ARBORETUM tours

Tour #1 - Growing Color, From design to Implementation of the annual floral display - Beth Ross, Sponsored by Robi Decking

Tour Summary: This will be a walking tour through the production green houses at the Arboretum. See behind the scenes the planning and design drawings created for each year's floral display, then tour the production greenhouses that make the designs a reality. On this tour, participants will also learn about how the NC Arboretum produces high-quality plants while also minimizing the use of pesticides using integrative pest management. The tour will conclude with a tour of the final designed spaces in the gardens and a discussion of how they are cared for throughout the season.

Learning Objectives

- Learn about the design process for the annual seasonal landscape display

- Learn how the Arboretum uses IPM in their practices

Learn about the process of growing and installing the plants

Beth Ross

Beth grew up in Western North Carolina and frequently visited the arboretum as a youngster with her parents. She earned her Bachelor's in Biology at UNC-A and started her career as a research assistant at The Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station. From there she became a Horticulture/Agriculture teacher at Tuscola High School in Haywood County. In addition, she served as an advisor to the Future Farmers of America Club. After 13 years of teaching, growing, and advising, Beth moved to Colorado where she worked for Echter's Greenhouse and Garden Center, a large operation near Denver.
*Before moving to Denver, Beth volunteered at The North Carolina Arboretum as a moderator for the IPM Symposium, assisted Adult Education, and helped decorate for Winter Lights.*

Tour #2 - We have the plants! - Randy Richardson, Sponsored by NC Arboretum

Tour description: Come on a tour of the many environments of the NC Arboretum and the plants that reside within them. This tour will be focused on native plants of Western North Carolina and will help any designer better understand and how to incorporate plants into their own designs. Participants will hike several trails (1.5 miles) to see different plant populations.

Learning Objectives

- Learn how to Identify native plants

- Learn about native plant habitats

- Learn how the Arboretum teaches visitors about plants

***Randy Richardson***

Randy has served as one of our trail guide leaders at the North Carolina Arboretum since 2018. He is a graduate of our Blue Ridge Naturalist program and continues to develop his knowledge of Southern Appalachian Ecology. Randy's naturalist pursuits extend beyond our Arboretum gates as he also leads nature walks for Audubon, the Blue Ridge Naturalist Network, and the Western Carolina Botanical Club. And to enhance the accessibility of outdoor educational opportunities, each year he leads events for a group of blind children and young adults, providing an immersive trail experiences that explore the scents, tastes, and textures of plants. When not volunteering his time, Randy enjoys enhancing and maintaining his home landscape, which features more than 95% native plant species.

Tour #3 & #7- Garden Operations – Learn about the passion and organization it takes to maintain a world-class garden space - Brad Shore & Mac Franklin, Sponsored by Robi Decking

Tour Description: The guest will tour the operations facility at the NC Arboretum to learn about the elements that should be considered when designing and planning for facilities that maintain gardens, parks, and open spaces. The NC Arboretum’s operations center was designed to be a state-of-the-art facility that enabled staff to operate at their highest capacity. Participants will learn from the experience of staff, the key attributes of design when planning such a facility.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn how and why the site was selected for the location of the larger-than-life sculpture.

2. Learn the construction administration methods for the installation of sculptures in a natural setting. This will include how the artist was selected and working with a commissioned artist on the piece for the site design.

3. Learn about design process and the materials used for this project.

Brad Shore

Brad Shore has 30+ years of operational, administrative, and supervisory experience in facility maintenance, personnel management, mentoring, and team building; serving a dual role as both a leader and technical subject matter expert. Brad has worked at the Arboretum for the past 11 years and is also a retired Navy Veteran.

**Mac Franklin**

Since he was a teenager in Charlotte, **Mac** knew what his life’s work would be. He began landscaping during high school and continued the career while studying art, industrial art, and design at Appalachian State University. After college, Franklin moved west to work for a landscape architect in San Francisco and a nursery in Denver. He found his way to Asheville in 1993 to work at the Biltmore Estate’s gardens and grounds, then joined the team at the N.C. Arboretum.
Franklin is currently the arboretum’s director of horticulture and manages the teams that keep its 65 acres of cultivated gardens looking tiptop. As a metal sculptor who operates a workshop at the arboretum, he is the artist behind numerous planters, sculptures, and a birdbath in those gardens.

Tour #4 & #6 - Willow Pond – Designing an environment for a very specific salamander - Megan Foy & Owen Carson, Sponsored by Robi Decking

Tour Summary: This will be a tour of the Willow Pond site, walking tour (0.5 miles). Biology and design meet at Willow Pond, an award-winning landscape that was designed for the Mole Salamander and the NC Arboretum’s educational programming. Come and learn about a designer and owner partnership that brought science into this beautiful landscape's design and construction process. Every day, this landscape helps educate the next generation of scientists and environmental stewards.

Learning Objectives

- Learn about the design process and story behind Willow Pond

- Learn how to integrate biologic needs of a single species into the design outcome

- Learn how outdoor education was integrated into the final design

Megan Foy

Megan serves as a team member in the Landscape & Environmental Design Group, but also works closely with the Ecological Group. Her professional background includes projects in environmental restoration, stormwater BMP design, master planning, landscape design, and conservation planning. Megan holds degrees in both Biology and Landscape Architecture and utilizes these skills to create environmentally conscious designs. As a native of Asheville, she understands the importance of integrating responsible development practices with the conservation and restoration of our unique landscapes.

Owen Carson

After graduating from Brevard College in 2008 with a BS in Environmental Science and a Minor in Geology, Owen began his professional career with Equinox in 2010, working as a field technician and gaining skills in natural resources management. With an innate love of botany and ecology, Owen eventually found himself filling the role of Plant Ecologist, consulting on a wide variety of projects for Equinox. He is trained in NC Surface Water Identification, Wetlands Delineation, and Forest Inventory and Analysis/Forest Health Monitoring. Owen also holds an NC Pesticide Applicator's License (#026-29539) and has over 4 years of experience managing invasive exotic plants. In addition, he is a Certified Associate Ecologist with the Ecological Society of America. His passion for exploring native plants and habitats fuels his free-time activities, which include gardening, backpacking, climbing, and drawing.

Tour #5 - Stormwater Management – A Practical Summary after 15 Years Installed - Drake Fowler

Tour Summary: Participants will walk around the property (0.5 miles) and tour the many different stormwater features installed at the North Carolina Arboretum. Staff will summarize their effectiveness, successes, and failures. See the best-looking rain garden in the state of North Carolina and learn what it takes to maintain it properly. The group will tour intensive and extensive rain gardens, deep shale retention areas, bio-swales, retention basins controlled with flashboard risers, reinforced swales, swale socks, green roofs, and porous paving.

Learning Objectives:

- Learn how the storm water system at the Arboretum functions

- Learn from the successes and failures of the design water features

- Learn about successful plant selection in the current features