Herald Journal Blog

A few brave Dutch irises and snowdrops are debuting in the gardens of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, according to a news release from the Arboretum. A sure sign of spring! Here are more harbingers of the season. We invite you to join in these garden-related fun activities for all ages. For more information, call 952-443-1400 or visit the website at www.arboretum.umn.edu.Weekend Family Fun
Saturdays & Sunday in April & May, noon-4 p.m., Marion Andrus Learning Center
Learn all about mud, earthworms and composing during our April sessions of Weekend Family Fun. Then in May, explore the inner world of flowers and make your own May basket. Activities change monthly and are free with general Arboretum admission.

Cooking Class: Greek Cuisine
Thursday, April 10, 6:30-9 p.m.
Harvest Kitchen, Marion Andrus Learning Center
$50 member/ $60 for non-members
Learn how to create savory Greek cuisine while enjoying a three- to four-course gourmet meal, complete with three complementary wines. For reservations, call 952-443-1422.

11th Annual Plant Information Fair
Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m , Oswald Visitor Center
Educational fair featuring more than 20 plant societies and garden clubs. Plant experts from participating groups will offer advice and answer questions in the Oswald Visitor Center’s MacMillan Auditorium. In addition, special and unusual plants will be available for purchase, along with a variety of books and educational material. Free lectures will cover everything from tree maintenance to growing dahlias. Free with normal gate admission.

Northern Pines Music Foundation Choirs
Sunday, April 13, Oswald Visitor Center
Young Women’s Choir, 1-1:30 p.m.; Young Men’s Choir, 2:30-3 p.m.
Under the direction of David Jorlett, these prestigious choirs have toured globally and have won awards at festivals around the country. They will perform free at the Arboretum’s Oswald Visitor Center.

‘The Painted Garden’ Artist Reception
Sunday April 13, 2-4 p.m.; Reedy Gallery, Oswald Visitor Center
Come and feast your eyes on these graceful images of favorite flowers and meet artist Rick Kochenash. Open to the public and free with Arboretum admission. The exhibit continues through June 8.

Bonsai Forests of Kevin Oshima
April 14-May 4, Oswald Visitor Center, McQuinn Great Hall
Bonsai is the art of cultivating dwarf trees, derived from the Chinese practice of growing miniature plants and developed by the Japanese more than a thousand years ago. For this display, bonsai master Kevin Oshima will exhibit 10 deciduous and evergreen forests from his own collection - ranging from 25 to 100 years old. Oshima will give free demonstrations 1-3 p.m. on Saturdays, April 19 and 26 and May 3.

Great Horticultural Hall of Honor
April 15-Dec. 31; Oswald Visitor Center
The Horticultural Hall of Honor is an exhibit of 51 posters depicting the most significant plant introductions from the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center over the past 100 years and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum over the past 50 years. It’s an impressive collection.

Spring Sauces Cooking Class
Thursday, April 17, 6:30-9 p.m. Marion Andrus Learning Center
Arboretum resident chef Jenny Breen shares her tips and techniques for creating nutritious and delicious menus using locally grown foods. Multi-course meal with three complementary wines. Fee: $50 members; $60 non-members.

Rose-lifting Demonstration
Saturday, April 19, Wilson Rose Garden 8 a.m. - noon (note new date)
Join Arboretum gardeners and members of the Minnesota Rose Society as they unearth buried roses at the Arboretum. Learn how to delicately raise roses in this annual rite of spring. Visitors can participate or learn by watching. Free with general Arboretum admission. Future demonstrations include: Planting Bare-Root Roses on April 26; Rose Pruning on May 3; and Rose Mulching on June 7.

Earth Day Wilderness Walk
Saturday, April 19, 10:30 a.m.
Enjoy a one-hour exploration through Arboretum woods and meadows with naturalist and gardener Richard Gjertson. Each participating family will receive a Nature Conservancy tote bag and a coupon for a free vitamin water. The walk is open to the public and gate admission will be waived for Nature Conservancy and Arboretum members and those who have downloaded a coupon from the Nature Conservancy website (nature.org/minnesota). Normal gate fee is $7 for adults; youths 15 and younger admitted free.

Earth Day Promotion
Tuesday, April 22, all day
The Arboretum will offer free admission to carpoolers, bicyclists and anyone in a hybrid vehicle.

Cooking Class: Crazy About Curry
Thursday, April 24, 6:30-9 p.m.
Harvest Kitchen, Marion Andrus Learning Center
$50 member/ $60 for non-members
Learn how to create delicious Indian fare while enjoying a three- to four-course gourmet meal, complete with complementary wines. Must be 21 to attend. For reservations, call 952-443-1422.

‘Catch the Early Bird’ Birding Walk
Saturday, April 26, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Meets in Ordway Parking Lot
Wander the Arboretum grounds with a staff naturalist who knows the best “out of the way” trails and hidden corners for bird-watching. Learn more about our winged Minnesota neighbors (and passers-through), and deepen your appreciation for the beauty they bring to our lives. Meet in Ordway Parking Lot. Free with Arboretum admission.

