- Nolan Marciniec When I was growing up, particularly during my teenage years, my father used to counsel, “All things in time.” Thirty years ago, he and I came upon an impressive stand of bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa). He took a handful of acorns and potted them up, planting the seedlings on my property two years later. Today, the trees are more than 30 feet tall, magnificent specimens that delight me in all seasons. They remind me of my father and somehow seem to embody his values, his way of looking at the world. In the spring, the oak produces male and female flowers on the same branch. The long and pendant “catkins” are male. The Farmer’s Almanac advises planting corn when oak leaves are the size of a mouse’s ear. In the summer, the mature leaves are lobed and rounded, glossy, wider at the top – and occasionally home to “oak galls,” which, I am told, were once the source of ink. In the fall, the leaves turn a nondescript brown but, unlike most oak leaves, do not hang on through the winter. In the fall, one can see the distinguishing feature of the bur oak, a “mossy” or fringed bur-like cap that covers most of the acorn. But to my mind, the tree is most beautiful after the leaves have fallen in the fall and winter because, with its spreading, gnarled, and twisted branches, it has that classic spooky “Halloween” look! The stems and bark of the tree are grey, cork-like, and deeply furrowed. The oak’s distinctive bark makes it fire tolerant and thus able to survive the prairie fires caused by lightning strikes or set by Native Americans: fire is critical in maintaining the prairie’s ecological balance. Periodically, in “mast years,” my bur oaks produce heavy crops of acorns. These attract squirrels (of course) to the yard, but deer and jays and turkeys as well as, and on one memorable occasion, a young black bear. The squirrels dutifully bury the acorns in mulch and in the tilled soil of the vegetable garden. Every year, I pot up the seedlings and give them away to fellow gardeners who have the room for these massive trees, the fastest growing of all the American oaks. The trees seem to thrive, even in the heavy clay soil I struggle with. It may be relatively uncommon to find the bur oak in New York State: my father had to resort to a field guide to identify the tree. However, visitors to Landis can view several mature specimens in the Arboretum’s Oak Collection. Bur oaks, a species of the more common white oak, seem to be more prevalent in the Midwest, where they tower, silent sentinels, over the prairie in those areas that have been preserved from development. The stately and soulful bur oaks that line the streets of Oak Park, Illinois, are descendants of the oak savanna that pre-dated the arrival of the Europeans. They are a beautiful and monumental complement to the nature-inspired architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose buildings are a hallmark of this Chicago suburb. Many of these trees were propagated from several 200-300 year-old native bur oaks as part of the Historic Oak Propagation Project. Several huge bur oaks must have been planted years ago along one of the roads near my home. One of the trees has a metal piece embedded in its trunk. I wonder if the original owner of the nearby Walter Butlersbury home (1742) had a hand in planting them. (The home, incidentally, also has a lovely grove of ancient locusts.) The bur oaks in front of my house, on the prairie, and on the nearby road, seem to embody time. In nature, however, time moves infinitely more slowly than in man’s world. The poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote that “the one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life,” a valuable lesson my father taught me, when 30 years ago, he planted the trees in whose shade he would never sit. For further reading: Peattie, Donald Culross. A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America. Boston, MA, Houghlin Mifflin Company, 1948. Tallamy, Douglas W. The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees. Portland, OR, Timber Press, 2021.
