Archive for 2013Page 2
Perry Smiles, Anthesis is Near
It’s now official – Perry the Corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) will bloom soon! We were able to detect a bit of spathe by peeking into Perry’s shoot during the photo session this past Friday (October 11). Over the weekend, Perry smiled in all his/her glory, and this morning (Monday) at about 10:00 we had a […]
Perry’s Smile Brews
Perry the Corpse Flower’s shoot continues to grow rapidly in both height and girth. We took some pictures today (October 11) of Perry with now-standard Perryophiles Nate Friedley (Gustavus ’15), Serenity Mahoney (Gustavus ’15), and Nick Ulen (Gustavus ’15), shown left-to-right in the photo. For direct comparison, I’ve included a photo from last week’s blog […]
Wooly Bear Caterpillar, Interpreting the Fall 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….. “Look Out!” by Sara Lundgren ’15 As a cross-country runner I run across many creatures on the side of the road almost daily. Recently […]
New England Prairie Aster, Interpreting the Fall 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….. New England Prairie Aster by Jennifer Steffen September 24th, 2013 Sunny; fair skies; Temp Low 70’s I was out in Purple Coneflower Prairie a little […]
Perry is Popping
Perry the Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum) is growing like Jack’s Beanstalk! The new shoot appeared about two weeks into September (see the photo from September 13, scaled to Tuan’s hand), and it was, as of Friday, October 4, approaching 20 inches / 50 centimeters in height! I won’t make a declaration as to the nature […]
Insights From a Fall Tree
Maple leaf Falling down Showing front Showing back -Ryokan, Japanese Zen poet It is officially autumn. The birds and squirrels are busy creating caches of seeds for the winter, the grasshoppers are busily eating all the grass, and the leaves are changing color. I know that a lot of people have mixed feelings about this […]
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 […]