Edith J. Carrier Arboretum: Difference between revisions
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Information overview of EJC Arboretum mission, events and activities. |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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* [[List of botanical gardens in the United States]] |
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The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum at James Madison University invites you to step into a world of pristine beauty in the heart of the University campus centered in the thriving city of Harrisonburg, Virginia. If you need relaxation time in environs of spacial natural beauty and serentiy, come walk winding woodland trails studded with native exotic flowering plants, shrubs, and trees, or spread your blanket in the sunshine on spacious manicured lawns hemmed about with lavish perennial beds. Commune with nature as it was before the impact of modernization and development, or enjoy cultivated terraces of exhibit medicinal and culinary herbals. If you are a gardener enthusias on-the-go, and want to experience hands-on education, travel with EJC Arboretum at JMU academic professionals who take small guided groups either through the Arboretum grounds, or on remote excursions to wild destinations. |
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An example of an Arboretum excursion is an all-day van tour to the Allegheny highlands at Dolly Sods West Virginia. On this summer expedition, one of several, gardener enthusiasts and hobbist botanists travel Rt. 33 west from Harrisonburg through three major Forest Associations and into the Appalachian extension of the Boreal forest at Dolly Sods. On remote site, with a Biology Ph.D. as guide, expeditioners be viewing montane habitats with elevations of 4000+ft and plant communities similar to those in central Canada. The region's vegetation complex is decidedly northern with its climax forest composed of Red Spruce trees. Excursioners will walk in a Sphagnum Bog and sink to knee depth while searching for the exotic native insectivorous plant, Sundew. The EJC Arboretum's excursion groups see the wildflowers like Gold Thread, a native of Greenland, growing among others like Heath in thickets of Rhododendrons, Laurels, Allegheny Menziesia, Azaleas, Blueberries and Huckleberries. Walk with the trip lecturers along the Eastern Continental Divide beneath Banter trees sculptured by high elevation winds, an ecosystem that is a northern plant paradise! |
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The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens at James Madison University is community suppored, and generates self-supporting revenues through community botanicals sales scheduled seasonally each year. Each spring, the Arboretum hosts EJC Arboretum Exploration Series, free tours with a botany professional. The series of explorative tours include: "April Walk" presenting the Arboretum's collection of rare flowering bulbs including jonquils, daffocils, tuylips, scillas, and ornamental onions. Also in the series are "Wildflower Walks in the height of the spring blooming season when there are approximatelly one hundred species of native trees, shrubs and herbaceous wildflowers in show of full bloom. Another EJC Arboretum annual event is the Native Plant Sale held in mid April annually. This fundraiser sale features shrubs, trees, and native wildflowers both annual and perennial. Available for purchase are dwarf varieties for container gardeners, and plenty of drought tolerant plants for gardeners who want their green in their garden to be even "greener" and water-eco friendly! |
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The EJC Arboretum participates with the Harrisonburg community at large for Historic Garden Week in Virginia. And in late May annually, the EJC Arboretum hosts its Herb and Garden sale, just as the last of the region's frost warnings have expired and local gardening enthusiasts are ready to expand their culinary herb gardens. Throughout the summer, the EJC Arboretum hosts a series of free lunch hour lectures in an outdoor Pavilion on the grounds where experts offer education of a spectrum of botany topics. And coinciding with the James Madison University annual Parents Weekend, the EJC Arboretum holds a Bulb Sale on its grounds in the Pavilion where parents can return home after visiting with their JMU student, with their bulb purchases as a token reminder of their experience at JMU. The EJC Arboretum website is www.jmu.edu/arboretum, and posts a calendar of events with specific dates. The mission of the EJC Arboretum is the enrichment of it's community through no-cost, open access to its botanical beauty year round with grounds open to the public from sunrise to sunset, the education of both its JMU student, faculty and staff community, and neighboring residents, tourist visitors, and local businesses and municipal organizations. |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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Revision as of 14:56, 6 June 2008
The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum is an arboretum and botanical garden on the James Madison University campus, located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA in the Shenandoah Valley. Its gardens include:
- Andrew Wood Memorial Garden (1994) - 92 species including lady slippers, Turk's cap lily, Dutchman's breeches, wild ginger, squirrel corn, native azaleas, laurels and rhododendrons.
- Ballard Memorial Planting (1991) - Ginkgo or Maidenhair Tree, azaleas, rhododendrons, white redbuds, Chinese dogwood and black hall tree.
- Bog Garden (1999) - pitcher plant, sundew, cranberry, Labrador tea, lambkill, and bald cypress.
- Drury Planting (1993) - forest pansy redbud, Chinese dogwood, Carolina silverbell, dolchica spirea, Japanese maple, Cherokee sunset dogwood, and dwarf barberry.
- Fern Valley - on ravine slopes, ferns including New York fern, hay-scented fern, Christmas fern, ostrich fern, and marginal shield fern.
- Heath Family Plantings - rhododendrons, azaleas, mountain laurel, Leucothoe, and fetterbush.
- Larkin Smith Rock Garden (1991) - features 7 of 15-plus endemic species to the shale barren: yellow buckwheat, white-haired leather flower, ragwort, spike moss, and hairy lipped ferns, with "near endemic" prickly pear cactus and the shining sumac.
- Mid-Atlantic Azalea Garden (1996)- azalea natives including pinxter flower, flame azalea, rose azalea, plumleaf azalea, and hybrid crosses.
- McDonald Azalea and Rhododendron Garden (1995) - more than 500 individual azaleas and rhododendrons of many varieties.
- Norlyn L. Bodkin Oak Hickory Forest (1998)
- Rose Garden (1999) - over 30 varieties of heirloom rose selections.
- Sinclair Garden (1996)- a variety of shrubs and perennials, including Japanese barberry, kousa dogwood, leyland cypress, cherry laurel and rhododendrons.
- Viette Perennial Garden (1992) - 18 varieties of daylilies and 8 varieties of Siberian iris, hostas, Eupatoriums and ornamental grasses.