Cylburn Arboretum Friends_Seasons Summer 2021

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B A LT I M O R E , M A R Y L A N D

Coreopsis, often called tickseed, is a genus containing up to 80 species of flowering perennials native to North America. This image is Coreopsis verticillate 'Zagreb' which can be found throughout Cylburn Arboretum in summer. Picture by Brandon Clark.

“The last of Summer is Delight — Deterred by Retrospect.

Tis Ecstasy's revealed Review — Enchantment's Syndicate.”

S E A S O N S

– Emily Dickinson, The Last of Summer is Delight

e W lcome!

A lot can happen in a e y ar. This time last e y ar we were masked up, six feet apart and washing our hands constantly.

Most of us were not vaccinated, COVID was still claiming lives, and people came in droves to the arboretum to bathe in the beauty of the place.

This e y ar we traded the song of the cicadas for the lovely and inspirational sound of children at summer camp on the verge of discovering what nature is all about: bugs and worms and frogs are not scary; every bird sings its own song; and Nature really knows how to make it all come together. Also importantly, campers spent a lot of time discussing what role each of us plays in the natural world.

As we continue to make slow and steady progress with our plans for the Nature Education Center (NEC) at Cylburn, the joy evident in the faces of our campers encourages us that we are on the right path—to continue this ef fort for everyone in Baltimore, not just the children, not just Northwest Baltimore City, but for everyone who will visit the NEC and discover the hidden world.

This issue of Seasons tackles two competing topics: the joys of summer and back to school. e W will introduce o y u to camp in the time of COVID, and what that entailed, and how we are are new faces on staf f and new opportunities to volunteer.

Lagerstroemia indica Sioux, or Crape Myrtle trees.

Photo taken by Brandon Clark.

Brandon, a rising senior from Green Street Academy, is the CAF Youth Works Intern. Not only is he learning and working on the grounds this summer, he is also taking over the CAF Instagram feed while he is with us. Look for Brandon’s images throughout this publication.

e W hope o y u will join us for what we anticipate will be a healthy and happy summer and a unique learning experience for everyone this fall. In truth, we never stop learning and Cylburn Arboretum poses questions and holds the answers begging to be discovered.

a P tricia o F ster, Ee x cutive Die r ctor ylC burn Arboe r tum rFiends

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CONTENTS

Rebecca Henry President

SUMMER NATURE CAMP PAGE 2

Nancy B. Hill Vice President

CAMP WITH MR. JIM

Hilles Whedbee Secretary

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Robert A. Cook Treasurer Mariayne Brodnicki Linda Wright Butler Will Clemens Beverly Davis Emily Dwyer Alan Gilbert Sandra P. Gohn Mae Hinnant Sorrel King Maryellyn Lynott Jo Middleditch Douglas Nelson Jack Owens Nell B. Strachan

2 HORTICULTURE EDUCATION PROGRAM PAGE 6

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THESE DELIGHTS AWAIT

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EX OFFICIO Melissa Grim Chief Horticulturist, Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks Colleen Vacelet Owner, Intreegue Design

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FIG’S GARDEN TIPS PAGE 9

INTRODUCING ERIKA CASTILLO PAGE 10

SEASONS is published by Cylburn Arboretum Friends

NEC UPDATE PAGE 13

Written and edited by Patricia Foster Executive Director Brooke M. Fritz Director of Development Brent Figlestahler Head Gardener Heather Rosenthal Director of Community Engagement Bill Geenen | Communication Design Layout and Design

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MEET THE CLEAN CATS Exhibit Planning Concept : Plan Sketch Cylburn Arboretum Friends: Nature Education Center

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

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MAD #18057 | October 1, 2020

4915 Greenspring Ave. Baltimore, MD 21209 Info@cylburn.org

BACK COVER

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S E A S O N S 2

THEY’RE BACK!!

Students at Cylburn.

T A A M C U R E P N CYLBURN ARBORETUM FRIENDS

Summer nature camp registration at Cylburn typically opens in January and so it did in 2020. At that time, no one thought we would not be holding camp. Both directors were on board, a couple of the junior counselors who were then volunteers, graduated to a paid staff. Guest speakers were lined up. We were ahead of the game.

As word of the coronavirus spread around the country—and the world—and after much angst, we decided to cancel camp.

There was no way we could imagine, given the regulations then in place in Spring of 2020, how camp could be a fun, learning

experience. The buildings remained closed, the staff worked from home, registrations were returned.

This year we were determined, and camp happenedwithsomesignicantchangesto make it safe for everyone. We changed the length of the sessions to 2 weeks, limited the number of campers to 15 (30 is the usual enrollment), required masks when inside and prohibited the use of any device with a screen.

