Volunteer help needed: Maintenance and Repairs: Crosby Arboretum Children’s and Butterfly Gardens

Crosby Arboretum Children’s and Butterfly Garden May_10_2012 image by Sr Curator RStafne

As with any garden, there is ongoing maintenance. Some maintenance is almost daily such as dead-heading, weeding or watering, while other tasks are annual or may occur every few years or longer, if you’re lucky. One of those long-term maintenance items is needed now in The Crosby Arboretum Children’s and Butterfly Gardens, located near the greenhouse. Both gardens are constructed with landscape timbers that are in need of replacement.

Landscape timber replacement needed in Children’s and Butterfly Gardens, image by Sr Curator R. Stafne

Terry Johnson, Maintenance Supervisor, walked me through the gardens last Friday to show me the badly needed repairs. Many of the timbers are rotten and termites were present. Because of the limited staff at the Arboretum, tasks such as these rely heavily on volunteers. Mr. Johnson recently began replacing the landscape timbers but there is much work to be done. If you have materials that could be donated for this repair work or if you can volunteer some time to come out and help Mr. Johnson replace the timbers, please call us at 601-799-2311 and ask for Terry. Any help is appreciated, whether it is a few hours here and there or one afternoon.

Mr. Johnson begins repairs in the Butterfly and Children’s Gardens, image by Sr Curator R.Stafne

In addition to repair work, there is weeding, watering, planting, dividing, pruning and dead-heading needed in the Children’s and Butterflies Gardens. We have been very fortunate to have a weekly volunteer for the last few months, Mr. Rick Enkoji. He has done a lot of great work in these two gardens, which has been his main focus as an Arboretum Volunteer.
Mr. Enkoji had some of the best volunteer experience anyone could have earlier in his career. Rick is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, or RPCV. He served in Swaziland, Africa. Being married to a RPCV, I can tell you that the experiences and skills gained by those serving in the Peace Corps are numerous and carried with the RPCV for the rest of their lives. While it is doubtful that we could say “Crosby Arboretum: the toughest job you’ll ever love”, we do think experiences gained here can help folks young and old, from all backgrounds and experiences. To volunteer at the Arboretum, please call Robin Veerkamp, our Volunteer Coordinator, at 601-799-2311 ext 104. Also, and this is a very special request, if you have non-invasive plants or would like to purchase plants that would be a great addition to our Children’s Garden or Butterfly Garden, let us know. Seeds, divisions, fresh starts? We are thankful for all kinds. Look at the images in the slideshow below for an idea of what is here currently.

Volunteer, Mr. Enkoji, maintains Children’s and Butterfly Gardens2012 Image by Sr Curator R.Stafne

The slideshow below contains more images that I took of the Children’s and Butterfly Gardens at the Arboretum, including Mr. Johnson and Mr. Enkoji, hard at work.

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Green Fire Film and Discussion, Friday June 1, 2012: The Crosby Arboretum

Green Fire Film and Discussion
Friday June 1, 2012
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (Family)
View the new documentary, Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time. Considered by many as the father of wildlife management and of the United States’ wilderness system, Aldo Leopold was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer, and outdoor enthusiast. Leopold’s book “A Sand County Almanac” was first published in 1949. With over two million copies sold, it is one of the most respected books about the environment ever published, and Leopold has come to be regarded by many as the most influential conservation thinker of the twentieth century. Dr. Glenn Hughes, Extension Forestry Professor, will lead an interesting and lively discussion about the documentary from the perspective of “Aldo” Suited to ages 7 and up. Members free; non-members $5; non-members’ children’ $2. Register by May 30.

Bring a sack lunch and enjoy an extended lunch break on Friday June 1. This is a great opportunity to educate area youth. Following the film and discussion, guests are encouraged to stroll the grounds of The Crosby Arboretum at their own pace to discuss and observe conservation efforts and wildlife at the Arboretum.

Copies of “A Sand County Almanac” will be available for purchase at The Crosby Arboretum Gift Shop.

Native Orchids of South Mississippi Lecture and Orchids Blooming NOW; Cleistes divaricata

Reblogged from Crosby Arboretum:

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Native orchid Cleistes divaricata (Rosebud orchid) at The Crosby Arboretum; image by Sr Curator R Stafne. April 2012.

“Cool” was the word that popped into my head when I found what surely must have been one of the native orchids that our Director, Pat Drackett, told me was blooming at the Pitcher Plant Bog area of the Arboretum. I was able to find a few of the species…

Read more… 353 more words

Don't forget to come out to the Native Orchids of South Mississippi Lecture this Sat., May 19 at 1:00 p.m.

