• Gift Certificates Available Now!
• Chair's Note
• Latin Names for Gardeners – Part 2
• New Website
• Birding in the Botanic Garden
• City Forestry Plan
• Memorial Products at the Garden
• Jim Goltz Awarded Coronation Medal
• Build Your Own Birch Reindeer Workshop
• Upcoming Events
• Plant Sale Donations
• Crossword

I don’t know about you, but it feels like the Garden is busier than ever these day! The Winter holiday season is almost upon us – this past weekend, we had a terrific Make and Take A Birch Reindeer workshop with volunteer Vic Dunphy – and I don’t know where the summer went. To name just a few highlights from the past few months, we’ve hosted Bard in the Barracks’ production of Romeo and Juliet, the City’s Artists in Residence program returned to the Garden as did the Kids Program, we expanded our summer programming offerings to include workshops on building bat houses, seed saving and other topics, we participated in a provincial food forest tour, we’ve adopted an evergreen 10-year garden development plan, we’re responding to your feedback on the need for a focus on native plants both in the Garden and in the annual plant sale, and with the help of some handy volunteers and a grant from the federal New Horizons for Seniors Program, we’ve been able to renovate one of our greenhouses to make it wheelchair-accessible and enhance our ability to deliver inclusive programming.

All of this activity indicates that the Garden is becoming an important cultural, recreational, tourism, and educational landmark in Fredericton, which is what its founders intended. The staff and Board are turning our minds to the upcoming 35th anniversary of the formalization of the Fredericton Botanic Garden in 1993 under the stewardship of the FBGA in partnership with the City of Fredericton. We’ll look forward to celebrating this with all of you in 2025, and I hope that you will share your ideas and stories with us as we start planning.

 

As with all non-profit member-driven enterprises, the Garden’s continued development relies on a solid base of volunteers. We have three standing committees, two of which are looking for volunteers: the Community Engagement Committee is responsible for helping with fundraising and communications, including the newsletter and website, and the Member & Volunteer Services Committee is tasked with supporting the development of enhanced, inclusive programming and ensuring Board succession planning. The third, the Site Development Committee, is very popular and has a healthy number of participants, but I’d like to assure you that the other two committees can be just as much, if not more fun to be a part of. We hope that you will consider joining us in these vital parts of the FBGA. Please contact me if you’d like more information.

 

As a growing public asset, the Garden’s current development and maintenance requirements exceed existing resources. To sustainably realize its potential, the FBGA and City have agreed that we need a renewed vision and long-term plan for the Garden. This will be developed through a joint long term planning process that will be launched in the new year once a consultant has been identified to support the process. Some of you may remember our Past Chair Steve Heard speaking about this in March at our AGM.

 

In broad outline, this review will include research into similar municipal/provincial-non-profit partnership models with a view to identifying ways to enhance our partnership, inclusive stakeholder consultation, and expert advice on botanic garden development and sustainability. The process will unwind over 2025 and result in recommendations for the adoption of a common vision to guide the scope and nature of the Garden’s future development and operations and the preparation of a 10-year strategy with priorities for sustainable development, maintenance, and operation of the Garden.

 

The Board and staff are very excited about going into this process and we will keep you informed as things develop.

 

Thank you to everyone for your continued engagement and support of the Garden and FBGA. 

 

Bronwen Cunningham

chair@frederictonbotanicgarden.com

 

P.S.: As 2025 comes to a close, I encourage you to consider the Garden in your charitable giving.

In our last issue I explained why it is that scientists, and many gardeners, use the Latin names of plants rather than the common names that are (often) simpler and more familiar. Now I have a confession to make: although I call them “Latin” names, and almost everyone does, Latin names aren’t Latin. Or at least, they needn’t be; and that makes them much more interesting.

The coining of Latin names is regulated by a rather legalistic document called the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants (there’s a similar but not identical Code for animal naming). One rule that surprises a lot of people is in the Code’s Articles 20 and 23, which specify that genus and species names may be composed from any language source at all, and even “arbitrarily”. That means there’s nothing special about Latin vocabulary as a source of plant names. Yes, many names are Latin in origin: your salad lettuce Lactuca sativa comes from Latin lac-, meaning milk, in allusion to the milky white latex wild species produce, and sativa, meaning cultivated). But they needn’t be. Plant “Latin” names can come from any language or even no language at all.

