The Landis Newsletter. Volume 32, No. 3. Fall, 2014
In this issue:
(Click on the link to see the whole article, or scroll down to browse) From the Director's Desk Fall Plant Sale Fern Seed: A Fable? From the Garden: Gardening with Natives Microbes at Work: Making Sauerkraut Harmony in the Meeting House May Shower Bring Flowers - and Music - to Landis Landis Portrait: Nolan Marciniec Spotlight on Sponsors: Chobani Yogurt Mettawee River Theater Company at Landis! The Landis Perennial Forest 5K Cross Country Run / Walk Road Trip: Arnold Arboretum and Mount Auburn Cemetery, Boston Come One, Come All, Landis Volunteers! Thank You, Book Donators! Volume 32, Number 3
THE LANDIS ARBORETUM NEWSLETTER is published quarterly for its members. The Arboretum’s mission is to foster the appreciation of trees and other plants and their importance in our environment. EDITORIAL BOARD Erin Breglia; Gail Browning; Sue Gutbezahl; Wilma Jozwiak; Lee Lattimer, Nolan Marciniec, chair; Louise Polli; Ambika Sambasivan; and Lou Suarato CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Erin Breglia, Fred Breglia, Wilma Jozwiak, Lee Lattimer, Nolan Marciniec, Louise Polli, Anita Sanchez PRINTER Miller Printing and Litho, Amsterdam, NY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Jim Paley, President Wilma Jozwiak, Vice President Nolan Marciniec, Secretary Carolyn Edwards, Treasurer Jason Castle, At-large Mariesa Jozwiak, Louise Polli, Ed Radle, Louis Suarato, and Earl VanWormer ARBORETUM STAFF Fred Breglia, Executive Director Nancy Stuebner, Office Manager Erin Breglia, Gardener Eric Roberts, Groundskeeper We value your input. Please address correspondence to: Newsletter Editor, Landis Arboretum P.O. Box 186, Esperance, NY 12066. Phone: 518-875-6935 Fax: 518-875-6394 Email: [email protected] Website: www.LandisArboretum.org The Arboretum is located at 174 Lape Road, Esperance, NY. It is one and one-half miles north of Route 20 in Esperance. Follow the signs from the village to Lape Road. The Arboretum is one-quarter mile straight ahead. Visit our website for more information and directions. |
From the Director’s Desk: The “Ask Fred” Option and a New Trail at Landis
- Fred Breglia Membership has always been a key component of the financial stability at Landis. Individual, family, business, or corporate memberships are what keeps us growing. We value your membership and offer you many benefits in return. These benefits include a 10% discount at all plant sales and on Arboretum merchandise, as well as considerable discounts to members who attend events, classes, and workshops. We have continued our membership to the APGA’s (American Public Gardens Association) reciprocal program so that our members can visit over 300 gardens and arboreta nationwide for free or at a discounted rate. And now, a new member benefit has been added to this list, the “Ask Fred” option. “Ask Fred“ allows members to e-mail tree or plant-related questions, and I will promptly reply with answers and advice. This new benefit can be especially useful as the climate continues to sway erratically and new pests and diseases are introduced to our region. [More] Fern Seed: A Fable? - Anita Sanchez
Once upon a time there was a farmer who had lost a foal, and so he went out on Midsummer's Eve to search for it. He chanced to pass through a cluster of ferns, and some of the fern seed fell into his shoes. He found his missing animal and went joyfully home, but when he walked in the door, neither his wife nor his children looked at him or paid any heed to him. When he exclaimed, "I have found the foal!" they screamed and ran from the room in fear. At first the farmer was bewildered. Then he remembered walking through the ferns and realized what had happened. He took off his shoes and emptied them of fern seed. Now he was no longer invisible. {] More |
From the Garden: Gardening with Natives
- Erin Breglia, Arboretum Gardener The expression, “gardening with natives,” might sound like something new and perhaps tricky, yet most of us have been incorporating native plants into our gardens all along. The term native plant is used to describe plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in any given ecosystem, and are often the best for wildlife, butterflies and beneficial insects. These are the species that were living in your yard before you were! I need to give a shout-out to my college professor, Holly Emmons, who introduced me to several of these plants. I have paid tribute to her enthusiasm by including such natives as the Hart’s Tongue fern and columbines in the Arboretum’s gardens. [More] May Showers Bring Flowers – and Music – to Landis
