Visiting the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.

The National Arboretum is a peaceful natural area in Washington, D.C. Yet it also is an active center for both scientific research and public education.

Many people who come to Washington are surprised when they first visit the United States National Arboretum. The Arboretum is only a short drive from the center of the city. However, visitors often feel like they are far from the busy American capital.

The National Arboretum covers 180 hectares of green space in the northeast part of Washington. The area is famous for its beautiful flowers, tall trees and other plants. About 9000 different kinds of plants and trees grow there.

An arboretum is a place where trees and plants are grown for scientific and educational purposes. The National Arboretum was established by an act of Congress in 1927. Today, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service operates the Arboretum.

The goal of the Arboretum is to carry out studies and provide education in an effort to improve the environment. The goal includes protecting trees, flowers and other plants and showing them to the public.

The National Arboretum is a popular stop for visitors to Washington. The grounds are open every day of the year except December 25, the Christmas holiday. Admission to the Arboretum is free.

As many as 600,000 people visit the Arboretum grounds each year. Hundreds of thousands also visit with the help of computers. They use the Arboretum’s Internet web site to learn about how to care for plants and current research programs. Visit the Arboretum online.

Director Thomas Elias says Arboretum officials would like to see even more visitors. He says they believe that many people do not know it exists.

Part of the problem may result from the fact that the Arboretum is about 5 kilometers, or around 3 miles, from the closest train station. Many famous places in Washington are a short walk from Metrorail, the city’s local train system.

The Arboretum is easy to reach by automobile or bus, however. About 15 kilometers, or just over 9 miles, of roads have been built on the property. The roads connect to major collections and seasonal flowers.

The Arboretum also welcomes people on bicycles. Disabled people or those who want to walk only short distances may visit four beautiful areas that are close to each other. People who like longer walks will enjoy the many pathways on the property.

The Arboretum has a small gift store that sells books and other items. Currently, there is no place where you can buy food to eat on the grounds. But, visitors often bring food and enjoy a meal there.

The Department of Agriculture recently announced plans for an addition to the Arboretum. American and Chinese officials have agreed to build a traditional Chinese garden on the property. It will cover an area of almost 5 hectares.

Former Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said the project would increase the American people’s understanding of Chinese garden culture. She said it also would give American scientists a new way to study plants and flowers from China.

A joint team from the two countries is designing the project. Part of the garden will include a small area of fresh water and traditional Chinese buildings. The buildings will have wooden objects similar to those from the Ching and Ming periods of China’s history. Examples of traditional handwriting and artwork will be shown there.

Chinese officials say the garden is a gift from the Chinese people to the American people.

Scientists at the Arboretum have developed many of the trees and flowers now found in the United States and other countries. Over the years, the Arboretum and the Agricultural Research Service have released almost 700 different plants. Each year, they offer several new plants.

Scientists there also have developed virus-resistant plants with processes of genetic engineering.

The Sun Valley red maple is one such example. It was developed as part of a project to study the genetic qualities of leaf color and insect resistance. The tree produces leaves that remain bright red late into autumn. It was tested in the state of Maryland. The Sun Valley maple kept its colorful leaves for about two weeks before they fell to the ground. The tree also resisted the potato leafhopper, an insect that feeds on the leaves of trees.

Arboretum scientists have another important goal: to develop cleaner and safer methods to protect and support plant growth. Environmental laws and public opinion against the use of chemical products for killing insects has increased. Arboretum scientists have worked with chemical companies to create products that use natural substances to deal with insects. They call such substances, biopesticides.

The Agricultural Research Service operates a number of centers and laboratories across the United States. The National Arboretum is best known for its beauty. Visitors can always find flowering plants. You can start looking for flowers in the Arboretum’s Asian Collections, Friendship Garden and National Boxwood Collection.

There also are some very useful plants at the Arboretum, such as those found in its herb garden. Officials say it is the largest designed herb garden in the world.

Herbs can be used in many kinds of food and drinks, but others are medicinal. Herbs also can change the way things smell or add color to cloth. Every plant in the Herb Garden, even the trees, is an herb. The garden contains one hundred different kinds of peppers alone.

The Arboretum also boasts an extensive bonsai collection. Bonsai is the art of growing small plants or trees in a container. It is an ancient Asian tradition. The National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the Arboretum has one of the largest collections of these plants in North America.

Officials say it would be difficult for the Arboretum to operate as well as it does without the support of private organizations. The Arboretum has about 100 employees. Yet it depends on many other people who offer their time and effort without payment.

For example, the Friends of the National Arboretum is a non-profit group that provides financial support. The money is used for Arboretum training programs, the gardens and collections and special projects. The group also reports to Congress about the Arboretum’s special needs.

