I’m so thrilled to be back for yet another Spring Blooms presented by Wild Birds Unlimited. My name is Jaime Frye, and I am the Associate Curator of Living Collections here at Newfields. I have been writing weekly updates about The Garden during Spring Blooms for my colleagues and Newfields volunteers for years, but this year is the first year we are publishing for you. This is the first of many updates! Check back every week or so for updates from now until Mother’s Day, May 11, 2025. 

Okay, let’s get to it! Update #1, March 25, 2025: 

A coworker asked me if there would be an update this week and I scoffed indignantly. Of course! I wouldn’t leave y’all in the lurch like that. While we’re not seeing the bright greening of leaves on trees and shrubs quite yet, there is so much spring to explore right now. Hop in the back of our plant-filled garden cart (pictured above). You might have to scooch over some garden tools. It’s time for adventures! 

Let’s start inside where I know you can find some spring no matter the weather. Art in Bloom has come and gone, but there are still impressive plant displays throughout the IMA Galleries that were designed and installed by my colleagues in the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse. Go check them out, it is a perfect way to start a raw, damp, early spring day.   

Don’t miss the fountain in the Clowes Pavillion–that won’t stick around for the entire season. The pavilion is too dark for live plants to be happy, so this display will stay up until the material tells us it’s ready to go back towards sunlight. The pale-pink moth orchids that drip over its concrete sides take on the color of the ceiling in an otherworldly glow.  

Orchid arrangement in the Indianapolis Museum of Art inspired by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825–1905), Dream of Spring (Rêve de printemps), 1901, oil on canvas, 73 x 50 in. (canvas); 85 x 63 x 5-1/4 in. (frame). Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Gift of Melvin and Bren Simon, 2013.33. 

Also on Floor 2, find the orchid bowl in the seating area of the European Galleries. It was inspired by Dream of Spring and it’s above and beyond measure this year. The flowers pull the pink, peach, and purple tones from the painting behind it. I’m not sure I ever stopped to note those colors in the artwork until they were echoed by the blooms in front of them.  

Orchids in the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse at Newfields on March 25, 2025. 

If the weather is only cooperating enough for a quick jaunt outside (even if it’s not!), it’s worth the trek to the Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse. Inside you’ll find a cozy-warm atmosphere that feels lush and luxurious. Bold tropical foliage creates a backdrop for more orchids than you can count. Seriously. I dare you to try to count them all. I can’t in a single day and that’s literally half of my job as a plant recorder! When I’ve got the cloudy day blues, I don’t want to be anywhere other than those glass houses. 

Narcissus ‘Cassata’ (split-cupped daffodil) 

It may be drizzly this week (these updates always seem to be a weather report as well), but we’ve got some warm weather headed our way and The Garden is starting to hold its own. Right now, daffodil is the royalty of Spring Blooms. Daffodils are split into 12 divisions–trumpet, large cupped, double, split-cupped (Narcissus ‘Cassata’) and more. We have representations of all the categories tucked somewhere within The Garden.  

Narcissus ‘Las Vegas’ (trumpet daffodil) 

The mass of Narcissus ‘Las Vegas’ that greets you as you cross Woodstock Bridge is a fan favorite for a reason. Look over the bridge to either side to see sweeps of daffodils running up the hillsides. 

The Magnolias are having a moment right now, but I fear they’ll be slapped with the reality of the season this evening (March 25) as our temperatures dip below freezing. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and they’ll avoid being nipped? I’ll have my fingers crossed and in the same thought need to accept that this is just part of the spring saga. Sometimes we have long, luxurious runs where more tender blossoms can stretch deep into the season. Other years mother nature has different ideas. 

Helleborus sp. & cv. (Lenten-rose) 

Last but not least for this early spring update, don’t miss the hellebores. The Lenten-rose (Helleborus sp. & cv.) are blooming their best everywhere in The Garden. The “traditional,” ornamental hybrids come in all shades of yellow, green, white, pink, mauve, and purple-black.  

Helleborus foetidus (stinking hellebore)

The underutilized superstar that we as gardeners love, stinking hellebore (Helleborus foetidus – what a name!), sports chartreuse-green blooms on top of deeply dissected, dark foliage. They’re massive! They’re nearly shrub-sized and add really compelling texture into the early season landscape.  

Cornus mas (Cornelian-cherry) and Narcissus ‘Dutch Master’ (trumpet daffodil) near the recreation lawn at Newfields.  

Overall, The Garden seems to be glowing gold this week. I’ll leave you with an image across the recreation lawn of Cornelian-cherry (Cornus mas) blooming its head off over a shock of clear yellow ‘Dutch Master’ daffodils. What a beautiful way for the season to wake. 

Until Next Week, 

Jaime Frye