Construction Begins On New Outdoor Classroom

The materials are in and work has begun on the new Outdoor Classroom at Boxerwood. This replaces the old pipe frame "NEWTS TENT" that was along the entrance drive across from the barn.

Boxerwood Partners With Community Foundation

 CFBRA Opens Boxerwood Education Fund

The Community Foundation for Rockbridge, Bath and Alleghany has recently opened the Boxerwood Education Fund to aid in the future financial stability of this important resource in our community. The establishment of this Fund was made possible by a match challenge gift from a private anonymous donor.  Members of Boxerwood then met that challenge through their generous support of this project.  “We are excited to have the opportunity to provide funds for the BEA mission and help them do good work in the community” said Lori Keckler, Executive Director. 

Boxerwood - a Nature Center and Woodland Garden located in Lexington, Virginia - is the legacy of Robert S. Munger (1911-1988). It is situated in a rolling Virginia valley nestled between the Allegany and Appalachian Mountains. The site contains habitats ranging from wetlands to forests to meadows and fifteen acres of mature, naturalistically planted trees and shrubs, featuring both native and unusual plant specimens.

Boxerwood provides robust environmental learning that is made available to every student in Rockbridge County’s three school systems from pre-school through middle school.  Each semester more than 2,000 students benefit from Boxerwood programs which afford them the opportunity to connect their classroom learning to the real world.

BEA Board Member Joe DiNardo is enthusiastic about this new partnership with the Community Foundation.  “Boxerwood is not only an organization that teaches both young and old about how to care for our world, it is a place to go where one can see, touch, enjoy and understand why it is important to do so ... Truly a unique place to experience and to be part of.  This new fund will be instrumental in keeping Boxerwood’s role in our community a reality.”

The Boxerwood Education Association (BEA) is the non-profit organization founded in 2000, which oversees Boxerwood programs in line with their mission "to educate and inspire people of all ages to be successful and environmentally responsible stewards of the earth”.

To learn more about the Boxerwood Education Fund contact Lori Keckler (Executive Director) lori.keckler@cfrba.org or call 540-463-0943.  To give to this fund please visit cfrba.org and use the PayPal link or email check to: CFRBA PO Box 20 Lexington, VA 24450.

Boxerwood Now a Member of the Association of Nature Center Administrators

The Boxerwood Nature Center and Woodland Garden has renewed its membership to the Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA).  What this means to the members of Boxerwood is that they can now participate in the ANCA Reciprocal Program that allows for discounts and in some instances free admission to nature centers around the country.

This member benefit is similar to that already afforded our members through the American Horticultural Society program providing discounts at gardens throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Just another way to benefit from your membership to Boxerwood.

You can learn more about these opportunities by visiting these links:

Association of Nature Center Administrators

American Horticultural Society

January Garden Notes

Here are a few cold weather garden tips.  Learn more from Boxerwood's January Garden Notes at our website.

Boxerwood Garden Notes

Weather Warnings: Hasn’t this weather been unbelievable?  I am nervous about some of the plants.  We live in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6B (although I think it is getting closer to 7).  The low end of that zone is 0 to -5, with zone 7’s being 0 to 5 degrees.  Our Crape Myrtles are only root hardy here.  If your Crape Myrtle doesn’t start to leaf out in late spring, you may have to cut it back drastically.  Crapes leaf out late so give it a chance before whacking away at it.  At home we wrap some of our new dwarf evergreens with burlap in the winter.  The cold wind can be very damaging to evergreens.  Plants transpire water through their leaves, so evergreens continue to loose water during the winter.  When the ground is frozen or dry, the plants are not getting the moisture they need and start to draw water from living cells.  If too much water is given off, the cells die, the leaves turn brown and the plant dies.   Winds accelerate that moisture loss, especially if the plant has been planted in a sunny open area with no protection.  The following suggestions for protecting plants from the cold come from the North Carolina Extension:

1.    Plant varieties that are hardy to your area.  I have to confess I sometimes bend this suggestion a bit.  I might try a zone 7 plant, iffy out in the county where I live.  Partly, that is the plant collector in me, always trying something new, but there are a few protected microclimates near our house where it stays a little warmer.

2.  Try to locate less hardy plants in the highest part of the yard, as cold air tends to settle in the lower areas.

3.  Add an extra layer of mulch in the fall to help preserve moisture

4.  Try to shade more tender plants from direct winter sun.  Here is where a burlap wrapping helps.

5.    Don’t feed quickly available nitrogen to your plants in the fall, encouraging new growth.  You want growth in the spring and summer, not in the fall where it might be susceptible to early frosts.

