by Chris Earley

These birds have been heard singing in The Arboretum already this spring. Can you identify them all? To learn more about bird songs and calls, you may want to consider taking our Bird Sounds Workshop on June 9! Further information on the workshop is on our website at: http://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/educationandevents/workshops.shtml#June

Click here for a printable version of the quiz. The answers are at the bottom of the newsletter.

by Sean Fox

Though spring officially arrived in March, the icy mornings of early April have impeded the emergence of many buds and sprouts that just a few weeks ago seemed ready to burst. While we await the return of the warm spring air to our gardens, collections and natural areas at The Arboretum, we’ve already been in full-fledged “spring” mode for several months in the Henry Kock Propagation Centre – our greenhouse in the Arboretum Nursery.

The Henry Kock Propagation Centre, named in honour of the late Henry Kock, our beloved Horticulturist for over 20 years at The Arboretum, was erected in 2010 and made possible through the kind and generous support of Phillip and Susan Gosling of the Gosling Foundation. This facility is absolutely critical for The Arboretum to achieve our education, research and outreach objectives. It allows us to not only propagate plants that are difficult to find in commercial nurseries, but also to ensure that we can carefully curate and track the provenance (source information) of each plant that will become part of our plant collections, research projects and conservation programs.

Since the transparent, light-receiving walls went up nearly 6 years ago, thousands upon thousands of young plants have sprung to life in the shelter they provide. This year is no different as Arboretum staff and volunteers have been working away throughout the winter processing seeds, sowing flats and transplanting young seedlings. Upon close inspection, the diversity currently contained within the greenhouse is quite staggering.

A quick walkthrough the greenhouse will unveil tiny, freshly germinated seedlings of Sourwood (Oxydendron arboreum), Alpine Bearberry (Arctous alpina) and over 30 other species from the Heath (Ericaceae) plant family. As these seedlings mature, many will eventually find their way to the Ericaceae section of our World of Trees Collection. Further ahead, we can witness the equally tiny sprouts of several members of the Birch (Betulaceae) family, such as Alaska Paper Birch (Betula neoalaskana) and Hazel Alder (Alnus serrulata). These plants are ultimately destined for our Birch Family Collection on the eastern side of The Arboretum. Popping up nearby is everything from Dwarf False Indigo (Amorpha nana) and Franklin Tree (Franklinia alatamaha) for our plant collections, to Prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum americanum) and Musclewood (Carpinus caroliniana) for our ecological restoration efforts.

On the other side of the greenhouse, your eyes might first lead you toward the freshly rooted cuttings of plants such as Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), Bog Laurel (Kalmia polifolia) and Bog Rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), which we hope to someday have installed into The Arboretum to display the diversity of bog-dwelling species that are native to Ontario. Other rooted cuttings nearby include several native species of Grape (Vitus sp.) and Woodbines (Parthenocissus sp.); vines that will be planted in our collections to assist visitors with recognizing the distinguishing identification features of these closely allied species.

Moving toward another corner of the greenhouse unveils various herbaceous species with plans for our formal gardens, such as Virginia Dayflower (Commelina virginica) and Niko Ladybells (Adenophora nikoense), while Sullivant’s Milkweed (Asclepias sullivantii) and Short’s Aster (Symphyotrichum shortii) eye-up spots in our pollinator gardens. Woody plants such as Leatherwood (Dirca palustris) and Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia), and perennials such as Cave Alumroot (Heuchera parviflora) and Tall Thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana) will eventually find their way to our plant sale. There are annual seedlings sprouting for the ornamental planters at the Arboretum Centre, and vegetable seedlings reaching skyward as they prepare for planting in the Gosling Wildlife Gardens veggie patch in the weeks ahead.

Finally, moving to yet another corner of the greenhouse we can see seedlings of Eastern Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) Cherry Birch (Betula lenta) Cucumber Tree (Magnolia acuminata) and Hop-tree (Ptelea trifoliata), all Ontario species-at-risk that are part of our Rare Woody Plants of Ontario Conservation Program. Nearby are grafted White Elm (Ulmus americana) saplings from our Elm Recovery Project. These share a bench with rooted cuttings from several Juniper (Juniperus) cultivars that were rescued from damaged plants in our Dwarf Conifer Collection. We have even been using our greenhouse space to propagate a number of different native fern, moss and horsetail species that we will soon begin planting amongst the shade of our ever-maturing tree canopy. This will allow us to further diversify our education programs by offering more hands-on field identification courses for these primitive plant groups.

