The Landis Newsletter Spring, 2019 Volume 37, Number 1
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Inside this issue . . .
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_______________________________________________ From the Director's Desk: Preserving the Legacy of Fred Lape
-- Fred Breglia, Executive Director More than a half-century ago, Fred Lape started with an idea: to grow every species of woody plant from temperate regions around the world that would survive on his farmland in Schoharie County. Slowly, over the years, his plantings developed into what today is the George Landis Arboretum. Here, one is privileged to find mature specimens of oaks and conifers (collections that are nationally recognized), as well as many examples of trees native to both the Northeast US and other continents. The historic Fred Lape plantings at Landis will be a focal point for us over the next few years, thanks to donations generated by our 2018 Annual Appeal and funding from the Iroquois Pipeline Community grant, the Schwab Foundation, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation -- the last through a Zoo, Botanical Garden and Aquarium (ZBGA) grant. [Read more} |
In Memoriam: Ed Miller, 1924 – 2019The Landis community mourns the loss of a treasured friend, an eminent naturalist, and a loyal and hard-working supporter. There is no way that we could sum up what Ed Miller meant to us, but we offer you two glimpses of a man who gave so much of himself to the Arboretum.
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Spring Plant Sale: Something Old, Something New! - Amy Howansky
We are excited to add new features to the Arboretum’s long-established and perennially popular Spring Plant Sale.
This May, visit the “Bulb Bar.” Grab a baggie and select your choice of bulbs, corms, or tubers. Mix and match options to create a small display near your front door or choose several bulbs of the same type to begin a collection that can be expanded by visiting the Bulb Bar again at the Fall Sale. [Read more]
We are excited to add new features to the Arboretum’s long-established and perennially popular Spring Plant Sale.
This May, visit the “Bulb Bar.” Grab a baggie and select your choice of bulbs, corms, or tubers. Mix and match options to create a small display near your front door or choose several bulbs of the same type to begin a collection that can be expanded by visiting the Bulb Bar again at the Fall Sale. [Read more]
From the Garden: Health Benefits of Gardening
- Erin Breglia, Garden Manager Imagine it’s one of those glorious spring days: warm, that earthy smell, bird song, cobalt blue skies. You can’t help but spend your entire day in the yard raking and weeding, perhaps planting some seeds and filling a few planters. Afterwards you sit back feeling satisfied, taking it all in and relaxing with your feet up. It is no surprise that you feel pretty darn good, your heartbeat elevated and your muscles a little sore. You even obtained some well-deserved Vitamin D for your efforts. These benefits are just the beginning of a long (and growing) list as more and more research examines the effects of gardening on mind and body. [Read more] LANDIS PORTRAITS: A Series About the People Behind the Plants at the Arboretum - Nolan Marciniec
Sue Tricario admitted that books and volunteering are “in my life blood” -- and that both led her to the Arboretum. Sue, the recipient of the 2018 Volunteer of the Year award, said that her commitment to Landis’ book shop just seemed “the natural thing to do.” [Read more] “The Year Everything Changed”: An Unpublished Work by Fred Lape. - Lee Lattimer, Landis Historian
In the winter of 1981, Fred Lape wrote a sequel to “A Farm and Village Boyhood,” entitled “The Year Everything Changed.” It was never published and exists in a typewritten and mostly unedited form. The following is an excerpt from that work, which probably deals with the years 1930-31. At the end of my first winter in Esperance, I had earned by my writing exactly thirty-five dollars. The next summer was bleak. Furthermore, I was homesick for California. I borrowed a hundred dollars from my father, answered an ad in the New York Times to go free to California by helping a man drive his car, and late in the fall landed back in Carmel, where I was welcomed and taken into my already second home [with] the Prince family. There, after a month or two doing nothing, I heard that the Carmel Valley Ranch School, up in Carmel River valley, needed a helper. So, on a Sunday morning, I was driven up for an interview. [Read more]
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Pokeweed: Patience is a Virtue - Anita Sanchez
Several years ago, I went to the Landis Arboretum Spring Plant Sale on a mission. I was determined to break out of the mold of my usual zinnias and marigolds and plant something different -- something unusual, colorful, gorgeous, more exciting than petunias and pansies. I wanted something that would last, so I wouldn’t have to stock up on flats of annuals every spring. I wanted something different, something that would really make a statement. I shopped around the enticing rows of plants with strange and unfamiliar names. I considered graceful ferns, flowering shrubs, fragrant herbs. Then I came face-to-face with a gangly, strange-looking character. [Read more] We Appreciate: An Eagle Scout at Landis
