With origins stretching back more than 80 years, Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Del., has been a home for conservation and preservation since the 1930s. Transformed from farmland to a lush botanical garden featuring more than 1,000 species of native plants, Mt. Cuba inspires an appreciation for the value of these plants and a commitment to protect the habitats that sustain them. On Thurs., May 25, join Adkins Arboretum on a trip to explore Mt. Cuba’s stunning gardens and grounds and to learn about the history of preserving the site’s natural lands.
Pamela and Lammot du Pont Copeland completed their Colonial Revival-style home and began establishing formal gardens on the site in 1937. In addition to these gardens, which surround the house and are laid out with the symmetry and geometry that characterize formal garden design, Mt. Cuba Center includes a 15,000-square-foot trial garden used for native plant research, wooded paths and slopes, ponds, a bog garden, a dogwood path where woodland meadow plants intermingle at the forest edge, a meadow, a trillium garden and other points of interest.
Surrounded by exotic-looking plants and trees that brush the skyline, Mt. Cuba’s Ponds provide shelter and sustenance for carnivorous plants, native orchids and water-thriving wildlife. Photo courtesy of Mt. Cuba Center.
The day will include a guided in-depth tour of the gardens and opportunities to learn about notable natives, sustainable gardening practices, climate change, systems-thinking and consciously sourcing native plants. Following lunch in the Colonial Revival house, there will be ample time to explore the grounds. Participants can expect to see plants such as phacelia, coreopsis, Canada anemone, Ozark phlox, spiderwort, Bowman’s root, penstemon, baptisia, blue flag, sarracenia and lady slipper orchid.
The fee of $145 for Arboretum members and $180 for non-members includes transportation, driver gratuity, admission, guided tour and a gourmet boxed lunch. The bus departs from Aurora Park Drive at 8 a.m. and will make stops at the Route 50 westbound/Route 404 Park and Ride at 8:20 a.m. and the 301/291 Park and Ride in Millington at 8:45 a.m. Return time is 5 p.m. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 100.
Last week, we asked you about violets (Viola spp.). There are 12 species of native violets reported for Caroline County. While many people might think of violets as lawn weeds, the native violets are beautiful and early blooming groundcovers that are also important ecological assets. Violets serve as a host plant to a variety of fritillaries, as well as a specialist mining bee. Different species tolerate different conditions ranging from meadows and lawns to forested floodplains. For more information, check out the Indigenous Peoples’ Perspective Project on our website for a plant profile on violets!
Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go 
Last week, we asked you about golden ragwort (Packera aurea)! This native groundcover has year-round interest! Throughout the winter, it retains its green basal leaves. In spring, it is amongst the earlier blooming natives with bright yellow flowers. In summer, it will go to seed and in the fall, you’ll see young golden ragworts starting anew. Packera aurea readily self-seeds, so is an ideal plant for filling gaps. At Adkins Arboretum, it grows in the forested floodplain as well as the Parking Lot Alive! gardens, demonstrating its ability to grow in various soils and sun exposure. The flowers provide nectar and pollen to a variety of bees and flies! #adkinsarboretum #mysterymonday #goldenragwort #mysteryplant #parkinglotalive #winterinterest #carolinecounty
Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go 
The exhibit, developed in partnership with Locust Grove Studios, uses the School’s historic vessels to explore the ways the Chesapeake historic environment shaped the region’s people and places. Eight signs in total tell the stories of skipjack Elsworth, bateau Ric and buyboat Annie D, and detail bygone Black maritime communities like Chestertown’s Scott’s Point. Other signs share the biographies of boatbuilder Stanley Vansant and writer Gilbert Byron, and discuss the history of oystering, steamboats, and more. An introductory panel provides an overview of the School’s mission and history. Additional “fun facts” provide extra information, and several of the signs are capped with boat silhouettes that provide visitors with a full side view of the historic vessels.
For Executive Director Peter Rice, this exhibit is a natural extension of the School’s environmental programs. “Echo Hill Outdoor School’s historic floating fleet serve as our environmental classrooms and provide a way for our participants to connect to the Bay’s unique history and culture. These new signs let us share the ways the Chesapeake environment has shaped lives for generations with the greater community, right in downtown Chestertown.”
