[NPSBC] UBC Botanical Garden - Native Plants Update

[Dawn Hanna]

Thanks so much for the updates Tony and Daniel. Sounds like it might be time for another NPSBC field trip this spring to check out the changes!

Dawn



On 2012-11-19, at 10:50 PM, Daniel Mosquin wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> I asked Tony Maniezzo, Curator of the North American Gardens here at 
> UBC, to write a summary of what happened in 2012 in UBC's native plantings:
> 
> ****** begin Tony's summary ******
> 
> The B.C. Rainforest Garden (formerly the BC Native Garden) continues to 
> undergo renovation in several areas. I have been concentrating on 
> forested beds and paths by removing salal and Rubus spp. to achieve a 
> more open feel and allow room for understory herbaceous plantings as 
> opposed to woody species. Pathways are being made more accessible by 
> widening and adding mulches, while pathway edges are weeded to bring 
> desirable plants close for viewing. Invasive plants are being kept under 
> control and I am especially happy about my efforts to control _Rubus 
> armeniacus_.
> 
> The bog area of the Rainforest Garden is being revitalized. I was 
> inspired by efforts at Camosun Bog on the UBC Endowment Lands. Suckering 
> shrubs such as _Spiraea_ and Labrador tea have been removed, creating a 
> larger bog area which I hope to plant with bog-loving species. Shrubs 
> around the perimeter have been removed or cut back to allow better 
> visual access to the pond. The Horticultural Training Program students 
> will get into the pond this winter to remove vegetation. Opening up the 
> bog has created many more planting spaces but it has also allowed 
> grasses and other weeds to thrive especially _Lysimachia vulgaris_ which 
> seems to love the added light. Some plants that we are hoping to add 
> are; sundews (_Drosera rotundifolia_ and _Drosera anglica_), fernleaved 
> goldthread (_Coptis aspleniifolia_), king gentian (_Gentiana sceptrum_) 
> and other gentians,  marsh marigolds (_Caltha_ spp), butterwort 
> (_Pinguicula vulgaris_), sticky false asphodel (_Triantha glutinosa_); 
> lady tresses (_Spiranthes romanzoffiana_) and fringed grass-of-Parnassus 
> (_Parnassia fimbriata_).
> 
> We have made several collections for the garden over the last couple of 
> years. This spring we were able to collect from areas near Princeton. 
> Some of the plants collected were: white bog orchid (_Platanthera 
> dilatata_), western meadow-rue (_Thalictrum occidentale_),  soopalallie 
> (_Shepherdia canadensis_), northern gentian (_Gentianella amarella_ 
> subsp. _acuta_), Columbia lily (_Lilium columbianum_), Menzies' larkspur 
> (_Delphinium menziesii_), pinedrop (_Pterospora andromeda_), and 
> Engelmann spruce (_Picea engelmannii_).
> 
> In all things seem to be looking up for the Rainforest Garden, with 
> vigilance against invasive species, opening up planting areas, and 
> collecting new plants the area can be a  highlight for the Botanical Garden.
> 
> ****** end Tony's summary ******
> 
> I'll also add that a few collections were made for the Garry Oak Meadow 
> and Woodland garden, along with a trip to see some of the Garry oak 
> plant communities on Vancouver Island.
> 
> No collections were made this year for the Pacific Slope garden 
> (primarily for woody plant taxa of coastal western North America), but 
> many of the seed collections from previous years continue to grow in the 
> nursery and will be planted in the next couple years.
> 
> A donation from central Oregon of a near-complete _Camassia_ species and 
> cultivar collection was also made to the Garden -- the larger of these 
> flowered this spring, look for larger displays in the next few years in 
> the Pacific Slope garden.
> 
> If anyone is interested in collecting seeds or plants for the Garden, 
> your help would be much appreciated. We are looking for general 
> collections as well as for specific projects (e.g., the list of bog 
> species above or interior rainforest species, particularly endemics or 
> coastal disjuncts). Seeds or plants must be ethically-collected 
> (permits/permission if required, from large & apparently stable 
> populations) with documentation (who, when and where, including lat/long 
> coordinates and elevation). Send any questions about collecting directly 
> to me.
> 
> I hope other gardens (both public and private) with native plant 
> collections might also send the listserv an update!
> 
> Daniel
> 
> -- 
> Daniel P.K. Mosquin
> Research Manager | UBC Botanical Garden | UBC Biodiversity Collection | 
> Faculty of Science
> 
> The University of British Columbia | Vancouver
> 6804 SW Marine Drive | Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
> Phone 604 827 5773 | Fax 604 822 2016
> 
> daniel.mosquin at ubc.ca | @ubcgarden
> botanicalgarden.ubc.ca  | facebook.com/ubcgarden | bcflora.org | 
> botanyjohn.org
> 
> -- 
> Daniel P.K. Mosquin
> Research Manager | UBC Botanical Garden | UBC Biodiversity Collection | 
> Faculty of Science
> 
> The University of British Columbia | Vancouver
> 6804 SW Marine Drive | Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
> Phone 604 827 5773 | Fax 604 822 2016
> 
> daniel.mosquin at ubc.ca | @ubcgarden
> botanicalgarden.ubc.ca  | facebook.com/ubcgarden | bcflora.org | 
> botanyjohn.org
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