10/29/2009

Chadwick Arboretum Featured on PBS GardenSMART Nov. 7

Writer:

Martha Filipic
filipic.3@cfaes.osu.edu
614-292-9833

Source:

Mary Maloney, Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens
Maloney.23@osu.edu
614-688-3479

Bart Hayes, Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens
hayes.238@osu.edu

Jenny Pope, pope.71@osu.edu
pope.71@osu.edu
614-292-3848

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State University's Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens will be featured in the nationally syndicated PBS show GardenSMART, airing in central Ohio on WOSU-TV on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 3 p.m.

"I think people will be surprised at what they'll see in our gardens," said Mary Maloney, director of the arboretum. "We have 710 cultivars of annuals in our Trial Gardens, we have a horticultural therapy program -- a lot of viewers right here in central Ohio will be saying a lot of 'I didn't know that' when they watch this program."

The crew filmed the episode (No. 1609) in early July, featuring Chadwick staff members Bart Hayes and Jenny Pope. Also appearing is local garden personality Tom McNutt, a retired horticulture educator with Ohio State University Extension and current gardening expert on NBC4.

During the episode, Hayes leads GardenSMART host Richard Ludwig on a tour of several of Chadwick's gardens, including the Mary Ann Arthur Shade Garden, the Bert and Josephine Kleinmaier Perennial Garden, and the arboretum's Trial Gardens.

"We do a lot of research at Chadwick -- we're not just planting flowers and making things look pretty," Hayes said. "There's a purpose -- we study what grows best in central Ohio, what uses the least amount of water, what fertilizers work best, and what's the best plant selection for the landscape. It would be great if the program encourages more people to take advantage of the resources available right here, not only at Chadwick but Ohio State's Department of Horticulture and Crop Science as a whole."

Also in the episode, Chadwick's education and volunteer coordinator Jenny Pope tells Ludwig about the arboretum's Horticultural Therapy Program.

"Not many people know about horticultural therapy -- I hope viewers learn what it is and that this piques their interest in ways that horticulture can be used as a vehicle for therapy," Pope said. Currently, Pope works with three local programs -- the Association for the Developmentally Disabled's Community Connections program, the Ohio State Nisonger Center's Early Childhood Education Program, and the YWCA's Women's Residency Program -- offering their clients the benefits of a broad range of garden experiences.

"We're always looking for helping hands," both for the horticultural therapy program and the arboretum as a whole, Pope said. Anyone interested in volunteering can go to the arboretum's Web site at http://chadwickarboretum.osu.edu; click on "Volunteers."

Pope added that she hopes the GardenSMART episode will encourage more people to visit Chadwick. "We are a public garden and are truly a living learning lab. Everything is labeled so people can identify the plants, think about their own yard and what might work best for them."

Maloney agrees.

"Chadwick is a place of beauty, respite and education at all times of year," said, who also has appointments with Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. "In late fall and winter, you can come see what happens to trees and perennials after a heavy frost. You can see what plantings offer the best refuge for wildlife. And, on football Saturdays, Chadwick is the best place to tailgate before a game."

Maloney encourages anyone attending games or other events at the nearby Ohio Stadium or the Schottenstein Center to come early or stay late to take a walk through any or all of Chadwick's three major gardens. The Learning Gardens are located south of Fyffe Road and Woody Hayes Drive; the Lane Avenue Gardens are on Lane Avenue, between Fyffe Road and Olentangy River Road across from the Schottenstein; and Chadwick Arboretum North is west of the Schottenstein Center across Fred Taylor Drive.

Entry to the gardens is always free; "Pay-n-Display" pay machines are available in nearby Ohio State parking lots to purchase a visitor's parking pass ($1 an hour weekdays before 6 p.m.; $3 flat fee evenings and weekends); football game-day parking in those lots is $10.

For more information about Chadwick, see http://chadwickarboretum.osu.edu. For more information about GardenSMART, see http://gardensmart.com.