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6 Arts Notes

From Grief to Repair: Mixed Media Fiber Art and Watercolors by Heather Kerley on View at Adkins Arboretum

May 15, 2025 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Pale green and white stitching curls around a trio of beech nuts in a tiny hand-embroidered quilt in Heather Kerley’s exhibit, From Grief to Repair, on view in the Adkins Arboretum Visitor’s Center through June 27. Playful and gently colorful, it’s just one of the many intricate textile artworks and energetic watercolors that she has created as meditations on loss and healing in the natural world. There will be a reception to meet the artist and learn more about her work on Saturday, May 10, from 2 to 4 pm.

Kerley moves easily from painting to embroidery to quilting as she experiments with color, texture and patterning. Her lively series of watercolors, “Re-Kinning,” explores the cycles of birth and death. With spreading washes and casually brushed shapes that suggest bundles of frog’s eggs, seeds, lichens or tiny blossoms, these small paintings are fresh, improvisational studies of the continual changes that characterize life on earth. 

For the past several years, Kerley has twinned her work as an artist with the creation of a wildlife-friendly, native plant garden in her own yard in Bowie, MD. Most of the seeds and nuts stitched into her small “Seed Bank Quilts” were gathered there just as, for thousands of years, farmers and gardeners have saved seeds for the next year’s crop. Lovingly incorporated into the patchwork layers of patterned cloth and embroidery in her tiny quilts, they speak of regeneration and the continuity of natural cycles. 

Kerley’s deep love of nature grew from childhood summers spent camping, canoeing and hiking with her family. Her parents’ involvement in conservation efforts sparked her interest in environmental issues, but although she had an early interest in art, she became a full-time artist focusing on nature just 15 years ago. 

“It was only in the past few years that I became very involved in climate activism and combining my art with my passion for preserving a livable planet,” she said. “This rebounds on my work by inviting the use of found and upcycled materials and overlapping my art practice with my native gardening.” 

The centerpiece of the show is her large quilt, “Mourning Our Kin (23 Extinct)” featuring 23 extinct species including a pair of perky Bachman’s warblers and a Little Marianas fruit bat hanging upside-down from a leafy twig. Taking her impetus from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s 2021 proposed delisting of 23 species from the Endangered Species Act due to extinction, she “drew” these animals and plants in stitches of red thread in the tradition of “redwork” quilts. A form of decorative needlework popular in the late 19th century that often featured nature-related imagery stitched with red thread on white or off-white cloth, redwork was an especially appropriate choice because the color red, a symbol of warning and danger, as well as of life’s blood, directly conveys her alarm at the accelerating decline in biodiversity worldwide.

As a child, Kerley learned to sew and embroider from her grandmother and mother. Her skills are evident throughout the show, including in her outdoor installation of a string of quilted and embroidered “Prayer Flags” with their crisp leaf prints and fragments of paintings on paper or fabric and in several small embroidery hoops filled with multi-colored clusters of embroidery very like the animated forms in her watercolors. In all these works, she evokes a tender attention to the inborn wonder and fragility of the natural world. 

“For me, choosing to use stitching to explore our relationship with nature brings in ideas about mending, repair, connection, and healing,” she explained. “Quilts, especially, can be important and sometimes subversive holders of meaning that disarm rather than harden viewers due to their comforting associations.” 

This show is part of Adkins Arboretum’s ongoing exhibition series of work on natural themes by regional artists. It is on view April 29 through June 27 at the Arboretum Visitor’s Center located at 12610 Eveland Road near Tuckahoe State Park in Ridgely. 

For gallery hours or more information, contact Adkins Arboretum at 410-634-2847, or visit adkinsarboretum.org. 

A 400-acre native garden and preserve, Adkins Arboretum provides exceptional experiences in nature to promote environmental stewardship. 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: 6 Arts Notes

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the photo!