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- Morgan McClary As we made our way up the hill, a glimpse of pink stood out against the pine backdrop. A slight breeze helped the azaleas wave hello. I knew it had been too long. It wasn’t on purpose. Mother Nature seemed to be dishing out an endless supply of gloomy days. The brief reprieve from the rain meant the perfect opportunity to take a hike and clear my head. At just under one mile, the Fred Lape Trail is well suited for visitors interested in a gradual stroll with ample opportunity to be immersed in plant and bird life. Adventure seekers looking for something more strenuous at the Arb have plenty of opportunity to add mileage by including other trails. It was a Sunday morning in early May when I brought my husband Sam and our Pomeranian, Lil’ P, for our first hike of the season. Boots were a must, given the wet weather we’d been having. The weeping Alaska cedar, which is part of the Choice Conifers Collection, has to be one of my favorite trees. Its Seussian-like branches are a sight to behold. The azaleas and rhododendrons are on a little path that veers off the Fred Lape Trail. These beauties are surrounded by the Pine Shelter --- another one of my favorite spots at Landis. You may hear a serene trickle from a seasonal stream contrasting with the cackle of a pileated woodpecker in a neighboring tree. This balance offers an ideal location to gather your thoughts as you peer up into the towering pines. Sam agrees. After we left the Pine Shelter, we turned right to make our way past the oaks and lilacs. The lilacs prepared to open, while the oaks remained leafless. Although it was a bit early for their show during this visit, the full-bloom lilacs (I’d estimate mid-May) are a must see when exploring the Arboretum. The dainty purple and white flowers release a sweet, floral scent that is almost intoxicating. Bluebirds and tree swallows swooped above our heads, seemingly in competition for a prime nesting location this season. Sam often has to catch up with Lil P’ and me because he gets distracted by their songs. Crabapples and pines are in view as you visit the Fred Lape Memorial, honoring the Arboretum’s founder. We stopped here to admire the vista and reflect on the man who founded this natural sanctuary. Since it was our first outing this year, we didn’t cover as much ground as we anticipated. But we couldn’t pass up a peek at Willow Pond and the Van Loveland Garden. Willow Pond is absolutely serene. Walking the perimeter of the pond, we like to play a game. Instead of “Where’s Waldo?” it’s “Where’s Frog-o?” and we search for green friends camouflaged amongst the aquatic foliage. Plop, splash. Lil’ P must have startled a hidden turtle. Yellow-green buds just started forming on the willow tree bordering the pond. In the summer months, its wispy, cascading branches will provide a shady reprieve. Our last stop took us through the pale yellow daffodils and purple crocuses bringing life back into the Van Loveland Garden. I was reminded of a passage from one of my favorite childhood books “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett: “Sometimes since I've been in the garden I've looked up through the trees at the sky and I have had a strange feeling of being happy as if something was pushing and drawing in my chest and making me breathe fast. Magic is always a pushing and drawing and making things out of nothing. Everything is made out of magic, leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes and squirrels and people. So it must be all around us. In this garden -- in all the places.” Each time we visit the Landis Arboretum, it’s as if there is always a new treasure to discover. It could be because of the sheer number and variety of the plants at Landis -- or just the pure joy we McClarys get observing the natural world. - Anita Sanchez They’ve been lurking underground for a long time. Down in the darkness they tunnel, burrowing far beneath lawns and sidewalks and forests, shoving slowly between grains of soil, feeding on tiny sips of sap from tree roots. They’ve been down there quite a while: seventeen years is a long time to wait for anything. This is the year that the periodical cicadas of Brood X have their brief moment in the sun. There are many species of cicada, and around here in upstate New York we enjoy the late summer song of the annual cicada—that melodic cry that’s a mix of buzz saw and car alarm, blaring from the treetops in the hottest days of August. Annual cicadas are a different species from the seventeen-year ones—they spend only a few years below ground before emerging in late summer to serenade us. Although they are unnervingly big and loud, these creatures are absolutely harmless—they don’t bite, they don’t sting. They don’t eat crops, harm gardens, pets, or children, or do any significant damage to trees. Sadly, we’re not within the range of the spectacular Brood X, which covers a large area slightly to the south of us. It’s just one of several broods of those mysterious creatures, the periodical cicadas, that emerge every seventeen years. (There are also some species of thirteen-year cicadas.) Why wait seventeen years, and then emerge all together in such vast numbers? They’re wielding a strategy known as predator satiation. If you’re small, clumsy, slow-moving, and deliciously crunchable, you’re very likely to be eaten by the thousands of predators lying in wait for the feast. But even tens of thousands of predators can’t begin to eat all of the billions of periodical cicadas, all emerging at the same time. Never was a genus of insects so well-named: Magicicada. It does seem magical, all those miniature monsters silently rising from the ground, like when Jason sowed the dragon’s teeth and the skeleton warriors appeared. The cicadas who don’t immediately become part of the food chain wend their way to a nearby bush or tree trunk. Then the brown, ungainly nymphs miraculously shed their skins to become a sparkling fresh creature, with wings of transparent silver and mad ruby eyes. Then they make their way up to the treetops, and begin to sing—or rather to vibrate a membrane in their abdomen, which produces that echoing sound. The males belt out their demented chorus to attract the ladies, and for a few brief weeks, it’s an orgy of song and sex. And then it’s the end. Then