The Edward L. Blake, Jr. Memorial Scholarship

Ed Blake-at-Crosby-Arboretum-Land-Breaking-in-Aug-1981. Image courtesy Crosby Arboretum Archives

By Bob Brzuszek

Ed Blake (or some may remember as Ned) was the Crosby Arboretum’s first Director and Master Planner of Pinecote from 1984 to 1994. It was through his vision and leadership that resulted in much of what we experience at the Crosby Arboretum today. Sadly, Ed passed away from a heart attack in 2010 at the age of 63. To commemorate Ed’s internationally-recognized contributions at the Crosby Arboretum and elsewhere, a student scholarship has been initiated in his memory at Mississippi State University. The Edward L. Blake, Jr. Memorial Scholarship will annually recognize and reward students in landscape architecture that display excellence in ecological design in their coursework. The goal is to reach $25,000 endowment level in order to fund the scholarship. If you can contribute to this worthy cause, please send checks made out to Mississippi State University Foundation, P.O. Box 6149, Mississippi State, MS 39762-6149. Please note that your contribution is for the Edward L. Blake, Jr. Endowed Scholarship. All contributions to this fund are 100% tax-deductible.

Ed-Blake-touring-with-group-at-Arboretum-Jan-1991. Image courtesy Crosby Arboretum Archives

Ed Blake working on Master Plan in early 1980′s. Image courtesy Crosby Arboretum Archives

News Journal Archives Updated on the Website of The Crosby Arboretum

Are you an Arboretum Member who has is missing past copies of The Crosby Arboretum News Journal? Are you a history buff, landscape architect or horticulturist who enjoys seeing how public gardens change over time? No matter what the reason, many will be happy to know that I have just finished uploading and coding news journal copies from the very first issue in 1983 through the missing copies from 2003. All may be viewed or downloaded in .pdf format from the News Journal page on the website.

This website archive project would not have been possible now if not for the winter work from our volunteer, Ms. Kristen Hooge, who worked from January through February scanning hard copies of The Crosby Arboretum News Journal into electronic format (.pdf). Ms. Hooge, you may remember, was here earning her Girl Scout Gold Award (see photo below, courtesy Ms. Kristen Hooge). Many thanks to Kristen!

The Arboretum is always looking for volunteers who can assist us with projects such as this one. If you are interested in seeing how you can volunteer here at the Arboretum. Please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Ms. Robin Veerkamp, at 601-799-2311 x 104 and she can help you decide how you can fit into our volunteer program.

To receive the newest copy of The Crosby Arboretum News Journal months before it is posted to the website, please consider becoming a Member! Arboretum Members receive a copy of the News Journal (print or electronically) before copies are posted to the website.

Happy Reading! R. Stafne, Sr. Curator

Service Road Vegetation Management at The Crosby Arboretum

Service Road Vegetation Management, 2012. Image by Sr Curator R. Stafne

Beginning last week, The Crosby Arboretum launched spring vegetation management of the service road leading into the Arboretum. Though it is mostly Arboretum Staff who use the service road, other folks, such as delivery trucks, volunteers, guest speakers and presenters, and those with special permission, also drive the service road into the Arboretum. It’s a very beautiful, slow, winding road that takes you into the site and makes the drive more of a journey.

Service Road Vegetation Management, 2012. Image by Sr Curator R. Stafne

Since I began employment last November, I noticed that little by little the vegetation began to “close-in” on the road, which was nice, but made it trickier to keep two lanes of traffic without risking pulling off your antennae topper (yep, happened to me) or scraping your vehicle with passing branches.

Arboretum employee Mr. J. Hurlston (part-time) and one of our faithful, hardworking volunteers, Mr. P. Breeland, began vegetation management last week. As you drive along the service road you will see the bright orange “Men Working” signs posted on either side of where they are working. This is for their safety as well as the safety of guests and staff.
Please note the speed limit on the service road is posted at 15mph which is particularly important when we have people working along the road. View the slideshow below for images I captured today of Mr. Hurlston and Breeland working hard on vegetation pruning and removal. In the images you will see some of the equipment being used. Today the guys told me how much they appreciated the new interchangeable pruner/saw/trimmer the Arboretum received last year. If you have tools or equipment, new or in good condition, that you would like to donate to the Arboretum, please call us at 601-799-2311.