Paul Gruchow Essay Contest and Reading
Saturday, April 26, 2-5 p.m.
Fee: $5 members/ $12 non-member. Includes gate fee. Fireplace Room, Snyder Building
Join us for a reception to announce the winners of the 2008 essay contest. Includes readings by winners and by authors Joe and Nancy Paddock. See www.writersrising up.org for essay contest rules. Presented by Writers Rising Up and the Arboretum’s Adult Education Department.

“Discover Trees” Exhibition
April 28-Oct. 12, Snyder Building lobby
An informational and educational salute to trees, focusing on useful and unusual aspects of many of the trees in our regional landscapes.

Learn Techniques of Nordic Walking
Thursday, May 1, 2:30 & 6:30 p.m.
Outside of Oswald Visitor Center
If you’ve seen groups of people striding around city lakes swinging ski poles, you’ve witnessed one of the fastest growing fitness trends in the country - Nordic Walking. Linda Lemke, from Hoigaard’s, will demonstrate the use of Nordic walking poles. She will be bringing 30 pairs of poles to use, free of charge. Look for Hoigaard’s flag out front of the visitor center. First come, first served.

“Celebrating Our Roots” Plant Sale - Bare Root Hosta and Ornamental Grasses
Saturday, May 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Welcoming Terrace, Oswald Visitor Center
Select from more than 40 varieties of hosta and more than 30 types of cold-hardy ornamental grasses in this fun sale on the Welcoming Terrace of the Oswald Visitor Center.

11TH Annual BudBreak 5K Run/Walk
And Youth Daffodil Dash Run/Walk, Sunday, May 4, start time 9 a.m.
The 5K Run/Walk is a certified asphalt course that winds through the scenic spring landscapes of the Arboretum including challenging hills and prairies. Kids ages 5 - 12 can join in the Youth Daffodil Dash Run/Walk along a 1-mile course through the Dayton Wild Flower Garden. Fee for advance registration is $18 for members or $20 for non-members; $25 for race-day registration. Fee includes general Arboretum admission and specially designed Bud Break t-shirt. Limit 500 participants. Prizes will be awarded in various age brackets. All Daffodil Dash participants will receive a medal. For information or to register: 952-443-1454 or check out the website at www.arboretum.umn.edu.

Frogging Rendezvous
7:30 - 9 p.m. Thursdays, May 8 & 15, Spring Peeper Meadow
Enjoy a raucous symphony of croaking frogs and learn all about these interesting amphibians from an Arboretum naturalist. Bring a strong flashlight. Meet in Spring Peeper Meadow Parking Lot.

‘Jack-in-the-Pulpit’ and More Wildflower Walk
Saturday, May 10, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
This leisurely one-hour ramble with an Arboretum naturalist focuses on all the new blooms in Arboretum woods. Free with admission. Meet in the Ordway parking lot.

SummerHouse Opening
Thursday, May 8
Shop for fresh, local produce, University of Minnesota meats (including brats and breakfast sausage), gardening supplies and heritage vegetables at the SummerHouse, located on the grounds of the Horticultural Research Center, at the intersection of Rolling Acres Road and State Highway 5, one mile west of the Arboretum. Open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ask about the SummerHouse’s participation in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. For SummerHouse information: 952-443-1409.

Arboretum Auxiliary Spring Plant Sale
Saturday, May 10, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Sunday, May 11, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Margot Picnic Shelters near Andrus Learning Center
It’s the Arboretum’s annual spring plant sale featuring an amazing selection of plants, including hard-to-find varieties, and University of Minnesota introductions. General Arboretum admission applies.

Mother’s Day Brunch at the Arboretum
Sunday, May 11, Seatings: 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., & 1:30 p.m.
MacMillan Auditorium, Oswald Visitor Center
Enjoy a delicious Arboretum brunch followed by a stroll through the spring gardens. Adults and children ages 8 and up, $17.95 members / $20.95 non-members; children ages 4 - 7, $9.95 members / non-members; children age 3 and under, free. Reservations and advanced payment required. Call 612-624-7173 for reservations.

Birding Walks
Wednesdays, May 14 & May 28, and Saturday, May 17, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Join our Arboretum naturalist on a fun and educational birding exploration. Free with admission.

Tastes from the Spring Garden Cooking Class
Thursday, May 15, 6:30-9 p.m., Andrus Learning Center
Chef Jenny Breen prepares a delicious menu featuring locally grown foods. Multi-course meal with three complementary wines. Fee: $50 member, $60 non-member. 952-443-1422.

Treeology Summer Exhibition
May 24-Oct. 12
This summer’s exhibition “Treeology” is a salute to the power and wonder of our leafy friends. Components include an “Art ‘n’ Trees” artwalk of large sculptures and installations, a “Grown Home” rustic abode with living willow furniture, Tree Discovery Zone and a Tree-mendous Trees walk. Free with gate admission.

Arboretum admission is $7 for adults, free for ages 15 & under and members. For more information about events and programs at the Arboretum, visit www.arboretum.umn.edu or call 952-443-1400.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the largest public garden in the Upper Midwest and a premier northern arboretum, is part of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota and developed as a community and national resource for horticultural and environmental information, research, and public education. It is located nine miles west of I-494 on Highway 5 in Chanhassen. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity employer and educator. The Arboretum is disability accessible; the buildings and terraces are smoke free.