Some “Green” Alternatives for Winter
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Winter 2007 / Vol. 3, No. 2 Friends In This Issue… 02 Director’s Message Some “Green” Alternatives for Winter 03 A Winter Bird Walk Rick Meader 04 Development Matters As winter begins, you may be The forms of trees and shrubs become very contemplating your landscape evident in winter. Their underlying shape, masked Curator’s Corner by luxuriant foliage in the summer, becomes 05 and wondering where the color is. Unless your exposed and available for closer inspection during yard resembles a Christmas tree farm or nursery Updates our “naked tree” months. The strongly horizontal 06 teeming with evergreens, you probably are missing limbs of the non-evergreen conifer, tamarack Happenings the friendly sight of green as your foliage becomes 07 (Larix laricina), and cockspur hawthorn (Crataegus compost. If this is the case, you may be missing out Registration, p. 14 crus-galli) can become magical with a light covering More Happenings, p. 20 on subtle but quite interesting textures and colors of frost or snow. The cascading canopy of weeping offered by some deciduous trees and shrubs and cherry (Prunus subhirtella) trees can create a virtual 09 Calendar other herbaceous material. icy waterfall after an ice storm or night of hoarfrost. One of the joys of winter that helps compensate Profile The gnarled, twisting branches of contorted 15 for the loss of foliage and the shortening of the days American hazelnut (Corylus americana ‘Contorta’ ) From the Editor is the new openness of the canopy. The sunlight can actually match your own body shape on a frigid Arb & Gardens in the that is available reaches right down to the ground Press (and in a Salad) January morning. and in your windows, brightening up the day, and Bark provides another point of interest. The odd, 18 New Members opening up vistas that are closed in the summer. knobby bark of hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) is fun Ask the Experts Wildlife that crept about secretly in the summer is to see and feel, as are the smooth, muscular limbs of now much more visible from a distance. Bark and Join our Volunteer blue-beech (Carpinus caroliniana). The peeling bark the form of trees and shrubs that was hidden now 19 Teams! of river birch (Betula nigra), paperbark maple (Acer become more apparent. Some plants change color in Ecosystem Restoration griseum), Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), ninebark Workdays the winter. All of these features may be missing from (Physocarpus opulifolius) or oakleaf hydrangea your landscape now, but you can liven up future The Ann Arbor News (Hydrangea quercifolia) provides a variety of warm Readers’ Choice Awards winters by observing and planning now for planting shades and interest to the plants’ skeletons during in the spring. continued on page 16 Get Lost! New! Winter Bird Walk Special Features …in the far corners Happenings p. 3 of the Arb, p. 18 Brochure Inside, In This Issue pp. 7–14 Director’s Message Happy Birthday, MBGNA This winter we’ll start a year-long 100th of Professor Jessica Fogel and her dance birthday celebration for the University’s students. We’ll be using the centennial botanical gardens and arboretum. One as a theme in other ways as well. For hundred years ago in February 1907 the instance, our spring bulb display in the Bob Grese University took gifts of land from Walter Conservatory this winter and the display of and Esther Nichols, George P. Burns and annuals in the Botanical Gardens’ Gateway Detroit Edison and joined with the City of Garden will feature antique varieties from We have a special Centennial Celebration Ann Arbor (which also provided land) to the 19th and early 20th century. Committee that is headed by volunteers form the University’s “Botanical Garden When families get together to celebrate Carrie Bachman and Deanna Dorner and and Arboretum” at the site now known as birthdays or other occasions there’s a lot our Associate Director Karen Sikkenga Nichols Arboretum (name was changed of sharing of memories of special times or and Director of Development Budge Gere. in 1922). Some fifty years later in 1957, the places. We’ll be doing the same, although If you’d like to help out with the planning University accepted a gift of land from on a slightly larger scale. Do you have a or with any aspects of the Centennial, Frederick and Mildred Matthaei to create particular story or time you’d like to share? please contact Volunteer Coordinator a new home for the Botanical Gardens in Perhaps it was as part of a class field trip or Barbara Major at [email protected] what would become known as Matthaei tour, a special concert or performance, or