N.C. Botanical Garden offers a variety of programs for spring

By JENA WITTKAMP
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- After a cold, snowy winter, signs of spring are popping up all over at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s N.C. Botanical Garden – including new programs to welcome the warmer weather and entice participants outdoors.

"Spring is always a wonderful time to get outside and catch the new growth and the new plants that are blooming," said Dot Wilbur-Brooks, programs coordinator for the garden.

"We’re excited to have a variety of hikes and tours this spring for free or a small fee for people who may be new to the garden and want an introduction to the natural landscape. For those who want to go a step further, we have several classes and programs that offer a more in-depth exploration of botanical art, taxonomy and the native plants and habitats the garden works to protect."

A list of botanical garden programs follows. Programs are held at the garden’s Totten Center unless otherwise noted. Those interested should pre-register for all programs by calling (919) 962-0522.

• "Taxonomy," Thursday (March 11), March 16, 18, 23 and 25, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; and March 27, 9:30 a.m. to noon. UNC Herbarium curator emeritus Dr. Jim Massey will teach participants to use microscopes to closely examine plants in learning the details of plant taxonomy. Fee: $100 public, $90 members.
  
• "Developing Environmentally Responsible Gardening Practices," Saturday (March 13), 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Alan Johnson, the garden’s curator, will provide information on invasive plant control, developing gardens with a reduced need for irrigation, lawn care, reducing the use of powered equipment and using native plants. Fee: $20 public, $18 members.
  
•  "Botanical Illustration: Color Theory," March 15, 22 and 29 and April 5, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Local artist Patricia Savage will present the principles of color theory. Fee: $120 public, $100 members.
  
• "First Day of Spring Hike at Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve," March 20, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Led by ecologist Rob Evans, hikers will visit Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve by the Eno River in northwest Durham. Meet in the Penny’s Bend visitor’s parking lot. Fee: $8 public, $6 members.
  
• "Local Flora: Spring," April 4 and 18, and May 2 and 16, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Ken Moore, retired assistant director of the botanical garden, will lead the class through short lectures and local forays to learn about early spring wildflowers. Fee: $65 public, $55 members.
  
• "Plant Families," April 6, 8, 13, 15, 20 and 22, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Massey will teach participants to identify flower components, how seeds are made and about plant families. Participants will view plant structures through a hand lens and dissecting scope. Fee: $120 public, $100 members.
  
• "Storytime at the Garden," April 7 and 21, 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., Children ages 3 to 5 are invited to gather for a story circle at the Paul Green Cabin and then a brief outing in the garden. All children must be accompanied by an adult, with no more than three children per adult.
  
• "Open Studio," April 12, 19 and 26, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Class participants can use this studio to work on unfinished pieces in graphite or colored pencil. Emma Skurnick, a local artist, will provide one-on-one critiques. Fee: $50 public, $45 members.
  
• "Can Horticulture Save Plants?" April 24, 3 p.m. Richard Bir is the author of "Growing & Propagating Showy Native Woody Plants" (UNC Press, 1992) and an extension horticulture specialist at N.C. State University. For years, he was director and program chairman of the Conference on Landscaping with Native Plants, held annually in Cullowhee. His talk is the annual Evelyn McNeil Simms Lecture. Free.
  
• "Mountain Plants and Spring Wildflowers at High Hampton," May 2 through 4. Botanical garden director Dr. Peter S. White and curator Jim Ward will lead a trip to the highlands of N.C.’s southwestern mountains. Participants will be acquainted with mountain plants and spring wildflowers, their historic uses and the need to protect them and their native habitats. Accommodations will be at the High Hampton Inn and Country Club in Cashiers, N.C. The $100 trip fee does not include room and board at the inn. For more details, call (800) 334-2551.
  
• "Field Sketching," Saturdays in May, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Skurnick will work with participants to create sketches of plants and landscapes with graphite, various types of pens and other mediums. Fee: $65 public, $60 members.
  
• "Explore the Morgan Creek Valley," May 8, 9 a.m. to noon. Johnny Randall, the botanical garden’s assistant director for conservation, will guide participants through a 15-mile stretch of Orange County from the headwaters of Morgan Creek to the Triassic basin bottomlands of the Mason Farm Biological Reserve. Meet in the botanical garden’s visitor parking lot gazebo. Fee: $8 public, $6 members.
  
• "Spring Hike at Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve," May 15, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Ed Harrison, a local naturalist, will lead participants through the nature preserve. Meet in the Penny’s Bend visitor parking lot. Fee: $8 public, $6 members.

Other spring events include a daily plant sale, free tours of the plant collections every Saturday and free tours of the Coker Arboretum on the third Saturday monthly. "Beauty in Detail," a collection of drawings, pastels, oils, watercolors and clay gargoyles by local artist Carolyn Maynard, will be on display in the Totten Center until April 30. A reception with Maynard will be March 14 from 3 to 5 p.m.

The botanical garden will hold its second-annual "Magic in the Garden" event on May 22 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event, co-sponsored by the Early Childhood Outdoors Design Institute in N.C. State’s College of Design, is a chance for families and children to enjoy an afternoon of magic and fairies. Activities include storytelling, music, crafts, a "Family Fairy House Festival," a "Find a Fairy Quest" and a "Promenade of Fairies." The event is free to the public.

For more information, click on http://www.ncbg.unc.edu or call (919) 962-0522.

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(Wittkamp, of Raleigh, is a December 2003 UNC graduate, with degrees in women’s studies and journalism and mass communication.)

N.C. Botanical Garden contact: Laura Cotterman, (919) 962-0533 or lmcotter@email.unc.edu
News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu