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October 27, 2025

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

Food and Garden Notes

Adkins Arboretum, Shore Rivers Initiative Receives DNR Funding for Youth Education

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Students on a field trip to Adkins Arboretum get an up-close look at a frog. Photo: Steffi Ricketts

A partnership between Adkins Arboretum and Shore Rivers has received funding from Maryland Department of Natural Resources to provide environmental education programming for Caroline County Public Schools (CCPS) students.

The project will support the county’s second grade life science unit by engaging CCPS second-graders in a “Bees, Seeds, and Healthy Streams” field experience at the Arboretum. During the current school year, each of the nearly 500 second-graders in the county will participate in a meaningful outdoor field experience at the Arboretum, facilitated by Arboretum and ShoreRivers educators and supported by trained volunteers.

Following the field experience, the students will conduct a native plant/pollinator count in their schoolyard and plant native seed balls to improve schoolyard habitat and attract pollinators. The program also includes professional development for second grade teachers to familiarize them with the organizations’ missions, the Arboretum grounds and the “Bees, Seeds, and Healthy Streams” component of their science unit.

Originally focused solely on plants and pollinators and facilitated by the Arboretum, the program took a deeper dive when the Arboretum received a Chesapeake Bay Trust Environmental Planning grant in 2021 to partner with ShoreRivers. Combining both organizations’ missions—native plants and clean water—led to a more comprehensive field experience that has been enthusiastically received by CCPS and will serve as a model for future learning opportunities.

A 400-acre native garden and preserve, Adkins Arboretum provides exceptional experiences in nature to promote environmental stewardship.

ShoreRivers protects and restores Eastern Shore waterways through science-based advocacy, restoration and education.

The Department of Natural Resources leads Maryland in securing a sustainable future for our environment, society and economy by preserving, protecting, restoring and enhancing the State’s natural resources.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Mystery Monday: What Organism is the Result of a Mutualistic Symbiotic Relationship?

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Happy Mystery Monday! What super cool, complex organism is the result of a mutualistic symbiotic relationship?

Last week, we asked you about seedbox (Ludwigia alternifolia)! This native plant is found on the wetland edge and has unique, characteristic seed pods that resemble boxes. This perennial is related to evening primrose and has a similar multi-branched habit with yellow flowers. The flowers are short-lived, but attract bees, butterflies, and moths.

#ecologyiscool #mysteryorganism #mutualism #symbioticrelationship #mysterymonday #adkinsarboretum #winterinterest

Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Land as Teacher, Healer, Sustainer – Botanical Art January 2 through February 24

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The golden brown feathers of a perky cedar waxwing glow from behind dark, lacy cedar needles dotted with tiny blueberries in an unusual show in the Adkins Arboretum Visitor’s Center. On view January 2 through February 24, Land as Teacher, Healer, Sustainer is more than just a show of exquisitely crafted botanical art. It’s a celebration of the plants that sustained the native peoples of the Chesapeake Region for centuries before the arrival of Europeans.

Created by eleven members of the Botanical Art League of the Eastern Shore, this show was inspired by the Indigenous Peoples’ Perspective Project, a collaboration between Adkins Arboretum and the Washington College Food Initiative. Focusing on 21 native plants used for food, crafts and medicine by the indigenous peoples of the Chesapeake region, the project aims at honoring their traditions and teaching about how their lives were intricately tied to the land and the plants that grow here.

Some are still used for food, including the blackberries in Sharon Weaver’s energetic watercolor of berries in every stage from unripe green to pink to the dark purple of ready-to-eat fruit. If the peeling bark of a river birch tree, drawn in precise and nuanced shades of graphite by Robert G. Hammond, makes you think of birchbark canoes, you’d be correct, but a look at the informative list provided in the gallery will tell you that river birches also provided sap that was boiled down to make a sweet syrup and medicine to treat colds and stomach pain.

Anna Harding, Eastern Red Cedar: Juniperus virginiana, colored pencil, 12″x12″

The Arboretum began offering classes in botanical art in 2006, and this program has become increasingly popular. In 2021, to address this interest, two of the instructors, Lee D’Zmura and Anna Harding, co-founded an independent group, the Botanical Art League of the Eastern Shore, for artists interested in studying and developing their skills in botanical art.

