Last week, Hoyt Arboretum’s Curator, Martin Nicholson took a rare Friday off. Naturally, that was when a package containing live animals arrived at the Visitor Center. It had been hand-delivered to the front desk, labeled “PERISHABLE”. Luckily, PP&R Horticulturist Vinny was around the corner to recognize the situation for what it was: not a surprise … Read more
You know the drill for a classic summer day: towel, sunscreen, head to the beach. At the Arboretum, we do things a little differently — swap the sand for shade and spend your day at the beech instead. No waves, but plenty of cool, leafy canopy and a breeze rustling through the branches. Meet the … Read more
Summer, especially for children, is a season of making new friends — and at Hoyt, those friends can be tree friends too. It’s the perfect time to slow down, look closely, and learn to recognize your new green companions by the shapes and textures of their leaves. Focusing tree identification around leaf morphology helps young … Read more
On a recent visit to the Dorena Genetic Resource Center near Cottage Grove, Hoyt Arboretum staff stepped into one of the country’s leading quantitative resistance research facilities and saw, firsthand, how science is helping forests keep pace with fast-moving threats. What’s happening at Dorena isn’t abstract. It’s hands-on, large-scale, and urgent. What Is Quantitative Resistance? … Read more
At Hoyt Arboretum, our trails are more than paths through the forest—they’re galleries in a living museum, where trees and shrubs are thoughtfully arranged like exhibits. And this time of year, the Witch Hazel Exhibit steals the show as their signature, spidery flowers begin to unfurl. Some Botanical Background Witch hazels (Hamamelis) are full of … Read more