Service Road Vegetation Management, 2012. Image by Sr Curator R. Stafne

Because we are a very staff-limited facility, we depend on our volunteers for much of the site maintenance. If you would like to volunteer regularly or periodically with the Arboretum, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Ms. Robin Veerkamp, at 601-799-2311 ext. 104 and she can assist you in finding a place in our volunteer program. Visit the Volunteer page of our website for additional information.

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Three hot plants blooming now at The Crosby Arboretum: Scutellaria integrifolia, Asclepias lanceolata, and Rhexia virginica.

This Friday May 11 is National Public Gardens Day! There are a lot of wildflowers blooming right now at The Crosby Arboretum. For this blog entry I am going to focus on three:Scutellaria integrifolia (helmet-flower/tall skullcap Asclepias lanceolata (few flower milkweed/red milkweed), and Rhexia virginica (meadow beauty/handsome Harry).

Scutellaria integrifolia, helmet-flower/tall skullcap, 2012. Image by Sr Curator, R. Stafne.

All three plants can be found blooming in the north and south bog (pitcher plant bog) areas. Look for Scutellaria integrifolia blooming along the trail margins. I have observed a lot of bees pollinating this lavender beauty. Skullcaps, as a group, have an extensive medicinal history. Note the hairy, square stems (square stems typical of the mint family, Lamiaceae). Though they typically bloom in May and June they began blooming here in April due to the early season.

Rhexia virginica, meadow beauty, 2012. Image by Sr Curator, R. Stafne.

Rhexia virginica is blooming more toward the middle of the bog sections. I find it particularly lovely contrasted with the black stems of plants that were burned in January during our prescribed burns at the Arboretum. The hot pink/purple flowers with the vibrant spring green of grasses mixed with burnt stems of plants makes for interesting photographs. Bring a zoom lens for your camera as most of these are several feet or more off of the trail (please remember to stay on the trails).

Asclepias lanceolata, fewflower milkweed/red milkweed, 2012. Image by Sr Curator, R. Stafne.

The final plant for the day, Asclepias lanceolata, can perhaps be best viewed from along the boardwalks in the pitcher plant bog (south bog). The colors of the flowers are summertime hot! Orange and reds are two of my favorite colors for a tropical-feel in a summer garden. And, as you probably well-know, this member of the milkweed family is popular with butterflies and is one of many plants you can use in your garden to attract butterflies.

Below is a slideshow of these three species. I took all images either today or in the last two weeks. Come out for a visit!

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Earth Day Programs a Success: including New South Mat Company Planting Trees at Gum Pond Exhibit

Were you at the Arboretum this past Saturday April 28 for our Earth Day programs? Well, if you missed it, plan to join us next year. Two guest speakers educated people on our coastal habitats and native azaleas. We also had a children’s author who taught children’s nature crafts, a local beekeeper, a local flintknapper, Mississippi Master Naturalists and Mississippi Master Gardeners all on hand to take questions and talk to folks about their specialties.

In conjunction with our Earth Day programs, we were really lucky to have a great group of volunteers from an area business come out to plant trees in one of our new exhibits. Ms. Pat Drackett, the Arboretum Director, was on hand and had great things to say about their efforts:

4-28-12 2012 New South Mat Gum Pond. Image by Director, P Drackett

“Saturday, April 28 was Crosby Arboretum’s Earth Day event, and we couldn’t have come up with a better way to celebrate it! On that day, two dozen willing volunteers – employees of New South Access & Environmental Solutions and their family members – donated and planted 2,000 swamp gum (Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora) trees into the Arboretum’s new Gum Pond Educational Exhibit. The recent construction of this new wetlands exhibit was made possible by a grant through the Five Star Restoration program, administered by Southern Company in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The Crosby Arboretum was delighted to be chosen by New South as the site for their company’s annual conservation project. Thanks to the donated trees and the labor for their installation, the planting of the Gum Pond Educational Exhibit was accomplished much more the quickly than had been anticipated.

New South Access & Environmental Solutions is a Madison, Mississippi based company in operation since 2006, and has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in America. The company provides access matting that minimizes site disturbance by heavy equipment during construction projects, disasters, and events. As New South is an environmentally conscious company, it was a perfect fit with the Arboretum’s conservation mission.

Drew St. John, New South’s Chief Executive Officer, is a graduate of Mississippi State University’s landscape architecture department and was a student of former landscape architecture professor Ed Blake, Jr., who was the Crosby Arboretum’s first director and designer of the facility’s award-winning master plan.