All in all, the varied plants we’ve just discussed are but a few representatives of over 900 accessions currently in our greenhouse, with some accessions being represented by several hundred young seedlings themselves. Pretty incredible to think about how many plants are currently sprouting, and none of this would be possible without the support of the Gosling Foundation and the dedication of our Arboretum staff and wonderful volunteer crews that join us several mornings a week. Keep your eyes on The Arboretum grounds over the next few years as these young upstarts make their debuts in a collection near you!

A printable / sharable version of this article is available by clicking here.

 
A Red Oak (Quercus rubra) seedling    A lush carpet of Cherry Birch (Betula pushes skyward.                                lenta) seedlings from our
                                                       Arboretum Gene Bank.

                          
                           Japanese Pagoda Tree (Styphnolobium
                      japonicum) sprouts during their first few days.

by Alexandra Kocher

Going deep into Wild Goose Woods is not as scary as it sounds; it is actually very tranquil. Wild Goose Woods is best known for its long boardwalk which skims atop a reflection of old trees. It is one of the prettiest spots here at The Arboretum because you get the best of both worlds: forest and water, waves of blue and waves of green, woodpeckers and ducks, old growth forest and new growing water invertebrates.

But how can trees and a deep pool of water coexist here? There are tree species that actually do very well in wet areas and elm is one of them. Years ago Wild Goose Woods used to be full of healthy growing elm trees until the hardship of Dutch elm disease struck and took out the entire elm stand. Old elm snags and stumps can still be seen in Wild Goose Woods however, and their death poetically added to The Arboretum’s life because it provided habitats for many different species (moss, lichen, woodpeckers, invertebrates, ducks, etc.). When all the elm trees died it allowed the sun to come pouring into the once roofed forest. This open space and bright light encouraged a new water- adapted species to flourish, and that species was the Freeman’s Maple. The Freeman’s Maple is one of nature’s natural tree hybrids, and is a cross between the Silver Maple and the Red Maple. With all the elm gone, Freeman’s Maple was the only water adapted species that filled the empty stand and Wild Goose Woods is now full of them.
But how did this forest get to be so old in such a young Arboretum? Looking back on the history of The Arboretum we know that all of the land here used to be farmland; except for Wild Goose Woods. Because these woods are always flooding with the waters from snow melt, it was never an option for farmers to cut it all down and turn it into farmland, which is why it has grown to such a beautiful old age.

However, the beautiful pond among the trees is not always around and is therefore an ephemeral pond. This means that it is not a permanent pond and will dry up; but don’t you worry because this feature does have its benefits! Since the pond dries up at the end of the summer fish cannot survive and therefore are not found in Wild Goose Woods; and a lack of fish means small invertebrates flourish! Take a look sometime, all you have to do is lie down on the boardwalk and watch for movement in the water. You will find a flurry of activity and it has started already!

A printable / sharable version of this article is available by clicking here.

                  
                   Wild Goose Woods in April
                   photo by Alexandra Kocher

                  
                   Wild Goose Woods invertebrates: fairy shrimp,
                   mosquito larva, aquatic snail, and snow fleas
                   Photo by Chris Earley

by Ann Estill, Arboretum Auxiliary Member

Springtime when I was a little girl always held two special treats. The first was Mama’s announcement that it was time to see the wildflowers in the woodlot, back of the meadow and cow pasture behind our home. It was the Thirties and my mother would have been way ahead of the times in that we always went to discover them, NOT to pick them.

We children were never allowed to go there alone as sometimes Grandpa ran pigs in the woodlot, not to mention the cows in the pasture and that this small child was a little afraid to be near such big animals.

We would find hepatica and dogtooth violets (trout lily) lavender and yellow violets, jack-in-the-pulpit and bloodroot. We were allowed to pick one of those to see the red sap from which the name is derived. Interestingly, I had never seen trillium or marsh marigold until we moved to Ontario in 1958. I always felt very special to be on one of these walks. They only happened once a season so some years we would miss one or the other species because they were not all in bloom at once.

The second ritual was to go to the meadow where the purest little stream in the world was and gather a jellied mass of tadpole eggs. We would bring them home carefully and place them in a little aquarium, along with the bit of water plant we had harvested with them When the teeny-tiny tadpoles would hatch and eventually turn into miniature frogs, we would watch with anticipation as gradually, each one lost their tails and grew their legs. When they were big enough to jump onto a rock we had placed near them, it was time to take them across the road to dump into Grandpa’s pond. The possibility of keeping one or two as a pet never was considered. They needed their own habitat. Later in the summer when serenaded to sleep by the big bullfrogs we knew they must be “ours.”

