Photos by Jo McCulty The new North Arboretum is one of the hidden gems that Chadwick Arboretum staff are encouraging people to visit and explore.

Chadwick Arboretum has big plans for Arbor Day

By Randy Gammage, onCAMPUS staff

Ohio State's Chadwick Arboretum is playing a large role in Ohio's Bicentennial celebration this year with the dedication of a planting of 1,000 trees on the northwest rim of the agricultural campus.

The effort is part of a campaign to plant 11 million trees across Ohio -- each representing one Ohio citizen, said Mary Maloney, education and volunteers' coordinator for Chadwick Arboretum.

Representing 120 native species such as buckeye, sweet gum and eastern redbud, the trees are planted in a newly developed section of the arboretum, called the North Arboretum, located north of Dakan Hall, west of Fred Taylor Drive and east of state Route 315.

The trees will be dedicated during an Arbor Day ceremony at 10 a.m. April 25, which includes presentations from Ohio's First Lady Hope Taft, and John Ball, tree expert from South Dakota State University. The dedication is part of a weeklong schedule of events that includes an opportunity for faculty and staff to help plant 200 trees from 3-6 p.m. April 22 in recognition of Earth Day.

"With this Arbor Day event, the whole objective is to get people to come out and see Chadwick Arboretum," Maloney said. "We believe this is a hidden gem here on campus."

The mission is to increase awareness of the arboretum and make it a destination point on campus, much like the Oval. Excitement is building as two new sections will open this year -- the previously mentioned North Arboretum and a Learning Gardens on the grounds surrounding Howlett Hall.

The North Arboretum is anchored by the 1,000 trees -- given to the arboretum in 1997 by Cherie Lucks of Colour Columbus. The trees are arranged to approximate the four major ecological regions of the state -- the glacial plateau, the unglaciated Appalachian plateau, the lake plains, and the till plains. Featuring a two-acre research lake and a willow collection believed to be the largest in the nation, it is a perfect example of the treasures to be discovered at Chadwick, Maloney said.

"We live and work in a very urban environment, but there are many pockets of respite here on campus, many of them nestled right up against state Route 315," Maloney said.

The Learning Gardens includes rare bulb collections, annual and pansy trials, a gazebo garden and select perennial, prairie plant and wildflower gardens.

The new sections will join the traditional Lane Avenue gardens located on Lane Avenue between Fyffe Road and Olentangy River Road, created in 1980 and named for Lewis Chadwick, former professor of horticulture. It is open to the community year-round.

Outstanding features include hosta, conifer, spruce and beech tree collections, and the Lois B. Small and Gladys B. Hamilton Labyrinth Garden, modeled after an 800-year-old Chartres-style labyrinth in France. Dedicated July 16, 2000, the garden is listed on the worldwide labyrinth locator on the Internet, and has generated more requests for tours than any of Chadwick's prized plant collections, Maloney said.

Mayhew Scholars gain valuable horticultural experience while planting trees at the North Arboretum.

The Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens -- comprised of all three sections -- provides a 60-acre testing and learning lab for students in horticulture, landscape architecture, plant pathology, entomology and natural resources. A Mayhew Scholars program -- established with a $2.1 million endowment -- pays tuition, fees and provides a stipend for horticulture students who have an interest in woody plants and also excel in academics. In exchange, the students help maintain the gardens. The Mayhew Scholars have provided the manpower to catalog each of Chadwick's many tree collections, and keep up-to-the-minute records of their growth and durability.

"This allows us to begin to do research on what species do best in this area," Maloney said.

Franklin County master gardeners -- trained through OSU Extension -- are a major force in everything from maintaining the gardens to educating the public. They also staff a horticultural information hotline, open Monday and Thursday from 9 a.m.-noon. Call 247-7313 with gardening questions for central Ohio.

Marilyn Golightly, recognized as the State Master Gardener of the Year in 2002, has volunteered with Chadwick Arboretum for the past 10 years.

Whether making selections for the annual Plant Sale Auction and Gardening Fair (May 9-10, Lane Avenue and Fred Taylor Drive, north of Dakan) or cataloging plants, she gets satisfaction from working with staff and students at Chadwick Arboretum.

"The work is not glamorous, but it is very relaxing, and it gets me outdoors," Golightly said.

She has long recognized the therapeutic value of gardening. As a food and nutrition scientist working in the Washington, D.C. area in 1985, she set up a gardening class to help recovering heart surgery patients that had become depressed.

Now, she advocates the master gardener program and its enormous learning potential.

"I recommend it even if just for stretching the mind," Golightly said.

Chadwick Arboretum hosts a wealth of educational opportunities for the general public, including a popular Home Gardener Series with OSU Extension, and Summer Youth Workshops with the Wexner Center for the Arts.

For more information about tours, educational programs and volunteer opportunities, contact 688-3479 or maloney.23@osu.edu. For details about educational programs, special events, plant sales and plant collections, visit the Web at http://chadwickarboretum.osu.edu/.

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