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Kalmia
September 04, 2020Welcome to our e-newsletter, "The Laurel Branch."
New Card Reader
There is a fun and quick new way to make a donation to Kalmia Gardens every time you visit. Just swipe your credit or debit card at the kiosk for a fast and thoughtful donation of five dollars. We will be using the donations to help us complete different projects around the Gardens. Keep your eyes open for the improvements, and swipe often!
Drawn to Birds: A Sketching Workshop with Liz Clayton Fuller
Grab your pencil and paper and learn how to sketch nature and birds with Natural Science Illustrator Liz Clayton Fuller. The 1.5-hour workshop is on September 12, from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Liz will guide you through four bird-focused drawing exercises designed to help you build confidence in fundamental drawing techniques, heighten your observational skills, and see the world with an artist's eyes. The cost is $12.99, and you can sign up HERE.NASA and Camp Discovery Are Asking For Your Help
Have you ever dreamed of becoming a scientist...even helping out NASA? Become a citizen scientist with Camp Discovery. What does this mean? Well, Camp Discovery is partnering with NASA to participate in the GLOBE Observer Tree Challenge. By measuring tree heights, you help scientists determine the overall health of an ecosystem. NASA will use your tree measurements along with satellite data to understand how our climate is changing.
All you have to do is download the free GLOBE Observer app from the App Store or Google Play and input the referral code below. Then, just start measuring trees. REFERRAL CODE: GLIDZNMX
To learn more, visit https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/15/18308044/nasa-app-point-smartphone-trees-picture-height-satellite-why
Thank you for contributing to the care of our natural world!Spaces Still Available in the Kalmia Club for Kids
This summer, with the help of a generous grant from the F. Allen and Louise K. Turner Foundation, Kalmia Gardens of Coker University is launching the Kalmia Club for Kids (KCK), a subscription-based club in which local children can access STEAM-based educational projects bi-monthly through an assigned mailbox located outside of Kalmia’s Joslin Education Center.
It’s our hope that the activities and projects the KCK members find in their boxes will ignite their scientific curiosity and open their minds to the wonders of the natural world.
The projects will consist of Next Generation Science Standard activities. Some of the projects and activities will need to be completed at Kalmia Gardens by KCK members and their parents/guardians. KCK membership perks include tickets to events, such as a Santa Claus meet-and-greet at Kalmia’s annual Christmas Open House, early registration for Kalmia’s summer environmental education camp, Week in the Wild, and exclusive field days at Kalmia Gardens, which include nature study and outdoor play.
The KCK is open to a maximum of 20 1st – 6th graders and costs $60 per year. KCK registration is open now. Interested participants can contact Dan Hill at dhill@coker.edu.
Volunteer Days
Are you interested in picking up some gardening tips while lending a hand at the Gardens? If so, you are in luck--volunteer days are back! We will meet in the main parking lot at Kalmia Gardens on Thursdays at 8 a.m. starting on September 17th. Having work gloves and favorite hand tools are suggested, and masks will be required (so please wear your mask). If you can’t make it on the 17th don’t worry we will meet every Thursday at 8 a.m. If you have any questions, email Mary at mridgeway@coker.edu. We’ll see you on Thursdays!
Chris's Tip Fall is for planting. Get the right plant for the right place, and then dig. I like to make a hole twice as large as the root ball. Then I place the plant in the hole to make sure it’s level, find the proper facing of the plant, and be sure I’m not going to bury the top of the root ball (plant roots need air, too)! Then I’ll remove the plant, water the hole, loosen the root ball and plant the plant…remembering not to pack the soil too tight. I also like to make a drip ring to help hold in the water that I add after I have planted the plant. Finally, I add an inch or so of mulch and it’s done. Happy planting!Dan's Interesting Plant
In this edition on my interesting plant, I’m going to write about one my friend Charley B. told me that he and his childhood friends used to hurl at one another. They would run around and try not to get pummeled by the green, brain-like fruits of this plant that the neighborhood kids were tossing about. Charley grew up in Illinois, but this tree’s pre-Columbian range was largely restricted to the Red River drainage of Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, as well as the Blackland Prairies and Post Oak Savannas. A disjunct population also occurred in the Chisos Mountains of Texas. It has since become widely naturalized in the United States and Ontario. Charley and company would get their fruit ammo from a female tree, as this interesting tree is dioecious, meaning female and male flowers are found on different trees. Though the greenish yellow fruits which are 8-15 cm in circumference were the armament of choice for these kids, Native Americans had a different defense strategy involving this tree. The people of the Osage Nation would walk hundreds of miles to collect this wood for bow making. In fact modern archers claim this wood is far superior to that of the English Yew for bow making. Can you guess this interesting plant?
It’s Osage orange Maclura pomifera. There is a lot more fascinating information about this “interesting plant.” Come see me for more stories about this or any other plant in the Gardens.
Beautiful Plants of Kalmia Gardens
Abelia (Abelia grandiflora)
Baptisia (Baptisia australis)
Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii)
Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Coneflower, Purple (Echinacea purpurea)
Coralbean (Erythrina herbacea)
Daylily (Hemerocallis varieties)
Dill (Anethum graveolens)
Elderberry (Sambucus americana)
Feverbark, Georgia (Pinckneya pubens)
Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides)
Germander (Teucrium chamaedrys)
Honeysuckle, Coral (Lonicera sempervirens)
Hydrangea, Japanese Blue (Hydrangea macrophylla)
Hydrangea, Oakleaf (Hydrangea quercifolia)
Jasmine, Confederate (Tracelospermum jasminoides)
Lantana (Lantana species)
Lizard's Tail (Saururus cernuus)
Magnolia, Southern (Magnolia grandiflora)
Pomegranate (Punica granatum)
Queen Annes Lace (Daucus carota)
Rhododendron, Rosebay (Rhododendron maximum)
Rose, Butterfly (Rosa chinensis Mutabilis)
Rose, Knock Out (Rosa Knock Out)
Rose, Pink Knock Out (Rosa Pink Knock Out)
Rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus)
Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)
Thyme (Thymus species)
Ti-ti (Cyrilla racemosa)
Trumpet-vine (Campsis radicans)
Water-lily (Nymphaea odorata)
Wintergreen, Spotted (Chimaphila maculata)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Yucca (Yucca filamentosa)
Contact:Mary Ridgewaymridgeway@coker.edu, (843) 383-8145