Entries tagged with ‘arboretum’Page 2
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Ragweed and the Afterlife
Although I have no plans to end up there, I can’t help but imagine what sorts of things might be found in hell. I am, of course, familiar with the traditional images of fire, ragged clothing, and stalagmites, but I believe that the more mundane forms of punishment would actually be the worst. I […]
Butterfly populations at historic lows
Monarch Butterfly on goldenrod flower If you’ve seen a Monarch butterfly recently, (or any butterfly, for that matter) consider yourself lucky. As gardeners, wildlife-watchers and insect-lovers can all attest, there has been a considerable shortage of the graceful creatures in our area so far this summer. The common yellow sulfurs aren’t so common, and the […]
Pasqueflowers in bloom (finally)
Pasqueflowers in bloom Prairie wildflower season has officially begun. Pasqueflower (Anemone patens) is the earliest blooming flower on the prairie. These were just photographed at Kasota Prairie today, and the pasqueflowers near the rock outcrop prairie overlook site in the Arboretum will soon be following suit. The name means “Easter flower” and these plants usually […]
Make your own maple syrup — feel like a pioneer
In an age of grocery stores, dancing celebrities and robotic floor sweepers, we can sometimes feel pretty far removed from our pioneer ancestors. That’s when it’s nice to be able to do something as rugged and self-sufficient as turning tree sap into food. Yes, you too can be like the native people and […]