“Many of the members who came to our first meeting said that they were looking for inspiration and encouragement,” said Harding, the show’s organizer.“It seemed to me that a group project on an important theme might inspire people in their work, and I thought of the Indigenous Peoples’ Perspective Project.”

Harding proposed a show featuring the IPPP’s 21 plants, all of which grow at the Arboretum and on Washington College’s campus. Using detailed descriptions of the attributes and traditional uses of these plants listed on the IPPP’s webpage, www.adkinsarboretum.org/programs_events/ipp/, members of the League began studying them and walking the Arboretum’s trails to observe them growing throughout the seasons.

Each artist chose one or more species to draw or paint, often with an eye to catching the plants at crucial stages of their annual cycles. In Sarane McHugh’s pastel drawing, a trio of ripe persimmons seems ready to burst with sweet, succulent juice, while Robin Herman’s colored pencil drawing captures the rich shades of deep red, earthy green and brown of a white oak’s autumn leaves.

Martha Pileggi followed milkweed through the seasons in her pair of watercolor and colored pencil works revealing tiny details of its purple-pink blossoms from buds to mature flowers and the pale green of ripening pods to a dried pod filled with seeds and silky fluff. There is another surprise here. While it’s become common knowledge that monarch butterflies will not survive without milkweed, their host plant, few of us know that the region’s native peoples also depended on milkweed for food and medicine, even gathering the gossamer fibers attached to its seeds to use as pillow stuffing.

“It’s our hope that this show will help visitors become aware of the incredible creativity and ingenuity of the ancient people who used these 21 plants in their daily lives,” Harding said. “And that, by looking closely at the artwork, people will be inspired by the beauty of botanical art and the talent of our art league members.”

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Mystery Monday: What Native Wetland Plant is Named for its Seed Pods?

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Happy Mystery Monday! What native wetland plant is aptly named for its seed pods?

Last week we asked you about splitbeard broomsedge (Andropogon ternarius)! This showy native warm-season grass grows in poor, sandy soils in full sun. In fall, it produces fluffy and silvery seed heads, which are a food source for songbirds and small mammals. Some animals will also use the grass and seeds as nesting material and cover.
#adkinsarboretum #mysterymonday #mysterygrass #nativegrass #mysteryplant #knowyourseedpods #winterinterest

Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Mystery Monday: What Native Grass has Seeds that Look Like Snow Flurries?

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Happy Mystery Monday! What native grass has seeds that look like snow flurries?

Last week, we asked you about ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana)! Ironwood also happens to be our 2023 Native Tree of the Year! At Adkins, you’ll find ironwood in the understory, growing in and around the floodplains. Easily identified by its taut and rippled trunk, ironwood is known for its strong wood and has historically been used for tool handles and the like. Found throughout Maryland, ironwood is the host plant for a variety of butterflies, including the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), and many moths, including the American dagger moth (Acronicta americana) and banded tussock moth (Halysidota tessellaris). In addition to feeding many lepidopterans, ironwood foliage and twigs are tasty fodder for deer and the nutlets are browsed by mammals and birds alike.
#adkinsarboretum #nativetree #mysterymonday #mysterytree #mysteryplant #hostplant #winterinterest

Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Spark Joy with “The Garden Electric!” on Adkins Arboretum Trip to Philadelphia Flower Show

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A showcase of excellence that dates to 1829, the Philadelphia Flower Show is a top destination and a must-experience horticultural event. On Mon., March 6, join Adkins Arboretum for an unforgettable trip to this year’s show, “The Garden Electric!”

“The Garden Electric!” explores that spark of joy that comes with giving or receiving flowers. This year’s Flower Show returns indoors to the Pennsylvania Convention Center to amaze visitors with an unmatched floral experience: a dazzling array of colors, unique shapes and textures, rich fragrances of gorgeous floral displays and gardens, and feelings of excitement and celebration. This year’s theme brings the electrifying presence of today’s most dynamic designers of floral arrangements, landscapes and lush gardens to visitors from around the world.

The Philadelphia Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Flower Show is the nation’s largest and longest-running horticultural event. The show will be packed with a variety of flowers and plants at the peak of seasonal perfection. Visitors can expect spectacular floral and garden displays, educational areas, plant exhibits, shopping, a play area for families and plentiful food and drink options. Hundreds of spectacular native butterflies can also be experienced in the Butterflies Live! exhibit. The Arboretum group will be admitted to the show at 9 a.m.—a full hour before it opens to the public.