As you can see from the display, Camp 2021 was a marvelous success. Happy faces, safe spaces.

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S E A S O N S

SUMMER NATURE CAMP

WITH MR. JIM

Frombirdandbuttery watching to playing in the bamboo forest to holding a toad – Cylburn's Summer Nature Camp is full of magical moments that pull campers back year after year, and our Camp Directors too. James Ritter, better known to our campers as Mr. Jim, returned tocampforhisfthyear this summer.

During the school year Jim is a high school English teacher but as a kid some of his favorite memories were with his mom, exploring nature and learning about animals.

Now, Jim loves to help make similar memories with his young charges.

“Cylburn is a magical place,” said Jim, “because it offers a relatively pristine environment in the heart of Baltimore city for everyone to enjoy. During camp we hike every morning, and a favorite destination is the ravine. This year we scientifically evaluated the stream health in the ravine where plentiful salamanders showed us that the water had low levels of pollution.

It is remarkable to be in the city but to also experience wildlife thriving.”

Cylburn’s Summer Nature Camp is a fun place where young people from different backgrounds mix together to play games and make crafts, but they also learn how to become wise stewards of the

earth’s natural resources. A ve-year-oldmightbethrilled to simply hold a toad (it has been a highlight for many this year) but that experience is followed up with conversation about what the toad needs toourish.

It is these experiences that have Jim excited to send his four-year-oldsontocamp nextyearforthersttime.

Jim shared, “When you see a young person light up because they made a new friend, or because crows and pigeons were the only birds they knew before attending camp, or because they get a surprise lesson from a thoughtful CAF Intern – it is a truly wonderful feeling.”

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Cylburn Arboretum Friends is Dedicated to Horticulture Education

S E A S O N S

Cylburn Arboretum Friends is expanding its horticulture education program to include a pre-apprentice position and a horticulture club geared toward introducing high school students to the field.

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CAF has partnered with Green Street Academy, which has a strong agriculture program, to pilot the horticulture club at Cylburn beginning this fall. However, the partnership is already underway with Brandon Clark (cover photographer and CAF Youth Works Intern) joining our team.

The goal of the pre-apprentice program is to give participants practical knowledge that they can use in a sustainable career and/ or help connect them with area colleges that have horticulture programs so they can contiuetheirformaleducationthefield.

These expanded programs, workforce development initiatives and community outreach demonstrate CAF’s commitment

to Baltimore City, explained Rebecca Henry, board president. “We are not only dedicated to helping the City maintain the Arboretum, but also to making North West Baltimore a better place to live and work,” Henry said.

Introducing Rasheita Magor, Cylburn Arboretum Friends Intern As an elementary school student, Rasheita Magor would often leave her Park Heights home unannounced to visit Cylburn rboetr um.Thisstartedshortlyafterafirst gradefieldtriptherewithPimlicoElementary School. She immediately understood the healing powers of nature and wanted to spend as much time at the Arboretum as possible. However, it wasn’t until recently that

Garden Clubs of Maryland, Inc. The position is geared toward undergraduate and graduatelevel students in horticulture looking to gainpracticalfieldexperience.saesu r lt, theinternalsoassistsCFinfulfillingits commitment to help Baltimore City maintain the gardens and grounds at the Arboretum.

Magor, a mother to two teenage daughters with a career in psychiatric rehabilitation, learned a career in horticulture was an option.

Now Magor, the current intern at Cylburn Arboretum Friends, is combining her background in healing and her love of plants into a career in horticultural therapy.

Twenty years ago Magor said she knew she wanted to work in horticulture but she didn’t know it could be a career to earn her enough money to live and support a family. Plus there was another obstacle.

Historically, black and brown people were disenfranchised from public parks and gardens, Magor explains. “I didn’t see it as a place for me,” she added, emphasizing the importance of ensuring all people, especially those living an urban experience, can make the “people-plant connection.”

CAF is lucky to have found someone not only interested in pursuing a career in horticulture, but with knowledge and commitment to the neighboring community, explains Cylburn Arboretum Friends Head Gardener Brent Figlestahler. Figlestahler leads the internship program and noted “Rasheita stood out [among more than adozenqualifiedcandidates]notly because of her commitment to horticulture and her ability to complete the tasks to help CAF, but because she already knew how Cylburnbenefitsthehealthandwell-being of the community differently than Baltimore’s other greenspaces.”