Another support organization is the National Capital Area Foundation of Garden Clubs. The group has its headquarters at the Arboretum. Its members offer their time to help with the Arboretum’s plant collection. They also serve as guides for visitors. They help thousands of people enjoy the National Arboretum, this beautiful natural area in the nation’s capital.

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Two New Lilacs Debut at National Arboretum

Source:
VOA News Service
Authors: George Grow and Caty Weaver
First published: April 12, 2005

Sustainable Gardens Are Source of Food and Business in South Africa

One of the likely issues for discussion at the World Summit on Sustainable Development is the subject of food security: ensuring people at the greatest risk have a reliable source of food. One of the ways to reach that goal is to encourage even the poorest families to create self-sustainable vegetable gardens. One South African community has converted a barren plot of land into a thriving, sustainable food source and business.

Near the edge of a major roadway in Mkhuhlu, four women are busy at work in a series of small vegetable gardens. They talk about what to pick for their waiting customers.

They are part of a larger group of 25 women who, in the last seven years, have turned a desolate patch of earth into a prosperous vegetable garden and business.

Eunice Nyakana says the group started Bambanani Gardens as a way to feed their children.

She says she is happy today because she has food to give to her children. She says before they created the gardens she and the other mothers felt hopeless. They had no jobs and no money to buy food. Now, she says, even if they do not make money every day, at least they have food to take home.

Twice a week, Moses and Nancy Mathebula buy vegetables here to resell in their village, some 150 kilometers to the north.

As the women fill the bed of her small truck with vegetables, Mrs. Mathebula says she makes the long drive to Mkhuhlu because these women grow the best produce in the area.

"That is why I come here to buy here, because it is very better. And it is fresh. Fresh, fresh, fresh, fresh," said one customer.

Seven years ago, the women never envisioned getting paid to garden. When they asked EcoLink, a local environmental aid group, to teach them how to garden, they were simply trying to put food on the table.

For nearly two decades, EcoLink, with financial backing from Nestle South Africa, has worked with similar groups of women. They say this year, their community outreach projects, like Bambanani, will feed more than 100,000 impoverished South Africans.

EcoLink project manager Solly Mashego says now more than ever, it is important to teach people how to feed themselves. "Just because they cannot get employment somewhere, it does not mean they have to sit down and watch their children dying of starvation," he said.

Elsie Mpatlanyane, the team leader assigned to this project, says the example these women set is a powerful motivator in rural communities like Mkhuhlu. "I think it is important if everyone can copy from others and do the very same thing, maybe we will not suffer as we are suffering now."

The aid group EcoLink says as unemployment and HIV/AIDS continue to devastate South Africa's workforce, projects like Bambanani Gardens could mean the difference for many South African families between survival and starvation.

Source:
VOA News Service
First published: August 26, 2002

Xeriscape gardener conserves water through landscaping

Colorado is a drought disaster area. Much of the western state's water comes from rain and melting mountain snow. But this year, both snowpack and rainfall are at historic lows. In the national forests, the number of wildfires is at a record high, and firefighters are gearing up for more blazes to come. Cities are also bracing for the drought. Because 70 percent of summer water use goes to lawns, flowers, bushes and trees, cutting back on landscape watering has become a major priority. This has put more emphasis on Xeriscapes - a trademarked name for the technique of water conservation through creative landscaping.

The thunderclouds settling over Boulder seem heavy with water. But experienced gardeners know these clouds usually offer more rumble than rain. "When I hear thunder, I don't assume it's going to rain. Even if it's raining hard, it may only rain for five minutes, and that's not enough to water the plants at all," says Mikl Brawner, a professional Xeriscape gardener.

The landscapes he designs feature plants that use water wisely; here in Colorado, that means drought-resistant varieties. On average, Boulder receives only 43 centimeters of rainfall a year. Sunny skies and strong, hot winds add to the speed at which plants dry out. While many gardeners get around these harsh conditions by watering their lawns and flowerbeds daily, Mr. Brawner takes the opposite approach: If a flower or bush needs a lot of water, he doesn't plant it. And if a new addition proves to be a heavy drinker, he doesn't try to save it.

"A lot of plants that I planted that were not appropriate died. You know, some people thought I was very mean to not water them when I could see they were dying," he says. "But I had decided that for the purposes of demonstration for the community, that I would be a test garden and demonstrate for people what you could get, only watering five times a year."

In a small yard next to his garden shop, Mr. Brawner has been experimenting with Xeriscape plants for nearly 20 years. His demonstration garden is open to visitors, who can wander the winding pathways to enjoy its natural woodland look, with shrubs, groundcovers and trees.

The drought-tolerant pink roses, sky-blue columbine flowers and evergreens are watered only five times between June and September. While that may seem a meager amount of moisture, it's enough for those plants, as well as nubby-looking sedum groundcovers and the saucer-shaped leaves of lady's mantle. There's even an apple tree with the first blush of fruit. There's plenty of color and variety, but since plants that receive less water blossom less frequently, once spring rain gives way to summer sun, his garden contains few flowers.