- Louise Polli May 16 was a busy night at Landis Arboretum. Members ignored stormy skies and came out in force for Pick of the Pots, the opening event of our Spring Plant Sale. Wearing slickers and rain hats, gardeners got first choice at the sale as they pulled their carts between the tables full of well-watered perennials, shrubs, grasses, and other hardy plants. [More] Landis Portraits: A Series About the People Behind the Plants at the Arboretum
- Louise Polli I first met Nolan Marciniec almost five years ago at an event honoring Arboretum volunteers. The chill of the fall air contrasted sharply with the warmth of the conversation and crocks of homemade soups in the pre-renovation Meeting House high on the hill. Nolan’s memorable soups still keep the spirit alive at Landis. As longtime chair of the Communications Committee, he often hosts working lunches at his home, featuring his garden’s bounty. [More] Mettawee River Theater Company at Landis!
Saturday, July 26 at dusk (8:00 pm) This summer the Mettawee River Theater Company is taking a fresh look at the show it first produced in 2003, THE DANCING FOX: Wisdom Tales of the Middle East. The material is gathered from the shared folk traditions of Jews and Arabs, including the writings of Sufi mystics, along with colorful fables from that part of the world. In five tales the audience will encounter clever foxes, a couple of dim-witted fish, a vengeful snake and a deep-water leviathan, as well as a score of wise and foolish humans. New perspectives emerge from the comic twists and tragic turns of their adventures. Masks and puppets, accordion and percussion, and the incredible vistas of the Landis Arboretum will make this performance a memorable one for both children and adults! This event is made possible (in part) with public funds from the Decentralization Program of the NYS Council on the Arts administered through the Community Arts Grants Program by the Greene County Council on the Arts. Location: The natural amphitheater behind the barn and below the Meeting House, or in case of bad weather, the Meeting House. Members: $5/person, $15/family; non-members: $10/person, $25/family. Children under 12 are FREE. Road Trip: Arnold Arboretum and Mount Auburn Cemetery, Boston, Saturday, September 6
Established in 1872 and planned and designed in collaboration with Frederick Law Olmsted, the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University is a National Historic Landmark and one of the best preserved of Olmsted’s landscape designs. The Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, MA, founded in 1831, boasts a collection of over 5,500 trees, including nearly 700 species and varieties. We will leave at 7 AM from Hamilton Square (the former 20 Mall) on Route 20 in Guilderland and arrive home about 8 PM.For more information and to register, please contact our tour director and Arboretum member Rhona Koretzky at 518-505-1303 or email her at [email protected]. Members $80, non-members $90 includes transportation, admission, and a box lunch. We’ll stop for dinner on the way home (on your own). |
Microbes at Work: Making Sauerkraut
- Nolan Marciniec When I was a child, there was no more wonderful a place than the root cellar in my grandparents’ house. There were shelves holding jars of canned fruits and vegetables, bins of potatoes and onions and root vegetables, bottles of wine made from grapes or pears, and, on occasion, fish swimming in zinc tubs. There were always crocks of pickles – and sauerkraut. [More] Harmony in the Meeting House: The Albany Gay Men’s Chorus Performs at Landis
- Wilma Jozwiak and Lee Lattimer “Soothe a soul, mend a heart, bring together lives that have been torn apart, Share the joy, find a friend, It's a never ending gift that circles back again." These words from the song “Why We Sing” were offered by the Albany Gay Men’s Chorus as a simple explanation for the group’s existence. Certainly, their performance on Sunday, May 18th in the Landis Meeting House was a joyful gift. When longtime Landis volunteer Lee Lattimer suggested that his other passion, the Albany Gay Men’s Chorus, might perform in the newly renovated Meeting House, the stage was set for magic. Their skillfully blended voices soared to the rafters and took full advantage of the venue’s great acoustics. [] More Spotlight on Sponsors: Chobani Yogurt
