This August, Scott Arboretum & Gardens created its latest ephemeral environmental art piece, Little Princess! Horticulturist Josh Coceano and Arboretum interns painted a lifeless tree an efflorescent pink to encourage reflection on the fragility of trees and to inspire people to notice the landscape, rather than take it for granted.

This Chionanthus retusus (Chinese fringe tree) was an older specimen that had been in decline and was ultimately lost earlier this summer. It is the fourth tree that Scott Arboretum & Gardens has transformed in this way, using striking color to draw the community’s attention to the ever-changing landscapes in a beautiful and meaningful way. The bold pink gives new “life” to the dead tree, honoring its presence and history while prompting reflection on impermanence and renewal. 

Delightfully named Little Princess, the ephemeral art piece will be on display until natural decay claims the tree. Come visit our princess in all seasons as she makes a charming and thought-provoking statement adjacent to the Dean Bond Rose Garden. 

Learn more about how this ephemeral art will age in the landscape with the story of our 2016 ephemeral art installation, Tsuga canadensis Pendula Purpurea. Check out this great recap of ephemeral art installations at the Scott Arboretum & Gardens with this 2021 Hybrid article (page 6.)

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Summer Intern Olivia Colangelo demonstrates how to create a Kokedama display.

Tune into the Gardener’s Almanac to learn what we are doing in the garden at this moment. Learn from Scott Arboretum staff which plants we are pruning, planting, weeding and which pests we are monitoring and removing right now. This virtual almanac is a great reference guide for gardeners.

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Interim Executive Director of the Scott Arboretum & Gardens and Grounds Jeff Jabco shares tips and tricks to selecting the perfect bloom for peony competition.

Tune into the Gardener’s Almanac to learn what we are doing in the garden at this moment. Learn from Scott Arboretum staff which plants we are pruning, planting, weeding and which pests we are monitoring and removing right now. This virtual almanac is a great reference guide for gardeners.

The post Gardener’s Almanac: Selecting Peony Blossoms for Competition appeared first on Scott Arboretum & Gardens.

Guest Author: Mandie Curtis Banks – Youth, Family, and Diversity Programs Coordinator

The Scott Arboretum recognizes and celebrates Gertrude Wister – a true pioneer in the plant world and instrumental part in the Arboretum’s history. Mrs. Wister gained national recognition as a horticulturist, author, and consultant who devoted her career to public horticulture. When Mrs. Wister passed away, Claire Sawyers, Director of the Scott Arboretum, shared highlights of some of her incredible accomplishments, which we are excited to share in celebration of National Women’s History Month.

After graduating with honors with a degree in horticulture at the University of Wisconsin, Mrs. Wister began making her mark in the industry. She returned to her home state of NJ and started her own business in garden planning and maintenance. In the 1940s, Mrs. Wister began working in Pennsylvania for the Scott Horticultural Foundation and the Tyler Arboretum. Eventually moving to Pennsylvania, from 1955 – 1960 she then served as the Assistant Director of the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College (then known as the Arthur Hoyt Scott Horticultural Foundation) while at the same time serving as the Assistant Director of the Tyler Arboretum. She was also appointed to the Board of Trustees at Tyler, a position she held for more than 25 years. Mrs. Wister eventually served as the Acting Director of the Tyler Arboretum from 1975 to 1977.

One of the most treasured contributions Mrs. Wister made at the Scott Arboretum is the Dean Bond Rose Garden which she designed in 1956. The Wister name also lives on at the Arboretum with our Wister Greenhouse, named for John and Gertrude Wister. Mrs. Wister married John C. Wister who served as Director of the Scott Foundation for more than 30 years. Together the Wisters also created the Wister Garden, which is now part of the Scott Arboretum.

In addition to her indelible mark at the Scott and Tyler Arboretums, Mrs. Wister was a celebrated author and editor. She served as editor of the National Gardener, the bulletin for the National Council of State Garden Clubs.  She authored Hardy Garden Bulbs and numerous articles in horticultural publications and magazines. She was also the assistant editor of the Woman’s Home Companion Garden Book, and she edited the American Daffodil Society Yearbook.

