Spring 2024 Edith J. Carrier Arboretum

General Events

Annual April Wildflower Walks

Join us for an educational stroll with Virginia Master Naturalist Keala Timko. On this walk you will learn about various spring ephemerals and where to locate them in the Arboretum! The first flush of color shown in the arboretum woods include: Bloodroot, Dutchman’s Breeches, Bluebells, Woodland Phlox, Spring Beauty, Trillium, Wild Ginger, Troutlily and Dwarf Larkspur. We love these wondrous wildflowers as they offer the first nectar and pollen to early insects.

Wednesdays April 17 & 24 | 10:30-11:30 a.m. | Meet at the Frances Plecker Education Center

Evenings with Bats: Bat Emergence and Monitoring

1st and 3rd Fridays beginning April 19 | 15 minutes before sunset (7:45pm on April 19)

Members of our local chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists, in partnership with Bat Conservation and Rescue of Virginia will be hosting Evenings with Bats by the pond. Visitors should arrive 15 minutes before sunset to hear a brief presentation about bat conservation and behavior, followed by the opportunity to watch the bats of the Arboretum emerge for their evening hunt. Master Naturalists and BCRV volunteers will also be hosting a bat call monitoring station as part of the evening, and visitors can watch and learn more about acoustic monitoring, and what it's telling us about the bats who live in the Arboretum. Park in the R5 lot, please! Families are welcome.

April 19 | May 3 & 17 | June 7 & 21 | and summer dates to follow!

Shamanic Sound Bath & Holotrophic Breathwork

Shamanic Sound Bathing | April 23rd & September 24th | 5:30-6:45 pm | $40 per session

Sound Bathing | May 21st, June 18th & many more dates | 5:30-6:45 pm | $25 per session

Join experienced musicians & Shamanic healers Connie Magee & Matthew DeRubertis for an unforgettable breathwork session with Shamanic sound healing, amid nature. Gong, chimes, guitar, ukulele, drums, singing bowls, and many other instruments are used creatively to guide you into the deepest possible journey space- where emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical healing can be accessed. Brainwave entrainment has been used for millennia in all cultures, for the healing of their people. Safe container, fully guided. No experience necessary! Bring a yoga mat and wear comfortable clothes.

Master Gardeners' Talk Series: Perennial Planters!

Monday, April 29th | 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

The Master Gardeners will be back during the Spring Celebration Plant Sale to give a demonstration on creating perennial planters. Curious as to what plants at the sale could work in a planter, the Master Gardeners have got the answers for you!

Forest Bathing

Sessions with Tamera Helms: May 1st, 15th, and 29th | 2:00-4:00 pm

Session with Annette Naber: July 2nd | 11:30 am - 1:00 pm

Meet at the Pavilion (near the Pond parking lot)

Forest Bathing, or shinrin-yoku, was developed in Japan in the 1980s as a form of preventative medicine with many scientific studies confirming its beneficial impacts on our sense of well-being and physical health. Experience some of the mindful and multi-sensory exercises that make forest bathing an enjoyable and beneficial nature therapy. Join Tamera Helms, a Nature and Forest Therapy Guide, or Annette Naber, Ph.D. of Emerald Mountain Sanctuary in this guided walk.

Registration required. Maximum of 12 registrants per session.

Bonsai Club Meeting

First Tuesday of each month

May 7th | 6:00-8:00 pm

Meet at the Frances Plecker Education Center

Have you always wanted to explore bonsai as a hobby or are just curious about the art? Join presenters Clark Driver and Simon Jilg at the Frances Plecker Education Center for a short lecture and bonsai displays!

Great garden giveback

As we celebrate our 35th year, we invite you to join us in Seeding the Next 35 Years by creating and enhancing habitats within the Arboretum to make for a more diverse and resilient woodland for many years to come. With your help, we can succeed in our pursuit to usher in a future defined by Restoration, Resilience, and Reciprocity.