they all die, all the mad singers. But the eggs they leave behind soon hatch, and then another brood goes underground. Until seventeen years from now, when they’ll rise again, like a spring tide rising under the moon. - Louise Polli The Arboretum mourns the sudden loss of a true friend and supporter, Jean Beaudet. Never one to seek the limelight, Jean contributed in ways great and small. She leaves an indelible mark on Landis and a lingering sadness at her untimely passing. After a notable career in New York State’s Education Department, Jean spent many hours at the Arboretum. Volunteer Coordinator Anne Donnelly fondly called her "Jean Bee" and praised her ability to cover multiple roles at Arboretum plant sales. Office Manager Nancy Stuebner recalled her weekly sessions at the Farmhouse, where Jean was part of a team updating the plant collections database. Erin Breglia, Garden Manager, worked regularly with Jean in the Van Loveland Perennial Garden. "She was a great ambassador for Landis and just loved it, introduced several friends to Landis too. My son Mikey loved her a lot as he was often with me in the garden," Erin said. A dedicated participant in the Arboretum's Garden Club, Jean's diligence in the flower beds led to a position as a contract gardener, and still she continued to volunteer wherever needed. Jean never stopped giving of herself. She was kind in spirit and generous with her time, an active member of the Landis community. She enjoyed hiking, riding her bicycle, and, of course, gardening. Her smile lit up the room - or the garden - and served her well at public events like the plant sales and garden shows. Jean had a deep love of family, including the cats she shared her home with over the years. And we at Landis will miss her dearly. - Nolan Marciniec “If you have a garden and a library, you will want for nothing,” the Roman philosopher Cicero wrote to a friend several centuries ago. Two volunteers, Janka Bialek and Pam Trickett, have found the best of those two worlds, the library and the garden, at the Arboretum. Both are longtime volunteers at the Arboretum’s Book Shop. Pam remembers driving by, seeing the Arboretum founder Fred Lape’s bonsai spread out in front of the Farmhouse many years ago. She took courses in botanical drawing and hiked the trails. After her husband passed, she felt the need for a “place to give me back something beautiful in my life,” and she found that at Landis. And there were the people too. Pam said that she “came for the flowers but found a community.” For Pam, the Arboretum has become “an inspirational place.” She participated in Susannah Risley’s course in writing from nature, held at Landis. At the Arboretum, there was “always some pocket of beauty” which inspired her writing. It’s a “hidden gem” though, unlike some other gardens, “not a movie set” but rather a place that invites exploration and creative musings. Janka’s introduction to the Arboretum was a stonework class in which she joined others to practice on some of Landis’ venerable stone walls. She remembers visiting the Arboretum during the pandemic and sitting on the porch at the Meeting House and, during this frightening time, experiencing “the absolutely most peaceful, deepest peace.” Over the years, both Pam and Janka gravitated toward the Book Shop. Janka has a degree in library science and for many years was an employee and manager of the Book House at Albany’s Stuyvesant Plaza. Pam taught high school English in the Cobleskill-Richmondville School District. Both are avid readers of fiction, particularly literature by contemporary American women. And both have organized their book collections at home. In Janka’s case: “I love organizing [books].” Her living room contains coffee table books; the hallway, reference volumes; the dining room, cooking, gardening, and general fiction; another hallway, gay and lesbian literature; her partner’s study, theater; the bedroom, books they intend to read. In spite of their organizational prowess, both Pam and Janka admit to having what Pam called “haphazard stacks” of books around the house. Both are enthusiastic gardeners. Pam grew up in suburban Chicago, and she treasures memories of the Garfield Park Conservatory and other public gardens in the Chicago area. She moved into a new house several years ago, and was presented with an acre of undeveloped land: “I couldn’t live with that,” Pam said, and proceeded to fill that “blank slate” with perennial gardens. Janka grew up in a traditional row house in urban Baltimore, but one of her college jobs was tending a vegetable garden, and she began her exploration of the art of gardening. Like Pam, she has recently relocated, having purchased 10 acres of undeveloped land. She has planted trees and created an expansive vegetable garden in her front yard. Both Pam and Janka understand the profoundly human connection between books and plants. Pam suggested that books and plants “take over our lives” – and need culling, painful as that might be. She added that certain plants in our gardens are “markers” in our lives, just as books are. We look at a plant and remember a person, a time in our lives, just as we do when we reread a special book. Janka Bialek and Pam Trickett were drawn to the Arboretum and its Book Shop by their love of books and their love of nature. Cicero’s age-old adage rings true: those lifelong gifts, reading and gardening, are alive and well at Landis. - Erin Breglia, Garden Manager The Van Loveland Perennial Garden has long been cherished by visitors at Landis, and many friends (and hands) have kept the garden growing over the years. In the past, the garden beds stretched across the field where the Magnolia Collection is now located. There was an annual flower garden across from the Barn and a collection of roses behind the Farmhouse. Although the garden has changed over time, many of the original flowers remain and include a few that impress visitors year after year.
All are welcome to visit the Van Loveland Perennial Garden at Landis, dawn to dusk, and enjoy these (and many more) beautiful blooms. Landis also displays many of its plants on its website (www.landisarboretum.org), Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/LandisArb), and Instagram (Instagram.com/landisarboretum/). Come and see, smell, touch, and enjoy this abundance of nature with us!
