Through the camera lens at Jenkins Arboretum
The announcement of a nature photography show brought me to Jenkins Arboretum last week. Jenkins Arboretum is a little gem set in Chester County, barely a mile from Route 202, in Devon, Pa. The arboretum’s 48 acres occupy a steep, wooded slope, with paved pathways winding from the Education Center and parking area at the top of the hill down to a pond edged with cattails.
The main requirement for submitting entries to the sixth annual Visitors’ Photography Exhibition was that all the photographs had to have been taken on the arboretum grounds. This made the exhibit a nice entry point for my visit. Subjects ranged from landscapes views, to beautifully-detailed close-ups of blossoms, to evocative black-and-white photos that captured the stark beauty of the winter woods.
When I was finished admiring the photos, I went outside to walk the grounds. I love the winter landscape, and there was plenty here to look at. Deciduous trees, for instance, seem to have completely different personalities when they’re not camouflaged with leaves.
The canopy of the arboretum is made up largely of towering black oak, chestnut oak, and tulip poplar trees. The understory is planted with a tremendous variety of azaleas and rhododendrons, along with many other shrubs. Wildflowers — all carefully labeled but too many to list here — are planted all along the paths, and the spring “ephemerals” will be emerging in just a few weeks.
My find of the day was American strawberry bush (Euonymus Americanus), a native shrub I had never heard of or seen before. The only euonymus species I know are winter-creeper euonymus (Euonymus fortunei) and winged euonymus, (Euonymus alatus) also known as “burning bush.”
Surprisingly, I could find no mention of Euonymus Americanus in any of my books; I had to go to the Internet for information. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s website offered detailed in--
formation. (https://tinyurl. com/ zum 25 qg) I learned that our native euonymus is known by the common names, “Bursting Heart” and “Heart’s-a-Bustin’.” It’s a deciduous shrub, growing to about six feet with an equal girth, and spreading easily by suckering. It prefers part shade, blooms in May-June, and tolerates clay soil.
Strawberry tree is definitely an unusual-looking shrub, with thin, fastigiate (vertically-growing), bright green stems. The flowers are “insignificant.” It’s the fruit that steals the show and gives the shrub its name; seed pods that look like strawberries burst open in late summer exposing bright red seeds that dangle from the open pods.
The website nativnurseries.com told me that “Wildlife biologists often refer to strawberry bush as an ‘ice-cream plant’ for deer. In fact, deer love strawberry bush so much that it can be non-existent in areas with hungry deer.” If you want to try this plant in your yard, it will need protection. (Jenkins Arboretum fenced in their property about ten years ago, allowing all their collection to remain unbrowsed.)
If you go
Jenkins Arboretum invites all to the photography exhibit:
The photography exhibition features the work of mainly area photographers. All photos were taken at Jenkins Arboretum & Gardens. Prizes were given in two categories – “Close Ups” and “Open.” The show was juried by professional photographer, Peter Kersavich. The exhibition is high caliber and the artwork is impressive. Viewing this show will be a delightful experience for everyone. All are invited free of charge every day between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
A closing reception will be held on Sunday, March 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. and will include a Juror’s Talk and the winning artists’ slideshow, which allows winners to show selected photographs from their entire body of work. The reception is free of charge and open to all. The arboretum is at 631 Berwyn Baptist Road, Devon.
More information at www.jenkinsarboretum.org.
Fun fact
In his painting of the Wood Warbler, ornithologist John James Audubon depicted the birds perched on a stem of the strawberry tree.