June marked the completion of Parking Lot Alive!, a parking lot retrofit project at Adkins Arboretum. The project transformed a barren sea of asphalt into a parking lot that demonstrates best practices for managing stormwater and benefits from lush plantings and added shade.

Over the span of four months, Unity Landscape Design/Build implemented a design by Campion Hruby Landscape Architects and DesignGreen, LLC to create a beautiful, functional and innovative cultivated garden designed as a series of stormwater management devices. The parking lot is now outfitted with six erosion sediment control devices and seven additional planted gardens. Eleven areas throughout the lot have been densely planted with 17,000 native plants.

Areas of the lot were excavated and regraded to help direct stormwater, slow its flow and allow it to be absorbed into the landscape instead of flowing unchecked to the Arboretum wetland, Blockston Branch, the Choptank River and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay. Asphalt was removed and replaced with permeable pavers that also function as a pathway to the entrance bridge. An underground hydraulic bridge connects some of the gardens and now serves as an overflow redundancy for heavy rain events. The past month’s heavy rains have been held by planted swales that allow the rainfall to gradually percolate and transpire.

Photo by Kellen McCluskey

The dense plantings of trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials have already attracted numerous species of birds and pollinators and will offer much-needed shade once they become established. A broad variety of native plants was selected for both dry and wet conditions, and plants were installed densely to reduce weed pressure.

Arboretum volunteers assisted in planting five of the garden beds and continue to help keep weeds at bay. Volunteers and staff have already dedicated more than 300 hours to planting and caring for the gardens. The public is invited to visit, enjoy the gardens and learn about best practices for managing stormwater.

Parking Lot Alive! was funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust G3 Implementation Phase Grant Program and the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays 2010 Trust Fund. The Arboretum has been fortunate to partner with project designers Campion Hruby Landscape Architects and Design Green, LLC and contractors Unity Landscape Design/Build, and to consult with the Caroline County Department of Planning and Codes and the University of Maryland Sea Grant Extension Program.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. Open year round, the Arboretum offers educational programs for all ages about nature and gardening. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Adkins Arboretum will host Project WILD, a professional development workshop about wildlife and conservation, for K–12 teachers on Sat., Aug. 3 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Presented by Kerry Wixted, wildlife education and outreach specialist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the workshop is perfect for teachers in both formal and informal settings, as well as anyone with an interest in environmental education.

A project of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Project WILD is dedicated to helping students learn how to think, not what to think, about wildlife and the environment. All curriculum materials are back by sound education practices and theory and represent the work of many within the fields of education and natural resource management from across the country.

The workshop will cover pollination, field investigations, inquiry-based learning and more. All participants will receive two free Project WILD guides filled with more than 100 lesson plans. The course counts as professional development for Maryland Green Schools and for Maryland Master Naturalists.

The Project WILD workshop is $25 for Arboretum members and $30 for non-members. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. Open year round, the Arboretum offers educational programs for all ages about nature and gardening. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Solitary bee. Photo courtesy of Pollinators Prospering People.

Adkins Arboretum will host a trio of programs this month aimed at educating about pollinators, their needs and ways to increase their vital habitat. All programs will be led by Melinda Fegler and Lindsay Hollister of Pollinators Prospering People (PX3), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting sustainable pollinator habitat. Programs include:

Befriending Bumblebees, 1–4 p.m. on Sun., July 14. Learn about the bumble’s importance for wildlife and for humans’ edible gardens. Participants will learn Maryland bumble ID and how to design a garden to attract bumblebees, as well as build a bumblebee hive box.

Solitary Bee Beginnings, 1–4 p.m. on Sun., July 21. What is a solitary bee? Learn about the ecology, life cycles and groupings of these lone workers. Participants will also learn about garden additions for solitary bees, build a solitary bee condo and practice identification.

Caterpillars to Butterflies, 1–4 p.m. on Sun., July 28. Learn about the mysteries of and threats to these beautiful pollinators and the important role they play in the natural world. Participants will build a chrysalis tree, learn to use identification resources and practice skills during a NABA butterfly count.

Each program is $35 for Arboretum members and $40 for non-members. All three sessions count as continuing education for Master Gardeners and for Maryland Master Naturalists. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Revel in a day of forest fun when Adkins Arboretum celebrates its second annual Medieval Forest Faire from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sat., June 15. Inspired by legends and lore of the medieval period, Forest Faire offers a wide variety of activities and entertainment for families in search of outdoor fun.

Adventurers of all ages are invited to embark on a forest quest and search among the trees for the Green Man of the ancient Celts. Some of the many activities planned include building with wattle and daub, guided foraging, archery practice, a labyrinth, cooking pottage over a campfire, medieval crafts and constructing “castles” with sections of tree stumps.

Medieval ballads and madrigals will be performed throughout the day by Ampersand and the Allegro Women’s Chorus. Fortunetelling and demonstrations by a local falconer will be ongoing, and the festivities will close with sword dancing by the Sammati Dance Company of Caroline County.

A local peasant (Shane Brill of Chestertown, at center) leads a discussion on foraging at Adkins Arboretum’s 2018 Forest Faire. Forest adventurers of all ages are invited to attend this year’s Medieval Forest Faire on Sat., June 15 from 11 to 3. Photo by Kellen McCluskey.

Fairegoers are encouraged to wear Camelot-inspired costumes and to bring their cameras for photos with notable nobles. Unicorn rides by Snapdragon Stables and refreshments, including ice cream by local Nice Farms Creamery, will be available for purchase.

Admission to Forest Faire is $10 per person for adults and children ages 6 and over. Children ages 5 and under are admitted free. Advance registration is appreciated. To register, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Learn about myriad types of farming and conservation-minded farm practices when Adkins Arboretum offers a series of local farm tours beginning this spring. Six farms across the Mid-Shore will welcome participants to learn about their products and land management efforts and to engage in a hands-on project to take home.

The series kicks off on Sun., May 19 with a tour of Cottingham Farm on the banks of Goldsborough Creek in Easton. Join owner Cleo Braver to learn about food farming and the infrastructure required for crops, chickens and pigs before exploring cover crops, greenhouses and processing and storage spaces. Participants will also cut garlic scapes and make garlic scape pesto.

On Sun., June 2, join Carrie Jennings for a guided tour of her field-grown specialty flowers at Honeybee Flower Farm in Cordova. Jennings grows flowers without insecticides; by growing varieties not readily available from overseas, her operation helps to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. Participants should bring a vase or mason jar to create a cut flower arrangement to take home.

At Schoolhouse Farmhouse in Cordova, Lauren Giordano and George Burroughs follow a regenerative approach that includes minimal tilling, no synthetic pesticides or herbicides, and the use of cover crops. On Sun., June 23, learn how they use sustainable practices for vegetables, flowers and chickens. Participants will also take a walk through the meadow and create a hand-printed tea towel inspired by their surroundings.

On Sun., June 30, tour the organic cutting garden of floral designer and longtime Adkins docent Nancy Beatty. Owner of Sweetbay Designs, Beatty has grown her own flowers organically for more than 25 years. Participants will take home a tiny tussie-mussie made from greenery and mostly native plants.

Calico Fields Lavender Farm near Millington is on the tour schedule for Sun., July 7.

On their Calico Fields Lavender Farm near Millington, Christa and Jay Falstad grow their plants organically and tend and harvest them by hand to make high-quality bath and body products. Participants will cut their own lavender bunches and learn about the Falstads’ conservation efforts aimed at promoting native bee species and monarch butterflies.

A native nursery and garden center offering services and products that foster harmony with nature, Unity Church Hill Nursery & Farm has been growing produce, flowers, and vegetable and herb starts sustainably for the past three years. On Sun., Sept. 15, join Theresa Mycek for a tour of the food gardens to learn about the farm’s regenerative gardening methods. After the tour, participants will make a hardneck garlic “braid” to take home.

Each tour is $35 for Arboretum members and $40 for non-members. All tours run from 1 to 3 p.m. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. Open year round, the Arboretum offers educational programs for all ages about nature and gardening. For more information about programs, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Known for its gently rolling hills and spectacular wildflower displays, Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Del., inspires an appreciation for the beauty and value of native plants and a commitment to protect the habitats that sustain them. Join Adkins Arboretum on Wed., May 1 on a day trip for an in-depth look at the gardens and natural lands and to learn about notable native plants.

The former home and family estate of Lammot du Pont Copeland and his wife, Pamela Cunningham Copeland, Mt. Cuba features a stately Colonial Revival manor house built in 1935. Over time, the Copelands transformed the estate’s farmland into lush botanical gardens featuring some of the region’s most beautiful natives plants. In the 1960s, the couple became acutely aware of a changing ethic and thus became more concerned with ecology and the need for conservation. In response, noted landscape architect Seth Kelsey was hired to develop the woodland wildflower garden with native plants and to design the site’s ponds and many woodland garden paths. The site also includes formal gardens, trial gardens, a meadow and a dogwood path that radiates with spring blooms.

The gardens at Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Del., are radiant with spring blooms. Photo courtesy of Mt. Cuba Center.

Trilliums, the star of the season, are expected to be in bloom. These rare and beautiful wildflowers grow in drifts at Mt. Cuba in early to midspring, producing a range of peculiar smells—from sweet to stinky—that attract many different pollinators. Trilliums have three petals, three sepals and three leaves and come in a wide range of colors, from pure white to lemony yellow to deep maroon. The gardens at Mt. Cuba Center include every trillium species native to the United States.

Tickets are $95 for Arboretum members and $120 for non-members. The fee includes transportation, driver gratuity, admission, a docent-led tour and a gourmet boxed lunch. The bus departs from Aurora Park Drive in Easton at 8 a.m. with additional stops near Wye Mills and Chestertown. Return time is approximately 5 p.m. Register at adkinsarboretum.org, or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0 to reserve a seat.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. Open year round, the Arboretum offers educational programs for all ages about nature and gardening. For more information about programs, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.