2008 Calendar of Events
Green is in! You’re invited to another exciting free workshop at the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens at James Madison University, and become an expert on one of our region’s garden favorites! The workshop Tuesday, October 14, 2008 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM, at the Frances Plecker Education Center will focus on one of nature’s botanical show-offs!
It is said that, “nature produced ferns to prove what it could do with leaves.” The clearly seen erect parts of ferns are the leaves… but where is the stem? And what are all those little dots on the backs of fern leaves that are attractively arranged, even artistic? Are ferns flowering plants? Do they produce seeds? How do they reproduce? Have you ever heard of a frond, a fiddlehead, a sorus, a gametophyte? How many kinds exist? Where do they grow? Do they have value? 
The EJC Arboretum will offer a free workshop where Dr. Norlyn Bodkin will answer these questions and will include a hands-on element of the workshop using live specimens and herbarium sheets of species found in our region. You'll learn the secrets of this beautiful group of vascular plants found in diverse ecosystems throughout our planet, but that remain little known to most people. You’ll probe the mystery of ferns using a 20X hand lens and even a dissecting microscope to see fern structures. You’ll get to experience the method professional botanists use to identify plants: diagnostic keys. Keying uses a dichotomous method that will lead to solving the name of the subject species! And yes - keys are books! In this exciting way, you’ll learn to identify various fern species.
Attend this workshop with a friend or fellow garden enthusiast, and you’ll know the difference between ferns, fern allies, gymnosperms and angiosperms and have a great time in the learning process. You’ll broaden your understanding of how important ferns are and how they fit into plant ecosystems. And after attending this workshop, the ferns in your garden will be the most vibrant and green they can possibly be! For more information contact the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens at (540) 568-3194.
For too-long a span of years the amphitheater at the EJC Arboretum has been quiet. No longer! Yoko Ono sang years ago, “Who has seen the wind… neither you nor I. But when the trees bow down their heads… the wind is passing by.” You might not see wind moving the Arboretum trees, but on October 
3rd 6:00 PM you will see the winds!
For the first time, the EJC Arboretum will offer a musical performance featuring chamber music by JMU School of Music student woodwind ensembles. You’ll hear the sweet strains of a flute trio, clarinet quartet, and a woodwind quintet. With an already impressive program of three student groups, this concert offers even further entertainment by including members of the Montpelier Wind Quintet, JMU’s faculty woodwind chamber ensemble in-residence! Beth Chandler will perform on flute; Janice L. Minor, clarinet; Susan Barber, bassoon; and Jeb Wallace, horn. This concert will include works by Damase, Milhaud, Michael Henry, Eler, Rossini, and others, and is the first of three concerts in a series scheduled for October 3, October 10, and October 17!
Students and their parents visiting for JMU Family Weekend are invited to stop in to Festival dining hall close to the Arboretum, or any of the other JMU Dining Services locations, and purchase a take-out dinner, a bagel, sandwich or salad and beverage. Bring your brown bag meal or your JMU dining services take-out meal with your blankets and lawn chairs and enjoy your dinner and the free concert at the Arboretum amphitheater!
Walk, ride your bike, take a bus or drive, come however you can to get to the EJC Arboretum Friday afternoon, October 3rd at 6:00 to about 7:30 PM. with your blankets and lawn chairs and your best friends, including the four legged ones if you want, for this kick-off concert in a series of Fall season free outdoor concerts that will be performed at the EJC Arboretum and Botanical Gardens’ outdoor Amphitheater.
October 10th, walking on the wild side in the EJC Arboretum Amphitheater, 5:00 PM, you’ll hear folk rock band Wild Animal Party. Their music will be the celebration! The wildlife of the EJC Arboretum will rock with folksy acoustic guitar and gutsy Dylan-like lyrics put to song. And for October 17, there’s no roof to raise at the amphitheater so all of Harrisonburg could witness the skies turning dusky blue at 5:00 PM with Post-Apocalyptic Blues band. Come be part of music that will challenge your world. Let the pressures of the week drop away and let yourself find renewal in this band’s unique style of blues!
Let the concerts begin! Check back for future concerts, or phone 568-3194. Since these concerts are under the open sky, inclement weather automatically cancels the event.
Fall is the best time to plant in you garden! Temperatures moderate, soils hold warmth for root development, and bulbs and perennials that you plant in October establish themselves in preparation for a spring garden at your home that will burst into enviable, lavish, lively color!
The EJC Arboretum and Botanical gardens at JMU will host is annual Fall Plant and Bulb Sale at the Frances Plecker Education Center on the arboretum and garden grounds, Saturday October 4th, and Sunday October 5th from 9:00 until 3:00 both days. The Fall Plant and Bulb Sale will feature a wide assortment of tulips daffodils, crocus, allium (Giant Blooming Onion), arum (Lords and Ladies), chionodaxa (Glory of the Snow), Colchicum (Meadow Saffron), sternbergia (Lily of the meadow or Winter Doffodil), and iris.
Choose from many selections in these bulbs plus shop other native plants and shrubs. Find the JMU colors in our gold and purple collections in tulip and crocus! After you shop for your garden in Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical 
Gardens, you have the added benefit of speaking with the arboretum staff for their expert 'how-to' advice.
And when you've made your bulb and plant selections, don't leave for home until you have browsed through our art gallery that will exhibit beginning October 1st the work of David Kreider, pyrographic artist. We have a collection of individual private artists', Sierra Club, and Pomegranate stationery for sale too! To make shopping with the arboretum more convenient you can now pay for all of your purchases with most major credit cards. All purchases support Harrisonburg's favorite place to go to unwind and relax, and favorite place for marriage proposals: The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum is open daily from dawn to dusk free to the public!
Enjoy a guided tour of founding father James Madison's Landmark Forest, a 200 acre old growth forest virtually undisturbed by mankind. On Saturday, October 25th, Dr. Norlyn Bodkin will take participants on a 90-minute journey through the Landmark Forest also known as the "Big Woods." Red, scarlet, chestnut, black and white oaks, tulip poplars, mockernut and pignut hickories are up to 250 years old and range in size up to 60 inches in diameter in this forest! Enjoy an undisturbed understory of dogwoods, redbuds, spicebush honeysuckle all in full fall colors. The woodland floor is also rich with a diverse population of native wildlife.
The Big Woods, a remnant of the original hardwood forests that once blanketed the Piedmont, was designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1987 by the U.S. Department of Interior and recognized as the best example of a deciduous old-growth forest in the Piedmont. The Landmark Forest is protected as well with an easement through the Nature Conservancy. The deep, well-drained loam originating from greenstone (that is exclusively found in a band approximately 15 miles wide from Charlottesville to Culpeper) is among the best hardwood forest soils in Virginia. Because of this unique soil, the tulip trees in the Big Woods can reach a height by age 50 of 120 feet, and the red oaks 95! In more moderate soils tulips top at only 80 feet and red oaks 55 at age 50. Don't miss this rare and unique educational experience walking among these venerable giants! You can experience the beauty and immense grandeur of the old-growth Big Woods just as President and Dolly Madison did so long ago!
The Tour Price includes admission into Montpelier grounds (does not include a visit within the mansion). Cost: $25 per adult, $20 students, pre-registration is required. Bring your brown bag lunch to enjoy a picnic on the grounds before leaving. For more information, call 540-568-3194. Download the Registration Form (turn in by mail, fax, or hand delivery with payment. Credit Cards are accepted by phone!)
