This newsletter is brought to you by the Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum and was delivered to your mailbox because you directly subscribe to it or gave your e-mail address as part of your membership registration. If you have changed your mind and wish to unsubscribe, please see the instructions at the bottom of this page.

While you may view our full program on the Events Page of our website, we are pleased to highlight these upcoming programs.

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GINGERBREAD WONDERLAND 2020 GOES VIRTUAL

Celebrating 29 Years of Wonder!

We are accepting applications for our Virtual Gingerbread Wonderland Exhibit (see box for information and link to instructions and video).

The schedule calls for closing applications in late November and opening viewing of and voting for virtual displays beginning in early December until the end of the year.

With your participation, we are looking forward to a wonderful display of Gingerbread creations again this year!

BULB PURCHASES BENEFIT THE FRIENDS

Although this fundraiser has ended, we want to thank everyone who supported the Friends by purchasing bulbs from Brent & Becky's Bulbs this fall.

We sincerely appreciate your efforts on our behalf!

2020 TREE SYMPOSIUM

Three consecutive Tuesday evenings: Nov. 24 and Dec. 1 and Dec. 8 at 7:00 PM

VIRTUAL ZOOM MEETING

Rutgers Master Gardener CEUs and International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) CEUs will be available for all lectures.

A DEMONSTRATION OF GRAFTING TECHNIQUES FOR TREE PROPAGATION
- Tuesday, Nov. 24 - Tom Molnar, PhD - Rutgers

Tom Molnar leads the Dogwood propagation program begun by Dr. Orton at Rutgers.

That work led to the introduction of the Cornus kousa 'Scarlet Fire' in honor of Rutgers' 350th anniversary. It has sold out at the Friends plant sale the past two years and is the best pink-red disease resistant Dogwood out there. Dr. Molnar is also having much success with Hazelnut breeding for the benefit of New Jersey commercial growers.

Bruce Crawford, Director, Rutgers Gardens, recommended Tom as a speaker on the topic of grafting at a two-day conference held by the Garden Club of New Jersey several years ago. His talk was voted the best of the two-day event! We have asked him to reprise that talk for us and include the latest techniques and tools being used to bring great new plants to our gardens.

Why not go from arcane to erudite and join us next Tuesday evening, November 24.

MORE THAN THE METASEQUOIA: A STORY OF TREES AT THE WILLOWWOOD ARBORETUM
- Tuesday, Dec. 1 - Zinnia Cheetham - The Frelinghuysen Arboretum

SHARING OUR LANDSCAPE WITH ADDITIONAL FRIENDS
- Tuesday, Dec. 8 - Beth Brantley, PhD - Bartlett Tree Experts

Additional information on each program, as well as registration can be found on our website by clicking on the tree image and scrolling down.

BOTANICAL DRAWING FOR BEGINNERS with Katy Lyness

Four consecutive Saturdays: January 9, 16, 23 and 31 - 1:00 to 4:00 PM

VIRTUAL ZOOM MEETING

Do you ever wish you could capture the details of a plant long after you've seen it? This introductory class teaches you how to make realistic drawings of plants using a variety of techniques. Learn to draw a selection of plant parts, including branches, stems, leaves and flowers, for pleasure or to expand your drawing skills.

Artist Katy Lyness is a passionate home gardener and teaches botanical illustration at the New York Botanical Garden. She has been represented in international exhibitions and is active in the Tri-State Botanical Artist Group. She received her MA in Art Education from Columbia University Teachers' College.

A materials list will be provided at registration.

Registration is limited to 16 participants.

Please click on the rose to register for this series online.

MEMBERS ONLY NEW YEAR'S PARTY

Sunday, January 10 - 4:00 PM

Join the Friends for a Virtual Tour of the Flora and Fauna of Costa Rica

Phil and Becky Witt are volunteer associate naturalists at New Jersey Audubon's Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary, where they help lead photography workshops. Becky and Phil started as birders while in graduate school and have continued pursuing their love of nature by traveling from Antarctica to Tanzania to photograph the world's wonders.

This program will be a composite of a number of their trips to Costa Rica, a mecca for birders and nature photographers. Because of its diverse habitats, ranging from tropical lowlands to chilly 13, 000-foot-high mountains, the flora and fauna of Costa Rica are equally diverse. Please join Phil and Becky on this virtual journey of some of Costa Rica's natural wonders - You won't regret it!

Please note that registration for this event will close at 12:00 Noon on Friday, January 8, 2021.

Please click on the toucan to register for this free program online.

YOU CAN STILL REGISTER FOR PREVIOUS ZOOM PRESENTATIONS

Once you have registered for "Composting and Eco-friendly Yard Care" or "Dahlias", you will receive a link to watch the recorded version.

Go to our Events page to register and pay online.

Retail Partners

When shopping at our fine Retail Partners, please remember to present your Membership card at the beginning of your check out transaction. Our Retail Partners need to enter the discount at the beginning of that process.

If you have not yet used this wonderful Member Benefit, you can view our full list of Retail Partners by clicking here.

Amazon Smile

Don't forget to "SMILE!"Amazon Smile, that is!

Amazon, through the AmazonSmile Foundation will contribute 0.5% of your purchases on Amazon to a charitable organization you select. Please consider selecting The Friends of the Frelinghuysen Arboretum as your designated recipient from this wonderful program.

Click here and log in to your amazon account to designate the Friends as your charity.

That's it for this time. Hope you enjoyed this edition of the newsletter. Tell your friends about this handy way to keep up with activities at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum (click here for complete directions for subscribing.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Friends Staff will be out of the office until January 2021, however we will continue working remotely. Please note our new Post Office Box number and staff emails.

SCHEDULE ANNOUNCEMENTS

PANDEMIC SCHEDULE

Morris County Park Commission has reopened the Frelinghuysen, Willowwood and Bamboo Brook Arboreta 7 days a week, from 8am to dusk.

• Parking is limited. Buildings remain closed. Portajohns are available.
• Please protect yourselves and fellow visitors by social distancing and by wearing masks.
• HUNTING IN THE PARKS - Be aware that deer hunting is permitted in many of the MCPC facilities, including the arboreta, during the fall and winter. The schedule and type (bow or firearm) is listed on the MCPC website here.

We will keep you posted as further updates become available.

Visit our website: https://www.arboretumfriends.org.
Email your comments or suggestions to webmaster@arboretumfriends.org.
Phone us at (973) 326-7603.

The Frelinghuysen Arboretum is a facility of the Morris County Park Commission