Mrs. Wister’s love of plants and contributions to horticulture won her acclaim over the years and she was the recipient of numerous awards, including the distinguished Achievement Award by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society; the Thomas Roland Medal for skill in Horticulture from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society; the American Rhododendron Society’s highest honor: the Gold Medal Award for cataloging, registering, and perpetuating the Wister hybrid rhododendrons and plants of other hybridizers; and the Scott Garden and Horticultural Award for her national contributions to the science and art of gardening.

I hope you join us in tipping your gardener’s hat to celebrate the trailblazing horticulturist legacy of Mrs. Wister during National Women’s History Month.

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Volunteers Anne Papa and Eve Thryum pause for smile at the 2010 Members Plant Exchange and Sale. photo credit: R. Robert

There are only a few vintage black-and-white prints documenting the beginning years of the Scott Associates’ Members Plant Exchange.  These are not dust-bowl pictures. But, still, they’re from the end of the last century—that antique old 20th century.

In 1996, the leadership team was able to conduct the first Members Plant Exchange from beneath a patio umbrella. At right, council member Roger Dietz, who suggested and chaired the event.

Our first Members Plant Exchange was in May 1996, and this year’s edition was due to be our 25th anniversary “running.”  While the Plant Exchange is just one of many cancellations this season it’s worthwhile to recall its purpose and see how we can keep the spirit alive.

Event Vice-Chair Mimi Le Bourgeois began her 1998 report with this statement: “The Plant Exchange in its third year has become a very popular tradition, with organized volunteers and a lusty atmosphere.”

Although passionate gardeners routinely give cuttings and divisions to friends, a formal event such as ours, organized for broader sharing, is pretty unique among our region’s public gardens.

Eve Thyrum has provided her botanical insight and nomenclature expertise to the Plant Exchange year after year. Here is Eve in 2001.

We’re proud of this distinctive history and also fortunate to have some event founders still around.  Jody Downer, now on staff as the Arboretum’s Special Projects Coordinator, was President of the Associates in 1996. Eve Thyrum was a Council leader when the event began, and has shared plants and botanical knowledge throughout. Jody and Eve credit fellow Council member Roger Dietz as the driving force for starting the Plant Exchange.

The old greenhouse building provides a backdrop for the 2005 Plant Exchange. photo credit: R. Robert

The goal was to enable swapping plants for nearly free, particularly as a horticultural encouragement for new members. Interestingly, much of the event’s structure formed in 1996 and has only been “tweaked” since. Sale of extra plants was then for 25 cents, but even that cost isn’t significantly different from today’s $1 price, considering 25 years of inflation.The original exchange rate was 5 plants for 1 ticket as opposed our 3 plants for 1 ticket policy today. 

Ed Sevensky shows his ability to snare an early spot in the 2007 line. photo credit: R. Robert

Already by 1998, event Vice-Chair Mimi Le Bourgeois was able to begin her final report with this statement: “The Plant Exchange in its third year has become a very popular tradition, with organized volunteers and a lusty atmosphere.”

The shiny roof and fresh siding of the new Wister Center gives a sparkling background for the 2010 Plant Exchange display. photo credit: R. Robert

Some of the Plant Exchange’s initial leaders have moved away in retirement, but a notable group of key volunteers and past chairs have contributed help over almost all of the 25-year lifespan.

A notable group of key volunteers and past chairs have contributed help over and over again, including Julie Vrooman and Drew Pegon seen here at the 2010 Plant Exchange. photo credit: R. Robert

A pandemic has steamrolled our 25th anniversary celebration right off our calendar, but there are ways to celebrate its spirit. First, we hope to hold a fall event Saturday, October 10. We won’t have spring seedlings, but an October Plant Exchange would be in conjunction with your fall garden cleanup—and an appropriate time to divide and share perennials. 