or 734-647-8528. Botanical Gardens. just hanging out with friends. Maybe you Birthdays are also a time for moving Throughout the year we’ll be marking got married in the Arb or Botanical Gardens forward. We continue to have lots of our birthday celebration in a variety or maybe you have stories about a Flower projects underway or ready to get started. of ways. On February 1, we’ll launch a Show, Peony Party, Renaissance Festival While we’re celebrating we’ll also be collaborative project with the Ann Arbor or some other event. Write us a note, drop creating the first phases of our new Display Arts Center to celebrate our birthday us an email, or allow one of our volunteers Gardens and the Gaffield Children’s through a special series of “Tree Town to record your stories as part of our oral Garden, updating our Conservatory roof Banners.” Ultimately, we hope to display history project. We’re also looking for and mechanical systems (scheduled for these at the entrances to both our sites. pictures—particularly those of families and summer 2007), and installing portions Later that week, we’ll begin a series of individuals out enjoying themselves. Did of a new interpretive wetland boardwalk exhibits at the Botanical Gardens and the your mom or dad take pictures of you among at the Arboretum. What this means is Arboretum’s Reader Center showcasing our the blooming peonies or lilacs at the Arb or that each time you come for a visit there colorful past. From February 8th through the fall chrysanthemums at the Botanical should be something new to see or explore. the 11th a “Global Dance Performance” in Gardens when it was on Iroquois Street? During our Centennial year, we’d also like our conservatory will showcase the talents If you have any pictures you’d be willing to encourage more people to join us as to share, please drop a note to Dorothea Friends. Broadening our base of support Coleman at [email protected]. clearly allows us to better care for our Two special birthday parties are being collections and facilities and offer a greater planned—one this summer on July 28th variety of programs If you’ve never been a Friends at Matthaei Botanical Gardens and the th member or your membership has lapsed, Winter 2007 / Vol. 3, No. 2 other in the fall on October 6 at Nichols please consider joining. (We’ve provided Arboretum. We hope you’ll mark your the means for you to do so in the center of Friends of Matthaei Botanical Gardens calendars now and plan to join us then. and Nichols Arboretum Newsletter this newsletter.) When you come to one of Dorothea Coleman, Editor — [email protected] our Centennial activities, bring a friend Matthaei Botanical Gardens and along and urge them to join us as well! Nichols Arboretum 2 University of Michigan 3 Robert E. Grese, Director Karen Sikkenga, Associate Director © 2006 Regents of University of Michigan For permission to use, contact Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum Friends Winter 2007 / Vol. 3, No. 2 A Winter Bird Walk Dea Armstrong probing like the chickadee and titmouse. This is a common species in our area from Looking for birds in the wintertime has Other birds that pick and poke at the bark November to early April. some distinct advantages. For the novice are white-breasted nuthatch and our Speaking of migration, please do not be birder, there are far fewer species to common winter woodpeckers: downy, surprised to find American robins in either confuse. A productive walk may only yield hairy and red-bellied. the Arb or the Gardens during the winter. about 20 different species. And although Most birds migrate away from our area As long as the ground is not completely morning is still the best time of day to see in order to have more success at finding frozen or the fruit on shrubs and trees not birds at either the Gardens or the Arb, in food, but at least one species that breeds completely gone, the Arb and especially the winter you don’t have to get up as early up north considers southern Michigan as the Gardens seem to be a haven for quite as in the summer! A winter bird walk that “south enough.” The dark-eyed junco is a a few of these. Last year’s mid-December # starts at 8 or 8:30 can be quite rewarding beautiful dark gray, sparrow-sized bird Christmas Bird Count found over 900 in at either place! So put on your warmest that many folks call “snow-bird.” Their the Ann Arbor area! winter gear, grab your binoculars, your bellies are white (“snow-dipped”) and the While it’s always interesting to find and Peterson’s* field guide, and head out. birds are easily recognized in flight by their observe birds, for some frequent winter One of the first things you’ll notice is white outer tail feathers that flash in flight.