Out and About in the Arboretum

It is a wonderful time of the year to enjoy a walk around the Campuses. As you do so, you will see a good number of fresh holiday wreaths adorning the doorways of our residents’ homes. Many of these were made at Pathways Programs hosted on the Lumberton Campus just this week. Others have been crafted by residents as well as some by Debbie Lux, our Medford Leas Horticulturalist. Many of the greens came from the Arboretum. It is a treat to see the variety of greens and natural items, such as pine cones and seed pods come together in such a creative fashion.

Visit Court Four on the Medford Campus, to enjoy the Crataegus virirdis Winter King Hawthorn trees with their full complement of brightly colored berries. These specimen trees share multiple points of interest throughout the year. The spring offers flowers, showy berries in the fall and in the winter the exfoliating bark is wonderful for visual interest. The birds are always most appreciative of the feast the berries give them.

As you enter the Lumberton Campus, you are graciously greeted with a group of Dawn Redwood trees, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, to welcome you into the community. This tree is one of just a few deciduous conifers, meaning they will lose all of their needles each fall.

As you are Out and About this week on the Medford Campus, be sure to check out Court One–home to five glorious Japanese Maples, Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’. These magnificent trees are typically grown for their attractive foliage and shape, and grow best in a sheltered location. They typically reach their mature height at 20-25′ tall. If you visit the Court soon, you will enjoy the vibrant crimson red fall color of the foliage. It is an incredible sight and well worth the trip.

The lineage of the gingko may be traced back 200 million years or more. Originally from China, fortunately in the early 1700’s European visitors brought seeds home to grow, and from there they were brought to the US. Ginkgo biloba, Maidenhair tree, is an upright tree that often reaches 50 feet in height. Because of its resilience, it is often used as a street tree.

Red Maple “October Glory” is a native Maple tree that is known for its exceptional fall color. It is often planted as a specimen tree, and there are a number of these trees on both Campuses of Medford Leas.