Here's where it gets fun. There are at least 7,000 distinct human languages, and if you go hunting, you can find traces of many of them in the names of plants (and animals). Consider the eastern hemlock, so abundant in Odell just adjacent to our garden: it’s Tsuga canadensis. Tsuga is from Japanese (where it just means “hemlock”); “ canada” is from Iroquoian “ kanata” meaning settlement; and -ensis is a Latin suffix meaning “coming from”. The Marah in the wild cucumber Marah fabaceus is from Hebrew marah, or “bitter” (and it is). The coca in Erythroxylum coca (the coca plant) and the quinoa in Chenopodium quinoa (the grain quinoa) are both from the Peruvian Indigenous language Quechua. The yaatapsap in Garcinia yaatapsap, a tree from Myanmar, means “medicine to join the liver back together” in Tai Laing, and you can probably guess at the tree’s medicinal use. The species name for the extremely spiny East African succulent Euphorbia kalisana comes from Kiswahili kali sana, or “very fierce”, which sounds about right. And languages can be nested like Russian dolls: the genus Bambusa, the bamboos, comes from the Dutch bamboes, which was borrowed from Portuguese bambu, which was borrowed in its turn from Malay bambu, which was borrowed from Kannada bambu (Kannada is a language from southwest India). Phew! 

Some “Latin” names don’t come from any language at all; or at least, not directly. In “eponymous” names, which are very common, the plant name is based on the name of a person rather than a word. Magnolia, for example, doesn’t have a word at its root; it’s based instead on the name of a 17th-century botanist, Pierre Magnol. (Magnol’s story is fascinating, but will have to wait for another day). Finally, a name can just be an arbitrary combination of letters. Sometimes such names are meaningless. But sometimes they’re vehicles for hidden messages, as in the African stonecrop Kalanchoe mitejea. It was named by a pair of lovers, and mitejea is an anagram of “je t’aime”. 

 

So why, if Latin names can come from any language or no language at all, do we call them “Latin” names at all? Two reasons. First, Latin etymologies are still quite common, likely as a holdover from the era when using Latin was a signal of academic belonging. Second, some other rules in the naming Code specify that once a name is formed, it’s treated in some ways  as if it were Latin. One example: species names and genus names have to agree in gender. This is why, when botanists realized the flowers we’d been calling Aster aren’t all closely related and broke up the genus, the flat-topped aster Aster umbellatus became D oellingeria umbellata (umbellatus being masculine and umbellata feminine). I can forgive you, though, if you find this wrinkle arbitrary and not nearly as much fun as tracing origins from Quechua, Kiswahili, and Kannada!

Should we ditch the term “Latin name”? Some scientists have, preferring to say “scientific name” instead. But “Latin” is more common, and we have enough biological jargon without adding to it. Perhaps read literally, “Latin name” is a bit misleading, but I’m OK with that. After all, butterflies aren’t flies, and they aren’t made out of butter, and we’ve mostly managed to avoid being confused by that.

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that the Fredericton Botanic Garden Association will be launching a new website, early in 2025!  Thanks to a grant from the provincial Department of Tourism, Recreation and Culture, we were able to retain the services of Fredericton’s own Ginger Agency, to work with us on this project.

 

Expect a familiar, but fresh look and feel, with easier navigation and more up to date features.  We are still in the testing phase, but anticipate offering a one stop process for registering and paying for events.

 

We look forward to your feedback.

Twenty-two species of birds were identified by 9 keen birders with the Fredericton Nature Club in the Botanic Garden on Saturday September 28th. Careful listening and looking, particularly with binoculars, revealed many more birds than we first thought we would find between 9 and 10:30 on a late fall morning.

 

Our route took us from the parking lot at the Resource Centre up past the Pollinator Garden and then the entire Creekside Trail. It was on this trail that we flushed a Ruffed Grouse, which then took up a position in a nearby tree where we could easily observe it. Coming back down though the Fern Gallery to the Literature Garden and then the service road brought more birds to our eyes and ears. A walk down to the bridge in O’Dell Park proved to be a quiet one for birds.

Besides the usual Blue Jays, Crows and Chickadees, highlights of birds seen or heard included both Ruby-Crowned and Golden-Crowned Kinglets, a Blue-headed Vireo, Cedar Waxwings, a Hermit Thrush, White-throated and Song Sparrows, White-breasted Nuthatch, both Downey and Hairy Woodpeckers and several Robins.

The site of the Fredericton Botanic Garden is an old farm, and we run alongside Odell Park, with its old growth hemlock. The Garden’s fortunes are intimately entwinned with that of Odell and the rest of the urban canopy.

