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A Nursery Visit is Good for the Soul

11/29/2015

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​A Nursery Visit is Good for the Soul – We get to see the future
I love visiting plant nurseries because I know the potential they hold for the future of our environment.  Just like visiting a children’s nursery school, one learns the potential of our future people power. There are so many similarities between people and plants I am surprised that few people draw the connections between the two.  In fact, some people think that if you do draw these connections it’s almost sacrilegious.  But, I on the other hand believe that all living things have a far greater connection than we would like to admit because that would take humans off their pedestal and put them at the same level as everything else on the planet – including plants, rocks and other animals.  It would also mean that we would have to value other living things more and put humans in context with all other living organisms on earth.  The entire thought might be scary to some, but I believe we have to start thinking this way in order to solve many of the global problems that are happening today.  If you could for a few moments think of what a tree might see from where it is standing, or what moss is feeling as sits hugging the ground.
I took my graduate students on another journey to see how native plants are grown at the Collins Nursery.  http://collinsnursery.com/ There is a rich history to this nursery started by John Collins http://collinsnursery.com/john_f_collins the famous landscape architect.  The nursery is now in Glenside, a small town that is situated northwest of the City of Philadelphia.  Here in a castle on one of the highest points in the area, John Collins continued his work of growing native plants for landscapes.   John died in 2011 but now the nursery is in the able and loving hands of Diane Erich who was mentored by John for numerous years.  She greeted us when we arrived.  Mrs. Collins also welcomed us to the property that is opened by appointment only – with the exception of open days in the spring and fall. ​
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My class with Diane Erich and Mrs. Collins.
​Diane took us on a tour of the nursery after we passed through a tall deer fence.  Diane talked about collecting seed at our Ambler Arboretum.  She also has many plants to gather seed from on the Collins property which is planted with a huge diversity of plants.  Diane is best known for her pawpaw (Asimina triloba) trees. 
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A small grove of pawpaw holds tight to the remaining yellow leaves as other specimens stand fully naked.
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​The castle built in the 1800s has many newer landscape features that John built that look like they were built with the home from its inception.  A double staircase of stone is brilliantly designed for easy access to side and back garden.  The old baptismal font found in one of the many antique stores in Glenside looks like it was made for the garden. 
After our wonderful tour and the discussion of seed propagation – it was time for the students to buy some of their first plants for their own properties. 

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Young plants are protected in their formative years from mice, rabbits and other small critters.
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Happy one year old pawpaw will find the perfect new homes for their future growth and fruit bearing.
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A trunk full of plants anxiously awaiting their arrival to their new home – the next generation.
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Visits to Arboreta Reinforce Learning  

11/15/2015

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This past week I took my graduate Native Woody Plants class on a field trip to Tyler Arboretum. Visiting arboreta represents a hallmark for the graduate students – to visit another place helps prove their identification skills. But, there were many other plants they had not learned – those that are non-native that are used in the landscape. ​
 The first non-native was purple beautyberry in the white form (Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Albifructus’) (above). It was located in the parking area. It was stunning – at the peak of fruiting. The white fruit looked like a waterfall. ​
​Then we saw the native winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) (to the right) in fall color and fruit.  The cold weather had not gotten to the foliage yet.  Usually the leaves begin to turn black on the shrub and quickly fall off.  The birds hadn’t gleaned it either.  We were fortunate to see this amazing display of berries!
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​The tour would not be complete without seeing the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) (above). I think it might be the largest outside of California. 
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​Here is a young giant sequoia (above) with its beautiful blue scale foliage. The typical form is pyramidal when young. 
​A view of Tyler Arboretum from the pond (to the right) looking back at the house.  The fall colors waning – it is delightful to visit in any season.
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​The native state champion tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) (to the left) sits just outside the gates of the arboretum and can be observed just past the witchhazels (Hamamelis spp.) The trunk of the tree is mammoth and only sits feet from the roadway that leads up to the entrance to the arboretum.  I am always in awe at the sight of old trees – wondering what they have seen in their lifetime. 
​As we continued to walk through the arboretum we found this perfectly shaped Japanese cryptomeria (Cryptomeria japonica) (below). The students loved its amazing shape and were happy to learn about it. In Japan, the wood is highly valued for building and has a welcoming fragrance.  The wood is disease and insect resistant and there are many cultivars of the tree. 
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​ Our native red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) (below) was a welcomed sight to the class.  Unmistakable - with its fire engine red leaves and berries.  The plant is fabulous when planted en mass to make an eye-popping attraction and is ideal to replace our non-native invasive burning bush (Euonymus alatus).  
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 ​My students agreed that this was a perfect place to visit. Here they are standing near a several hundred year old white oak (Quercus alba) (below).
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Forest Bathing in Standard Time 

11/3/2015

2 Comments

 
​Today was the first day of standard time.  This time of year is always special to me – a transition between fall and the coming of winter, and an extra hour of sleep!  The temperatures have still been mild in the Mid-Atlantic region so, a walk along the Raritan and Delaware Canal just north of Stockton, New Jersey was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. 
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The Delaware River and the canal meet up creating an infinity line where the waterfall meets the river. 
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Washed in afternoon sunlight, the trail revealed vibrant colors and little surprises along the way. 
​I call these fall walks color bathing. The intensity of the tree colors that remain, reflect off the skin and the eyes soak in the brilliance, shifting any negative energy one might have into a positive flow.  The longer I walked the better I felt as I looked above me and to both sides of the trail. 
​I know in Japan there is a practice called tree or forest bathing – walking in green to improve one’s health and overall mental outlook.  The green color is calming but the color bathing of gold, orange and red is something that I just can’t explain – it takes tree bathing to an entirely different level.  I smile from ear to ear!  The trees are showing their true colors and I am soaking it all in, every last morsel before the cold winter sets in. 
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The American beech (Fagus grandifolia) was the most brilliant in the sun light. 
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But then again, the tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera) were quite intense yellow-gold too!
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My heart sang at the sight of staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) in reds and oranges. 
​The staghorns from the staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) were in great abundance.  Their deep, velvety, crimson color popped against the golden leaves of Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) and its red berries with orange coverings framed the wonderful plumes.  The horns make a luscious tea - high in vitamin C. ​
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Shiny colored surfaces from these mushrooms growing on a dead tree were more evident as the sunlight caught their glossy surfaces. 
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I was lucky enough to find all four of the sassafras’ (Sassafras albidum) leaves to exam the colors.  The simple leaf, the left and right mittens and the three lobed forms were all present and accounted for.
Sources
To read more on the…

Delaware and Raritan Canal
http://www.dandrcanal.com/ 
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Japanese tree or forest bathing
http://www.hphpcentral.com/article/forest-bathing
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The response of color on the eye
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/light/U12L2b.cfm
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Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) reflected a warm brown-orange as the intense colors were waning. 
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With its golden leaves almost gone, the common witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) glowed in the late afternoon sun.  The fragrance was a nice send off as I headed home. 
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