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| Master Gardeners and guests head south to the Arboretum |
While
7 a.m. may not be early for Franklin County farmers, many of the forty-plus
people boarding the motor coach on Saturday, May 4, were carrying coffee cups.
The Master Gardeners of Penn State Extension, Franklin County and guests were
headed to the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.
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| Capitol Columns |
One
of the Arboretum's visual highlights is the Capitol Columns. They were removed
from their original site at the U.S. Capitol in 1958, discarded and later
reclaimed for display.
On
over 446 acres, the Arboretum, established in 1927, not only provides gardens
that conserve and showcase plants, but also provides scientific research and
education programs. It houses a permanent reference collection of over 650,000
plants specimens for scientific studies and maintains a library of over 11,000
books.
Carol
Tebo, McConnellsburg, said she "had never been to the National Arboretum
and wanted to see it."
Master
Gardener Elmer Greey, Shippensburg, led the tour. Also a volunteer at the
Arboretum, Greey was able to point out a number of unusual plants such as the
Mexican flowering dogwood (Cornus florida subsp. urbiniana).
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| Mexican flowering dogwood petals are joined at the top |
The
National Bonsai & Penjing Museum is a beautiful permanent display of
Chinese, Japanese and North American bonsai plants, some in training for over
200 years.
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| Greey at the Japanese gate - (R) a Japanese white pine trained since 1626 |
May
4 was also the annual Bonsai Festival with demonstrations, vendors and more.
Deanna
Purdy, Hagerstown, MD, "came to see the bonsai" exhibit and festival.
She bought a maple tree to create a bonsai, her third project.
And
Master Gardener Colleen Johnson, Fayetteville, bought a small barberry tree and
a beginner's guide to indoor bonsai. "I thought I'd give it a try,"
she said.
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| Master Gardeners in the Herb Garden |
In
the National Herb Garden, in addition to the knot garden and rose garden,
plants are arranged in themed beds - beverage, colonial, culinary, dye,
fragrance, medicinal, Native American and others. Master Gardener's involved
with the program's demonstration herb garden were especially interested in the
dye, fragrance and culinary gardens.
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| Woad (Isatis tinctoria) produces blue dye |
"I'm
glad I could see the woad plant I want to use in the dye garden,"
commented Master Gardener Carol Kagan, Fayetteville. "It's big and needs
to be restrained, maybe in a half-barrel or large pot."
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| (L) Azalea and (R) Dogwood photo by Jenny Haynes |
In
addition to viewing the largest boxwood collection in the world, visitors saw
orange, pink, red, and white azaleas that line the trails up the slope of Mt.
Hamilton. Dogwoods were also in bloom.
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| Viewing the National Grove of Trees while waiting for lunch |
Greey
led a tour through the conifer collection, one of his favorite work areas, and
pointed out many of the special features of the spruces, firs and dwarf pines.
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| Greey led a tour through the conifer collection |
Before
heading home, there was a stroll through the Asian Collection which included
plants from China, Korea, and Japan.
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| Colleen Johnson, Linda Horst and others exit the Asian Collection |
The weather was pleasant but somewhat breezy. Linda Forbes, Scotland, PA, had come along to spend the day with her friend Master Gardener Barbara Petrucci. At the end of the trip she said, "I saw lots of plants I'd like to add to my yard.
Leftovers
from lunch were passed around as the bus headed northward and Linda Secrist, Master Gardener Coordinator had one more quiz for the ride home.
For
more information check these links
United States National Arboretum
National Bonsai Foundation
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