We will welcome visitors on February 15 from 1-4 pm. The Arboretum is in its winter garb and it even experienced snow and surface ground freezing on February 4. However, items of interest for visitors abound. The start of the early spring bloom is in progress, including fragrant tea olive, Gaillardia, daffodils, money plant, as well as swelling buds on the dogwoods and native azaleas. New growth is also visible on many plants.


The best way to see the new projects is to take a trail walk. A guided walk is planned for 2pm to see the many new features including plants now in bloom, the Outdoor Classroom flooring and landscaping, the new Native Azalea Garden, the plantings in the new wetland, and major progress in preparing the east slope for planting of 50 sapling trees in the next few weeks. Listed in order is the sequence of projects starting at the Bloomwood Gate and circling counterclockwise on the Loop Trail. Enjoy the handsome new floor of the Outdoor Classroom and the beginning of the landscaping of the Classroom borders. On the hillside above the Classroom, yellow fluttering tapes mark the beginning of our long awaited Native Azalea Garden; the tapes mark 5 very sturdy Piedmont Azaleas (Rhododendron canescens). Just beyond the Classroom, note the leveling of the newly developed wetland from the Classroom to the spring and also look for the planting of 30 sapling trees including red maple, red ozier dogwood, red bay, live oak, Shumard oak, swamp white oak, sycamore, dogwood, redbud trees, green ash, pecan trees, ironwood trees. The planting was done by 30 enthusiastic, hard-working volunteers from the USC Martin Luther King Day program. On the left, just at the trail starts uphill from the spring, notice the former huge erosion trench, now about three quarters full with the equivalent of about 40 truckloads of brush and logs. Again, our eager MLK day volunteers helped us by rolling log sections from 4 large dead trees into the pit. All the material is now composting into topsoil. Continue around on the trail past the Wilmot Gate until you reach the Cypress Grove and look at the impressive growth and vigor of our 8 new Atlantic White Cedars. In front of the Arboretum House is the newly planted Upland Hardwood Forest project. It contains 3 10-feet tall loblolly pines to provide summer shade for the 40 more delicate species, which will give biodiversity to this ecosystem. Further along the trail is the test run of our weather bureau instruments including an elegant rain gauge and the maximum/minimum thermometer. The permanent housing for these and other instruments is currently being built.

The Gift-of-a-Plant in support of the Arboretum Endowment will offer stunningly beautiful Lenten Roses (Helleborus) at the February Open House. For a gift to the Endowment of $20 or more, you may choose your Flower gift from a selection of 5-year old plants grown in Pat’s Garden and now in full bloom. These need to be seen to be appreciated. Lenten roses are ranked by experienced gardeners as one of the most outstanding ground cover plants available. They thrive in a shady corner.

Read the February Arbor Newsletter at http://www.sherwoodforestneighbors.org/pdf/Arbor_February_09.pdf