March 2015

Lockerly Arboretum
March Newsletter

Planting for the future
Arbor Day 2015
Arbor Day planting
Last summer weather, age, and an infestation of ambrosia beetles, required that we remove Emma, a stately Southern Red Oak, that had been in front of Rose Hill for at least 100 years. On Arbor Day we planted an 18' tall Nuttall Oak.The tree was donated by Covey Tree Farm and delivered by Rodger Flotta, who serves as the President of the Lockerly Board of Trustees.

Our newest tree will provide color in the fall and shade in summer as it grows. Our new tree also needs a name, so we're holding a contest.

Name Lockerly's Newest Tree contest is open to tree-lovers and tree-huggers of all ages.We'd love to get a photo of our new tree with the contest winner, so we are limiting entries to the following counties: Baldwin, Bibb, Glascock, Hancock, Houston, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones,Laurens, Peach, Putnam, Washington, and Wilkinson counties.

If you have a name suggestion, put Name the Tree in the subject line and send it to: info@lockerly.org. Include your name, mailing address, phone number, and, of course, the best email address for contacting you. All entries are due by noon on Tuesday, March 31, 2015. We will accept one entry per person.

Lockerly's Dirt Digger volunteers, together with the staff and Trustees, will choose three suggested names. In April we'll post those three names online and allow people to vote for their favorite. In the event that more than one person submits the winning name, we will recognize everyone who submitted the winning name.
Lockerly Plant Swap is April 11th
plants ready to swap Lockerly's first-ever Plant Swap will be held on the grounds on Saturday, April 11. We're inviting gardeners, garden clubs, and plant enthusiasts to share what they've grown and take home something they'd like to add to their yard or garden. Here's what you need to know:

1. You'll swap one plant for every plant you bring, with a limit of 12 total (i.e. if you  bring five plants to swap you'll take five new plants home).
 

2. One gallon containers are encouraged
 

3. All containers should be weed free
 

4. Make sure plants are washed with a mild soap and water solution 48 hours prior to the swap to discourage any uninvited tag-alongs.
 

We'll post the hours and details soon. Contact Bob Miller at 478.454.8664 or Dede Reoch at 478.387.5688 if you have questions.

 


Learn about Container Gardens

Container Gardens can easily add color to an entryway, or serve as a mini herb garden at your backdoor. Container gardens are also a great way to introduce children to growing plants and vegetables.

On Saturday, April 11th from 11:00-12:00, Jana Otis, Lockerly's Horticulture Director, will share ideas and tips for making container gardens thrive. Join Jana in the classroom on the ground floor in Rose Hill and find out how container gardening can add color, and maybe flavor, to your home or office.

Eco-Exploring and geocaching are new reasons to visit Lockerly
Valentine's Day morning was chilly, but under a bright sun we held three different activities to encourage exploring outdoors. Members of the Ocmulgee Chapter of the Audubon Society came to help lead beginning and experienced birders in the Great Backyard Bird Count. At least 31 species were counted that morning.

We began a new program for children ages 12 and younger called Lockerly Eco-Explorers.Grandparents and parents brought children out to see what they could find on a nature scavenger hunt. This program is year-round, and we hope it will encourage children to observe and learn about plants and wildlife. Details are on our web site.  

Geocaching has returned to the Arboretum. Whether you are a beginning geocacher (like our Executive Director Katherine Cummings and Office Manger Vicki Folendore) or experienced (like Horticulture Director Jana Otis and Education Director Greg Eilers), we hope you'll come out and see if you can find what is hidden in the gardens.

Volunteers made our yard sale a success
Volunteers stepped up and helped make our first Lockerly yard sale a huge success. From cleaning out closets, tagging and displaying items, and staffing the sale, our garden and Rose Hill volunteers helped us raise almost $600. We are very appreciative of the time and effort everyone contributed to support Rose Hill.

We'd like to know if you have skills or experience to share with us. We have a short Volunteer Survey that will let us know how we can get you more involved at Lockerly.

And there's more....
We've got more planned at Lockerly than our newsletter could hold without an intermission! Check our web site for March Gardening Tips from Jana. We'll have details soon about a March 14th forestry program that Greg and the Education Staff are doing here with the Mary Vinson Memorial Library.

In addition to the plant swap and container gardening class on April 11,we'll have more outdoor activities for families. Summer Camp information and registration will be available online in March, and we're trying to find good dates to add some art-based classes to our calendar.