Two pollinators hard at work (Photo by Jason Traverse)

Pick of the Litter byAurora Robson (Photocourtesy of the artist)

April 2018 arboretum.psu.edu

The Pollinators’ and BirdGardens Are MovingForward

We have recently received a seriesof significant gifts in support of thePollinators’ and Bird Gardens fromSkip Smith; his sons David, John,and Jeffry; and Galen and NancyDreibelbis. The final value of aportion of these gifts will not beknown for some time. However,together with nearly $1 millionalready donated or pledged fromother donors, we have sufficientfunds to enter into contracts for

final garden design. We continue to seek financial support for the two gardenswith the expectation that construction could begin as early as late spring ofnext year.

The innovative goal for our expanded Pollinators’ Garden is to create plantingsthat will attract all pollinators native to our locale, thus enhancing research andeducational opportunities. The beautiful Bird Garden will provide habitat forbirds and a peaceful space where birders, casual visitors, and students canobserve them.

These two gardens will be major enhancements to the H.O. Smith BotanicGardens, not only on their own merits but also because they will enlarge thegardens by about 35 percent. More information may be found on our websiteunder the “Gardens” tab.

Gravity Schmavity: Repurposed PlasticSculpture Exhibition - Opening June 2

The Arboretum and the Palmer Museum of Artare collaborating to host an exhibition featuringthree new sculptures by New York-based artistAurora Robson. Gravity Schmavity: RepurposedPlastic Sculpture will open in the H.O. SmithBotanic Gardens on Saturday, June 2.

Robson has created these pieces out ofindustrial plastic waste from Penn State, usingnearly 100 large plastic barrels that originallycontained antifreeze, saline solution, or laundrydetergent. In her art, Robson explores themes oftransformation and persistence, refashioningplastic waste products into delicate sculptureswhose shapes evoke organic forms and areintended to confront viewers with the long-lastingimpacts of plastic.

Two additional sculptures by Robson are being showcased in the Palmer’scurrent gallery exhibition, Plastic Entanglements: Ecology, Aesthetics,Materials. Robson will give a gallery talk in the Palmer Museum on June 1 at12:10 p.m., and afterward she will lead a pre-opening tour of the GravitySchmavity exhibition in the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens.

The exhibition has been made possible by generous funding from alumna

Explore our new,interactive Blooming

Bulbs map! (Featured: Narcissus

'Actaea')

Map of GerholdWildflower Trail inHartley Wood now

available (Featured: Aquilegia

canadensis)

Music in the Gardens Wednesday, June 13

6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (Rain date: June 14)

A bonsai specimen designed fordramatic effect

(Photo by Ross Adams)

Diane Blanton, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Central Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Centre County Commissioners, and Penn State’s Sustainability Institute, Materials Research Institute, and Solid Waste Operations.

Mark these dates on your calendar!

Bonsai Exhibit andDemonstrations in Children’sGarden

Later this spring we will host oursecond bonsai exhibit anddemonstrations in collaboration withthe Happy Valley Bonsai Club.Bonsai specimens will be on displayin the Glass House in Childhood’sGate Children’s Garden on Friday,May 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.and on Saturday, May 5, from 9:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Club members willbe present to demonstrate bonsaitechniques and answer questions.

Many people are intrigued bybonsai, which have the appearance

of miniature trees. Bonsai are cultivated to remain small through pruning andconfinement to small containers, and shaped to mimic the form and style ofmature, full-size trees. Individual plants may be trained for years, decades, oreven centuries to achieve a desired effect. Join us to see club membersdemonstrate this art!

Previewing the New Seasonin the Children’s Garden

We anticipate another full andwonderful season of learning in

Click image to seeArboretum T-shirts

(Featured: Stella Pruss in hummingbird T-shirt)

This month 30,000tulips expected to

bloom!

Geranium maculatum, awildflower in Hartley

Wood (Photo by MichaelHassler)

Narcissus 'Fortissimo,'one of many spring

blooms in the gardens

Harvest Garden beds in early June

Volunteers, interns and staff removingtulips in the Display Garden

Childhood’s Gate Children’s Garden beginning in June. New curriculum elements include a guided tree walk and crafts made from recycled materials as inspired by the outdoor art exhibition of Aurora Robson’s sculptures. Of course, at this time of year weare waiting impatiently for theempty garden beds to be filled withthe colorful bounty of summer. Justto give you a sneak peak of someof the plants on our early seasonlist—there will be ‘Valentine’ grape tomatoes (bred here at Penn State!), wildarugula, blue potatoes, two new basils, and kohlrabi . . . and, yes, HarvestGarden tasting days will return!

Investing in Volunteers

Planting, pruning, and restoringnatural areas. Passing outpumpkins, braving bees at thecider stand, and decorating thewinter displays. Leading tours,educating in the children’s garden,and serving as greeters. Ourvolunteers do all of these things.They are very important to theoperation of the Arboretum, and weare always eager to add to thecadre of volunteers.

We have recently “stepped up our game” in the way of volunteer training. Thispast fall we began a quarterly series of lectures on Arboretum-related topics,with presentations to date (or scheduled soon) on central Pennsylvaniageology, preserving the Spring Creek watershed, and Native Americaninhabitants of this region. In September we invited our volunteers and donorsto participate in a bus trip to visit Bartram’s Garden and the Scott Arboretum ofSwarthmore College in the Philadelphia vicinity. This spring we will be taking aguided tour of some of the green roofs on campus. Beginning this spring weare implementing formal training opportunities for new and returningvolunteers.

If you’re not yet an Arboretum volunteer, now is a great time to start. Head tothe Volunteer page of our website to apply!

Dogwood (Cornus‘KN30-8’ Venus®) nearRamage Marsh Meadow

The Arboretum at Penn State | The Pennsylvania State University 3 36 For est Reso urces Bui lding | Unive rsity Pa rk P A 168 02-36 04

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