Did you know that the arboretum is a birdwatching hotspot all year round? And, this weekend is the inaugural Global Birding Weekend, a new event devoted to getting outside and recording as many birds as possible.
Author: Miranda Lemmer
Mushrooms: the hardest working recyclers in the forest
September is one of our favorite months in the Holden Forests and Gardens Soil Ecology lab. Why? Because it is National Mushroom Month. Many people celebrate National Mushroom Month by cooking and eating their favorite mushrooms.
All about Pollinators Series: Moths and Butterflies
Over the past few weeks, we’ve learned why we need pollination and the importance of pollinators such as bees, wasps and butterflies. Although bees are the most efficient pollinators, moths are another group of pollinators, closely related to butterflies in the order Lepidoptera. As a general rule, butterflies are diurnal, meaning they fly during the […]
Top 10 Garden Highlights for August
TOP-TEN GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS for AUGUST Cleveland Botanical Garden This is a walker’s self-guided tour through the Gardens inside-and-out that will help us to discover the magic of local Nature in August. Every month is a new top-ten list! All photos and copy by Mark Bir, HF&G Horticulturist 1. GARDENS WITHOUT BOUNDARIES. Our Gateway Gardens are brimming with […]
How does “the early bird gets the worm” play out in plant communities?
By Katie Stuble, HF&G Research Scientist You’ve heard the phrase “the early bird gets the worm”. We use it to indicate that getting somewhere first can come with big benefits. It’s snagging the choicest donuts in the office lunchroom, or the best seats in the movie theater. And so it goes in the natural world. […]
Exploring Stemcutting Propagation with HF&G’s Connor Ryan
By Connor Ryan, HF&G Rhododendron Collections Manager One of my favorite parts of my job as Rhododendron Collections Manager is plant propagation – creating and growing new plants for our grounds and for our patrons. This is a routine part of the work all public gardens do. We propagate plants to display on our grounds, […]
Exploration of Roses, Family Rosaceae, with Mark Bir
By Mark Bir, HF&G Horticulturist The rose family is diverse, numerous, cosmopolitan. Of its several thousand members are the apples and pears, peaches and plums apricots and almonds, the raspberries and blackberries and all the brambles, the quinces and medlars and mountain-ash (breathe); the strawberries and cherries, the firethorns and hawthorns and loquats, the lady’s […]
Holden Forests & Gardens on Sustainability Defined Podcast
Our director of community partnerships, Sandra Albro, was interviewed by Jay Siegel and Scott Breen for the podcast Sustainability Defined, episode 51: “Urban Greening with Sandra Albro”. Sandra talked with Jay and Scott about how urban green space in cities can help achieve multiple community goals, including stormwater management and equitable access to parks. She […]
Science Friday – Intern program
By Katie Stuble, HF&G Research Scientist As a scientist at the Holden Arboretum, I wear many hats, but one of my favorites is mentor to our summer interns. Each year, Holden’s Research Department brings in students from around the country to join us in our labs, gardens, and forests. These students help us collect valuable […]
What makes a native tree become invasive?
By Randy Long, HF&G postdoctoral researcher Invasive species. The term brings to mind organisms that have been moved around by people, either accidentally or for a purpose, that are now causing problems. For example, here in Ohio we are plagued by invasive plants like garlic mustard, which was introduced by European settlers, that outcompetes native […]
Coding in plant biology, who knew?
By Juliana Medeiros, Plant Biologist I never viewed myself as a math person, let alone a computer coder. I have always loved nature, animals and plants, these are what drew me to plant biology. But somehow, coding has become one of my favorite parts of my research at Holden Forests & Gardens. Looking back, maybe it […]