As we slide into slightly shorter summer days, the light is hanging around long enough that we are sneaking outside after supper to stake up a flower stalk, cut back a rambunctious weed, and lovingly pamper those tomato plants.
This is one of my favorite times of the growing season, as I nostalgically think about how well (or not) all the spring flowering trees did (or not). I can see firsthand that the late April frost killed off the flower buds of two of my favorite flowering trees, the Fragrant Epaulette tree and the Dove tree! Luckily, that just adds to my anticipation for the following season, where I hope the flower buds will decide to become even more abundant due to the store of energy the tree is experiencing this year, since none of its energy has to go to developing seeds.
Dove & Epaulette flowers missed in 2026!
On the other hand so, so many of our fruiting plants are so completely fruitfully abundant, including the pawpaws, black raspberries, black currants and the beachplums, which have decided to fruit for a second year in a row!
‘Titania' Blackcurrants
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Mark your calendar!
Nervous System photographed by Rebecca Millern...
We’re excited to announce that our 6th annual Art in the Garden event will be taking place on July 4th from 12-4 pm. We will be featuring the artistic duo behind Nervous System, whose beautiful sculptural works will be in the arboretum for the season! So if you can’t make it to this event, you will be able to see the two works the rest of the season.
However, you will NOT be able to experience the wonderful pop-up artists that will be here for the day. Plus, the featured artists, Jessica and Jesse, will be present for this event!
Ben Ioffe from Lumi Leaves - I work with real botanical leaves – collecting, preserving, and engraving them. Each piece begins outdoors and ends as a one-of-a-kind work of art, shaped by the leaf's natural form.
Ben Ioffe
Alaina Enslen - During the day, I’ll be sharing my plant-pressing process, demonstrating cyanotypes and printmaking techniques, and offering encaustic botanical jewelry and art inspired by the resilience and imagination of the natural world.
Alaina Enslen
Thistle Pernot - Cordage Project - Thistle Pernot is exploring art as an interactive, interspecies, interdisciplinary practice. Their work is in collaboration with the flora, fauna, and fungs of the Hudson Valley.
Thistle Pernot
Elinor Kwitney Stapylton - American chestnut leaf ID workshop with Microscopes and Nature journaling. Want to learn how to identify American chestnuts?
Elinor Kwitney Stapylton
More Save the Dates:
August 1st - Embroidery Class at Hortus with Flax Fiber Farm’s Adrienne Carlile.
An exploration of plants through embroidery, this class consists of a walk through the arboretum, looking closely at some plants, a show-and-tell of different stitch techniques and how to use them for plant designs, and the chance to either design your own plant mini-badge or stitch a pre-designed native flower! Suitable for beginners and advanced embroiderers alike, this is a class about learning how to look at plants and translate their details into stitches.
This class is limited to 10 people. For more info visit here.
August 16th - Luke Sarrantonio will be back teaching 2 very different fungi classes at Hortus!
Relationships with Fungi… It can seem complicated. For more information, click here.
Forest and Fungi Ecology Walk – Identification and Documentation. For more information, click here.
Luke Sarrantonio at Hortus 2025
I’m sorry that there’s no juicy tidbits about bugs, plants or any interesting garden-related tidbits to share, not that there aren’t any, but I’m now in the final stages of the developing edits of my next book, with a deadline of less than 2 weeks away, so that’s it for this newsletter for the time being!
Thanks for reading along and see you in the garden!
Me & Ribes!
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