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Learn more about woody plants at the Woody Plant Conference on Friday, July 18.

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Cissus rhombifolia’s grapevine-like leaves and tendrils “climb” through the background of this image. Plant this climber in full to part sun and allow it to climb and trail throughout the garden. The foliage and tendrils add texture to your displays as the greenish flowers and bluish black berries are insignificant.

Alternanthera ‘Red Carpet’ has oblong leaves with drops of neon pink over burgundy tones. Clearly grown for its vibrant foliage, A. ‘Red Carpet’ is an upright plant that will brighten your landscape or containers through the summer heat.

Bougainville’ Raspberry Ice’ has striking pink blooms with variegated foliage. This tropical has the one two punch with dramatic foliage and dynamic flowers; ideal for your hanging baskets or as a colorful groundcover.

Solenostemon ‘Meandering Linda’ is a creeping coleus that bears crinkly, chocolate-purple leaves banded in rich raspberry-pink, with touches of cream along the edges. photo credit: J. Coceano

Solenostemon ‘Meandering Linda’ is a creeping coleus that bears crinkly, chocolate-purple leaves banded in rich raspberry-pink, with touches of cream along the edges. Coleus can be grown in full sun to medium shade. Pinch the flowers off to retain the shape and dramatic focus on the exciting foliage.

Begonia ‘Streaky Jeans’ is a great begonia for beginners because it plays well with others. photo credit: J. Coceano

Begonia ‘Streaky Jeans’ is a great begonia for beginners because it plays well with others. Featuring unique green star-shaped leaves with maroon coloring along the edges, it performs best in partial sun.

Brilliantaisia subulugurica, giant salvia, can grow as tall a sunflower, creating a towering display with lilac flowers. photo credit: J. Coceano

Brilliantaisia subulugurica, giant salvia, can grow as tall a sunflower, creating a towering display with lilac flowers. This warm-climate shrub is great in large containers and creating dramatic tropical-like plantings in your sun drenched annual beds.

Now that you have learned some great ideas about how to create a tropical paradise in your own backyard, find some of these plants and similar cultivars at the Unusual Tropicals and Annuals Sale on Saturday, May 17.

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Need winter container plants and accents? Come to the Holiday Greens Sale on Saturday, December 7.

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First Year student shows off her new houseplant. photo credit: R. Robert

We also introduced the new students to the Crum Woods and the concepts of stewardship and conservation by having them plant over 320 trees and shrubs in the woods. Click here to read more about these educational experiences and the native plants which found homes. Our hope is students will nurture their saplings over next four years to give them a good foundation and the ability to shade the next generations of Swarthmore students.

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Lindera obtusiloba has unusual mitten-like leaves with striking golden fall color. photo credit: J. Coceano

After traipsing under the graceful form of Lindera obtusiloba (Oriental spicebush) in the Terry Shane Teaching Garden daily, Andrew was inspired to add it to his home garden. This vase-shaped shrub with unusual mitten-like leaves adds bold texture to a garden. The dramatic golden fall foliage visible from Andrew’s office window convinced him to add it to his personal garden.

Daphniphyllum macropodum are the "bones" of this garden bed in the Gold Medal Garden. photo credit: R. Robert

With the building of Alice Paul and David Kemp Residence Halls, the Arboretum began to experiment with Daphniphyllum macropodum for its handsome broadleaved evergreen presence. With the success of this unusual collectors’ plant in the sheltered courtyard gardens at the Arboretum, Andrew added its bold texture and winter interest to his personal garden. The distinctive long red petioles and lustrous, leathery foliage make it a conversation piece anywhere. This is plant will be available at the 2013 Plant Sale on September 20-22.

Containers planted with tropcials line the bench in the Terry Shane Teaching Garden. photo credit: R. Robert

Andrew describes use of tropicals as his biggest inspiration from the Scott Arboretum. The Arboretum has been using tropicals in the gardens and containers since Andrew spent time here as an intern. Under his leadership as the curator, the Scott Entrance Garden and Terry Shane Teaching Garden have experienced many colorful and dramatic forms of tropical plants with seasonal displays and he has exposed countless interns to the art of planting containers with these vivid plants.