"One flower, there in the midst of other foliage around it, has a very pleasing presence. It makes its statement and then leaves it at that," he laughed. While a thirsty lawn with plenty of flowers is still the norm in Colorado, here at Mr. Brawner's plant store, a steady stream of gardeners is seeking out the beautiful and hardy Xeriscape varieties.

Drought-tolerance is on everyone's mind, because Colorado is bracing for one of the driest summers on record.

"We really are facing a drought for Boulder that, probably no one alive today has really had to face," Chris Rudkin said. He directs water utilities for the City of Boulder. To weather this year's historic drought, the city has begun water rationing. Residents may water their lawns and gardens only twice a week, for 15 minutes at most each time. For gardeners with traditional landscapes, this might not be enough, but Mr. Rudkin said there's no other choice.

"Our mantra for the coming season is 'every drop counts.' It really, really does," he says.

Mikl Brawner is sympathetic toward gardeners whose landscapes might not survive this year but he said he sees a long-term benefit. "We never like to see plants die, but on the other hand, we've had some wet years here that have given us the wrong impression about what Colorado conditions are like. Maybe this year, in spite of the fact that it's going to be hard on a lot of us gardeners, is going teach us more about what real Xeriscape is and getting down to the nitty-gritty of how to garden in really low-water conditions, and still have beautiful gardens," he says.

"Hey, Mikl!" one man exclaims. "Hey! We've been talking so much about drought, it's starting to rain . . ."

As Mikl Brawner greets another customer, the thunderclouds finally release a drop or two and then, the rain stops. But thanks to his many Xeriscape plants, Mr. Brawner's garden continues to grow, a thriving example of what could be Colorado's landscape of the future.

Source:
VOA News Service
Author: Shelley Schlender
First published: June 8, 2002

Biblical Garden Blooms in Pittsburgh

This is a story of a woman who was inspired by the Hebrew Bible to create a garden. The woman is the wife of a rabbi and her garden is located on the grounds of her synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, far from the Bible's ancient setting. The garden echoes the spirit of the Holy Land and celebrates its diverse and exotic flora.

At the corner of a busy city street, hidden by high walls, a piece of the Old Testament blooms in Pittsburgh. There is a cedar tree and date palms and a Mulberry bush, that in season drops bright purple berries on the cement walkway that meanders through the garden.

The grounds are lush with flowers, vines and herbs. There is an artificial waterfall and a patch of desert. Located adjacent to the temple, the garden transports visitors back in time to the landscape of ancient Israel.

There is the Jordan River. "Our little river here is four feet wide. And the Jordan in Israel meanders down to the Dead Sea. We have a sea here, not dead!"

The "Dead Sea" is a small pond with water lilies and lotus blossoms.

Irene Jacob, the wife of Rabbi Walter Jacob, turned this patch of earth into the Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden fifteen years ago and is responsible for what gets planted. "We have Mediterranean plants. And besides the 100 plants that are mentioned in the Bible, we also (have since we are only open in the summer from the first of June through mid-September) my husband and I decided that to add color we would have [to add] plants with biblical names. So, for example, we have Job's Tears, native of India, Moses in the Basket and Joseph's Coat," she says.

Ms. Jacob notes that everything grows in harmony, the pomegranates with the olives, the papyrus with the flax and henna. "Every page of the Bible has mention of plants. People don't realize that. Some plants are mentioned just once, like cotton in the story of the Maccabees and some plants are mentioned over three hundred times like [grapes] for making wine. Sometimes [wine] was easier to get than water," she says.

The biblical garden also grows something that tastes sweet. "We are not quite sure if they had refined sugar in ancient times, but they may have had canes where they [could] suck out the sugar. And, I get those plants from the United States Department of Agriculture. Every year I call them up and he knows that I am the 'crazy' lady in Pittsburgh who wants to grow sugar."

The barley and wheat are germinated from seeds. Other more hard-to-grow tropical plants and trees are displayed in containers under the soil and covered with mulch. When the garden closes they spend the winter in the greenhouse at the temple cemetery.

Each year the Biblical Botanical Garden promotes a special exhibit covering such fertile ground as "Dining with the Ancients," "Cooking with Beer," "The Healing Past," and "The Art of Dyeing", focusing on the plants used to color fabrics.

Irene Jacobs says she hopes that visitors leave knowing they have much in common, ecologically, with their Biblical ancestors. "And we like them to learn about this garden to come here and relax and enjoy. People have told me that in this very turbulent moment, especially in Israel, that it is lovely to come here and relax," she says.

Source:
VOA News Service
First published: June 20, 2003
Author: Rosanne Skirble