Jules Bruck, chair of 2001 Plant Exchange, explains the rules to participants.

For the time being, you can continue the heritage of plant sharing right within your neighborhoods, and it will be a timely effort.  Reports and seed sale statistics are showing that people are seeking sheltering solace in working with plants and planting gardens. 

Ted Patterson, chair of 2019 Plant Exchange, re-pots plants in preparation for the Plant Exchange. photo credit: R. Robert

Extra vegetable seedlings, tubers, rhizomes or some clumps of your favorite perennials will make great gifts or trades with your neighbors. If you’ve already played Johnny Appleseed with your nearby neighbors you can use the community email bulletin boards to offer plants a few blocks further afield. At any rate, this is an ideal time to celebrate plants and the gardeners’ heritage of sharing. 

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In these uncertain times, many of us are finding solace in the garden and nature. Beyond walking woodland trails or tending the garden, bringing nature into our homes through flower arranging can be a wonderful way to find joy. Despite not being able to create original arrangements for the Arboretum and Swarthmore College, our volunteer flower arrangers are continuing to create unique arrangements using plant materials from their home gardens.They have given us some tips to bring the beauty of the garden into our homes as well.

Volunteer flower arranger, Margo Coffin-Groff notes she finds the beauty of nature uplifting. photo credit: M. Coffin-Groff

Kate Sevensky, a volunteer flower arranger, notes that creating these pieces “always brings me stillness and happiness.” She notes stopping to listen and letting “nature sing to you” provides a much needed break from the newscycle. Volunteer flower arranger, Margo Coffin-Groff notes she finds the beauty of nature uplifting. She finds comfort and beauty in the joy of discovery. 

Margo Coffin-Groff recommends wandering the garden and seeing what blooms or textures capture your attention. photo credit: T. Callaghy

Here are some simple steps to help you bring this joy and peace into your home.

1. Discovery: Margo Coffin-Groff recommends wandering the garden and seeing what blooms or textures capture your attention. Once you have selected your first flower of interest, find a leaf/flower that contrasts your colors and textures. Repeat this process of selecting complementary materials until you have a collection of plant materials. 

Wander your garden with a bucket containing a minimal amount of water. As you take cuttings you can immediately add them to water. photo credit: T. Callaghy

Tips:

• Cut your stems as long as possible. You can trim them as you create your arrangement. 
• Wander your garden with a bucket containing a minimal amount of water. As you take cuttings you can immediately add them to water. 
• You don’t need to be a plant expert to select stems from the garden. Just pick what draws your eye.
• Do not be afraid to cut. Stems, leaves, and flowers all can look great in an arrangement
  
  

  Do not be afraid to cut. Stems, leaves, and flowers all can look great in an arrangement. photo credit: T. Callaghy

   2. Containers: Once you have collected your materials, choose the best container for your plant material. For diminutive foliage and blooms, select a small container. For large dramatic pieces, select a larger container.

  

  Once you have collected your materials, choose the best container for your plant material. photo credit: T. Callaghy

Tips

• Anything can be a container. Margo often gives away arrangements in clear seltzer bottles- elegant and upcycled. 
• Consider where you are placing the arrangement. In tight locations, a small container is better. Larger, open areas allow for exuberant arrangements. 
• Decide if you would like to see the stems, which would determine you need a clear container. If you would like to hide the lower portion of the plant material, choose an opaque container.
  

  Anything can be a container. Margo often gives away arrangements in clear seltzer bottles- elegant and upcycled. photo credit: T. Callaghy

*Steps 1 and 2 are interchangeable. For example, Kate Sevensky often selects her location and container and then peruses her garden to find plant material that fits her container and the spot the arrangement will be showcased.

Remove foliage from the lower portion of the stems. photo credit: T. Callaghy

3. Preparing Material: Remove foliage from the lower portion of the stems. Foliage submerged in the water will just rot in the vase.

