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University of Nebraska–Lincoln

UNL Gardens

A Beautiful Way To Learn


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Scarecrow and a yellow moon,
And pretty soon a carnival on the edge of town,
                    King harvest has surely come. ----The Band
quote archive

Welcome to the UNL Gardens website!

WHAT'S HAPPENING:


Fall Blooming Bulbs at Evasco

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Crocus pulchellus



Autumn Day
Lord: it is time.
The summer was so immense.
Lay your shadow on the sundials,
and let loose the wind in the fields.
Bid the last fruits be full;
give them another two more southerly days,
press them to ripeness,
and chase the last sweetness into the heavy wine.
Whoever has no house now will not build one anymore.
Whoever is alone now will remain so for a long time,
will stay up, read, write long letters and wander the avenues,
up and down, restlessly, while the leaves are blowing.

Rilke



 

Fall Color on Campus!

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Carya ovata
Shagbark Hickory


Maple Information is now posted!



We have installed labels in the Evasco Demonstration and Teaching Garden east of Keim Hall. Come learn what's what!
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This is the time of year when a lot of shrubs start ripening their fruits and berries. Keep an eye on the viburnums and don't miss the Callicarpa (Purple Beautyberry) northwest of the bridge.
Fruit and Nut Tree Map and Plant Information
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New Prunus besseyi (Western Sandcherry) planted June 26th, the day that Charles Bessey was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame. click here for more info
and click here to view historical documentation related to Charles E. Bessey and the Western Sand Cherry

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IN MEMORIAM
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We lost one of the oldest trees on campus in August when the so-called "Russian Oak" across from the Dairy Store was taken down. Age, road construction, and a lightning strike last year, all contributed to the tree's decline. The tree is actually an English Oak that was planted from acorns brought from Russia in 1905. University horticulturist R.A. Emerson is credited with planting this tree which stood as a welcoming beacon at one of the campus's south entrances.

We are dedicated to the proposition that the living horticultural resources of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s East Campus are not only places to enjoy aesthetically, they are an invaluable educational tool, a place to reflect on life; they are an often overlooked jewel in the crown of Lincoln’s greenspaces.


UNL Gardens is a joint project of the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture and the Friends of Maxwell Arboretum.  As such, it will address both the academic department’s gardens as well as the arboretum and other East Campus UNL Botanic Garden and Arboretum (UNLBGA) sites.


Why on earth, you might ask, does the world need another plant website? There are surely enough by now. While it is true that there are plenty of excellent sites where you can access information about plants, we hope ours will present some major differences. First, we are concerned primarily with the specific plants found on East Campus; our information will act as a guide to those visiting campus and a resource for those who cannot. Secondly, we believe in the principal put forth by Elizabeth Lawrence: “Gardening, reading about gardening, and writing about gardening are all one; no one can garden alone” (The Little Bulbs: A Tale of Two Gardens, 1957). You’ll find lots of horticultural “read more about it” here, with a special emphasis on historical resources. We aim as well, to link the horticultural world to the greater world of ideas, to literature, philosophy, history, politics, and poetry. If gardening were just about the plants it would be a great thing; the fact that it connects us to an experience of the wider world is what imbues it with meaning and makes it a sustaining force in our lives.


In addition to material on the gardens of East Campus, we will present information on the horticultural history of the campus, published resources on horticulture of the Great Plains from the past 140 years, and links to other great websites to enrich your gardening experience and love of plants.


This website is in its infancy--a seedling. Check back often to see what new information has been posted. My style on this site will be informal, a discussion between friends. So let me know what else you’d like to see, what information you can add.


See you in the gardens,

Emily Levine
Special Projects Research Horticulturist
Department of Agronomy and Horticulture/
UNL Garden Friends/Friends of Maxwell
University of Nebraska–Lincoln

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Aster oblongifolius
'Raydon's Favorite'

Evasco Demonstration and Teaching Garden
October 19, 2009

(Still in full bloom on November 11)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A note on the photographs:
I try to change the photographs on the main pages with the seasons. Almost all of the pictures on this website are of actual plants on East Campus. Unless otherwise indicated, photographs are copyrighted to Emily Levine. No reproductions in any format are allowed without permission.

 

 

 

 



GREAT BERRIES & OTHER FRUIT


Fruit and Nut Tree Gallery (photographs)

Oriental photinia
Callicarpa dichotoma
Rosa pulverulenta

Crataegus species
Asimina triloba
Malus
cultivars
Cotoneaster apiculatus

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Photinia villossa
along Holdrege Street

click here for information on the fruit and nut trees of Maxwell Arboretum


WHAT'S BLOOMING NOW!


In Evasco:

Rosa species
Aster oblongifolius 'Raydon's Favorite'
Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Double Spottie'
Lychnis chalcedonica
Chrysanthemum UNL's Dale Lindgren's breeding program
Conoclinum coelestinum Blue Mistflower
Rudbeckia fulgida var. speciosa 'Viette's Little Suzy'


In Maxwell:
HERBACEOUS:

Aster novae-angliae
Chrysanthemum 'Clara Curtis'
Clematis species
Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb'
Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Double Spottie'
check bloom time chart for more
SHRUBS:
Rosa species


NEW POSTINGS:

Maples of Maxwell Arboretum

Fruit and Nut Tree Gallery

Lagerstroemia indica

Lindens of Maxwell Arboretum

New Evasco Plants--Spring 2009

Maxwell Arboretum Bloom Time Chart (PDF)

Yeutter Berm Plant Inventory in HTML

Yeutter Rock Garden Map

Fleming Slope Map: Common and Latin Names

Fruit and Nut Trees of Maxwell Arboretum

New Plants on Evasco Berm, Fall 2008

Review of the new edition of Fiala's Lilacs!

Review of new chestnut books

Early Builders of the East Campus Landscape

S.W. Perin's Journal Exerpts