Bernheim Arboretum: Adhering To The Zen In Horticulture

By Kevin Burrows, LSMP Regional Editor

At Kentucky?EUR??,,????'???s official arboretum, spring at Bernheim brings the flowering of dogwood (Cornus spp.) and redbud (Cercis Canadensis) trees. The 250-acre site is one of the state?EUR??,,????'???s largest protected areas and takes a trained staff of horticultural technicians to maintain its thousands of tree species.

Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest is a privately owned non-profit organization nestled in the scenic Kentucky knoblands. One of the largest protected areas in the state, Bernheim encompasses a 250-acre nationally recognized arboretum, landscaped gardens, tranquil lakes, a 14,000 acre research forest, along with 30 miles of hiking trails. Welcoming around 250,000 visitors every year the staff is dedicated to connecting people with nature. Recently, the facility was named a Greenstar Honor Award Winner by the PGMS.

They have developed native habitat display areas and landscapes to try to educate the visiting public about the natural ecosystem of Kentucky.

Workers dig saplings that were planted in Bernheim?EUR??,,????'???s 42-acre plant nursery. The trees were then taken and planted at the stream restoration project located in the research forest?EUR??,,????'???s natural areas.

Horticulture Staff

Horticulture Director, Dena Rae Garvue heads a relatively small staff of 10-12 full time horticultural technicians as well as five interns in the summer.

She has been at her post at Bernheim for the past three and half years, and has been in horticulture, collection management, and botanic garden settings since the mid 1970?EUR??,,????'???s. With an expertise in conservation horticulture she is right at home in a natural forest where the goal is to conserve and preserve native habitats.

Bernheim in 2005 opened a new visitor center, constructed in accordance to the US Green Building Council?EUR??,,????'???s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. The roof is covered with 6000 square feet of native grasses and wildflowers, and is divided into four mini-gardens. It is maintained through daily monitoring and weed removal.

Budget & Equipment

The budget for landscaping, not including personal, is under $50,000, project driven, and therefore varies from year to year. ?EUR??,,????'??We vie for grants and put out annual fundraising campaigns,?EUR??,,????'?? said Garvue. ?EUR??,,????'??We get gifts and donations as well. I think we have a generous operating budget year to year.?EUR??,,????'??

Therefore, unless a piece of machinery needs major work, it is maintained by the crew?EUR??,,????'???s in-house mechanic.

Yearlong Maintenance

When speaking to Garvue in early March, the team was finishing leaf removal and preparing the areas for seeding by doing daily burns. ?EUR??,,????'??We will be increasing mowing at the end of the month,?EUR??,,????'?? said Garvue. ?EUR??,,????'??We are in maintenance mode right now.?EUR??,,????'??

Slow release fertilizer (25-2-5) is applied mostly in the fall with the summer months consisting of overfeeding and fertilization. There are 28-32 weeks of mowing during the warm weather. The crew has a short window for seeding, however, from mid February to mid March. For damaged areas and for raw renovations, they use a seed starter fertilizer (13-25-12). They use roundup for weed control, but are not interested in using a lot of chemicals, preferring instead to let nature take its course.

Volunteers and staff collect seed from the seed plots in Bernheim’s 42 acre plant nursery. 32 seed plots contain a diversity of native grasses and wildflowers. Seeds are collected from the plots in the fall, then dried, cleaned, and stored in a walk-in cooler (34-41 degrees F). Seeds are sown in the spring and plants are cultivated for the visitor center?EUR??,,????'???s green roof, native habitat display areas, perennial beds, and restoration projects in the natural areas.

Trees, Turf and Plants

The arboretum showcases a diverse collection of over 1,900 scientifically documented and labeled varieties of trees, shrubs and other plants including dogwoods, maples, hollies, magnolias, witch hazels and buckeyes. The arboretum mainly consists of woody plants with over 6000 excessions. Every time a new plant comes into the arboretum they create a record that includes its background and vital statistics.

There are a number of gardens with traditional formal planting that are renovated from time to time to stay current. They do not spend a lot of money on flowers, however, with perennial and annual beds mainly utilized as accent pieces for the woody elements.

Prescription field burning is performed by the Bernheim staff. While they can burn from October through April, they do it primarily in the spring because soil moistures are high, fuels are still relatively dry and grasses and wildflowers have not turned green. As precautions, prescriptions are written for each controlled burn and the Kentucky Department of Forestry (DOF) along with county sheriff and emergency services are notified. Bernheim works closely with the DOF, to abide by the ?EUR??,,????'??Forest Protection Laws of Kentucky.?EUR??,,????'?? Staff members are trained in wild land fire behavior and fire fighter training safety orientation, and have to pass a pack test (walk 2 miles in 30 minutes with 25 pounds) to participate in a burn.

Challenges

?EUR??,,????'??The whole challenge is growing and accommodating a large audience,?EUR??,,????'?? said Garvue. ?EUR??,,????'??Honoring our past but trying to move forward. Conversation is certainly a major focus and we are trying to do this on many different levels.

Education is a starting point. Adding plants of concern, propagating plants in appropriate native habitats. We follow strict scientific guidelines and we are here to connect people to nature. There is a Zen in horticulture and we should be very mindful of how energy is utilized.?EUR??,,????'??