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March 2017 Director’s Update – New Faces, Art and Frost

News, Events and Interesting Tidbits from the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens
Director’s Update

The end of 2016 and beginning of 2017 have been very eventful here at the Gardens. Two members of our Garden family, John Denti and Teri Edwards, have retired. Both of these individuals have literally put their blood, sweat and tears into the Gardens and it was bittersweet to see them go, knowing that they have big plans and opportunities in front of them, but that they won’t be rescuing us from ourselves any longer.

When one door shuts another opens. We are happy to announce the addition of two new members of our Garden family: Mary Duke and Aaron Moore. Mary comes to us by way of the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont where she helped manage their gardens, especially their orchid collection, for seven years. Aaron has worked as Assistant Coordinator of North Carolina A&T’s Horticulture Unit where he maintained fields, developed IPM programs, and helped conduct research. We are extremely pleased to have attracted and hired two such skilled people and are looking forward to having them use their talents as these Gardens grow and develop.

 

A Fun Afternoon

 

  

On April 1, the Mecklenburg Historical Association Docents will introduce a new program called “Voices from the Past.” This event will be held in Old Settlers’ and Elmwood/Pinewood Cemeteries where many of the “residents” there will come to life for the afternoon, and visit with the strollers. 

The Botanical Garden’s Director Emeritus Larry Mellichamp will be Dr. Joseph Mellichamp, colonial botanist from Charleston, come to view the plantings in Elmwood Cemetery in the 1800s. [His wife Audrey will portray Mary Baldwin buried in Old Settlers Cemetery. Mary’s husband, Joel Baldwin, was the first to be buried in Old Settlers Cemetery.]

Voices From The Past, Saturday April 1, 2017, 1-5pm. FREE. 

The event is FREE. Parking is free on the street around Old Settlers Cemetery and free in Elmwood Cemetery on the wider streets. Parking structures will charge as usual.
 

Botanical Art in the Greenhouse and at the Center City Campus

We have been developing our artistic side! There’s a new art exhibit at the center city campus presented by Keeping Watch on Habitat. Included in this exhibit are photographs by our own Meredith Hebden as well as a sculpture by Madison Dunaway, Caleb Roenigk and Terry Thirion. In our succulent room Madison Dunaway and Caleb Roenigk have created artwork built to hold and display some of our most interesting specimens. Come by the greenhouse and take a look! 

 
Frost

It has already been a tough year for many of our plants in the Gardens. An early period of warmth followed by cold temperatures has caused blooms to wilt and leaves to burn. The good news is that plants that produce leaves early in the year do so with a contingency plan in place. They anticipate the possibility of a late frost and are usually prepared to produce a second flush of growth soon after the first flush is damaged. For flowers you will probably need to wait until next year, but leaves won’t be gone for long. So don’t cut down your Japanese maple just because some leaves turned brown! They should bounce back in a few short weeks.