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Bean ‘Painted Lady’ abundant beans and attractive flowers
Broccoli ‘Gypsy’ reliable, many smaller side shoots into the winter after the main heads are harvested
Cauliflower ‘Cheddar’ lovely orange colours
Beet ‘Chioggia’ reliable performer at UBC
Cabbage ‘Mellissa’ hardy variety, suitable for the winter garden, very reliable
Cucumber ‘Salad Bush’ great in containers
Tomato ‘Sweet Million’ cherry tomato, loads of fruit, resistant to late blight
Pac Choi ‘Joi Choi’ very white stalks, grows quickly
Kohlrabi ‘Kongo’ grows quickly
Lettuce ‘Mesclun, Cooks Mild Mix’ big fan of leaf lettuce salad blends that can be harvested young, cut and cut again as they keep on growing
Strawberry ‘Totem’ most common for a reason, reliable
Blueberry ‘November Glow’ good sized berry, a little later fruit and great fall colour
Raspberry ‘Kitsilano’ large fruit, won our student taste-testing a couple of years ago
Raspberry ‘Nootka’ very good, sweet, large fruit
Fig ‘Brown Turkey’ grown all over the Lower Mainland
Kiwi (Chinese gooseberry) ‘Annasnaja’ will ripen on vine, very sweet, less vigorous than large fuzzy fruit varieties
Plum ‘Cannor Gold Plum’ delicious, golden-yellow fruit
Pear ‘Aurora’ consistently good crops
Apple ‘Melba’ softer than some varieties but great flavour, some disease resistance
Apple ‘Gravenstein’ old variety, large fruit, crisp
]]>From the home page of the new site:
John Davidson (1878–1970), also known as “Botany John,” was a Canadian botanist, educator and conservationist who touched many lives through his teachings and public lectures.
His accomplishments include the creation of the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden, the University of British Columbia Herbarium and the Vancouver Natural History Society.
Expansive documentation of the life and work of this avid photographer and diligent record-keeper resides in the University of British Columbia Archives, the City of Vancouver Archives, the University of British Columbia Herbarium and the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden.
Read about John Davidson and his achievements, browse through over 5,000 digitized objects and dive into his work and presentations. The activities section will take you on a 1927 botanical exploration of Garibaldi Park and allow you to hand-tint some of Botany John’s digital lantern slides, while the learning aids will help you understand the technical jargon and provide helpful facts about herbaria and lantern slides. Explore and learn!
And some previews!
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On Saturday October 27, 2007, UBC Botanical Garden held the 2nd Annual Boootiful Botany Haunted Halloween Event.
This is a spooktacular event where children and their families use a map to search the Garden for a series of trick or treat plant stations. At each plant station they are greeted by a volunteer who stamps their map, shares unique botanical information about the plant at that station, and hands out Halloween treats. Following this scavenger hunt, the children also enjoyed a series of Halloween crafts and games. As with last year, the event was a great success with 730 community members of all ages in attendance, decked out in weird and wonderful Halloween costumes.
My sincere thanks goes to all of our volunteers whose enthusiasm and help are integral to the continued success of educational community events at the Garden. The 2007 Boootiful Botany Haunted Halloween Event was supported by the assistance of 31 UBC student volunteers. Some of these student volunteers were international students that were new to Canada and eager to help so that they could experience their first North American Halloween celebration.
Thank-you also to our staff volunteers, which included:
Ingrid Hoff, Jodi and Natalie Simkin & Family, Jackie Chambers, Mindy Li, Patrizia Todaro, Lindsay McGhee, Raakel Toppila
And thank-you to our event sponsors:
HENRY EDDIE FOUNDATION, AUTOPLAN BROKERS (Alexander Park & Associates Ltd, Axis Insurance, Kitsilano Insurance Agency Ltd, Deak Agencies Ltd, William Parton Agency Ltd, Winram Insurance Ltd, Vanguard Insurance Brokers Ltd), FORSTBAUER FARM, UBC BOTANICAL GARDEN
Please enjoy the photos and feedback below! Thank-you to Lindsay McGhee for the wonderful photos!
