The Newsletter - Volume 32, No. 4
In this issue:  
Click on the link below to read the entire article, or scroll down to browse.

From the Director's Desk -  A Primer: Invasive Plants

Goldenrod Safari

ADK "Foothills" Hikes New Landis Trail

Landis - a Favorite Spot for Young Families!

From the Bookstore:  Landis Believes in Recycling!

A Tight Race for Teams

Landis Portraits:  Ed Radle

From the Garden:  Fall in the Van Loveland Garden

Spotlight on Sponsors: US Route 20, the Road Across America

Volunteer Recognition Fetes Volunteers Old and New

Special Thanks!
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Volume 32, Number 4
THE LANDIS ARBORETUM NEWSLETTER
is published quarterly for its members.
The Arboretum’s mission is to foster the appreciation of trees and other plants and their importance in our environment.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Erin Breglia; Gail Browning; Sue Gutbezahl; Wilma Jozwiak;   Lee Lattimer,  Nolan Marciniec, chair; Louise Polli; Ambika Sambasivan; and Louis Suarato
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
Erin Breglia, Fred Breglia, Gail Browning, Wilma Jozwiak,  Nolan Marciniec,  Anita Sanchez
PRINTER
Miller Printing and Litho, Amsterdam, NY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Jim Paley, President
Wilma Jozwiak, Vice President
Nolan Marciniec, Secretary
Carolyn Edwards, Treasurer
Jason Castle, At-large
Mariesa Jozwiak, Louise Polli, Ed Radle, Louis Suarato,  and Earl VanWormer
ARBORETUM STAFF
Fred Breglia, Executive Director
Nancy Stuebner, Office Manager
Erin Breglia, Gardener
We value your input. Please address correspondence to:
Newsletter Editor, Landis Arboretum
P.O. Box 186, Esperance, NY 12066.
Phone: 518-875-6935
Fax: 518-875-6394
Email: info@landisarboretum.org
Website: www.LandisArboretum.org
The Arboretum is located at 174 Lape Road, Esperance, NY. It is one and one-half miles north of Route 20 in Esperance. Follow the signs from the village to Lape Road. The Arboretum is one-quarter mile straight ahead. Visit our website for more information and directions.
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The Harvest Moon over Landis fields, captured by Landis photojournalist Louis Suarato.

From the Director's Desk    -  A Primer:  Invasive Plants    
Fred Breglia, Executive Director
An invasive plant can be defined as one that has the ability to thrive and spread aggressively outside its natural range, whereas a weed is any plant that grows where it’s not wanted. It is easy to differentiate one from the other. An invasive plant grows so aggressively that it literally takes over, disrupting the entire ecosystem in an area. A weed can be aggressive and invasive in a landscape yet be controlled more easily. An invasive plant can be a weed, but not all weeds are invasive plants. [Read more] 

Goldenrod Safari    -  Anita Sanchez

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A hungry predator crawls through a leafy jungle. Slow cautious movements make no sound. The well-camouflaged predator waits, motionless. Powerful forelegs stretch wide to grab its unwary prey.

Beware the goldenrod jungle!

A single goldenrod plant is a complex habitat, with leaves, stems, and flowers providing food and shelter for a bewildering variety of strange, hidden creatures. On your next hike at the Arboretum, take a safari along the length of a goldenrod plant. . (Goldenrod pollen is too heavy to be carried by the wind and does not cause hay fever, so there’s no need to keep your distance.)  [Read more]

Landis – A Favorite Spot for Young Families!  - Wilma Jozwiak

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A few years ago, Landis discovered a great “mommy blog” – that is, an online repository housing a very wide range of activities available in our region that appeal to families.  We started posting our activities on that blog, KidsOutAndAbout.Com.  Very soon thereafter, Fred Bregia, Executive Director, and Nancy Stuebner, Office Manager, began to notice an uptick in the numbers of families and children who came to enjoy the 
Arboretum.    [Read more]

A Tight Race for Teams              
- Gail Browning

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Saturday morning, August 16:  ideal conditions for the Landis 5K Forest Run.  Over 150 runners vied for the coveted wooden medallions awarded to the winner in each of seven age categories, male and female. 

The most exciting announcement was the compilation of team members’ individual times.  The three teams that competed tallied times within hundredths of seconds of each other:  the finish times were so close that the runners immediately started planning strategies for next year's race.

Congressman Chris Gibson sounded the horn to start the race.  He usually competes against Assemblyman Peter Lopez and Esperance Town Supervisor Earl VanWormer, but his schedule did not allow him to do so this year.  “Next year,” he said, echoing many of the participants.

Race results are posted on the Landis Arboretum website.

From the Garden:  Fall in the Van Loveland Garden
 - Erin Breglia, Landis Gardener

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The fall garden through Louis Suarato's lens.