Read the MSU Cares Community News article.

Students from the MSU department of landscape architecture designed the new exhibit’s site plan under the guidance of professor Bob Brzuszek, the Crosby Arboretum’s former senior curator. The new Gum Pond exhibit will teach visitors to the Arboretum about the value of gum pond habitats, a type of forested wetland.”

The Crosby Arboretum Pond Journey: a spring morning at the Piney Woods Pond

The Pinecote Pavilion April 24, 2012. Image by Sr Curator R. Stafne

Last week I took a much-needed walk around the Pond Journey here at The Crosby Arboretum. I even found a side trail I had not yet explored. Below are images from around the Pond Journey and a link to a Youtube video I posted last week. On the video you can hear interstate traffic from I-59, although I hope you can still capture that peaceful feeling that exists here at the Arboretum.

Alligatorweed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) will be removed by an upcoming Eagle Scout project in May. Read more about Mississippi’s 10 worst invasive weeds.

Notice the psyllid leaf galls on the leaves of swamp bay (Persea palustris) in the images below. This is a very good indicator of a swamp bay tree as they are frequently found on both Persea palustris and P. borbonia (redbay).

Similarly interesting are the fruits of the swamp tupelo (Nyssa aquatica). When in fruit you will easily identify this water-loving tree (thus the species epithet of aquatica) which grows along the edge of our pond journey, across the pond from the Pinecote Pavilion.

Can you spot the water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) before reading the name on the bottom of the image in the slideshow below?

There are a couple of photos featuring an adult damselfly or adult dragonfly. Do you know the difference? The adult damselfly holds its wings above its body while at rest. The adult dragonfly extends its wings out while it is at rest. One image also shows what I believe to be Chalybion californicum, the blue mud wasp. But it was a little tricky to identify.

Subject matter never ends at The Crosby Arboretum. This blog is only limited by the time I have to get out there, research and post. This is a significant limitation but I will still try to get out whenever possible. Happy spring everyone!

View the YOUTUBE Video of spring morning at the Piney Woods Pond, looking out to the Pinecote Pavilion.

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Native Orchids of South Mississippi Lecture and Orchids Blooming NOW; Cleistes divaricata

Native orchid Cleistes divaricata (Rosebud orchid) at The Crosby Arboretum; image by Sr Curator R Stafne. April 2012.

“Cool” was the word that popped into my head when I found what surely must have been one of the native orchids that our Director, Pat Drackett, told me was blooming at the Pitcher Plant Bog area of the Arboretum. I was able to find a few of the species Cleistes divaricata (Rosebud orchid). This was my first time to see some of these tiny native orchids. Here’s a tip! When someone tells you that you should go and check out an interesting plant outside, be sure, if you are going without them, that you first look up images of “said plant” so you have an idea of what you are looking for. Searching for Cleistes divaricata in the trees was futile. View a slide show of images that I took of rosebud orchid at the bottom of the page.

Yesterday Mr. Glen Ladnier of the Gulf Coast Orchid Society (our May 19 guest speaker) took a group of orchid enthusiasts out into the Arboretum property to look for native orchids (images below). Be sure to come and hear a fabulous talk about MS Gulf Coast native orchids on Saturday May 19 here at the Arboretum. (information below) He had a positive post-trip report: “…we found plenty of Pogonia ophioglossoides colonies, a handful of Calopogon palidus, a few more Cleistes bifaria, and one Calopogon tuberosus. The only one of the five native orchids (that should be blooming now) that we didn’t find, was Spiranthes. They are very scarce this year, and I have only seen one in my area (that usually has hundreds of plants), except for the one that came up in my front yard.” This was overall an exciting report for us to receive. Thank you Glen!

Glen Ladnier of the Gulf Coast Orchid Society exams native orchids; image by Director P. Drackett

Glen Ladnier of the Gulf Coast Orchid Society exams native orchids; image by Director P. Drackett

The Native Orchids of South Mississippi (Adults)
Saturday May 19, 2012 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. come out to the Arboretum. Learn to recognize and enjoy many of the thirty species of orchids native to the Gulf Coast. There are many interesting species which are often overlooked by everyone but the most avid orchid grower. Glen Ladnier, long-time orchid enthusiast and member of the Gulf Coast Orchid Society, will discuss habitats, plant and flower characteristics, and touch on common conservation techniques Members free; non-members $5; non-members’ children $2.

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