- Dahkeya King One of the most beautiful places in Schoharie County is right here at Landis. And I have first-hand experience of that place. It’s the Arboretum’s new Waterfall Trail, and, after consulting with Fred Breglia, it became my Eagle Scout project. [Read more] Just for Kids (and the Young at Heart): Tracking the Timberdoodle - George Steele
Spring is just around the corner -- and the timberdoodle is about to return. Timberdoodle, bog sucker, mud-snipe -- these are many names for the American woodcock, a great bird to sneak up on. Yes, sneak up on! The woodcock returns to the Northeast each spring. Males look for overgrown fields to do their song- and-dance routine. They sing a song that sounds like a squeaky toy “peent” and do a flying circle dance up high in the sky. All of this to show off to nearby females. Their way of saying “Check me out, I’m so good lookin’”. (Click here for a Youtube video of the song-and-dance routine) The cool thing about this behavior is that you can play a great game of hide and sneak with the show-boating males. Get Mom and Dad or Gramps or Nanna to bring you to a nearby old field just around dusk. The mowed lawn of a schoolyard or park won’t do. If you can’t find a field near your house, come to the Arboretum. There are several old fields here that are fine. [Read more] |
Try UniGuide at Landis – and Beyond! - Anne Donnelly
The UniGuide application. Never heard of it? It’s a free app for your smartphone that gives you access to literally hundreds of museums, parks, and historical sights all across North America. Each location has audio guided tours which are given by historians, park rangers, museum curators, or just knowledgeable people eager to share their commitment to that site. It’s a wonderful app for history buffs. [Read more]
The UniGuide application. Never heard of it? It’s a free app for your smartphone that gives you access to literally hundreds of museums, parks, and historical sights all across North America. Each location has audio guided tours which are given by historians, park rangers, museum curators, or just knowledgeable people eager to share their commitment to that site. It’s a wonderful app for history buffs. [Read more]
Honey Bees Thrive at Landis - Chris Keefer
Honey bees fascinate all of us. The hive is a “superorganism” – thousands of insects that function as a single unit, an overwhelmingly female society, ruled by a queen. They dance to communicate. They pollinate the flowers that provide our food. They produce honey, a sweet ingredient that humans have enjoyed for thousands of years. [Read more}
Honey bees fascinate all of us. The hive is a “superorganism” – thousands of insects that function as a single unit, an overwhelmingly female society, ruled by a queen. They dance to communicate. They pollinate the flowers that provide our food. They produce honey, a sweet ingredient that humans have enjoyed for thousands of years. [Read more}
Celebrate Spring: Russian Spinach Soup - Nolan Marciniec
I know that many gardeners look forward to harvesting those first peas of the season. Although I understand their delight in fresh green things after a long winter, I’ve never been a big fan of peas. For me, it’s that first crop of spinach in the cold frame. Many years ago, a neighbor gave my Mom this recipe for a simple soup guaranteed to vanquish winter and welcome spring. [Read more]
I know that many gardeners look forward to harvesting those first peas of the season. Although I understand their delight in fresh green things after a long winter, I’ve never been a big fan of peas. For me, it’s that first crop of spinach in the cold frame. Many years ago, a neighbor gave my Mom this recipe for a simple soup guaranteed to vanquish winter and welcome spring. [Read more]
Our Business Members, Sponsors, and Allies
We have good friends in the community that help the Arboretum in a number of ways.
Please consider patronizing our Business Members, Sponsors, and Allies!
We have good friends in the community that help the Arboretum in a number of ways.
Please consider patronizing our Business Members, Sponsors, and Allies!
Amazon Smile donates a percentage of your sale to Landis when you click on this icon to shop!
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
Fred Breglia; Erin Breglia; Gail Browning; Wilma Jozwiak; Lee Lattimer; Nolan Marciniec, chair; and Louise Polli
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
Erin Breglia, Fred Breglia, Anne Donnelly, Amy Howansky, Chris Keefer, Dahkeya King, Lee Lattimer, Nolan Marciniec, Louise Polli, Anita Sanchez, and George Steele
NEWSLETTER WEBSITE MANAGER
Wilma Jozwiak
PRINTER
Miller Printing and Litho, Amsterdam, NY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Jim Paley, President; Wilma Jozwiak, Vice President; Nolan Marciniec, Secretary; Carolyn Edwards, Treasurer; Louise Polli, At Large; Chandra Burkhart; Karl Gustafson; Amy Howansky; Lee Lattimer; Jeanne Post-Sourmail; Ed Radle; George Steele; and Earl Van Wormer
ARBORETUM STAFF
Fred Breglia, Executive Director; Nancy Stuebner, Office Manager; Erin Breglia, Garden Manager; Russell Glass, Groundskeeper
We value your input. Please address correspondence to:
Newsletter Editor, Landis Arboretum, P.O. Box 186, Esperance, NY 12066.
Website: www.landisarboretum.org
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