Arboretum to celebrate Public Garden Day

May 11th 2012 National Public Gardens Day Schedule

9:30 – 10:30 Name that Bog! At the outdoor classroom

Get to know the Arboretum’s newest attraction. Our new outdoor classroom projects into the world’s most diverse community of carnivorous plants, the bogs of the long leaf pine savannahs of South Alabama. Also incorporated into the display are wildflower meadows, a water feature housing all five genera of carnivorous plants, the mountain bogs of North Alabama, and the rare hillside seeps of the even rarer Alabama pitcher plant.

Name that Bog! Is a competition that will run from now till May 25. If you come up with a catchy name for this complex for carnivores, you can win your very own white-topped pitcher plant! Submissions can be sent to arbinfo@auburn.edu or to our facebook page.

11:00 – 12:00 The Arboretum Azalea Collection

The Arboretum has brought in more than 1,000 deciduous azaleas over the last five years. Several species and hybrids will be in bloom for this tour.

12:00 – 1:00 Pavilion picnic under the fans

1:00 – 2:00 Arboretum Connections

For this program we will meet at the Arboretum pavilion. We will take this opportunity to introduce you to the organizations that have helped us to excel into the world of public gardening. You will learn how and why the Arboretum participates with:

• The Alabama Plant Conservation Alliance
• The North American Plant Collections Consortium
• Lee County Master Gardeners
• The Association of The Public Gardens of America
• The Azalea Society of America

2:00 – 3:00 The Oaks, from Mini to Mighty

During this walking tour you will get the chance to meet more than 30 species of native oaks. We will see some individuals with a limb spread of nearly 100 feet as well as several species of dwarf oaks native to the sandy coastal plains and North Alabama’s rocky outcrops.