This past year (2014) we are started the process of making some of our very own varieties of tomatoes and winter squash!
The process begins with crossing two different varieties of a vegetable. Most vegetables have been bred to be homozygous (like AA or  aa instead of Aa… remember Mendel’s Punnett squares from Bio?) so that when you save seed from the plant after self pollination, all the seeds make the same kind of plant with same kind of fruit (same shape, size, color, and taste). 

Hoping to lure opreys from nesting on the ball field lights, new platforms were installed.

Stewartia monadelpha is a stunning tree throughout the year. Don’t miss its lovely blossoms this month.

Urban horticulture has come a long way from the days of the pink flamingos, but they still hold a special place in our hearts!

We hope summer brings you sun, fresh air, and time to read. On display this month in the Miller Library you’ll find a few off-the-beaten-path selections to engage your intellect this summer.

1)  Cytisus x praecox ’Luteus’           Warminster Broom

This broom is a hybrid of C. multiflorus and C. purgans and is located on Arboretum Drive in the Legume Collection.
Many of the brooms are blooming now or soon to bloom, including the pineapple broom, Argyrocytisus battandieri, whose fragrance earned it its common name.

2)  Erica arborea var. alpina           Tree Heath

While non-alpine tree heath can reach heights in excess of 20 feet, the alpine variety is the “short” one, reaching only 10 to 15 feet. 

It’s spring and time for a full on revival in the Center for Urban Horticulture’s Goodfellow Grove!

Who doesn’t love spring? It’s the earth’s bright green answer to winter’s dreary grey; when all the world begins to grow anew. If autumn is a time for introductions and winter for exploration, then spring is the season for culmination. In autumn we ground the students in the important, fundamental lessons of the forest grove: clearly identifying the boundaries (both figurative and literal) of the classroom; teaching an awareness of self, social expectations, and emotional responses; guiding newfound interest in the natural world. 

Today’s visitors to the Washington Park Arboretum walk past historical artifacts not knowing why they might be there. One of those is the Memorial Fountain dedicated to the late Mrs. W.W. Sawyer, along Arboretum Drive E. opposite Rhododendron Glen.

Striking tree peony in Pacific Connections China Entry Garden in full, fragrant bloom this month