- Fred Breglia, Executive Director
Thanks to technology, arborists are better equipped and more informed than in the past. But with the impact of a changing climate, they are facing more challenges than ever before. Several factors expected to negatively impact tree health include extremes in temperatures, intensity of wind and ice storms, effects from fire, and site and soil issues. As mean temperatures increase, heat combined with air pollution will lead to greater stress for trees. Plants will experience elevated levels of carbon dioxide, temperature fluctuations, problems with ozone, and less availability of nitrogen and water. More severe droughts and more intense storms, including catastrophic hurricanes, are anticipated. We are already witnessing an unprecedented species migration as the native range of trees in our forests changes. To mitigate these shifts and to plan for healthy forests in the future, an ever-changing body of knowledge about tree health and ecological intervention is required. New trees should be "climate ready,” tested species that can survive the climate of the future. Horticulturists are working to breed cultivars that are more resistant to disease, drought, and insects, and new types of grow bags have been developed that enable many more roots to survive during shipping and transplanting. Technology also provides arborists with new tools to address the problems inherent in climate change. For example, ground penetrating radar can be utilized to diagnose root system disorders. Using high sonic tomography tools, we can now visually explore the cavities of trees, revealing defects much as would a doctor would to identify disease in a human being. New approaches in horticulture are not limited to rural locations. Cities of all sizes are going green. In many areas, "smart" designs for construction projects are becoming the norm. Arborists are working with engineers to preserve existing urban green space. Green roofs, complete with solar panels and designated gardens, are being developed on top of buildings. They may incorporate both sustainable energy and small-scale farming. Earth-friendly engineering is appearing everywhere, town and country. Gutters are being replaced with rain gardens and collection pools, with cleansing systems that facilitate water conservation and reuse. With a changing climate and the horticultural challenges it presents, new technology can, and must, lead to new solutions. - Fred Lape This poem, from Fred Lape’s collection, “Along the Schoharie,” celebrates the almost mystical connections between the human and the natural world and between the present, the past, and the future. In the dooryard elms the robins are singing among the dew wet leaves, the shining branches, and here I stand where my father stood, their brightness on me, as he once loved it. Down by the brook in the dewy meadow deer poise nose wrinkled at the water. So someone years from now will find them. New birds, new deer, new trees, new water, the cycle binds us in like music. We lean and rest, we stretch our hands over the passing generations. You past, you coming, here are my fingers touching. -Louise Polli Shawn and Terrence Bevins helped complete the new Meditation Center and directed traffic at the plant sales, while Anne Bevins staffed the cashier's table. Dave Roy organized the annual 5K Forest Run. Florence Grimm and Cindy King propagated Landis-grown seedlings. Gus Polli repaired wagons and equipment and served as an Arboretum ambassador at public events. And each one has been recognized for their service as an outstanding Landis volunteer. The Arboretum thrives with the help of a talented network of individuals and families that volunteer their time, throughout the year or at specific times or events. They all bring a host of skills and interests - gardening, baking, beekeeping, and the like - but also web design, social media, database management, and more. What is your passion? There is a place for you as a Landis volunteer. Opportunities can be found on-site in Esperance on our hundreds of acres, as well as online, with the help of your laptop or other device. Some volunteers communicate with each other by Zoom or email. One way or another, the job gets done, and Landis appreciates everyone that makes it happen. Each fall the Arboretum celebrates the service of all its volunteers, and names the recipients of its Great Oak and Volunteer of the Year awards. Take a look at our awardees here and you may recognize a dear friend or neighbor. Whet your appetite for community service at the Arboretum. Volunteers and Landis: it's a perfect pairing. The year 2021 brings new and returning initiatives and programming to Landis. If you would like to explore the possibilities for ways you can join us as a volunteer, please contact Anne Donnelly, Volunteer Coordinator, at Volunteering @ LandisArboretum.org or (518) 234- 7502. - Gail Browning Country Boy Realty has been a proud sponsor of the Landis 5K Forest Run for a number of years. The agency, located in Cobleskill, supports local organizations and non-profits such as the Arboretum through donations, in-kind services – and active participation. Matt Loder, Country Boy’s owner, says he may convince his daughter to run with him this August. Matt bought the realty company in 2012 from Alton Mackley, continuing a 52-year-old tradition of servicing the greater Schoharie Valley area. Country Boy’s listings include residential homes, farms, commercial properties, properties and acreage, and vacation homes. According to Matt, the agency cultivates a “real estate boutique” approach: it employs ten full-time agents and both a marketing and administrative staff dedicated to meeting the needs of the individual client. Travelers on Route 7 will not miss the agency’s welcoming billboard. Readers of the Times Journal will note their full-page ad in the newspaper’s late February Progress Edition. Runners in the Arboretum’s annual 5K will appreciate Country Boy’s generosity in supporting the event. |