It is said that gardening creates community. And this pleasant saying rings true each time that I tend and nurture a growing garden.
Oftentimes, as I’m tending the Children’s Square Foot Garden in front of the Mary Reinhart Stackhouse Education Center, I get many curious onlookers who are interested in what’s growing. Ultimately, they ask what’s my role at the Arboretum – they wonder whether I’m on staff or am I a volunteer? My answer is always the same - I tell t...
It is not really news that Monarch butterflies are in trouble. Their numbers have been dropping steadily for the last twenty or more years. Last week, (August 2022) the International Union for the Conservation of Nature put the Monarch on their red list of species that are endangered. This holds no legal protections or incentives to help the Monarch, but it shows that scientists are justifiably worried.
We don’t usually start talking about goats around here at the Arboretum until the fall. We look forward to our furry friends from Green-Goats Farm in Rhinebeck, NY returning year after year, to help us clear the overgrowth in the daffodil bowl. But I think about goats year-round! In fact, I have a collection of goats here in my office – photos, figurines, stuffed animals, etc. I also decorated a goat tree last year for our Festival of Trees event. Ev...