Tropicals were used to create this dramatic display in the Terry Shane Teaching Garden. photo credit: R. Robert

This passion for creating usual textures and colors with tropical plants has spilled into his home garden. Despite his small one-third-acre plot and ever growing wish-list of plants, he reserves a few select areas for the annual planting of tropicals like bananas, bromeliads, and cannas. Join us at the Unusual Tropicals and Annuals Sale in the spring to see the diversity of plants available, and to pick Andrew’s brain about the multitudes of combinations you can create in your garden.

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Rain barrel installed in Terry Shane Teaching Garden. photo credit: R. Robert

As emphasized in President Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech, becoming more sustainable as a society is a necessity for the future. There are a multitude of paths that allow companies, organizations, and individuals to works toward sustainability. Swarthmore College recently detailed their efforts in January issue of the Swarthmore College Bulletin highlights efforts both on campus and in the livelihoods of some alumni that effect sustainability. The Scott Arboretum plays a key role regarding sustainability at Swarthmore College.

Some of our featured efforts are a cover photo is of our own Josh Coceano, Horticulturist, working during the TreeVitalize program along the Crum Creek; Claire Sawyers, Director, is quoted discussing the Campus Master Plan and how heartening it is to see an emphasis on the College’s natural assets; and a feature article also highlights the Crum Creek Stewardship committee and green roofs, which Director of Grounds and Coordinator of Horticulture Jeff Jabco works with directly. Our organic lawn care initiative is also featured with quotes from Nicole Selby, Gardener and Accredited Organic Land Care Professional, who helps lead this program.

Volunteers plant trees along the Crum Creek as part of TreeVitalize efforts. photo credit: R. Robert

Additionally, the College has launched a sustainability website that provides more in-depth information about campus sustainability efforts. This site includes campus commitments to climate, energy, food, green building, natural environment, transportation, waste management, and water.  Explore how the Scott Arboretum is part of larger sustainability effort.

Our Magnolia Collection is part of NAPCC and our ex situ conservation efforts. photo credit: R. Maurer

The Scott Arboretum is involved in sustainability not only on campus, but also on a larger scale being part of efforts through membership in BGCI, Botanical Gardens Conservation International. We participate in ex situ conservation, that is, we have plants in our collections that are threatened in their usual habitat so if they do become lost in the wild, that species is not completely lost. You can explore previous blog posts about sustainability at the Scott Arboretum here.

Jogger enjoys the Crum Woods. photo credit: R. Robert

View our calendar of events to take advantage of our upcoming classes on raising chickens in your backyard and backyard beekeeping for gardeners, as well as our green roof tours to see for yourself what all the hype is about!

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Describing magnolias as the “most glamorous of trees,” our curator and president of the Magnolia Society International, Andrew Bunting expounds on the wonders of the magnolias on page 42 in the Organic Gardening magazine.  “A firm believer that every garden needs a magnolia!” Andrew Bunting elaborates on how there is a magnolia for “nearly every need and niche in the garden.”  He also reveals one of his favorites as M. ‘Butterflies’.

This article features a delightful “Gallery of Magnolias” with images to help any person imagine spring.

The dramatic blooms of Magnolia x soulangeana. photo credit: R. Maurer

From Magnolia x soulangeana to M. stellata ‘Betty’ to M. ‘Centennial’ all the cultivars mentioned in the article can be seen blooming in the Scott Arboretum this spring. Learn more about our NAPCC certificated Magnolia collection. In the meantime, enjoy the gardener’s eye candy in your mailboxes and inboxes this winter.