Thankfully for us all, she is gaining her practical horticulture experience this year as an intern with CAF. The internship is sponsored in partnership with Horticultural Society of Maryland and the Federated 7

THESE DELIGHTS AWAIT YOU AT CYLBUR N AR BOR ETUM Trees of the Arboretum

S E A S O N S

The Crape Myrtles

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Pictured is one of the crape myrtles arranged geometically in the circle in front of the Mansion. This cultivar is Lagerstroemia 'Sioux'—a cultivar developed at the National Arboretum for its exuberant bloom and hardiness in this area, which used to be on the fringe of hardiness for crape myrtle.

Throughout the grounds, there are 12 other cultivars.

While not native to North America, the cultivars were named to honor Native American tribes.

Flowers in the Gardens

Natural Wonders

Iris Domestica

Aesclepias incarnata

Blackberry Lily

Swamp Milkweed

This colorful summer Aesclepias incarnata bloomer, Iris domestica, or (swamp milkweed) is native Blackberry Lily, originated to this área, and grows in the Himalayans, but has (as the name suggests) in adapted to our garden swampy, moist soil in full conditions. It is a hardy sun.Monarchbutteries perennial, and easy to grow larvae (caterpillars) feed infullsunandmoistwell- on the leaves. It is hard to drained soil. Find this beauty transplant but spreads well in The Larrabee Garden. from seed pods. The name reectstheGreekgodof medicine, Asklepios, and theeshcoloredstem (incarnata), which oozes a toxic sap when broken.

Come see what other delights you can find!

FIG’S GARDEN TIPS

BY BRENT FIGLESTAHLER, HEAD GARDENER

AUGUST

Once upon a time, the month of August went by another name—Weodmonað.

Meaning “weed month” in Old English, this i s t h o u gh t o be i n spi r ed by pr o l i fic gr o w t h associated with summer heat. Looking past a namesake airport or memorial library, Caesar “Augustus” usurped this calendar month forever separating us garden-minded folk from the season’s real importance. If Cylburn’s late summer war on Crabgrass is taken as evidence, I’d say the Saxons had it right- It’s a weedy month.

IRRIGATE: Thi s m o n t h’s pr o l i fic gr o w t h

can be attributed to sunshine and heat.

To harness the month's potential, consider supplemental irrigation. Be judicious. Don’t waste water. Many perennials perform best under a different watering regime than our thirstier annuals and tropicals. Irrigation works best when the gardener anticipates the need for water instead of reacting to a wilt scenario. As in all things, it goes back to the soil. We should understand the dr ai n age h abi t s, o r “fiel d capaci t ,” y of our soils. Lastly, and most importantly, keep yourself well-watered, too.

WEED: One weed worth highlighting this

month is Digitaria ischaemum (Smooth Crabgrass) and D. sanguinalis (Large Crabgrass). These plants are annual grasses with the potential to produce 150,000 seeds per plant. With wind- or mowerborne seeds, this plant should be cut and or weeded prior to seed production in late July and August. While relatively easy to pull, the root system tends to take an excessive amount of soil with the roots.

Be sure to leave as much of this precious resource in the garden as possible.

CUT: Continue deadheading spent blooms

this month. This is a nice time to start thinking about self-seeding plants- Are there blooms you would like to let ripen into mature seed? Are there plants that you defin i t el y do n’t w an t o r e- seed? u gu st is often a turning point between early and late summer blooming plants. Be prepared to cut back tired looking foliage to make room for the late season performers. Some plants, like penstemon, can be cut back in hopes of developing attractive basal foliage going into autumn. With all this cutting in mind, it’s important to remember that some plants, like germander and other subshrubs, do not like to be cut back in late summer.

Since cutting back stimulates growth, it’s important to let that new growth mature prior to cooler temps and a chance of damaging frost.

PLAN: It’s time to purchase bulbs for

autumn installation. While you’re at it, don’t forget to make those plant orders for late season additions. With Baltimore’s winters occurring later and later in the year, I tend to prefer fall installations over those occurring during the spring rush.

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INTRODUCING ERIKA CASTILLO,

S E A S O N S

CYLBURN ARBORETUM FRIENDS EDUCATION DIRECTOR

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Cylburn Arboretum Friends is excited to welcome Erika Castillo as our new Education Director. We are looking forward to introducing Erika in person, but in the meantime, she took a little break from summer camp and planning programs for the fall to share a glimpse into her plans for nature education programming at the Arboretum.

What are you looking forward to most about being the Education Director for CAF? I am thrilled to be working at Cylburn, on these gorgeous grounds! I love being outdoors with students and I’m looking forward to helping them to build knowledge and make connections with their world.

Where did you grow up and how did that influence your decision to study nature?

I grew up on the Florida panhandle. My father was a professor of horticulture at a research station through the woods from our house. I spent endless hours in the woods and fieldsasachild.I’dplay in the muddy creek in my

yard and pick blueberries andpeachesinthefields at my father’s work.

