Out and About in the Arboretum

If you like colorful blooms on trees, you will love the horse chestnut (Aesculus sp.) trees as they come into bloom. These surely are attention-grabbing specimens in the spring. The trees feature beautiful clusters of white or red flowers at this time. In addition to the beauty of the blooms, they also provide great shade in the summer and grow quickly. With a growth habit of 13 to 24 inches each year, these trees will grow to a mature height of 50 to 75 feet.

As you are out and about in the Arboretum, you will see and enjoy a number of Cornus florida. These trees, commonly known as Flowering Dogwood, are in full bloom. As you stand at the intersection of Medford Leas and Estaugh Ways on the Medford Campus, you will have a beautiful view of these native trees. They are a wonderful understory tree tucked in between the majestic White Pines along Medford Leas Way going towards the Lois Forrest Nature Center.

As we enter into the month of May, the Arboretum continues to come alive. During the month of April, residents on the Medford Campus put together a listing of areas to explore, designed to encourage residents and staff to get out and about and explore this beautiful campus that we are so fortunate to enjoy. We encourage residents on both campuses and staff as well to take advantage of this opportunity!

While we absolutely understand the need to cancel our annual Evening in the Arboretum that was to be held Saturday, April 25, we still celebrate and enjoy the beauty of the Arboretum – especially at this time of the year. Whether we enjoy and visit the Courtyard Gardens, meadows, the woodlands or the many specimen trees on Campus, we recognize the natural beauty that surrounds us every day.

As we all know, April showers bring May flowers, but this year, they brought a lot of color to our Courtyard Gardens already! On a rainy dark day, or on a sunny one, our residents and staff are especially appreciative of the cheerful colors as we are out and about traversing the Court walkways — safe and under cover. Take a look — there is much to discover and enjoy.

As residents were out and about in the Courts last week, they were delighted and surprised by a welcomed bouquet of daffodils delivered to their doorstep. They were a welcome burst of spring color, during these troubling times around the world. The donation was a gift of a thousand thanks from the Estaugh Board and the Linside Farm, the family farm of Estaugh Board member Scott Jones.