ARBORETUM PICTURE OF THE WEEK Do you know what this is? Click here to find out. DIRECT ARBORETUM SUPPORT Donations Volunteering PRIVATE SUPPORT GROUPS Friends of the National Arboretum Herb Society of America National Capital Area Garden Clubs, Inc. National Bonsai Foundation

New Greenhouses to be Constructed at Arboretum The arboretum’s nearly 50-year-old greenhouses will be demolished in the coming weeks to make room for the construction of new modern greenhouse facilities.  Earlier, the National Capital Planning Commission approved the final site and building plans for this $2.6 million project. The Commission determined that this project was consistent with their Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. The new greenhouse facilities will occupy a quarter-acre site located north of the arboretum’s Administration Building. The facilities will support both research activities and the varied needs of the Gardens Unit in maintaining the many display gardens and living collections on the arboretum’s 446-acre campus. Since the greenhouses are a research and production facility, they will not be open to the public; however, they will provide plants and valuable support for the public areas. The contract for this work has been awarded and the contractor has been given the official notice to proceed. Replacement and the modernization of aging facilities is a top priority of the arboretum and this will be a welcome new addition.  Learn more about the arboretum

EDUCATION

Invasive Plants Workshop
January 24, 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Administration Building Auditorium

Anyone who manages a property has likely encountered rampant, unwanted plant growth. This workshop provides information on securing funding and negotiating contracts to remove invasive plants from public and private landscapes and natural areas. An afternoon field exercise features the arboretum’s work in managing invasives. Fee $50 (FONA $40). Register now (PDF: 33 K).

(photo of kudzu courtesy of National Agricultural Library)

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 HORTICULTURE
 

How Much Wood Would Boxwood Box...

The exceptionally strong wood of boxwood (Buxus) has allowed individual plants to survive, and even thrive, in the garden for centuries. Even after its death, boxwood lives on in the form of a rich variety of useful objects: ornamental boxes; combs; writing tablets; a variety of wind instruments such as recorders, flutes and clarinets; spinning tops; jewel cases; carved ornaments and images; chess pieces; inlays and veneers.

The most historically important role for boxwood, however, was for making finely crafted precision measuring instruments such as octants, protractors, artificial horizons, slide rulers, and rulers. 

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RESEARCH

U.S. National Arboretum Continues International Plant Exploration

The U.S. National Arboretum has a long and productive history of collecting plants from other countries. This effort continued this summer with trips to the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Far East by Floral & Nursery Plants Research Unit staff members Kevin Conrad (Curator of the Woody Landscape Plant Germplasm Repository) and Martin Scanlon (Woody Landscape Plant Germplasm Repository Technician); and, Gardens Unit staff member Kevin Tunison (Curator of Plant Records).

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View Plant Introductions and Award Winners