There is perhaps no better place in the area to take in the beautiful scenery of autumn than Landis Arboretum. The vista of farmed hillsides and colorful maples trees in bright oranges, reds and yellows, as seen from the Meeting House deck, really is a “million-dollar view,” as our founder, Fred Lape, once said.  Against this backdrop, the Van Loveland Perennial Garden offers many autumnal textures and colors to delight the senses.  [Read more]
It isn't too early to think about holiday gifts, and a Landis membership is a gift that keeps on giving.  Members have access to reciprocal admission and/or discounts to almost 300 gardens and arboreta nationwide, a perk that can save the traveling member quite a bit.  Click here for more information on that benefit and several others!

ADK “Foothills” Hikes New Landis Trail  - Erin Breglia, Landis Gardener

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It was a very hot and muggy day when the Foothills chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) arrived at Landis, well south of its usual range. Twenty-one members were introduced to the Arboretum’s new Waterfall Trail, which will be open to the public in the spring of 2015.

Fred Breglia, who led the group, began at the Woodland Trail by pointing out the differences between old trees and old growth forests.  Signs of old growth typically include balding of the tree bark from the bottom up, undulating forest floors from trees falling down, and moss around the tree trunks. The old growth forest floors often feel spongy from dead bio-mass. [Read more]

From The Bookstore: 
Landis believes in recycling!  

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Nowhere is that more obvious than at the book sale portion of our fall and spring plant sales!  

Without the generous donations of all those books, we would never be able to help raise funds to keep our beloved Arboretum afloat for another year.  A heartfelt “Thank You” once again to all those who keep us supplied with books of all sorts.

And an equally heartfelt “Thank You” to those readers who come and browse our collection.  Recycling at its very best!  We depend on your generosity. Please remember it takes money to maintain our buildings and extensive grounds.  

We volunteers learn how many truly good people are out there!

Please come and recycle with us again in the spring!

The Bookies,

Ken and Marian Hotopp

LANDIS PORTRAITS:  A SERIES ABOUT THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PLANTS AT THE ARBORETUM
 - Nolan Marciniec

Ed Radle speculated that on a clear day he can almost see his house from the Meeting House deck. 

When he and his wife Ann moved into their retirement home in 2002, they were introduced to the Arboretum by taking a class, after which they hiked the trails, viewed the Great Oak, and (Ann pointed out) shopped at the Acorn Shop.  Gradually, over the years, Ed has been drawn more frequently to what he called “a wonder in our own backyard.” [Read more]

Volunteer Recognition Fetes Volunteers Old and New
 - Nolan Marciniec

PictureGood friends and great volunteers enjoy the day and the "million dollar view".
On Saturday, September 27, more than 50 volunteers, old and new, gathered at the Meeting House to recognize the contributions made by several Arboretum “veterans.” 

Board President Jim Paley said that people are perhaps the Arboretum’s greatest asset and that volunteers keep the Arboretum alive and vital.  As an example, he noted that Anne Donnelly coordinated over 500 volunteer hours for the recent plant sale.  [Read more]

Spotlight on Sponsors:    US Route 20, The Road Across America               
- Gail Browning

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New York State’s Route 20 Scenic Byway stretches from Duanesburg (Schenectady County) to Lafayette (Onondaga County) with “discovery” scenic corridors along the route featuring unique businesses, communities, and tourist attractions. 

The detailed brochure, available at either www.nyroute20.com or www.facebook.com/NYSRoute20ScenicByway, includes many excursions. For example, there is a day trip starting in Duanesburg on Route 20 West to Duanesburg Churches Road. Turning at the historic Christ Episcopal Church, the traveler can continue on to the Schenectady County Forest Preserve and the Featherstonehaugh State Forest. The forest is named for George W. Featherstonehaugh, who served as the nation’s first geologist and agricultural commissioner and is considered the father of the steam railroad.  He is also known for practicing crop rotation and scientific farming.    [Read more]

Special Thanks!

Sometimes people do something special "just because."  We'd like to recognize these special people from time to time.  Thanks to:
  • Gail Browning, for the countertops now in the Meeting House shed.
  • Gene Prout, Manager of the Esperance Hannaford, for Hannaford's generous support at our fundraising events.
  • John Scrima, for his time and expertise in improving the grounds at the Arboretum.  It certainly helps having a good neighbor - with heavy equipment!
  • The "Dream Team" - Steve Perog and Jim Murphy - for all of their carpentry work, the "whirlybirds" that  now ventilate the Meeting House  and installation of the countertops in the Meeting House shed in particular.
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Our Business Members, Sponsors, and Allies
We have been very fortunate to be associated with wonderful people throughout the history of the Arboretum.  Our volunteers are unbeatable, as anyone can tell who sees them in action.  So are our Business Members, who join the Arboretum at the corporate level;  our Sponsors, who help us with financial or in-kind support for one of the many activities or learning experiences Landis brings to the community; and our Allies, members of the business community or membership organizations who provide outstanding service to the Arboretum.  Please consider patronizing these great folks, and if you are interested in becoming a member of this group through memberships, sponsorship, or as an ally, please contact us at (518) 875-6935 or info@landisarboretum.org.