May 12, 2025 by Adkins Arboretum 1 Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is white oak, Quercus alba, pictured in the photo below.
White oak is a very commonly found throughout Maryland. In fact, in 1941, white oak was designated the Maryland State Tree.
The white oak is found in a variety of different habitats, although it is localized to the eastern regions of the United States. It’s a wonderful shade tree, reaching 80-100′ tall and 60′ wide. The tree leafs out in April, offering cool comfort in the Summer.
Sometime around its 50th year, a white oak will begin to produce acorns, up to 10,000 annually. The acorns are quick to sprout soon after they fall to the ground. White oak acorns are sweet, and are important to the diet of over 80 species of birds and mammals. University of Delaware Professor and author Doug Tallamy states that the white oak tree is the most powerful plant as it supports 534 different species of butterfly and moth caterpillars.
Male and female flowers grow on the same white oak tree. The male flowers are yellow-green drooping clusters, while the female flowers are small, red, and without petals. Male flowers become elongated catkins containing pollen grains that are released into the wind. After the pollen is released, the whole catkin is promptly shed. Oak trees are wind pollinated, but birds and animals can also help the pollen disperse by moving the reproductive products around.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Food and Garden

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the photo

May 5, 2025 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in photo below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is the eastern red columbine, Aquilegia canadensis, pictured in the photo below:
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The eastern red columbine is in the buttercup family. It is the only species of columbine native to eastern North America, and is easy to grow from seeds or from divisions of rootstocks. Columbine can be found growing in less than ideal conditions, like in a pocket of soil surrounded by giant boulders.
Eastern red combines hybridize freely in the wild as well as in the garden. It is a delicate but hardy herb with thin, woody rhizomes and slender, much-branched stems that typically grow 1-2′ tall.
The red columbine flower consists of five tubular, red petals with yellow lips, and numerous yellow stamens projecting downward like a golden tassel. The flower is perfectly adapted to long-tongued nectar feeders, like hawk moths and hummingbirds. Flowers bloom from Spring through early Summer. Columbine is deer-resistant and pollinator-friendly.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Food and Garden Notes

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the photo

April 28, 2025 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is shagbark hickory, Carya ovata, pictured in the photo below:
Shagbark hickory is a tall, straight trunked tree reaching over 120”. It is prized for its aromatic wood, which burns long and with little to no smoke. Hickory is used to produce high-quality charcoal that is excellent for barbecuing.
The bark of young hickory trees is smooth, while mature hickory trees have distinctly shaggy bark. When the shagbark hickory’s leaves emerge in Spring, the leaves point in different directions. This display turns into clusters of small, prominently veined, yellow leaves that seem to glow in the sun.
Shagbark hickory fruits from September-October. The nuts form singly or in clusters of up to three. Hickory is cultivated for its sweet, edible nuts, which have been prized as long as humans have lived on this continent.
Shagbark hickory is monoecious – it has both male and female flowers on the same tree. The male flowers are 2-3″ long yellow-green catkins. The female flowers are much shorter. Both flowers appear in Spring.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Archives, Food and Garden Notes

Adkins Arboretum’s Mystery Monday: Guess the photo

April 21, 2025 by Adkins Arboretum 2 Comments

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Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below:
The answer to last week’s mystery is mayapple or wild mandrake, Podophyllum peltatum, pictured in the photo below:
Mayapples first emerge in April. They frequent mesic to dry-mesic upland forests, well-drained floodplain forests, and various moist, disturbed habitats. Mayapples populate much of Adkins’ Blockston Branch Walk.
As mayapple leaves first emerge in Spring, the leaf blades initially droop downward, then later open flat (like an umbrella) to catch some rays as the tree canopy closes in and blocks much of the sunlight.
Mayapples colonize by rhizomes, forming dense mats. Each year, the rhizome elongates about 6-20 cm in length, terminating in a bud for the subsequent year’s leafy stem. One or more buds form for continuation and branching of the rhizome. Over time rhizome branching results in the formation of large reaching colonies.
Mayapples are unique in that they only have two leaves and a single flower. Nonflowering mayapple stems bear a single leaf. These are young, immature sprouts whereas flowering stems produce a pair of leaves, between which is a single flower. The flowers are capable of self- or cross-pollination.
Be aware, aside from the ripe fruits, all parts of the mayapple are toxic.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Archives, Food and Garden Notes