Decide what style of arrangement you would like. photo credit: T. Callaghy

4. Design: Evaluate what style of arrangement you want. Will you only see one side or all sides?

Start with the center or dramatic bloom or leaf. photo credti: T. Callaghy

Tips:

• Start with the center or dramatic bloom or leaf. Cut this stem to height. All stems will fill in under and around this height. 
• You can use a frog or wire mesh to hold stems in place. The mechanism will be hidden by the leaves of the stems.
  

Fill your container with water and place it in your home to enjoy it. photo credit: M. Coffin-Groff

5. Water: Fill your container with water and place it in your home to enjoy it. 

For diminutive foliage and blooms, select a small container. photo credit: K. Sevensky

Tips

• Check the container for water regularly.
• Some stems will wilt quickly, just remove them from the arrangement. You have done nothing wrong or in error if they wilt in a day. Some plants just don’t hold up well as cut flowers. It is a trial and error process. 
• Once your arrangement begins to wilt, compost it and create a new one. Arrangements are ephemeral and meant to be enjoyed in the moment.
  

Both arrangers noted this is meant to be a fun, creative process. You are designing this for your own enjoyment and there is no wrong way to create an arrangement from your garden. Give yourself grace and enjoy the process. Bringing the magic of nature into your home will put a smile on your face every time you look at the beauty from the garden. 

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Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day will look a little different this year as we are all physical distancing. While we cannot gather for a large planting event, you can still enjoy and celebrate nature. Why not honor Earth Day with a scavenger hunt?

How to Create a Scavenger Hunt:

1. Determine where and when you will be searching.  By identifying the trail or area you will be searching, as well as the time of year, you will determine what items you will find.
2. Decide on the type of scavenger hunt. Will participants be searching for items to collect or take pictures of? Will you provide clues for participants to solve riddles?
3. Create a list of items. When creating your list of items, consider the age of your participants and length of time for your hunt. Finding items of color and shape are great concepts for even the youngest. 
4. Choose your prize. Offering a prize is optional for your scavenger hunt, but great fun for each team. It can be something as simple as choosing the morning snack or leading the next scavenger hunt.
   

Check out all the great Scott Arboretum scavenger hunts for Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22, 2020.

Younger Children

Middle School Kids

Older Kids

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Gardening, caring for houseplants, planning or planting balcony containers, or enjoying your blooming daffodils and tulips – these are all great sources of relaxation and distraction in these trying times. But what to do on rainy days? Color the garden!

Our gardener, Rebecca Armstrong, has taken some of her photos of the Scott Arboretum and turned them into coloring pages. Coloring has the ability to relax the fear center of our brains, the amygdala, and has been found to improve motor skills and vision, improve sleep, and improve focus. 

We invite you to enjoy these coloring pages and the relaxation brought to you by the garden. 

Click below to download your garden coloring page.

Iris at Scott Arboretum

Ferns in Snow

Mountain Mint in the Entrance Garden

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At 2.55 acres, the tulip tree-beech-maple forest planting is the largest restoration community with woody plants in the mix. photo credit: R. Robert

At 2.55 acres, the tulip tree-beech-maple forest planting is the largest restoration community with woody plants in the mix. As the name implies, this community consists predominantly of Acer rubrum, Fagus grandifolia, and Liriodendron tulipifera. The understory shrubs consist of Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel), Amelanchier canadensis (serviceberry), and Crataegus crus-galli (cockspur hawthorn).

A tulip tree-beech-maple forest typically occurs in fairly, deep but not strongly acidic soil at a mid to lower slope position. If not over browsed, this community supports a diverse herbaceous layer with plants including spring ephemerals such as common jack-in-the-pulpit, mayapple, yellow trout lily, large-flowered trillium, and wild ginger.