“My husband and 4 year old son had a wonderful time and they enjoyed all aspects of the event. My husband was impressed by the students who were running the event, as they were enthusiastic and very good with the kids. My son really liked the scavenger hunt and when he got home he was able to describe almost all the plants that he found on the hunt. He kept the map because he wants to go back to the Garden again to see the plants that he found. It was nice to see him so excited about plants.”
“This was a great event. Our daughter, who is just 4 years old, loved all of it. She is so interested in everything to do with nature. You made it fun and informative. It was well thought out with the stamps, so that the kids could make sure they saw everything. Well done.”
“Dear Nadine, I went with my two boys (3 and 5). The boys loved the treasure hunt style, and exploring the small trails in the garden. They were excited by the licorice fern, the candy tree, the story of the Jack-O-Lantern, the activity centre and the crafts. The volunteers were exceptionally enthusiastic and welcoming. And there was even candy! The event was a bigger hit than Halloween night itself. We will definitely come next year if it is on.”
“It was great having someone at every stop with info or a story about the tree/plant. Of course, the kids enjoyed the treats too. The feeling boxes were well done and it was great to get the small pumpkins from the garden to decorate. The jack o lantern story was well done, and the games and crafts were an added bonus to the walk around the garden.”
“Hi Nadine, My husband took our 5-year-old granddaughter. They both thought it was a wonderful event! It was a high interest introduction to the garden and plants for our granddaughter. The scavenger hunt keeps interest going, and it was a pleasant and enjoyable time for the adults as well.”
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This is always a really, really fun family event. These photos were taken this morning just as the set up was getting started.
Please click here to read all about this year's Apple Festival (including details on how to arrive by public transit or car). There are lots of activities scheduled, and the weather people are forecasting a perfect weekend--we hope that you can make it!
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It might not look exciting to most people, but we are thrilled by this generous donation.
We have been given a huge amount of chipped wood that has allowed us to improve unsafe pathways and to get control of the weeds in some difficult areas. Here are a few photos of Brendan and Chris using the donated wood chips to rebuild Upper Asian Way in the Asian Garden. We have also used many, many loads of these chips to mulch the new beds in the Carolinian Forest.
Horticultural Manager Ingrid Hoff explains: "the mulch has come from South Campus and is part of a sustainability initiative spearheaded by UBC Properties Trust. By locally re-using raw materials, which must be removed from the area on south campus due to neighborhood development, truck traffic and carbon emissions are greatly reduced. We are grateful for the support of Al Poettcker, Rob Wood and Paul Young."
A big thank you from all of us!
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We are very fortunate to have found these four great people.
Gemma, Mia, Shasta and Shalea are all graduate students in the UBC Landscape Architecture Program. They are doing a fantastic job in caring for the garden and we hope that their work here helps with their future careers (and their tuition).
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"If the weeds don't grow, whatcha gonna hoe?"
We've decided that the horticulturists here need a catchy saying to challenge Tom's popular turf-centric motto that I wrote about earlier this week. Tony had a shot at it. I'm thinking hard about it. I wonder if there are any plant lovers out there that could help us out?
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Day 6 was, for the most part, a travel day. A few side excursions were made along the way, including a trip to Domingo Pass in southern Oregon. The first photograph shows a view of the Alvord Desert taken from Domingo Pass. The Alvord Desert is tucked below the east side of Steens Mountain. After arriving at our destination of Frenchglen (population: 11), we decided to scout the Steens Mountain, where we spent an entire day collecting (I'll write about this in the next entry). In the meantime, the second photograph is a teaser – it's a view of Kiger Gorge near the summit of Steens Mountain.
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"If you can't mow it, don't grow it!"
Visitors to the UBC Botanical Garden will probably recognize Tom right away. He has been with the garden for quite a while and works hard to keep all of the turf areas looking terrific. Tom certainly has a passion for his work. I'm not sure if his motto fits with the garden's collections policy, but it always makes me laugh when he says it.