 

Did you know that, at 63.4%, Fredericton’s urban forest canopy compares very favourably with other cities across Canada? Other places range from about 18% in Vancouver to 43% in Halifax. Additionally, we have a diverse urban forest although certain species prevail (maple species, balsam fir and red spruce). 89% of Fredericton’s trees are native species.

 

Fredericton’s trees are an important part of our local identity and sense of place. They also provide important ecosystem services, producing oxygen, contributing to carbon storage and sequestration, removing pollutants and helping to avoid runoff. Challenges for ensuring our urban forest’s health and wellbeing include managing invasive pests (e.g. emerald ash borer, hemlock woolly adelgid), climate change impacts, development, and ensuring that socioeconomic status doesn’t dictate one’s ability to benefit from the urban forest. 

 

These are some of the findings of Stantec’s Urban Forest Management Strategy report, which will inform the City’s adoption this Fall of an urban forestry strategy. Stantec’s recommendations address a wide range of issues, such as ensuring that green infrastructure is valued in the City’s planning and development decisions, maximizing climate adaptation and resilience, public education, braiding knowledge with Sitansisk and other First Nations, and increasing the annual tree planting target from about 500 to up to 1000.

 

For more information, see: https://engagefredericton.ca/urban-forest

 

The Fredericton Botanic Garden is a special place to many of us.  For some, it’s also a place to acknowledge a loved who has passed, or a special life event.  Your Garden offers three different ways to have a permanent memorial, or tribute.

 

If you are a Garden regular, you’ve likely noticed the striking burgundy benches, with messages engraved.  Or perhaps you stopped to read the plaque under a memorial tree.  Maybe you’ve visited the Memorial Grove, where magnolia trees abound and a large granite is inscribed with names and dates.

 

What you may not have realized is that in addition to being a significant recognition piece, the costs of benches, trees, and inscriptions are fully eligible for a charitable tax receipt, because they are a gift to the Garden.   As a registered charity, the Fredericton Botanic Garden Association issues you a tax receipt for your donation.

 

The benches are constructed of solid steel and permanently mounted on a cement pad. They feature a brass plaque, for your inscription.  Benches are currently $5800 ($2000 deposit on ordering, $2000 upon approval of the proof of the plaque, and $1800 just prior to installation).  We do not know if there will be another price increase from our supplier in 2025, but it is possible.

We have quite a broad selection of trees from which you can choose. If you are thinking of a species that is not on our list, we would be happy to discuss it with you.  A stand alone, engraved plaque, in front of the tree, allow you to convey a personal message.  Our trees are currently $850 ($300 deposit on ordering, $300 upon approval of the proof of the plaque, and $250 prior to planting).

Engraving a name and dates on the Granite in the Memorial Grove is currently $650 ($300 deposit on ordering, $250 upon approval of the proof of the plaque, and $100 prior to engraving).  Some people choose to have the engraving done during their lifetime, leaving it to their loved ones to add a final date.

 

Deposits made before the end of December will be eligible for 2024 pricing and a 2024 charitable tax receipt.  For additional information, email us at info@frederictonbotanicgarden.com, or call us at (506) 452-9269.

Last month, Dr. James (Jim) Goltz was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal by Lt. Gov. Brenda Murphy.  Jim had the unique distinction of being nominated by two organizations, the Fredericton Botanic Garden Association and the Nature Trust of New Brunswick.

To be eligible for this prestigious award, recipients must have made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada. Jim’s nomination was based on his outstanding volunteerism, significant contributions to the protection of New Brunswick’s environment, and leadership in the conservation sector.

Jim is a past president of the Fredericton Botanic Garden Association and can be found in the Garden as often as not.  He is one of our most dedicated volunteers and in addition to planting and weeding, he plays a significant role of the mentoring of our summer students.

 

On behalf of all the Garden’s members, volunteers, and visitors, a heartfelt congratulations to Jim!

The White Garden was designed to showcase plants with white flowers and/or white patterns in the foliage and is, to date, the only garden in the Fredericton Botanic Garden to have a colour theme. It is situated between the rhododendron bud sculpture (“Rhodo”) and the lower end of the Fern Gallery and is one of our longest-standing gardens. The original design featured a honeysuckle as centerpiece, flanked by two small showy evergreens, with a backdrop of  Lamium, and a smattering of Lily-of-the-Valley, various Hostas, a white-flowered rose (fortunately not the invasive Multiflora Rose), and a few other plantings.  Also fortunately, Goutweed was not among them. The honeysuckle has become very large and showy when in bloom, and has great structural character, but sadly the two evergreens did not survive. It is likely that this garden enjoyed much more sunshine when it was originally planted but it now is fairly heavily shaded with White Ash and a few Balsam Fir.

