Winter in the Arboretum
Feb. 17, 2015—With most of the leaves off the trees, it is easy to think that there isn’t anything interesting to notice in the arboretum. But winter provides an opportunity to observe aspects of trees that one doesn’t notice when everything is green. I’ve been enjoying looking for interesting patterns in the trees around campus to document...
Words and Woods
Dec. 2, 2014—In this guest blog post, John Morrell talks about how stories shaped his view of the arboretum landscape. As I followed the online tree tour through the arboretum last week, admiring the changing of the leaves, I was reminded how much of my relationship to the trees at Vanderbilt has been shaped by walks I’ve...
Ginkgoes
Nov. 2, 2014—The ginkgo is one of my favorite tree species. Not only is it a beautiful tree, but it has many unusual features and interesting stories. The common name of the ginkgo is “maidenhair tree”. The tree gets this name because of the unusual branching vein pattern on its leaves (a pattern shared by the leaves...
Eat the trees!
Oct. 21, 2014—In this guest blog, Sara Samoray describes several edible fruits and nuts that can be found in the arboretum during the fall. What is that smooshy orange thing I just stepped on? Chances are, if you are walking in front of Branscomb Quad, that unpleasant looking orange mass is a tasty persimmon (Diospyros virginiana). This...
Reflections on Vanderbilt’s trees from a recent graduate
Oct. 9, 2014—In this guest blog post, Emma Steigerwald reflects on how the trees of the arboretum affected her decision to come to Vanderbilt and on how trees shaped her experience as a student. When I was visiting college campuses as a high school senior, Vanderbilt stood apart for its trees. Other campuses were barren, or hosted...
Welcome to the Arboretum blog
Sep. 29, 2014—You may be asking yourself “Why do Vanderbilt’s trees have a blog?” and “Who’s actually writing that blog since trees can’t actually type?” The answer to the first question is that we thought it would be nice to have a place where we could write more than is possible in a Facebook post or Twitter...