upon Geoff VonBerg, another IMA horticulturist, who was at work in the new vegetable garden and apple orchard. The food grown in the gardens will be donated to an area shelter.
Friday, May 8 is National Public Garden Day and the IMA is a perfect setting to celebrate. One the southside, take a stroll through Garfield Park, the city’s oldest public park and garden, where the Sunken Garden is planted with spring bulbs.