Get Growing Blog
Connecting people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants.
Most Recent
November 1, 2022
Fall Colors: Vermont We Aren’t
By Sandi Cesarov, Horticulturist
But Ohio’s Fall colors are spectacular! This is a time of year, when Ohioans need to remind themselves of how lucky they are. Not all Americans have the privilege of... more
November 1, 2022
Fall Hike: Core Natural Areas Edition
By Rob Maganja, Horticulturist
Welcome to the newest of the Holden Arboretum’s garden areas! The Core Natural Areas are relatively unmanaged forest fragments within the maintained garden area, and we currently are focusing on... more
October 28, 2022
Restoring the Restorative Garden
By Caroline Watson , Horticulturist
As you walk through the Elizabeth and Nona Evans Restorative Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Garden you may notice some exciting changes underway! The horticulture team is currently in the... more
October 21, 2022
Ash Trees Are Exploding with Seeds; Researchers Are Capitalizing on It
It’s a mast year for ash trees. Holden researchers are launching a new initiative to collect ash seeds from around the region. When conditions are just right, certain trees will... more
October 19, 2022
Why do Flowers Smell?
By Nicholas Chilson, Gardener
When you visit the Holden Arboretum or the Cleveland Botanical Garden, you can’t just spend all your time looking at our flowers. You need to smell them too! Of our... more
October 18, 2022
Winterizing the Rose Beds
By Stefanie Verish, B.A. Studio Art, Botany, Zoology, Horticulturist
It has been quite the productive season in the Swetland Rose Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens! Out went the old roses, and in went the new. Perennials and bulbs... more
October 18, 2022
A new Jesse Owens tree takes root at Old Brooklyn’s Rhodes High School
By Karin Connelly Rice, Fresh Water Cleveland Reporter
All photos by Bob Perkoski Olympic athlete Jesse Owens’ Cleveland legacy was preserved on Wednesday, Oct. 12, when representatives with Holden Forests & Gardens gathered at James Ford Rhodes High School to plant a... more
October 17, 2022
Jesse Owens Olympic Oak Sapling Planted at James Ford Rhodes High School where Owens Planted Original Tree 80 Years Ago
Last week, a propagated sapling was planted by Holden Forests & Gardens’ Tree Corps at James Ford Rhodes High School where Owens practiced track and field. The sapling was grown... more
October 13, 2022
An Inside Look at the Global Botanic Gardens Congress
By Connor Ryan, MS, Rhododendron Collections Manager
By Connor Ryan, HF&G Rhododendron Collections Manager The last week of September I attended the 7th Global Botanic Gardens Congress in Melbourne, Australia. This is a semi-regular meeting of botanic... more
October 11, 2022
Jesse Owens Olympic Oak Tree Continues to take Root this Fall with New Documentary and Grafted Sapling Next to Site of Original Tree
Eighty-five years ago, a priceless oak tree was planted by Jesse Owens in Cleveland at James Ford Rhodes High School, a symbol of athletic and cultural triumph. This fall, a... more
October 7, 2022
Science on Friday: Why are there bags on the Rhododendrons?
Why public gardens are both beautiful and useful too. Jean H. Burns, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University If you have walked around Holden Arboretum in the... more
October 6, 2022
The Much-Maligned Goldenrods
By Dawn Gerlica, Senior Horticulturist
Ahh-choo! It’s the end-of-summer hay fever season once again and people are feeling it. The poor goldenrod is often blamed, so it’s time for me to get on my soapbox... more
September 30, 2022
Trivia Answers and Farewell to Mushroom Month
By Claudia Bashian-Victoroff, MS, Research Specialist
By Claudia Bashian-Victoroff September is ending and fall is in full swing. As the leaves on the trees start to change and the wind turns chilly, we bid farewell to... more
September 23, 2022
Inside a Scientific Conference: Mycological Society of America
By Claudia Bashian-Victoroff, MS, Research Specialist
By Claudia Bashian-Victoroff Every year in July the mycologists of America converge for a week of academic talks, scientific posters, riveting discussions about fungal biology, and professional networking. This year,... more
September 15, 2022
For the Love of Fungi: an ode to the amateur mycologist
By Claudia Bashian-Victoroff, MS, Research Specialist
By Claudia Bashian-Victoroff Mycology, or the study of fungi, is a small but growing field. For many of us career mycologists this has been a curious but fantastic trend to... more
September 12, 2022
Growing Figs
By Matt Edwards, Animal Care Specialist
Figs have been cultivated for thousands of years and are one of the earliest plants to have been cultivated. They are originally from warm climates in western Asia and the... more
September 8, 2022
Connecting Above- and Below-Ground Worlds
By Sarah Kyker, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate
by Sarah Kyker We are continuing to celebrate National Mushroom Month at HF&G all September long! Today, we want to appreciate fungi even when they are not fruiting. While mushrooms... more
September 2, 2022
Mushroom Month Trivia
By Claudia Bashian-Victoroff, MS, Research Specialist
By Claudia Bashian-Victoroff September is one of our favorite months in the Holden Forests & Gardens Soil Ecology lab. Why? Because it is National Mushroom Month. Many people celebrate National... more
August 29, 2022
Welcome to Holden, Chelsea!
Dr. Chelsea Miller is a new postdoc, hosted by Holden to explore range dynamics of spring ephemeral wildflowers. Interested in possible career pathways in the world of public gardens, Chelsea... more
August 29, 2022
Core Natural Areas Recent History
By Annie Rzepka, Director of Arboretum Horticulture One of the many reasons HF&G is unique is that one membership affords a matrix of high quality natural and cultivated landscape experiences... more
August 26, 2022
Can I save my beech tree? And other beech care questions, answered
By David J. Burke, PhD, Vice President for Science and Conservation
You asked, and Holden Forest & Garden’s beech tree expert, David Burke, answered. By David Burke & Anna Funk If you live anywhere near northeastern Ohio, you may have noticed... more
August 26, 2022
Why you should trim your beech trees in September
By David J. Burke, PhD, Vice President for Science and Conservation
By: David Burke & Anna Funk Beech trees looking a little rough? Ours, too. Beech leaf disease is prevalent in our area. You’ll know it by the green stripes (called... more
August 25, 2022
Inside an Ecology Conference
By Emma Dawson-Glass , Research Specialist
Participating in conferences is one of the best and most fun ways to learn about current scientific findings and connect with people in your field. This past week, Alexa Wagner... more
August 24, 2022
Spotted Lanternfly
By Bernadette Gallagher, Gardener
The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, is an invasive leafhopper making its way into our region. Originally from China, India, and Vietnam, it is thought to have made its way stateside... more
August 24, 2022
A Prickly Foe
By Lorinda Laughlin, Gardener
I’ve learned many things working as a Gardener here at the Arboretum, particularly regarding the importance of promoting and maintaining biodiversity. Much of what I’ve learned I have tried to... more
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