The trip is $145 for Arboretum members and $180 for non-members. The bus departs from Aurora Park Drive in Easton at 7 a.m. and will stop for pickups at the Rt. 50 westbound/Rt. 404 Park and Ride near Wye Mills and the 301/291 Park and Ride in Millington. Return time is 4 p.m. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext.  100.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Mystery Monday: Do You Know What Native Tree Grows in the Understory

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Happy Mystery Monday! Do you know what native tree grows in the understory and has a taut, rippled trunk?

Last week, we asked you about the Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana). Also known as scrub pine, this medium-sized tree tends to grow in old fields and poor soils. Here on the Eastern Shore, it tends to grow near loblolly pines and sweet gum trees. One of the easiest ways to identify this tree is to look at the needle bundles. The needles are paired in twos, with each needle slightly twisting. A good way to remember this is that the two needles resemble a “V” — “V” for Virginia. Virginia pine provides good cover for wildlife and often is one of the first trees to naturally regrow in mined or burned areas.
#adkinsarboretum #mysterymonday #mysterytree #nativetree #knowyourtrees #winterinterest

Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Calling All Crafters! Yarnstorming Returns to Adkins Arboretum

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Yarnstorming is back! For the fourth year running, Adkins Arboretum is partnering with the Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore to bring an exciting visual experience to the Arboretum grounds. Local knitters and crocheters are invited to help create an exhibit that lends color and whimsy to the trees around the Arboretum Visitor’s Center.

Also known as yarn bombing, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urban knitting and graffiti knitting, yarnstorming is an art form that employs crocheted or knitted yarn to add temporary beauty in a fun and surprising way. Fiber artists are invited to craft pieces to adorn a selection of native trees with everything from pompoms to needle felted animals to branch and trunk wraps. The exhibit will be on view Sun., March 5 through Sun., April 2, with a public reception on Sun., March 12.

Photo: Kellen McCluskey

Yarn art will be installed Sat., Feb. 25 through Sat., March 4. All work must be safely reachable by an 8-foot ladder and must be free from glitter, wire, mesh, plastics, nails and tacks for the health of the Arboretum’s trees and wildlife. Work must remain on display through Sun., April 2 and be removed by 4 p.m. on Sun., April 9.

Interested artists should contact Assistant Director Jenny Houghton at [email protected] to learn about trees available for installation. More information is available at adkinsarboretum.org.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org or call 410-634-2847, ext. 100.

Located in Denton, the Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore is a destination for the area’s many quilt and fiber art enthusiasts, visitors, and residents to view historic and recent works by quilters and fiber artists from Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Delmarva Peninsula. For more information, visit fiberartscenter.com or call 410-479-0009.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Mystery Monday: What Native Tree Has Twisted Needles?

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Happy Mystery Monday! What native tree has twisted needles that come in twos?

Last week, we highlighted the devil’s walking stick (Aralia spinosa). Devil’s walking stick is in Araliaceae, the same plant family as ginseng and wild sarsaparilla. It is most easily identified by its stem (in any season), which has strong thorns wrapped around it. The leaves are heavily divided and can reach 3-4 feet long and wide (per leaf!). It produces prolific white umbel flowers, which attract pollinators of all kinds! Just walk by in the summer and hear the buzzing! #nativeplants #mysterymonday #adkinsarboretum #mysteryplant #mysterytree #knowyourplantfamilies #devilswalkingstick #winterinterest

Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Adkins Mystery Monday: What Native Plant has a Unique Spiky Stem?

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Happy Mystery Monday! What native plant has a unique spiky stem?

Last week, we asked you about the Maryland state tree: the white oak (Quercus alba). Oak trees are some of the most beneficial trees to wildlife. According to Doug Tallamy, oaks host over 900 species of Lepidoptera and produce nutrient dense acorns that birds and mammals rely on. One of the easiest ways to identify the white oak in winter is its notable light grey furrowed and flaky bark. Did you know that most oak trees don’t produce acorns until they are 50-100 years old? That said, some specimen trees can bear acorns as early as 20 years old, given optimal conditions.
#mysterymonday #adkinsarboretum #nativeplant #hostplant #mysteryplant #winterinterest

Adkins Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum. For more information go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.