Adkins Arboretum’s Mystery Monday: Guess the photo

April 14, 2025 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is red maple flowers, Acer rubrum, pictured in the photo below:
The red maple flowers shown here are female. They are dark, deep red with sticky, fuzzy stigmas that extend past the petals and catch pollen floating by. Clusters of red maple flowers are especially striking against a clear, blue Winter sky.
Maple tree flowers are primarily wind-pollinated. As the flowers fade, the fruit – which is often showier than the flowers – appears. The fruit, botanically classified as a schizocarp, is split into two-winged structures called samaras. The samaras dangle on the ends of branches by thin pedicels, or stalks. They remain on the tree for about a month after the Spring foliage emerges and until the wind disperses them.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Archives, Food and Garden Notes

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the photo

April 7, 2025 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured below:

The answer to last week’s mystery is American sycamore seeds, Platanus occidentalis, pictured below:

 

American sycamore is native to the eastern United States and is the largest deciduous tree in North America. Found most commonly in bottomland or floodplain areas, sycamores thrive in wet environments near rivers, streams, or abundant groundwater.

Sycamore trees are monoecious. They have both male and female flowers on the same tree. This tree reaches reproductive maturity rather young, and flowers profusely, producing numerous light, aerodynamic fruit. The fruit are round balls, around 1″ in diameter, and hang on slender stems.

The seed head persists through Winter, and doesn’t drop the hairy-tufted seeds until January–April. The brush-like structure of the seeds helps them catch the wind and potentially travel long distances.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Food and Garden Notes

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the photo!

March 24, 2025 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below:
The answer to last week’s mystery is the northern crane-fly orchid, Tipularia discolor, pictured below:

The crane-fly orchid is one of the most common orchids in North America. Spring is when the plant’s green leaves begin to emerge. They appear as a single leaf, often with raised purple spots and a fully purple underside. The leaves disappear in late Spring–early Summer, before the orchid blooms. The flowering stem is leafless and reaches 15–20″ tall.

In late Fall to early Winter, each crane-fly orchid plant will produce a single green leaf. The leaf is called a hibernal leaf because it is present only during the Winter when many other plants are dormant

The orchid’s dull yellow–purplish brown flowers bloom on a reddish-brown stem in Summer. In the Fall, oval-shaped pods containing seeds form up and down the dried stem. Each pod is the size of a pinto bean and houses thousands of dust-like seeds that scatter in the wind across the surrounding leaf litter.

Crane-fly orchids do not transplant well, so it’s best to enjoy them in their natural woodland setting.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Archives, Food and Garden Notes

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the photo!

March 24, 2025 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured in the photo below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is the northern crane-fly orchid, Tipularia discolor, pictured in the photo below:
The crane-fly orchid is one of the most common orchids in North America. Spring is when the plant’s green leaves begin to emerge. They appear as a single leaf, often with raised purple spots and a fully purple underside. The leaves disappear in late Spring–early Summer, before the orchid blooms. The flowering stem is leafless and reaches 15–20″ tall.
In late Fall to early Winter, each crane-fly orchid plant will produce a single green leaf. The leaf is called a hibernal leaf because it is present only during the Winter when many other plants are dormant
The orchid’s dull yellow–purplish brown flowers bloom on a reddish-brown stem in Summer. In the Fall, oval-shaped pods containing seeds form up and down the dried stem. Each pod is the size of a pinto bean and houses thousands of dust-like seeds that scatter in the wind across the surrounding leaf litter.
Crane-fly orchids do not transplant well, so it’s best to enjoy them in their natural woodland setting.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Food and Garden

Adkins Arboretum Mystery Monday: Guess the photo

March 17, 2025 by Adkins Arboretum Leave a Comment

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Happy Mystery Monday!  Can you guess what is pictured below?
The answer to last week’s mystery is the northern red oak, Quercus rubra, pictured in photo below:
The northern red oak is a deciduous tree native to the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada.
It is versatile and hardy in urban settings, and tolerates pollution and compacted soil, making it an ideal neighborhood or street tree.
The northern red oak grows moderately quickly, sometimes maintaining a rate of 2′ per year, especially when it’s young. It commonly attains heights of 70-80′.
This oak displays beauty in all seasons, as many of its leaves stay after they have fallen from other trees. The leaves emerge pinkish-red in the Spring, turning lustrous dark green in Summer, and changing to red, orange-red, and deep reddish-brown in Autumn.
The northern red oak produces acorns that serve as a vital food source for wildlife, including squirrels, deer, and birds.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Food and Garden

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