The Nature Museum tag:www.nature-museum.org,2010-01-05://1 2012-01-03T14:46:30Z Movable Type Pro 4.37 The Nature Museum's Native Tree & Shrub Sale...Is Growing! tag:www.nature-museum.org,2012://1.286 2012-01-03T14:27:29Z 2012-01-03T14:46:30Z The Museum has expanded the varieties of plants available this year and has extended the deadline for ordering to March 15, 2012. In addition to this year's offerings of alternate-leaf dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) and common sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus), we're bringing... The Museum has expanded the varieties of plants available this year and has extended the deadline for ordering to March 15, 2012. In addition to this year's offerings of alternate-leaf dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) and common sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus), we're bringing back last year's selections of shadbush (Amelanchier canadensis) and winterberry (Ilex verticillata). These four will also be available next year, with the addition of two new varieties (to be determined). This way, you will be able to "test out" plants to see how they'll work in your landscaping plan, and you'll be able to build your collection in successive years.

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There are so many gorgeous native trees and shrubs that have been by-passed by the nursery industry in favor of "exotics", but exotics do not feed birds, insects and other wildlife as successfully as natives do. After all, they've been co-evolving for thousands of years right here in the northeast! Natives are rarely invasive, they tend to be low-maintenance and they add healthy biological diversity to our region.

The sale works like this: you place an order ahead of time and then take delivery in the spring. We've made it easy to give them as gifts - native trees and shrubs make thoughtful gifts that will remind the recipient of you for the life of the plant! Should you choose to make a gift for Valentine's Day, for instance, the Museum will provide you with a gift card for presentation on the day, and you or the recipient will pick the plant up in the spring with complete instructions for planting. Consider them for birthdays, anniversaries, religious holidays, and any other occasion.

The Museum selects plants based on four-season interest, hardiness to this area, wildlife value, and, of course, beauty! Alternate-leaf dogwood features graceful architecture and creamy flowers, the calycanthus offers fragrant burgundy flowers and unusual fruit, shadbush is known for its early spring show and edible fruit, and winterberry for its spectacular winter display of scarlet berries. All these species have more going for them - see the details below or visit our website at www.nature-museum.org for the details of their benefits and cultural requirements.

Prices range from $35 to $50 and are typical retail prices. Proceeds support the Museum's educational programming and signature events like the Pale Blue Dot. Supplies are limited, and pre-orders only are accepted. Order and payment is due by March 15; we'll contact you regarding the pick-up date. The Museum gratefully acknowledges our partner in this venture, Rugg Valley Landscaping. Call the Museum at 843-2111 or visit our website to add native beauty and birds to your property today!


Contact: Norelee Hall
noralee@nature-museum.org
802-843-2111
or: Will Danforth
info@willdanforth.com
802-875-1715


Calycanthus floridus (Common Sweetshrub, Carolina Allspice, Strawberry Shrub) - 24-30" tall for $35.
A largely care-free deciduous shrub that tolerates a wide range of conditions and blesses your pathways with unusual, fragrant flowers and, if desired, your porpourri bowls with fragrant fruits and twigs.
Zone: 5, 4 if protected.
Flower: Burgundy to 2", May - July, fragrant (esp. eves).
Fruit: Urn-shaped, tan capsules persist into winter, fragrant.
Habit/Form: To 7', typically broader than tall; dense and rounded in sun, loose and open in shade
Foliage: Lustrous dark green leaves; "respectable yellow" in fall.
Culture: Full sun is best, but tolerant of partial shade, prefers moist, rich soils.
Landscape Use: Many, from specimen to naturalizing to shrub border.

Cornus alternifolia (Alternate-leaf dogwood, Pagoda dogwood) - 3-4' tall for $50.
A small understory tree with graceful architcture and layers of lightly fragrant, creamy umbels in spring. In fall red-purple leaves give way to wonderful red-orange coloring in its branches which highlight its structure all winter long.
Zone: 3
Flower: Small, white flowers borne in flat clusters in late May and early June; fragrant.
Fruit: Changes from green to reddish to blue-black, though fruits don't persist long, the fruit stalks remain and turn a pleasing coral red.
Habit/Form: A small deciduous tree to 25' with horizontal or tiered branching.
Fall Foliage: From yellow to reddish purple, with young branches remaining reddish.
Culture: Partial shade is ideal, full sun if site is not hot & dry; moist, acidic soils are best.
Landscape Use: Naturalizing understory and edges, and as a specimen.

Amelanchier canadensis "Autumn Brilliance" (Serviceberry, shadbush, shadblow) - 4' tall for $45.
One of the first bloomers of spring, a profuse burst of white announces nature's awakening before leaves appear. Once the blueberry-like fruit ripens, the tree comes alive with cedar waxwings, evening grosbeaks and many other bird species.
Zone: 4
Flower: Billows of white apple-like flowers in late March to mid-April.
Fruit: Red to black, edible, used for jams, pies...if you get them before the birds do!
Bark: Attractive striped silver-gray bark.
Habit/Form: Multi-stemmed vase-shaped small tree/large shrub to 20'.
Fall Foliage: Red, orange and gold.
Culture: Full sun, tolerates some shade; does well in wet to normal sites, avoid dryness.
Landscape Use: Specimen for bark and flower, groupings, naturalizing sunny edges.

Ilex verticillata "Red Sprite" (winterberry) - 24" tall for $35; "Jim Dandy" is the male, also 24" tall for $35.
Winterberry is a deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub that is grown for its thick, dark green foliage and its spectacular show of berries in winter.
Zone: 3
Flowers: Small greenish-white flowers in early June.
Fruit: Numerous large red fruits which persist well throughout the winter. Important: only the female plant bears fruit, and one male is needed to pollinate for about every 10 females. "Jim Dandy" is the male offered.
Habit/Form: "Red Sprite" grows 3-4' tall with a pleasantly mounded habit.
Fall Foliage: Typically yellow-green with some purple tinges.
Culture: Full sun to partial shade, the more sun the more berries; prefers moist to wet, slightly acid soils. Disease- and pest-free.
Landscape Use: Dramatic groupings, native plantings along shrub or wetland borders, tolerates poorly-drained soils.

]]> Museum's 2010 Annual Report tag:www.nature-museum.org,2011://1.261 2011-07-08T09:47:30Z 2011-07-08T09:48:42Z Released in time for the Museum's Annual Meeting on June 16, black-and-white copies are available at the Museum, but color copies may be downloaded in Quick Links.... Released in time for the Museum's Annual Meeting on June 16, black-and-white copies are available at the Museum, but color copies may be downloaded in Quick Links.

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