The October Open House will be held October 19, 2008 from 1-4 pm. Come and enjoy the developing fall color and some of the new projects underway. Our featured items are two new buildings that will add greatly to the maintenance of programs at the Arboretum.

An equipment shed has been integrated onto the Arboretum House. The original Arboretum House will soon become the Office, Library, and Museum with endless happy possibilities for resource materials, books, displays. The addition, which dwarfs the Office, will house our vital tools, supplies, and machines including our bush-hog, bobcat tractor, and brush lawnmower. The design was carefully crafted not by an architect but by forest-lover Pat to keep the building footprint as small as possible and thus prevent injuring any of our sassafrass forest plants that immediately surround the structure.

Another structural improvement is the upgrading and beautification of our Materials Supply Depot. The rotting log partitions have been replaced with our iconic recycled railroad ties: these have mellowed with age to a dark earth tone; the fence behind has been cleared of catbriar vines and invasive weed plants, and several trees planted including redbud, red mulberry, eastern red cedar, and confederate jasmine vine to hide the fence. Other major items of interest are the restoration of the "boardwalk", much loved by all visitors to the Bald Cypress forest. Thanks to Cam Mullikin for painstakingly power cleaning and treating the algae, then sanding the entire structure, and finally sealing and staining it to restore its original appearance. Note, also, the tinting of the stark white swamp levees with a rich brown earth-color stain to match the swamp mud. The levees simply disappear from vision but continue to function in control of the water input into the swamp.

Other news and items of interest: the rare Cranefly orchids (near the Arboretum House) have leafed out with handsome ebony leaves, which will remain until April. Flowers appear in late summer. The colony looks very strong and vigorous with almost 50 bulbs leafing out after the generous summer rains. Another spectacle with photo opportunities is the magnificent sunflower "tree". It was given as a gift to the Arboretum looking like a foot tall spindly stick. Last week almost 1000 brilliant sunflower buds burst open to light up the entire pine slope. Also note the Love's Heart a bursting and the stunning Beautyberry bush at the lower trailhead next to the rare tree seedling nursery. Be certain to enjoy the emerald green of the Bald Cypress trees in the swamp; they will soon be droppin their needles for the winter and remain bare until spring.

It's been a good month for the Arboretum. I extend warm thanks to all of you who enthusiastically helped make this progress possible for all visitors to the Arboretum.