- Nolan Marciniec A fundamental ethic of the Landis Arboretum is the promotion of health - healthy plants, healthy soil, healthy water, healthy air – and healthy lifestyles. One of the many ways good living is promoted is the Arboretum’s Perennial Forest 5K Walk/Run. For several years, Chobani, another organization dedicated to health, has helped to fuel runners by providing samples of their yogurt. According to a Chobani spokesperson, “Chobani is proud to have contributed . . . The race is a fun and healthy activity that also helps bring the community together. We’re happy to be a part of the important work of the George Landis Arboretum, which is an incredible gift to this area.” [More] The Landis Perennial Forest 5K Cross Country Run / Walk - Saturday, August 16
This race has become a favorite with people who love not only the challenge, but also the opportunity to take in one of the loveliest places to run (or walk) in the Eastern US. Early registrations for a discounted fee must be received by August 8. Race day registration opens at 7:30 AM at the Meeting House. Click here to download a registration form you can mail in OR visit our website and click on the Register Now button above to register at Active.com (small processing fee unless you are an Active member). Come One, Come All Landis Volunteers!
To show our appreciation to each and every volunteer and to honor a few very special volunteers, Landis will host a gathering at the Meeting House on Saturday, September 27, at 3 PM. This year, the recipients of “Great Oak” awards will be Ed Miller and Anne Jaster. Paul Blair will be awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. Nick Zabowski will receive the 2014 Volunteer of the Year Award. Cindy King and Jeff Schworm will update volunteers on greenhouse improvements and “Landis Grown” propagation projects. We are certain that you will find much to please your palate on a bountiful buffet! Please RSVP to Nancy at 875-6935 or [email protected]. |
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to all the wonderfully generous book contributors we rely on so heavily each sale, spring and fall. Thanks to you, the spring sale had a particularly extensive selection in the horticultural category, and the books sold like wildfire!
And thank you, too, to all those book lovers who shopped our collection of 4000+ titles! We are very happy to know there are bibliophiles who support our effort to keep Landis alive and well.
See you the second weekend of September!
- THE BOOKIES (Ken and Marian Hotopp)
And thank you, too, to all those book lovers who shopped our collection of 4000+ titles! We are very happy to know there are bibliophiles who support our effort to keep Landis alive and well.
See you the second weekend of September!
- THE BOOKIES (Ken and Marian Hotopp)
Our Business Members, Sponsors, and Allies
We have been very fortunate to be associated with wonderful people throughout the history of the Arboretum. Our volunteers are unbeatable, as anyone can tell who sees them in action. So are our Business Members, who join the Arboretum at the corporate level; our Sponsors, who help us with financial or in-kind support for one of the many activities or learning experiences Landis brings to the community; and our Allies, members of the business community or membership organizations who provide outstanding service to the Arboretum. Please consider patronizing these great folks, and if you are interested in becoming a member of this group through memberships, sponsorship, or as an ally, please contact us at (518) 875-6935 or [email protected].
We have been very fortunate to be associated with wonderful people throughout the history of the Arboretum. Our volunteers are unbeatable, as anyone can tell who sees them in action. So are our Business Members, who join the Arboretum at the corporate level; our Sponsors, who help us with financial or in-kind support for one of the many activities or learning experiences Landis brings to the community; and our Allies, members of the business community or membership organizations who provide outstanding service to the Arboretum. Please consider patronizing these great folks, and if you are interested in becoming a member of this group through memberships, sponsorship, or as an ally, please contact us at (518) 875-6935 or [email protected].