Education Page

Monday, November 26, 2012

Think About Boxerwood Tuesday


We had Black Friday for shopping, Small Business Saturday, and today is Cyber Monday. Tomorrow is "Donation Tuesday" which is a day to recognize charities and non profits. Perhaps you can think of Boxerwood on this day and make a donation to help keep our education programs and garden going.

You can even make your donations on line at:

Make A Donation To Boxerwood

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

November In The Garden


I know some people find November to be a dreary depressing month. I am not one of them.  Once the leaves are off the trees one can see the structure of things, the view opens up, and there is a subtle underplay of color in the landscape. Now is the time to start appreciating the bark of trees and the delicate filigree of branches against the clear bright fall sky. 

This month I am going to highlight one of the unusual conifers in the garden, Boxerwood’s Lacebark Pine (Pinus bungeana), located just below the NEWTS facility. Mi- chael Dirr, this country’s expert on woody plants, calls this “one of the most handsome pines for bark character”.  I have to ad- mit a special fondness for pines and this is one of my favorites.

It grows to about 35—50’ with a spread of about 20’.  The dark green needles are in bun- dles of three and are very stiff and sharp to the touch, but, of course, it’s that bark that is the main attraction. Just gorgeous.

For more information go to:


(Excerpt from Boxerwood Horticulturalist Faith Vosburgh's Garden Notes for November)


lacebark pine
Lacebark Pine at Boxerwood

Monday, November 5, 2012

Second Graders At Boxerwood Today

Mrs. Bytnar's second grade class from Waddell Elementary School in Lexington, Virginia learned today about how to  "Adapt Or Die" in nature at Boxerwood.

Second Graders filling out their Scientific Journals to documents their observations at Boxerwood.

Boxerwood Educator Jess Sullivan teaching a lesson about camouflage using "pipe cleaner bugs."

Second Graders honing their scientist observation skills at the Run Off Pond.