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On day 4, we travelled from Elko, Nevada to Great Basin National Park, stopping along the way to visit the east side of the Ruby Mountains and look for seed. Though not very successful in finding much plant material, we did spot deer, owls, vultures, hawks, dozens of jack rabbits and a few reptiles.
We were, however, successful in finding the Great Basin bristlecone pine (curiously enough, on the bristlecone pine grove trail at GBNP). We don't have a permit to collect in National Parks, so the trip was for our own satisfaction (the only sidetrip, really, of the whole expedition) of seeing these three-thousand year old wonders.
After supper in Baker at the unique Lectrolux Café, we travelled back to Ely for a quick night's rest, and then headed out early on the road to Winnemuca, with one moderately successful stop along the way for seed collection – despite the temperature which creeped above 40C (105F).
Tomorrow, we arrive in the Steens Mountain area, and we'll be offline for a couple days.
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I haven't posted in a couple of days. On the night of the third day, I was simply too tired (and last night I didn't have web access), so I've a bit of catching up to do.
On the third day, Brent and I visited the Ruby Mountains, and specifically Lamoille Canyon (southeast of Elko, Nevada). A few collections were made on what turned out to be a very pleasant day; the southwest US is baking in the heat right now, but at elevation, things are not so bad (though you do need sunscreen!). In Lamouille Canyon, you can drive from 1900m (6200 ft) to about 2625m (8600 ft) (I'm citing from memory, which may be off), and then hike even higher. We had to top 9000 ft, of course, so we went for a bit of walk. Quite a few people visit the top of the canyon and hike, I suspect to escape the heat of the valley below (particularly because you can jump in an alpine lake and cool off before returning).
In case you're wondering where the flower photographs are, I'm saving those for Botany Photo of the Day when I return. Just a few landscapes for now!
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Brent and I had a somewhat more leisurely day today as we travelled from Caldwell, Idaho to Elko, Nevada, a distance of about 400km (250 miles). We stopped a number of times and Brent made a few collections along the way, including a site along a stretch of highway that had quite a bit of litter. Still, there was beauty to be found. After arriving in Elko, we decided to scout tomorrow's destination, the nearby Ruby Mountains (the landscape photograph).
The biological highlight of the day, though, had to be the mass swarms of Anabrus simplex or Mormon cricket. I had only taken the road-view photograph of the insects to get an idea of the size of the bug, so it doesn't show the greater density of insects we later witnessed (about 10-15x as dense). In some areas, there were easily 20 individuals per square meter – the highway was stained red in places where the katydids had gathered and died en masse. It was quite unnerving to walk among them and have the grass audibly rustle as they half-hopped, half-skittered out of the way. The linked article discusses the swarming behaviour, though doesn't provide a reason behind its origin.
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Day one is over, and it's been smooth sailing so far. Today was primarily a travel day, so there wasn't much opportunity to photograph or collect seeds. Brent and I drove nearly 1000km (600 miles) from Burnaby, BC to Caldwell, Idaho (and had a 2 hour border line-up wait as well), with the day starting at 5:30am for me and now finishing sometime around 1am. Tomorrow will be a bit more relaxed, as we have less than half that distance to travel to Elko, Nevada.
We did stop at the scenic overlook southeast of Ellensburg to gawk at some Eriogonum species. For a bit of a lark (and to test some things out, like our GPS and map plotting systems), Brent did end up collecting seeds from one species – Erigeron linearis, which I featured on BPotD a few days ago.
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Some photos of professional tree workers learning the latest techniques.
We have been very happy this last year to partner with Arboriculture Canada Training and Education to present professional development opportunities for arborists. These photos from just outside the BC Native Garden are of instructor Thor Clausen leading a session on hazard and danger tree cutting and falling. Everyone had an amazing time!
Education is an important part of the garden's mission and we host many classes offered by UBC faculties and outside organizations as well as presenting our own series of courses and lectures. If you would like to read more about education and outreach at the garden you can click here. To check out the program that Education and Community Outreach Coordinator Nadine Diner has planned for this spring click here.
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