These nature walks were continued in the summer when we would be at our camp in the Catskills. Picking wild strawberries for jam in the deep meadow grasses was special. Indian pipe and wintergreen were discovered also as well as meadow flowers named. Mama remembered her father taking her to a patch of wintergreen and letting her eat until she was sated.

To this day, the first trip to Victoria Woods at our university arboretum is a treat for me as the flowers begin to emerge. I think Spring is my favorite season.

Last week was National Volunteer Week. We would like to say a huge "Thank You" to all of our amazing volunteers who "Help The Arboretum Grow" The Arboretum would not be what it is today without our dedicated group of volunteers. Volunteers help care for our grounds, help with the Plant Sale, work on our front desk, give tours, do displays for us, assist at workshops and so much more. THANK YOU again to all our wonderful Volunteers!

The Arboretum’s grounds are the perfect setting for group tours. Our knowledgeable docents (trained volunteer guides) give pre-arranged 1 ½ hour tours of The Arboretum’s grounds, gardens, collections and other points of interest. The tours can be focused on the areas that are seasonally appropriate and / or that are of interest to you and your group. Tours should be booked a minimum of 2 weeks in advance. The cost is $5 per person, with a minimum charge of $60. Tours provide an excellent break for a meeting group. For further information on tours or to make a reservation please contact Dawn Ann Webster at [log in to unmask] or 519-824-4120 ext. 54110.

               
                Arboretum Tour

Introduction to Birds, Photographing Woodlands and Wildflowers, Sparrows, Invasive Species, Sketching Nature and Bird Sounds workshops are approaching. The dates and registration deadlines can be found in our Coming Events Listing in the column on the left side of this newsletter. A detailed description of each course is available on our website. Help us promote our programs … please forward this e-mail on to your friends and colleagues who may be interested. The more participants we have, the more programs we can offer.

Registering early is important for us because we need lead time to decide if there are enough people registered to run the workshop or not. To encourage registering before the deadline, we now have an Early Bird Fee. You can still register after the deadline, but it will cost an extra $10, so why not register early?

Registration is available on-line, which allows you to register for our programs at anytime, not just during our regular business hours. A secure link is provided on our website for this easy registration process.

If you do not have internet access, registration can still be made by phone or in person at 519-824-4120 ext. 52358 as in the past. Please remember that a decision is made on the registration deadline as to whether the workshop will run or not, based on the minimum number of required registrants. You may still register after the deadline as long as the workshop is running and there is space.

The cold snap that we have been experiencing for the last couple of weeks has made it difficult for some of our floral and faunal residents. Many of our maples had their flowers freeze and some of our spring bulbs got hit just as they were opening. But fear not! There will still be lots of bulbs ready to bloom once it warms up. As well, the maples are adapted to wacky spring weather and will survive, though we are unsure how seed production might be affected for this year. In the faunal zone, our American Robins have been having a rough time trying to find something to eat in the sub-zero temperatures. While we have many robins that spend the winter here, they tend to hang out near the river and do forays to berry producing shrubs for food. Most of these shrubs are now bare so the robins are concentrating their efforts on finding worms and insects on the thawed roads when winter brings a late snow fall. They are also depending on the fuzzy berries of Stagnorn Sumac and so we have many hanging out near The Arboretum Centre. Other recent sightings include Northern Shrike (which we, surprisingly, haven't had around here this winter), Northern Harrier, Song Sparrow, Northern Flicker and Eastern Phoebe. Our Pileated Woodpeckers have been seen quite a lot, too, so we are hoping they nest in a visible spot like they did last year. Eastern Chipmunks have been zipping around and some fresh Coyote scat reveals their presence here, too.

                      
                       American Robin Photos by Chris Earley

Be a part of the BetterPlanet Project by donating on-line:

Your donation can be directed to The Arboretum online through the secure University of Guelph donation page: http://uofg.convio.net/arboretum

If you prefer not to make an online donation, there are several other ways to provide your financial support. You can choose to donate by telephone, mail, fax, or in person:

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH Attention Alumni Affairs 50 Stone Road East Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1 Tel: 1-888-266-3108 ext. 56934 Tel: 519-824-4120 ext. 56934 Fax: 519-822-2670 Email: [log in to unmask]

If you would like information on bequests and planned giving to The Arboretum please contact:

Ross Butler
Director, Gift Planning
at (519) 824-4120 ext. 56196 or by e-mail at [log in to unmask]