Heavy wet snow can also be a problem.  Remember March of 2013?  The heavy wet snow caused more damage here at Boxerwood than the derecho.  We are still clearing up brush from that storm.  It is a good idea after a storm, to brush the snow off of arching evergreens, small trees, shrubs, and woody plants that have a very dense twig structure, such as Japanese Maples to prevent breakage.

Endowment For Boxerwood

 

  

 CFBRA Opens Boxerwood Education Fund

January 23, 2014

The Community Foundation for Rockbridge, Bath and Alleghany has recently opened the Boxerwood Education Fund to aid in the future financial stability of this important resource in our community. The establishment of this Fund was made possible by a match challenge gift from a private anonymous donor.  Members of Boxerwood then met that challenge through their generous support of this project.  “We are excited to have the opportunity to provide funds for the BEA mission and help them do good work in the community” said Lori Keckler, Executive Director. 

Boxerwood - a Nature Center and Woodland Garden located in Lexington, Virginia - is the legacy of Robert S. Munger (1911-1988). It is situated in a rolling Virginia valley nestled between the Allegany and Appalachian Mountains. The site contains habitats ranging from wetlands to forests to meadows and fifteen acres of mature, naturalistically planted trees and shrubs, featuring both native and unusual plant specimens.

Boxerwood provides robust environmental learning that is made available to every student in Rockbridge County’s three school systems from pre-school through middle school.  Each semester more than 2,000 students benefit from Boxerwood programs which afford them the opportunity to connect their classroom learning to the real world.

BEA Board Member Joe DiNardo is enthusiastic about this new partnership with the Community Foundation.  “Boxerwood is not only an organization that teaches both young and old about how to care for our world, it is a place to go where one can see, touch, enjoy and understand why it is important to do so ... Truly a unique place to experience and to be part of.  This new fund will be instrumental in keeping Boxerwood’s role in our community a reality.”

The Boxerwood Education Association (BEA) is the non-profit organization founded in 2000, which oversees Boxerwood programs in line with their mission "to educate and inspire people of all ages to be successful and environmentally responsible stewards of the earth”.

To learn more about the Boxerwood Education Fund contact Lori Keckler (Executive Director) lori.keckler@cfrba.org or call 540-463-0943.  To give to this fund please visit cfrba.org and use the PayPal link or email check to: CFRBA PO Box 20 Lexington, VA 24450.

Changes Coming To Boxerwood

The old NEWTS Education Tent is gone; the new concrete pad is complete; and construction on the new permanent Outdoor Classroom structure is scheduled to begin the first week of February. This new metal roofed shelter will provide Boxerwood with extended opportunities for education programs and events.

Holidays At Boxerwood

BRRR!   It's Winter …. It's time to warm up at Boxerwood 

Gifts of Nature - December 7 -- 1:00 to 5 pm. 

.. Gather at Boxerwood to craft a feast for the birds and wildlife that winter in Rockbridge. Enjoy cider, cocoa and cookies in front of a wood fire inside Munger Lodge.
.. Drop in, stay as long as you like, and make as many projects as you like! You can weave honeysuckle wreaths and swag, string dried fruit icicles and cranberry garlands, dip pinecones in suet and seed; craft birdhouses out of dried gourds, and re-use greeting cards to make gift tags and garlands.

.. Boxerwood will provide vines, cones, berries and greenery harvested from the garden, as well as suet, raffia and other project supplies. Families, please contribute one type of wildlife food, such as seeds, nuts, dried fruit, popcorn, citrus or cranberries to share, and recycled holiday cards, if you have them.

The workshop is $5/family for Boxerwood members and $10/family for non-members.

Greens Workshop - December 8 – 2:00 to 5 pm  

2 to 5 pm - Design wreaths or swigs with Boxerwood boughs and berries.

The cost is  $20 for non-members and $15 for members.

Please contact faith@boxerwood.org to let her know that you'd like to attend.

Boxerwood's Winter Garden Notes

Read what's happening in our garden (and yours) in the attached PDF File (also on our website)

Membership

If your membership has expired, it's easy to renew!.  You can download a membership form or make a payment online on our website.

Boxerwood Nature Center & Woodland Garden

963 Ross Road, Lexington, VA  24450

www.boxerwood.org

www,boxerwoodblog.blogspot.com