When I went to college, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to study and changed my major several times. However, I kept coming back to the natural sciences, and wanting to share nature with children was what brought me into teaching.

“I love being outdoors with students and I’m looking forward to helping them to build knowledge and make connections with their world.”

Where did you go to school and what did you study?

I earned my B.S. and M.S. at the University of Florida in Entomology and Nematology (bugs and worms), both with a concentration in Biology Education. I also completed all the coursework for a Masters in Science Education. I feel like I really learned how to teach from

my phenomenal Science Education professor, Dr. Linda Cronin Jones.

I owe a lot to her!

And you’re a teacherwhere have you taught?

After earning my Master’s degree, I taught in a public school in Gainesville, Florida for a year. In Maryland I’ve taught in the Montgomery County Public Schools and the Baltimore City Public Schools, most recently at

Tunbridge Public Charter School on York Road. I’ve also taught preschoolers as well as college students, but have the most experience with middle school.

What type of programming should people expect this next year?

My approach to nature education is to harness children’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm for nature and direct it through

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“The end goals are, of course, increased knowledge and awareness of the natural world, but above all,

S E A S O N S

developing a true kinship with nature.”

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engaging, inquiry-based activities. For example, rather than lecturing about biodiversity, students will estimate the number of species found in a 1-foot square of the ground. Then, getting down on their bellies and using a magnifying glass they will count the types of plants,fungi,animalstheyfind in their square. Students may be amazed at the number of different living things in such a small space! Then, they can compare this number with their estimate, leading to a discussion about biodiversitywhat is it, why is it important?

How does the biodiversity in a square of grass compare to the biodiversity in a square offoest r floor?Theendgoals are, of course, increased knowledge and awareness of the natural world, but above all, developing a true kinship with nature.

Any special philosophy that guides your work?

I believe joy should permeate learning. When we engage with nature in a joyful and meaningful way, we are no longer simply passive observers, but want to care for, protect, and continue to enjoy it. Wendell Berry said, when receiving a national award (he was quoting the title of a book by another author), “It all turns on affection.”

My hope is that by helping children to love and appreciate the earth, they will live lives that care for the world.

Do you have a special area of interest when it comes to the natural world?

I am especially interested in watersheds and the ways that huge areas of land are linked tospecificbodiesofwater.It’s amazing to me that we are so connected to the Chesapeake Bay even when standing on top of a hill at Cylburn. Along these lines, I love hunting for aquatic macroinvertebrates in steam r s(wefoundcrayfish andcaddisflylarvaeinthe stream today at camp!). My family has also recently gotten into birding, which is a passion my mom instilled in me and my children (my daughter is 11 and my son is 9). More time at home during COVID gave us ample opportunities for bird-watching. [contiuedpage13]

UPDATE: Our Nature Education Center project has been gaining momentum. We are working to design a space that will 1) expand our educational and training opportunities, 2) enhance our visitor experience and 3) increase our community initiatives.

Each of these opportunities will help us to continue fulfillingourmission,whileassuringthatemor people benefitfromthebeautyhatisCylburnboetr um.

hibit Planning Concept : Plan Sketch

burn Arboretum Friends: Nature Education Center

How will having the new Nature Education Center impact the way future visitors experience the Arboretum (or nature)?

D #18057 | October 1, 2020

The Nature Education Center will be a home base for our educational programming, and having a space to

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gather indoors opens up a lot of options for programs at Cylburn. The Nature Education Center will create an interactive learning space that will complement all that Cylburn already offers outdoors. For example, we hope to have data boards where staff and visitors to

Cylburn can share with others what to be on the lookout for on the grounds. I hope our center will orient visitors and help them understand the ecology and complexities of the arboretum in ways they might not grasp simply from walking the grounds.

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR G AR D E N CLUB D AT ES

SEPTEMBER 2 Let's gather together at Cylburn!

OCTOBER 7 Putting your vegetable garden to bed NOVEMBER 4 Designing with Bulbs DECEMBER 2 Holiday Arrangements

THE CLEAN CATS

With supportive funding by the Historic Preservation Fund of Preservation Maryland and the Baltimore National Heritage Area, we were able to engage Amy Hollis, Conservator, at Worcester Eisenbrandt, Inc., to clean and conserve Cylburn’s four lions. Photographs show them in place at Cylburn in 1908,andthismaybetheirfirst “bath” in 100+ years!

THANK YOU We can’t thank you enough for being part of our community at Cylburn Arboretum Friends—your support and participation is the foundation of our success.

Do you know someone who would enjoy being a member as much as you?

Give the Gift of %[NDWTP)KHcEGTcKECcGUCTGCXCKNCDNG HERE.