Landscape by Larry Weaner Landscape Associates ( photo : Larry Weaner )
oak-pine forests , including Pennsylvania Sedge ( Carex pensylvanica ), Christmas Fern ( Polystichum acrostichoides ), Wild Geranium ( Geranium maculatum ), and fall blooming Asters and Goldenrods .
South of Longfellow ’ s Woods , approximately halfway along Indian Ridge , is an open sunny area offering expansive views east toward Halcyon Lake . The palette here is not limited to New England ’ s flora and will feature sun-loving meadow species such as Prairie Dropseed ( Sporobolus heterolepis ), a low , mounding , fine-textured native grass , and comparable wildflowers , including Whorled Tickseed ( Coreopsis verticillata ), Northern Blazing Star ( Liatris novae-angliae ), and Nodding Onion ( Allium cernuum ). Openings within the meadow will allow visitors to walk to the edge of the ridge to appreciate the steepness of this unique landform . Serviceberry ( Amelanchier x lamarkii ), a fine-textured flowering understory tree , will frame the dramatic space . Created vistas such as this have always contributed to the meditative experience of Mount Auburn , and they remain special today .
Continuing southward , the path enters another wooded section , this time defined by Sugar Maples ( Acer saccharinum ) and recently planted white-flowering Silverbell trees ( Halesia sp .). Notable is the top of the mausoleum for the Gardner family , built into the ridge ’ s west side and the final resting place for Isabella Stewart Gardner , the famed art collector and Boston socialite . Responding to the planted Silverbells , an understory tree of the Piedmont and Appalachian regions , the herbaceous palette for Gardner ’ s Woods draws from beyond New England and will feature ferns , Heucheras , and other wildflowers from more southern regions .
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