Adkins Arboretum’s 2024 Soup ’n Walk programs kick off March 16 with a walk focused on early blooms, songbirds and spring frogs. Photo: Kellen McCluskey
Adkins Arboretum has announced the 2024 lineup for its popular Soup ’n Walk programs. Explore the Arboretum’s forest, meadows and wetland on a guided walk themed to the season, then enjoy a delicious lunch and a brief talk about nature and nutrition. Copies of recipes are provided. All gift shop purchases on these days receive a 20% discount. This year’s offerings include:
Early Blooms, Songbirds & Spring Frogs
Sat., March 16, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Listen for songbirds and spring frogs while searching for early purple, pink and white blooms. Plants of interest include skunk cabbage, paw paw, spring beauty and bloodroot. Menu: hearty vegetarian chili, sweet and tangy sauerkraut salad, brown rice bread with spinach dip, dark chocolate chewy cookie.
Spring Ephemerals & Pollinators
Sat., April 13, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Look again! The blooms of ephemeral plants, trees and shrubs are here and gone in the blink of an eye. Look for pink, white and yellow blooms and listen for early pollinators. Plants of interest include pink spring beauty, may apple, dogwood, golden groundsel, spicebush, sassafras and white beech. Menu: ginger sweet potato soup, Eastern Shore crunchy cole slaw, ancient grain bread with strawberry jam, oatmeal walnut cookies.
Beavers, Tuckahoe Creek & Beyond
Sat., May 18, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Observe the beautiful Tuckahoe Creek view while scouting for signs of beavers. Plants of interest include mountain laurel, beech, tulip tree, pink lady’s slipper, Solomon’s seal and may apple. Menu: kale, apple, and lentil soup, green bean salad with honey cider vinaigrette, pumpernickel bread and apple butter, cinnamon crunch apple cake.
Sat., Sept. 21, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Walk the meadows in search of golden brown grasses and yellow and purple flowers while watching and listening for bluebirds and dragonflies. Plants of interest include milkweed, black-eyed Susan, goldenrod, Indian grass, big bluestem and sumac berries. Menu: split pea soup, wild rice berry salad, anadama oatmeal bread with orange marmalade, spicy pumpkin pie in easy crust.
Sat., Oct. 19, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Fall colors dazzle the eye and pique the appetite. Listen for migrating birds and woodpeckers while watching for changing color on red and orange sweet gum, sassafras, tupelo, sumac, dogwood, yellow paw paw, hickory, beech and tulip trees. Menu: butternut squash sweet potato bisque, red pepper and chick pea salad, whole wheat flaxseed bread with blackberry jam, tasty peach and berry crisp.
Sat., Nov. 16, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
Enjoy autumn as we hunt for nutritious berries, nuts and seeds and check for signs of beaver. Plants of interest include dogwood, hibiscus, partridge berry, oak, loblolly pine, juniper, verbena, ironwood and strawberry bush. Menu: kale and chicken soup with lemon, black-eyed pea salad, dill rye bread with raspberry jam, Black Forest cake with cherries.
Soup ’n Walk programs are $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Early registration is recommended. Visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 100 to register or for more information.
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