*Advance registration is required for programs. Register at adkinsarboretum.org or call 410.634.2847, ext. 0.*
Nature as Muse
Wednesday, May 1, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Free for members, free with admission for the general public
Each month this writing group will follow a different winding path through the Arboretum to quietly observe nature in detail. This will provide inspiration for expressing ideas that begin as seeds in our minds and then blossom into discovery as we write. No previous writing experience necessary. Enjoy how the paths in the Arboretum and the paths in your mind can lead you on an unpredictable but delightful journey. Bring a sack lunch and dress for both indoor and outdoor forest adventure. Register at adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0 for more information.
First Saturday Guided Walk
Saturday, May 4, 10 a.m.
Free for members, free with admission for the general public
Explore the rich and unique native plant habitat of Adkins Arboretum. The plant habitats you’ll see include mature and young native forests, meadows, a wetland, as well as a rain garden and a pollinator garden. You may also visit the Arboretum’s Native Plant Nursery and the children’s teaching garden. Tours begin at the Visitor’s Center and last approximately one hour. 410-634-2847, ext. 0 for more information.
Bird Migration Walk
Saturday May 4, 8–10 a.m.
Free with admission
Join Wayne Bell on a guided walk to scout for migrants warblers that regularly pass through the Arboretum in early May. Warblers of note include include Black-and-white, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, American Redstart, Yellow-rumped (Myrtle), Magnolia, and (rarer) Blackburnian. Rose-breasted Grosbeak should also be passing through, and resident Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak may be present. Scarlet Tanager, which nests in the mature woods, should also be in good voice. Many of these birds are colorful and full of song.
Dr. Bell is Senior Associate and former Director of the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College. Prior to joining the Washington College faculty in fall 2000, he was Vice President for External Relations for the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), a global research facility headquartered at Horn Point near Cambridge, MD. He has served as president of the Arboretum Board of Trustees and is past president of the Maryland Ornithological Society.
Paradise Under Glass
Saturday, May 4, 1–2:30 p.m.
Fee: $15 members, $20 general public
Like many baby boomers in middle age, Ruth Kassinger was at an emotional crossroads. Confronted with numerous challenges, she was searching for a way forward. One cold, gray evening, flooded with thoughts of change and loss, she wandered into the U.S. Botanic Garden’s conservatory—and a dream was born. Dazzled by the vast and dense tangle of greenery, she began a quest to create a verdant sanctuary of her own at her home in suburban Washington, DC.
Paradise Under Glass chronicles her journey from brown thumb to green. Kassinger takes us step-by-step from the construction of her conservatory through her efforts to identify the easiest to grow, most beautiful houseplants. In chronicling journey to create her own tropical refuge, she also provides a lively narrative tour of the glasshouses of the past, including Renaissance orangeries, the whimsical follies of Georgian England, the legendary Crystal Palace, and secluded Victorian ferneries.
Throughout, she shares the knowledge and insights that creating and sustaining her garden has bestowed, lessons of loss and letting go, nurturing and rebirth, challenge and change, love and serenity. Paradise Under Glass is the remarkable story of the fruition of a dream that is sure to inspire us all.
Twelfth Night: Shakespeare in the Meadow
Saturday, May 4 at 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 5 at 3 p.m.
Fee: $15 adults, $10 students
Mark the date—Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is coming to the Meadow! Bring a picnic, relax under the stars, and enjoy this classic comedy about love and mistaken identity. Directed by Peter Howell, the performances benefit the Arboretum and Shore Shakespeare.
For more information, visit shoreshakespeare.com. Those who support bringing Shakespeare to the Eastern Shore are invited to make tax-deductible donations to Adkins Arboretum and designated for the benefit of Shore Shakespeare.
Kokedama
Tuesday, May 7, 10 a.m.–noon
Fee: $30 members, $35 general public
Kokedama is the Japanese art form of enclosing a plant’s root mass in moss. Traditionally, Kokedama is displayed on a unique, often handcrafted tray but more recently these ‘moss balls’ are hung from translucent string to appear to float in the air. Join Samantha McCall to create your own Kokedama to bring home and enjoy.
An avid gardener and a dedicated plantswoman, Samantha is a floral designer, a Master Gardener, and a perennial student at Longwood Gardens. A member of several Eastern Shore garden clubs, she also is the owner of Fleurish, an environmentally friendly floral design studio committed to using local plant material whenever possible.
Botanical Shoes
Thursday, May 9, 1–2 p.m.
Fee: $15 members, $20 general public
In 1987, Lenny Wilson learned to make shoes at Cordwainer’s Technical College, a leather trades college in London. Shortly afterward, he began a career in public horticulture and was inspired to create a pair of shoes that incorporated parts of plants into their construction. Using traditional methods and materials, he unifies leather, leaves, and other materials to craft unique life-size shoes.
Join Lenny for a unique presentation as he shares his journey, illustrates what inspires him, demonstrates how he selects plants and employs tools, and relates exhibition and workshop experiences.
A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Lenny holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Delaware. Currently he is the Assistant Director of Horticulture and Facilities at Delaware Center for Horticulture, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Delaware’s diverse communities through horticulture. His one-of-a-kind shoes made from plant material are displayed in local art galleries and exhibits.
National Public Gardens Day
Friday, May 10, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Celebrate public gardens and their special place in the community! Admission is free—enjoy a walk in the woods, meadows, and gardens.
A Celebration of Natives, Adkins Arboretum’s first native garden tour, will feature seven gardens in Caroline County. The tour not only will highlight the beauty of these gardens but will emphasize the importance of their role in a bio-diverse landscape. Each garden is unique and demonstrates its own flair and commitment in its use of natives.
The Native Garden Tour is Saturday, May 11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person in advance and $25 on the day of the tour. Visit www.adkinsgardentour.org or call 410.634.2847, ext. 0 to reserve tickets.
Maryland Native Plant Society Movie Night
Tuesday, May 14, 7–8:30 p.m. An early-bird guided walk will be offered at 6:15 p.m.
Free
Maryland Native Plant Society will screen the video Urban & Suburban Meadows: Bringing Meadowscaping to Big and Small Spaces by author and photographer Catherine Zimmerman. The video brings into focus the amazing diversity of life inhabiting meadows, and the beautiful imagery inspires meadow creation. The 60-minute video features meadow experts Michael Nadeau, Larry Weaner and Neil Diboll, who walk the viewer through meadow site preparation, design, planting, and maintenance. Entomologist Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home, explains the intricate connection between native plants, native insects, and the soil food web.
The video was created as a companion to the popular book of the same name. It addresses the problems caused by the extensive planting of pesticide-ridden, non-native grass lawns across America. Discussion of the video will follow. Refreshments will be served. Registration is requested.
ART EXHIBITS
One Hundred Footsteps is a unique collaboration between writer Jennifer Wallace and visual artist Katherine Kavanaugh, both of Baltimore. In this limited edition work, fifty of Wallace’s haiku-like poems are paired with fifty small collage drawings by Kavanaugh. Although the poems and images aren’t meant to illustrate one another, they share parallel contemplative moods. On view through May 31, this meditative exhibit was inspired by a medieval Japanese collaborative poetic form, the renga, often composed of 100 verses.
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Spring Soup ’n Walks
Nature, Nurture, and Nutrition
Saturday, May 18 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Fee: $20 members, $25 general public
Registration required. Limit: 25
Track the changing landscape from winter to spring. Following a guided walk with a docent naturalist, enjoy a delicious and nutritious lunch along with a brief lesson about the meal’s nutritional value. Copies of recipes are provided.
May Theme: Tuckahoe Creek and Beyond
Tuckahoe Creek is a beautiful, tranquil spot that provides views of a wide variety of flowering plants. Join a one- or two-hour walk to search for mountain laurel, beech and tulip trees, black cherry tree blossoms, pink ladyslipper and Solomon’s seal blooms, and Mayapple fruit.
Menu
Thick and Hearty vegetable chili (vegetarian)
Roasted red beets over mesclun salad
Apple date wheat bread with apple jelly
Blueberry marmalade crisp