Gifted To Longwood Gardens
Albert & Rose Behnke’s Gardens
Years ago, when my grandparents, Albert, and Rose Behnke, passed away, the question came up about what to do with some of the beautiful trees growing in their private garden in Burtonsville, Maryland.
A New Home At Longwood Gardens
With the help of a long-time friend and salesman of Behnke’s, Jack Lawery, we found homes at the National Arboretum, Longwood Gardens, and other parks and gardens. Of course, a few ended up at our Beltsville location.
The Donation
While going through the never-ending boxes of photos that my mother and grandmother kept, I came across these photos of this beautiful Variegated Aralia. My stepfather, Joe Festerling, was sure it was donated to Longwood Gardens and by looking at the pictures, it appears it was planted near their front entrance. He told me how it was a grafted plant from Holland and given to my grandfather to grow in Burtonsville. Unfortunately, as years pass, it gets harder and harder for people to recall precisely what happened.
Find It On The Plant Locator
Our friend, Larry Hurley, was so brilliant when I asked him if he knew about this tree. He got right on the computer, and did you know, you can go to the Longwood Gardens Website and type in the name of a plant, and voila! If they have it, it pops up with the locations, who or where they got it from, etc. Unfortunately, it is no longer alive, or at least not in their collection. You can google “Longwood Gardens plant accession list” or acquisition list. Larry shared a plant locator for the National Arboretum with me. If you type in Behnke Nurseries, you get a list of everything they bought from us. It’s a least a hundred, I bet.
You will have to scroll to the right of the screen to see the Behnke Nurseries name again and again. Our hashtag #bornatbehnkes can be used everywhere! Now who will go there and snap photos of these plants and share them with us?
This Post Has 0 Comments