Oak Ridge Today

UT Arboretum Society hosts azalea workshop Tuesday

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The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will sponsor an azalea workshop at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the UT Arboretum at 901 S. Illinois Ave. in Oak Ridge. Follow the signs in the parking lot to the event site.

“Longtime Oak Ridge resident Huey Sides, a true azalea aficionado, will share his lessons learned regarding the planting, care, and propagation of azaleas,” a press release said. “Huey’s knowledge on this topic has been mostly self-taught and demonstrated with over 40 years of both successes and failures in his New York Avenue backyard.” [Read more…]

Father-daughter hike at UT Arboretum on Saturday

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Father Daughter Hike at UT Arboretum

Jeff Holt, pictured above in the green jacket and baseball cap, will lead a Saturday morning hike for fathers and daughters at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will have its 2013 Father-Daughter Hike on Saturday at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge.

The hike starts at 9 a.m. Saturday in the UT Arboretum parking lot at 901 S. Illinois Ave.

To learn more about the Arboretum Society, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org.

UT Arboretum Society has Feb. 7 climate change program

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Scott E. Schlarbaum

Scott E. Schlarbaum

Scott E. Schlarbaum, a professor of forest genetics at the University of Tennessee, will address the question, “Why All the Concern About Climate Change? Forests in the Future Will be Very Different With or Without Climate Change” on Thursday, Feb. 7.

The lecture will be in the City Room at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge at 7 p.m. It’s free and open to the public.

[Read more…]

Register by Thursday for UT Arboretum Society annual dinner

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Andy Pulte

Andy Pulte

Reservations are due by Thursday for an annual dinner and auction with the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society.

The Nov. 13 dinner will feature keynote speaker Andy Pulte, radio host on WNOX and University of Tennessee Department of Plant Sciences gardening expert, a press release said.

The dinner and silent auction start at 6 p.m. Nov. 13 at The Elks Club, 684 Emory Valley Road in Oak Ridge. The public is invited, and the cost is $25 per person, the press release said.

The release said Pulte is one of the hosts of “The Garden Guy” with Sue Hamilton on WNOX’s “Garden Talk,” a weekly radio show on from 8 a.m. to 9 .m. Saturdays.

His topic for the UT Arboretum Society dinner and auction is “Backgrounds and Borders Design Theory and New Plants for Everyone.”

“Paying attention to the specific emotions plant colors evoke is important,” Pulte said in the release. “Colors can be beautiful in peaceful, happy, relaxing, invigorating and even sad ways. The colors you ultimately choose for a garden should reflect the mood you want to express.”

He will also discuss using a set of newer or unusual plants you should consider adding to your landscape this year.

The press release said Pulte grew up in the nursery industry in Grand Island, Neb. He received his bachelor’s degree in horticulture from the University of Nebraska and a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee in the area of public horticulture.

He has worked at the National Arbor Day Foundation in the education department and the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Neb. He contributes to several gardening publications, speaks regularly to diverse groups, and travels extensively to feed his passion for people and plants, the press release said.

The Nov. 13 dinner and auction will begin at 6 p.m. with a social hour (cash bar) and silent auction followed by a buffet dinner at 7 p.m., then a brief business meeting and Pulte’s presentation. Silent actions items include fine crafts, gifts certificates, art, wine and accessories, hard tools, and more, the release said.

For more information on the Annual Dinner and Silent Auction, call (865) 482-9096 or send an e-mail to [email protected]. Cash or checks only will be accepted at the door.

To learn more about the Arboretum Society, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org.

UT Arboretum Society has Owl Prowl on Saturday

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Owl Prowl

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society has its annual Owl Prowl on Saturday.

It starts at 6:30 p.m. at the UT Arboretum program shelter with a program by the Clinch River Raptor Center, featuring owls found in East Tennessee. Live birds will be on display, and Kathy Strunk and Katie Cottrell will give information about their natural histories, a press release said.

The Raptor Center was started at Clinton Middle School by John Byrd 28 years ago. Since then, 2,090 birds have come to the Raptor Center to be rehabilitated, the press release said.

Strunk and Cottrell have co-directed the Raptor Center for more than 25 years and have given hundreds of programs in East Tennessee on birds of prey.

Saturday’s initial program will be followed by walks on the grounds of the Arboretum led by Strunk, Cottrell, and Byrd, with the goal of hearing some owls. Those who don’t want to go on the walks will have an opportunity to stay at the shelter and visit with the center’s educational owls, the release said.

Participants are encouraged to bring flash lights if they plan to take part in the “owl prowl.”

The UT Arboretum is located at 901 S. Illinois Ave.

To learn more about the Arboretum Society, visit them online at www.utarboretumsociety.org.

UT Arboretum Society to hold fall plant sale Saturday

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The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Fall Plant Sale will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the arboretum.

Proceeds benefit the arboretum at 901 S. Illinois Ave. in Oak Ridge.

Four vendors and the UT Arboretum Society will have plants for sale. All sales are cash or check only, a press release said.

“Dr. Will Witte, the Society’s ‘Answer Man,’ will be there to answer all of your plant questions,” the release said.

The release said fall is the best time to add plants to your landscape because milder temperatures and more dependable rainfall allow them to establish a stronger root system, giving them a head start in the spring.

[Read more…]

Butterfly and insect program Aug. 11 in Oak Ridge

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The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will host a free butterfly and insect program at 10 a.m. August 11 at the UT Arboretum.

Naturalist Kris Light will present the program, which is open to the public.

[Read more…]