This diversity also supports a variety of wildlife: short-tailed shrew, white-footed mouse, long-tailed weasel, and eastern chipmunk. One can also find red-backed salamander, gray treefrog, American toad, black rat snake, and spicebush swallowtail butterfly. Nesting habitat for many forest birds such as wood thrush, scarlet tanager, rose-breasted grosbeak, red-eyed vireo, ovenbird, hooded warbler, American redstart, cerulean warbler, barred owl, and pileated woodpecker can found in this forest community.

The yellow color of Liriodendron tulipifera adds fabulous autumn splendor in the space this time of year. photo credit: R. Robert

The Arboretum uses these native canopies – tulip trees, beeches, and red maples – through the campus as great garden plants too. Tulip trees, Liriodendron tulipifera, tower over the Scott Outdoor Amphitheater. Its stick-straight habit makes it ideal for creating a tall canopy with dappled shade for visitors and nesting habitat for birds. The yellow color adds fabulous autumn splendor in the space this time of year. The spring flowers attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.

One of the most commonplace native trees, red maple do not disappoint when it comes to fall color. photo credit: R. Robert

Red maples, Acer rubrum, are great deciduous trees for your garden. One of the most commonplace native trees, red maple do not disappoint when it comes to fall color. On campus we have several striking cultivars including A.rubrum ‘Brandywine’ and A. rubrum ‘Red Sunset’, both selected for their brilliant fall color. This canopy also provide cover for screech owls and pileated woodpeckers while common flickers nest in the cavities.

The dark green toothed leaves of Fagus grandifolia brighten to a golden bronze in the fall. photo credit: R. Robert

Finally the American beech tree, Fagus grandifolia, is a large deciduous tree known for its smooth, grey bark. These specimen trees have a dramatic presence in the landscape with low branching and mature trunks of 2- to 3- feet in diameter. The dark green toothed leaves brighten to a golden bronze in the fall. The beech nut, which ripens in the fall, is a great food source for birds and mammals like mice, squirrels,chipmunks, black bear, deer, foxes, ruffed grouse, ducks, and bluejays.

I invite you to visit the newly open area around the SEPTA Viaduct to see the restoration and watch it mature. photo credit: R. Robert

I invite you to visit the newly open area around the SEPTA Viaduct to see the restoration and watch it mature. I also invite to you find the young plants we have planted and compare them to the matures ones that have been gracing the campus for generations. Consider planting native trees in your own garden to help ecosystem as a whole.

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This article is part of an ongoing column called the Crum Woods Chronicle. The Crum Woods Chronicle will be periodic updates and observations about subjects related to natural history, interesting species found in and around the Crum Woods, and exciting events you can get involved in. My hope is that some of these topics will interest you, strengthen your connection to the Crum Woods, and inspire you to explore your backyard a little more often.

Natural areas do not maintain their character and quality independently, especially when they are heavily used by people and embedded in urban environments. Educating yourself about aspects of the Crum Woods that interest you and understanding how your individual use of the Crum Woods impacts it (and how you can reduce that impact!) are important steps every one of us should take.

“In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.” –Baba Dioum

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Today’s rose garden is interplanted with a variety of plants to encourage the growth of beneficial insect populations to help control unwanted pests. photo credit: R. Robert

Gone are the days of rose gardens with just roses, requiring the use of synthetic pesticides every two weeks, killing insects with no regard to beneficials, and creating harmful run-off into the environment. Today’s rose garden is interplanted with a variety of plants to encourage the growth of beneficial insect populations to help control unwanted pests.

To attract pollinators and beneficial insects to the garden, our gardeners planted several flowering perennials to help sustain their life cycles. photo credit: R. Robert

To attract pollinators and beneficial insects to the garden, our gardeners planted several flowering perennials to help sustain their life cycles. Various types of plants need to flower before and after the roses bloom to provide a constant food source for beneficial insects in all their life cycles, not just during the month of June when roses bloom.

For example, the adult syrphid flies feed on pollen and nectar, while during the larval stage they feed on aphids and other soft-bodied insects. Controlling the aphid population prevents them from sucking plant sap which creates a sticky substance called honeydew. Aphids extrude this honeydew onto leaf surfaces creating an ideal growing medium for black, sooty mold. Providing nectar sources for adult syrphid flies results in syrphid fly larvae eating aphids, preventing honeydew on leaves, therefore controlling black, sooty mold.