There was concern that too few shade-loving plants with white blooms or foliage were available, so consideration was given to converting this to a shade garden and abandoning the restrictive colour theme. However, the addition of garden plants that seem to be very tolerant of a wide range of light conditions, more native species and some interesting new cultivars has enabled us to adhere to the original theme.

 

Pagoda Dogwood has been planted near the back of the garden, as a succession plan in case the honeysuckle should perish, and behind this is a backdrop of Red-osier Dogwood, augmented with a few Serviceberries. Sweet Cicely, Canada Anemone, Sneezeweed Yarrow, and Goose-necked Loosestrife now form a perimeter toward the back and sides of the garden and can hold their own with the ever-spreading patch of Lamium. Many species native to eastern North America have been added, including Mayapple, Canada Mayflower, Foamflower, Starflower, Large False Solomon’s Seal and Bunchberry. Apart from the honeysuckle, the most enduring highlights are several plants of an exotic cultivated Foamflower that has a very prolonged blooming period. White-flowered forms of Pulmonaria (known to many as William and Mary), Geranium, Violet, Azalea and other classic garden plants have been added, along with Chameleon Plant, white-flowered Onion, some variegated sedges and grasses (including a small hardy bamboo), some Anabelle Hydrangeas and others. When a small patch of pale pink Lily-of-the-Valley appeared, we could not resist leaving it.

 

Since run-off in the spring and after torrential autumn and winter rains threatened to erode the front of the garden, it was fortified with a border of small rocks and native sedges are being added around the periphery of these. This garden is undoubtedly at its showiest in the spring and early summer. Maybe you have or know of a lovely non-invasive plant that might enhance the beauty of this garden. Suggestions and donations are always welcome. 

Holiday Spirit was alive and well at the Fredericton Botanic Garden, on November 23rd! It may have been a cold, wet day outside, but the greenhouse was a busy spot during Vic Dunphy’s Make & Take a Birch Reindeer Workshop!

 

Ably assisted by Melanie Storey and Heather Connors-Dunphy, Vic led approximately 20 participants in the assembly of a handsome herd of reindeer. New skills were learned (impact drivers have more oomph than a drill) and decorating tips (consider the elements when selecting your bow) shared.

 

There was lots of laughter as just the right head tilt (for the reindeer) was chosen and friendly banter over who had the right to name their reindeer Vic. New friendships were also forged, judging by the exchange of phone numbers, over post-workshop hot chocolate and cookies.

 

Many thanks to Vic, Melanie, and Heather. Thanks also to Garden Vice Chair, Michael Stastny, for harvesting fallen (or on the verge) birch, for the workshop.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and Vic has agreed to host another reindeer workshop in 2025.

Learn Nordic Pole Walking

Join us for an introductory course in Nordic Pole Walking.  Poles are provided and classes are small, so register soon by emailing us at info@frederictonbotanicgarden.com.​

 

Date: November 30th

Time: 2:00 pm

Location: 10 Cameron Court

Price: $15

 

Wandering in a Frosted Wonderland

As part of FROSTival, join renowned naturalist, Dr. Jim Goltz, for an interpretive tour of the Fredericton Botanic Garden, followed by a hot chocolate social in the Resource Centre, at 10 Cameron Court.  During the Garden tour, Dr. Jim will identify plants, trees, birds, and if they aren’t too shy, our resident critters.  Bring your cameras and your questions. Approximate time 75 minutes. There is no admission fee, but donations are encouraged. Register at info@frederictonbotanicgarden.com.

 

10:00 am - Saturday, January 25th     
2:00 pm - Sunday, January 26th

Location:  10 Cameron Court

 

Wabanaki Tree Spirit Medicine Walk with Culinary Experience

Also part of FROSTival, Journey from ODell Park Lodge to the Fredericton Botanic Garden Resource Centre, while learning the cultural significance of local plants and diving into stories of Wabanaki history. Upon arrival, you’ll be treated to a delicious Vegan Three Sisters Chili, Sunchoke Apple Salad with Orange Vinaigrette, and traditional Skijinabon (Wabanaki Survival Bread) made with homegrown ingredients. Take home Three Sisters Seeds and growing instructions to carry this beautiful tradition forward. Register at wabanakitreespirit@gmail.com. 