Native Shade Garden

While we like almost all plants where ever they’re from, native plants are perfectly adapted for the local ecosystem and provide what the native fauna (animals large and small) need for food and habitat. Layered plantings create more places for animals and insects to hide, rest, and eat; and increased biodiversity will make this ecosystem healthier and more resilient in the face of pressure in the future. This garden will be full of native plants that are happy in the shade to inspire you to consider expanding the number and kinds of natives at your home, or to support their planting elsewhere. The native shade garden is next to the labyrinth, and we invite you to visit as it sprouts and grows this year.

Hillside Wildflower Garden

By eliminating the existing turf, we have begun the process of establishing our new wildflower garden! While it’s true that the grass turf will hold the soil down to prevent erosion, its ecosystem benefits don’t extend very far beyond that. The generous blend of mostly native wildflowers planted here will provide nectar for pollinating insects; create more layers of habitat for the birds, small mammals, and reptiles; and change over time as longer-lived but slower-to-grow perennials take their place over the faster-growing ones. The increased biodiversity will make this space healthier and more resilient in the face of future challenges.

Black Squirrel Stumpery

Wonderful stumps & root plates will be featured along the upper trail where an abundance of ferns and woodland perennials will be planted to grace the trail edge and surround the stumpery that serve as natural sculptures that will provide interest for years as they slowly decompose back into the soil beneath them.

A stumpery is a type of garden developed in the Victorian era to show off a collection of ferns and encourage visitors to appreciate the amazing forms found in stumps, fallen logs, and root plates. As the natural sculpture decomposes over many years, it will also provide habitat benefits for animals—dead trees are just as important as live ones. We love the rustic nature of the upper Arboretum and are excited to enhance the scenery here with something fascinating, beautiful, and beneficial!

Why "Black Squirrel" Stumpery?

The black squirrels of the Upper Arboretum took a liking to the Stumpery. Since the installation began, there have been increased sightings of black squirrels foraging, playing, and using the stumps as their playground!

We don't know whether the melanistic gray squirrels were there first but we only noticed them more because our team has spent more time up there, or if they've just recently moved in and found their forever home. Either way, we are delighted by their presence, so much so that our landscapers informally named the Stumpery after the black squirrels!

Ways to Participate in the Great Garden Giveback

We encourage you to join and support our efforts through volunteering, becoming a member, or donating to our General Arboretum Fund. One new way you can show your support and contribute to this campaign is at our seasonal plant sales! At checkout, you can add your contribution to your total. Depending on your purchase, the proceeds will go towards the procurement of a single perennial, shrub, or a wide spectrum of plants for the various projects around the Arboretum! You will receive specialty EJC Arboretum gifts and goodies as a thank you for supporting our vision for the Arboretum in the years to come.

We welcome all people to join our volunteer team at the Arboretum, whether in landscaping work like the Forest Stewards, with our educational program team, or in other capacities according to their interests regardless of previous experience. To volunteer or to learn more about our opportunities, contact Janis Traas at traasjm@jmu.edu or visit the volunteer page of our website.

Background photo by Chris Timothy

March - April Art Exhibition

Edith J. Carrier Arboretum Welcomes

Kate Duffy

Visit the Frances Plecker Education Center to enjoy Kate's artwork before the end of the month!

"Terrestrial" explores the intrinsic relationship between art and nature. Drawing inspiration from The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, the body of work serves as a testament to the artist’s deep connection to the native flora and fauna of the Shenandoah Valley. "Terrestrial" seeks to cultivate an appreciation for the natural world and inspire a sense of stewardship toward the native plant life of Virginia's Valley & Ridge region.

Kate Duffy is an artist and educator living and working in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. A native of Baltimore, MD, her practice explores the beauty found in the natural world through the techniques of screenprinting and collage. She uses ink and paper to create artwork reflecting time spent outdoors observing and absorbing the environment. Her art is a method of healing. The act of repetition—printing/cutting/pasting the same image again and again—is a restorative practice. Before relocating to the Valley, Kate spent the better part of two decades teaching and participating in Richmond’s arts community.