Saint Cecilla(R) Rose has been bred with so many petals that it is hard for pollinators to reach the pollen. photo credit: R. Robert

Most selections roses have been bred with so many petals that pollinators could not reach the pollen. Plants with open flowers have been chosen to encourage pollen collecting. The added benefit is that they look great in the garden.

Check some of our favorite garden plants for pollinators found the Dean Bond Rose Garden:

Saliva nemorasa ‘Caradonna’, an old world sage, blooms in April, May, and June and is a great source of nectar for honeybees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.photo credit: R. Robert

Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’, an old world sage, blooms in April, May, and June and is a great source of nectar for honeybees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. It attracts orange-barred sulphur, monarch, cloudless sulphur, giant swallowfly, zebra longwing, gulf fritillary, and spicebush swallowtail butterflies to name a few. As a garden plant, S. ‘Caradonna’ has dark purple flower stems with blue-violet flowers. It is also a drought tolerant plant.

Digitalis x mertonensis, strawberry foxglove, has stunning deep rose-pink flowers grown on pendulous clusters on one-sided racemes. photo credit: R. Robert

Digitalis x mertonensis, strawberry foxglove, has stunning deep rose-pink flowers grown on pendulous clusters on one-sided racemes. This early summer bloomer attracts pollinators like hummingbirds and honey bees with its sweet nectar. Typically living 2 to 3 years, rosettes of leaves can be divided every two years to maintain vigor.

Even in late August, bees are swarming Agastache ‘Black Adder’. photo credit: R. Robert

Agastache ‘Blackadder’, giant hyssop, has extended bloom from June to September. This upright clump-forming cultivar has smoky red-violet flowers blooming on bottle-brush terminal spikes with fragrant foliage. This deer-resistant plant serves as a nectar source for hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. The flowers are cross-pollinated primarily by honeybees, bumblebees, digger bees (Melissodes spp.), leaf-cutting bees (Megachile spp.), Halictid bees (Lasioglossum spp., etc.), and Masked bees (Hylaeus spp.), which seek nectar or pollen. Other occasional visitors are Syrphid flies, bee flies, and various butterflies, skippers, oligolectic bees, and moths.

Monarda didyma ‘Coral Reef’ has coral blooms that extend the rose garden flower season into July. photo credit: R. Robert

Monarda didyma ‘Coral Reef’ has coral blooms that extend the rose garden flower season into July. This mildew resistant cultivar has large, shaggy flowers and fragrant foliage. The sweet nectar attracts long-tongued bees, bee flies, butterflies, skippers, hummingbird moths, Miner bees, Epeoline Cuckoo bees, and large leaf-cutting bees, to name a few. Caterpillars of the Sphinx eremitus (Hermit Sphinx) and Argiopodes teratophora (Gray Marvel) feed on the foliage. Seedbugs (Ortholomus scolopax) can be found feeding on the seedheads.

Achillea millefolium ‘Pomegranate’ has striking pomegranate colored flowers that bloom in dense, flattened clusters from June to September. photo credit: R. Robert

Achillea millefolium ‘Pomegranate’ has striking pomegranate colored flowers that bloom in dense, flattened clusters from June to September. This rhizomatous, spreading, upright perennial does well in full sun. Achillea attracts bee flies, Syrphid flies (including drone flies), thick-headed flies, Tachinid flies, flesh flies, Anthomyiid flies, and others. Additionally many species of grasshoppers, aphids, seed bug, flower thrips, leaf beetles, and caterpillars of some moths feed on yarrow.

Experiment with interplanting roses with perennials and discover what pollinators one attracted to the garden as well as what pests are controlled. Many of these great plants are available at the Scott Arboretum Plant Sale on September 12 through 13, 2015.

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