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Fall leaves decorate the lawn outside of the rear entrance of Parrish Hall. photo credit: D. Mattis

Inclusive by design, Museum Day Live! fulfills Smithsonian Media’s mission to make cultural education accessible to everyone. For one day only, over 1,400 participating museums, gardens, and venues will grant free access to visitors who download a Museum Day Live! ticket at Smithsonian.com. As an institution that is free and open to the public 365 days a year, the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College is offering a free gift to visitors that day. Visitors can also take advantage of our one day special membership offer for 2013 and receive the rest of 2012 free. Last year’s event drew over 350,000 museum-goers, and this year’s Museum Day Live! is expected to attract close to 400,000 participants nationwide.

A hidden view of the Clothier Bell Tower through fall foliage. photo credit: D. Mattis

“I’m very proud to be part of a living museum that is free and open to all, every day, dawn to dusk, not just on rare occasions. Museum Day Live! highlights our unique situation and complete accessibility, possible in part thanks to our past philanthropic supporters and the values of Swarthmore College. We offer many educational programs free and open to the public here as well, in addition to visiting  the campus-arboretum itself,” noted Claire Sawyers, director of the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College.

An ideal spot to study among the plants of the BioStream. photo credit: H. Kalish

September is a wonderful time to visit the gardens as you can experience the BioStream in full bloom, feel the variety of textures in the John W. Nason Garden, and witness rare trees like Franklinia in bloom.

The wonderful colors of red, yellow, and orange decorate the ground underneath the Maple Collection. photo credit: R. Robert

The Museum Day Live! ticket is available to download at Smithsonian.com/museumday. Visitors who present the Museum Day Ticket will gain free entrance for two participating venues for one day only. One ticket is permitted per household, per email address. For more information about Museum Day Live! 2012 and a list of participating museums and cultural institutions, please visit Smithsonian.com/museumday.

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Andrew Bunting and Claire Sawyers, director, discuss our boxwood trails. photo credit: R. Robert

Andrew has been the curator of the Scott Arboretum since 1993. In his time here, Andrew has overseen the computerization of approximate 5,000 plant records and tracking of approximate 10,000 woody plant with GPS. He has certified our Magnolia Collection, Holly Collection, and Oak Collection with the nationally recognized North American Plant Collections Consortium (NAPCC) of the APGA. The James Frorer Holly Collection has also been designated as a National Holly Arboretum by the Holly Society of America. Through Andrew’s leadership, we also participate in the National Boxwood trials. Our collection is constant expanding and being evaluated to discover and promote the great plants for the Delaware Valley gardener because of his passion and curiosity.

Andrew answering gardening questions during the Plant Sale. photo credit: D. Mattis

In addition to his curatorial work, Andrew shares his considerable plant knowledge through classes taught at the Scott Arboretum, such as Horticulture Seminar on Flowering Trees for Summer this March, and seminars given to Organization members of the Scott Associates.

Andrew Bunting leads a tour through the Magnolia Collection. photo credit: R. Robert

In addition to his efforts at the Scott Arboretum, Andrew is president of the Magnolia Society International, vice-president of the Delaware Center for Horticulture, and vice-president of the Swarthmore Horticulture Society. For PHS, he serves on the Design & Horticulture and Flower Show Executive committee, chairs the Flower Show Gardener’s Studio group, and is the past co-chair of the Flower Show Horticulture Classes. He currently serves on the NAPCC committee for APGA as well.

Andrew helping clean-up the Holly Collection. photo credit: Scott Arboretum Archives

Through these numerous achievements it is easy to see why APGA gave him the prestigious award of Professional Citation. This award recognizes the significant achievements in public horticulture of an individual member who has excelled in one of the disciplines generally associated with public gardens such as botany, horticulture, gardening, conservation, research, education, extension, development, or administration. Andrew embodies the awards ideals of great skills, innovation, and potential.

Andrew leads a tour through Terry Shane Teaching Garden. photo credit: E. Haegele

PHS gives its Certificate of Merit to an individual(s), organization, institution, or business corporation for outstanding contributions to (or achievements in) horticulture or horticultural activities, including the Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia Green, and PHS volunteers.

Always quick with a laugh. photo credit: D. Mattis

Thank you to Andrew for all that you do at the Scott Arboretum and for the field of horticulture.

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