 

Date: Saturday, February 1st 

Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Price: $60 

 

Promenade Médicinale et Expérience Culinaire en Compagnie de Wabanaki Tree Spirit

Votre aventure commencera au pavillon du parc Odell, où vous apprendrez à connaître l’importance culturelle des plantes de la région et plongerez dans l’histoire des Wabanaki. En parcourant les sentiers jusqu’au Centre de ressources du Jardin botanique de Fredericton, vous entrerez en contact avec la nature d’une toute nouvelle façon.  À votre arrivée, vous dégusterez un délicieux chili végétalien aux trois sœurs et le traditionnel Skijinabon (pain de survie Wabanaki), tous préparés à partir d’ingrédients locaux. Tout en vous délectant de ces saveurs, découvrez la sagesse des pratiques de plantation des trois sœurs – le maïs, les haricots et la courge –, des cultures essentielles pour le peuple Wabanaki. 

 

En guise de cadeau spécial, rapportez à la maison des graines des trois sœurs accompagnées de directives sur leur culture afin de perpétuer cette belle tradition.  Ne manquez pas cette occasion unique de vous rapprocher de la terre, de la culture et des traditions culinaires du peuple Wabanaki. Réservez votre place à wabanakitreespirit@gmail.com.

 

Date: Samedi 8 février

Temps: 11h00 - 12h00

Prix: 60 $ 

 

Steve’s Seedy Saturday, March 15th

Steve Stehouwer hosts Seedy Saturday at the Fredericton Botanic Garden! Join Steve Stehouwer at the Resource Centre for FREE seeds! Members Only from 1:00 - 2:00 pm (please remember to bring your membership card, to save time looking you up), then open to the general public from 2:00 - 4:00 pm. Please bring your own bags.

Seeds available will include annuals, perennials, biennials, vegetables, shrubs, and trees. There will be a $5 admission ($5 for individuals or families) at the door.

Fredericton’s first major snowstorm of the season is in the forecast, as I write this article about the Fredericton Botanic Garden’s 2025 Annual Spring Plant Sale.  The latter is definitely more interesting than the former!

 

We’d really like your help in making the 2025 Annual Spring Plant Sale the best one ever.  Our hope is that our members will share treasures from their own gardens, to expand on the variety we have available for sale, and to let people see what their fellow plant enthusiasts are growing.

 

I’m relatively new to the Garden (circa 2023) but keep hearing stories about all the wonderful plants that members donated to our previous sales.  I think it would be fabulous to have an entire section of “homegrown plants!”

 

We appreciate that some of you may need assistance in digging up and/or transporting plants, so we hope to round up a few volunteers to lend a hand.  If you would be interested in helping out on that front, we’d love to hear from you!

 

It will be awhile before we are in a position to accept your donations, but wanted to get you thinking about it.  We’ll remind you from time to time, in the hope you will share some of your bounty.

 

Offers, questions, or suggestions may be directed to info@frederictonbotanicgarden.com, or (506) 452-9269.  Thank you for your consideration of this request.

2. Not the kind for a good night's rest

3. Board Secretary is responsible for these

8. You receive special benefits if you have one

9. Member of Parliament who visited Garden in 2024

10. Four legged fans of the Food Forest 11. Ungulates assembled in the greenhouse

16. Popular winter event in which Garden participates

17. Largest in the Garden is a sculpture 18. Mtg. held every year to elect Board 19. Great stocking stuffer available from Garden

20. These can be found growing with the peonies

21. Colour of frog that lived in our pond 

 

Scroll down for crossword answers.

The Fredericton Botanic Garden Association Newsletter is published by the Fredericton Botanic Garden Association, Inc. The FBGA is a registered charitable organization. The objectives of the FBGA are to guide the establishment of the Fredericton Botanic Garden and to foster an awareness and appreciation of plants. For information regarding membership and to become involved, please contact us.

 

Email: info@frederictonbotanicgarden.com

Phone: (506) 452-9269

Address: 10 Cameron Court, Fredericton, NB E3B 2R9

Website: frederictonbotanicgarden.com

Charitable registration number: 13881 4876 RR0001 

 

Board of Directors
Chair: Bronwen Cunningham
Vice Chair: Michael Stastny
Secretary: Jay Chapman
Treasurer: Julie Wright
Past Chair: Steve Heard
Joanna Mills
Becca Ireland
Anthony Brooks
Valerie Sensinger
Cynthia Mercer

 

Executive Director: Linda Stephenson
Administrative Assistant: Erin MacQuarrie

2. Holding bed

3. Minutes

8. Membership

9. Jenica Atwin

10. Deer

11. Reindeer

16. Frostival

17. Rhododendron

18. AGM 

19. Gift certificate

20. Alyssum

21. Blue