The Penn Stater Magazine

More Images from the Arboretum

July 5, 2012 at 4:44 pm Tina Hay 2 comments

I had a friend in town a couple of weekends ago—Tina Owen, who is editor of the alumni magazine at the University of Iowa. She had never visited this area before, so I had a good time taking her to some of the key spots: the Lion Shrine, the Victorian homes in Bellefonte, Faccia Luna…. (I realize Faccia Luna isn’t on anyone’s official tour of Centre County, but as far as I’m concerned it’s not to be missed.)

Tina is a Master Gardener back in Iowa, so she and I also spent some time at the Arboretum at Penn State. And wow, is it looking gorgeous these days. It’s really amazing to me how far it has come in the two years since the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens were dedicated—there are trees and shrubs and ornamental grasses and a huge area of seasonal plants, not to mention a lotus pool. The Arboretum is rapidly becoming a must-see attraction for visitors, and in fact we saw lots of other people strolling the gardens while we were there.

In the end, Tina pronounced the Arboretum “super stunning.”

In addition to the water lily at the top of the page, here are a few photos I took that afternoon. (Click on any of them to see it larger.) First, here’s a plant called Bear’s Breeches, a type of Acanthus:

Here’s an iris of some sort. Tina could probably tell you the exact genus and species.

Next is, we think, a coneflower (Echinacea) that hasn’t yet bloomed:

And here is a zinnia in full bloom—it’s just a green zinnia, I guess?

This reminds me that if you plan to visit the Arboretum, stop up at the visitors’ pavilion first and pick up one of their leaflets that offers a guide to the stuff you’ll be seeing. Some of the plantings have markers with their exact genus and species, but the seasonal plants have markers with only numbers on them—and it helps to have the leaflet handy so that you’ll know that No. 23, say, is a “Zinnia Green Envy” or whatever. Tina and I did it in the reverse order: We strolled the gardens first, then picked up the plant listing. Oh well.

Here’s a cone from a tree called a limber pine:

And here is a water lily that hadn’t yet bloomed:

Watch for a photo essay on the Arboretum in our next issue, if all goes well—with photos taken not by me but one or more professionals whom our art director will hire. We just think the Arboretum has quickly become one of Penn State’s real jewels.

Tina Hay, editor

Entry filed under: Arboretum at Penn State, University Park campus. Tags: acanthus, Tina Owen, water lily, zinnia.