|
N° 217 — October 16, 2024
Enjoy regular updates and insights from FONA, the U.S. National Arboretum, and our award-winning Washington Youth Garden.
| |
FONA members get early access to the annual Garden Fair & Plant Sale in April. | |
|
Want the chance to register early for Full Moon Hikes, garden tours, and more? As a special member perk, FONA members get early access to registration for some of our most popular programs.
It's now easier than ever to become a FONA member. Donate any amount to become a member for one year or pledge to give monthly and support our work all year round as a Sustaining Member. You will get access to members-only events (like our Digging In series and member socials), early registration to select events, and member discounts. You will also receive reciprocal discounts and admission at over 360 arboreta and botanic gardens across the country through the American Horticultural Society's Reciprocal Admissions Program (with a donation of $35 or more).
| |
|
Donate today to become a FONA member or renew your membership to get early registration access to upcoming events. Our October Member Newsletter is going out very soon and will include early registration for:
-
Fall Colors Tram Tour on Thursday, November 7th
-
Full Moon Hike on Friday, November 15th
-
Full Moon Forest Bathing on Friday, November 15th
These events will likely sell out before being made public. Plus, we only host a few full moon events each year! Don't miss your chance to attend.
Donate to Join >
Donate to Renew >
| |
FONA members during a 2023 Fall Colors Tour. | |
Photo courtesy of the National Arboretum | |
|
The National Arboretum recently welcomed Kamala Codrington-White and Haley Gilbert as permanent Agricultural Science Research Technicians (ASRT) to the Public Horticulture and Engagement Unit. This unit is based out of the Arboretum's main Washington, D.C. campus.
Kamala was originally introduced to the Arboretum during an undergraduate internship, where she inventoried germplasm at the Arboretum's campus in Beltsville, MD. Since 2022, she has been working at the Arboretum's D.C. campus as a Limited Appointment worker and then as an ORISE Fellow. During this time, she has helped horticulturists inventory collections, collect GPS data, and photograph germplasm. You might recognize her name as the author of the Plant Spotlights for this newsletter. As a permanent ASRT, Kamala will continue working with Plant Records and in the Hamamelis Collection.
| |
|
Haley's work at the Arboretum also began through a summer internship in 2022, which was funded by FONA. Since then, she has worked at the D.C. campus as an ORISE Fellow. Haley has helped manage the Boxwood and Azalea Collections, and has supported the multi-year Boxwood Propagation Project. She will continue to help manage the Azalea Collections in her permanent ASRT role.
FONA would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations and welcome to both Kamala and Haley as they start their permanent positions this month!
| |
Photo courtesy of the National Arboretum | | |
|
Fall 5K — Get Your T-Shirt! | |
We are excited to announce our Fall 5K t-shirt design! This design highlights Arboretum introductions that not only have beautiful fall interest, but have also impacted the American nursery industry and home gardens.
For example, Ulmus 'Frontier' produces beautiful red-purple leaves in autumn, and is also an elm tree with high tolerance to Dutch elm disease and moderate resistance to elm leaf beetle. Acer rubrum 'Brandywine' is a red maple with long-lasting colors that turn from red to red-purple, and also has significant tolerance to leafhopper, a major pest of landscape red maples.
| |
|
Register now for our Fall 5K on Sunday, November 10th! Join us in admiring the Arboretum's fall colors and celebrating the science and history behind them. A limited number of race t-shirts are still available to new registrants. Free registration is available for 50 veterans, and discounted registration is available for active duty, reserve personnel, and FONA members.
Register for the Fall 5K >
| |
| |
|
The southern sugar maple — commonly known as the Florida maple — is a smaller but equally impressive version of its northern counterpart known simply as the sugar maple (Acer saccharum). This medium-sized deciduous tree grows from Virginia into parts of Florida and west into Eastern Texas and Oklahoma. The southern sugar maple is more heat-tolerant than the northern sugar maple, though it is hardy to USDA zone 6. In the fall, its small, lobed leaves turn vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and red. | |
|
Choose Acer saccharum subsp. floridanum over Acer saccharum in locations with warm weather, high winds, droughts, or occasional wet soil. Look for the southern sugar maple grown from seed that was collected by USNA staff in 2008 in the Maple Collection and in Fern Valley.
Kamala Codrington-White, an Agricultural Science Research Technician at the National Arboretum, shares plants of note at the Arboretum in this recurring segment. Find these plants on your next trip to the Arboretum. Photos by U.S. National Arboretum.
| |
| |
|
|
Christmas Tree Sale
December 7 - 8, 10 AM - 4 PM
Christmas trees, wreaths, and garlands
Save the date — more details to come
Gotelli Conifer Collection Tour
December 13, 10:30 AM
FONA members will get early access to registration before it opens to the public
Become a Member to Register Early >
Forest Bathing Walks
Various dates and times
Meditation and mindfulness
Upcoming Dates & Registration >
| |
Did a friend forward you this newsletter?
| | | | |
