Archive for September, 2013
Hummingbird Moths, Interpreting the Fall Arboretum Landscape
The following is a submission from a Gustavus student in Dr. Cindy Johnson’s “Interpreting the Fall Landscape” class held in the Arboretum. Special thanks to Dr. Johnson and her students….. Hummingbird Moths by Jessica Gold I spotted 4 hummingbird moths in a flower bed on 9/24 at 6:15 pm. They were hovering around the […]
Cup Plant — Interpreting the Fall Arboretum Landscape
The following is a submission from a Gustavus student in Dr. Cindy Johnson’s “Interpreting the Fall Landscape” class held in the Arboretum. Special thanks to Dr. Johnson and her students….. Cup Plants By Carrie Boike Cup Plant, Silphium perfoliatum · Native to North America · Perennial · Triangular Toothed Leaf · opposite leaf […]
The power of unintended consequences
Last spring, we decided to add a bird feeder to a small garden area outside of the Interpretive Center. Two or three months ago, a bird at that feeder (through haste or carelessness) dropped a sunflower seed and it started to grow. When I suggested that we pull it as a weed (after all, it […]
Perry as Thanksgiving Guest?
Perry the Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum) has surprised us mightily. A shoot has appeared and is growing rapidly. This follows the shortest dormant period so far – the last leaf died down this past summer, and we expected dormancy to last until spring or summer of 2014. It remains to be seen whether this shoot […]
Fall color forecast looks good… maybe.
A long autumn with sunny dry days and cool dry nights can make for a colorful fall. Autumn in Minnesota is a time of cruel ironies. Any Vikings fan can tell you that. One of autumn’s cruelest ironies is that the beauty of autumn is quickly replaced with the general crumminess of winter. And so, […]
Monarchs Still Holding On!
Earlier this week, I noticed three Monarch Butterflies fluttering outside our windows at the Interpretive Center. They seemed to be having a ball, enjoying the colorful flower gardens. Monarchs, as most of us may know begin as caterpillars. As caterpillars, they must eat constantly in order to grow big enough, fast enough to turn themselves […]