Events
What’s Blooming
What’s Blooming Now? Four Walks with the Curator
Walk through the garden with Curator Henry Ortmeyer to see spring-flowering plants and learn more about the Henry Botanic Garden’s collections. Spring ephemerals and Asian magnolias will be followed by native azaleas, magnolias, silverbells, and a host of other garden treasures. Light refreshments in the Sand Barn will follow the walk.
To register, email henry@henrybotanicgarden.org or call the office at 610-525-2037. These walks are free for members. The cost for guests is $10.Wednesday, April 10 5-7 pm
Sunday, April 21 1-3 pm
Wednesday, May 8 5-7 pm
Tuesday, May 21 5-7 pm
Winter Work: Addressing the Archives
Curator Henry Ortmeyer and a diligent team including Lynn Cherry, Ben Gantman-Coleman and volunteers David Lauer and Alicia Hamilton have begun the arduous task of organizing and scanning papers and photographs to preserve significant records of the work of Mary Henry. We are grateful for the generosity and guidance of Jessica Lydon, Brooke Dolan Archivist at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, who met with project members. Stay tuned for upcoming programming featuring archival materials.
Henry project update 2023
Henry Spring Plant sale is staged
The Spring Plant Sale is staged! Will you volunteer for a couple of hours? Work with friendly plant lovers, sell amazing plants, and welcome newcomers to the sale. You don’t need to be a plant expert to help. All volunteers will receive a Thank-You! plant.
Choose the job and time that suit you.
Assist with sales: write up orders
Offer horticultural advice and answer questions
Help carry or wheel plants and load into cars
Bring refreshments for Opening reception or Members’ morning
SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 25, 4 p.m.-7 p.m., Opening Reception for members at the $100 level and above
Friday, April 26, 9 a.m.-Noon, Members’ morning
Friday, April 26, Noon-4 p.m., Open to All
Saturday, April 27, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Open to All
Sunday, April 28, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Open to All
If you are interested in helping, please call the office at 610 525 2037 or email frederica@henrybotanicgarden.org. We greatly appreciate your time and interest.
Henry coming into bloom just ahead of the Spring Plant Sale
The Henry Botanic Garden is coming into color just in time for the Spring Plant Sale. Cart repairs are underway. Plants that are veterans of previous sales are being groomed. Volunteers are gathering. We are in full swing!
Spring Plant Sale (April 25-28): “Native, New and Noteworthy”
Will you volunteer at the Spring Plant Sale for a couple of hours? Work with friendly plant lovers, sell amazing plants, and welcome newcomers to the sale. You don’t need to be a plant expert to help. All volunteers will receive a Thank-You! plant.
Choose the job and time that suit you.
- Pre-sales help: transplant seedlings, unload trucks, set up the sale
- Assist with sales: write up orders
- Offer horticultural advice and answer questions
- Help carry or wheel plants and load into cars
- Bring refreshments for Opening reception or Members’ morning
Thursday, April 25, 4 p.m.-7 p.m., Opening Reception for members at the $100 level and above
Friday, April 26, 9 a.m.-Noon, Members’ morning
Friday, April 26, Noon-4 p.m., Open to All
Saturday, April 27, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Open to All
Sunday, April 28, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Open to All
If you are interested in helping, please call the office at 610 525 2037 or email frederica@henrybotanicgarden.org. We greatly appreciate your time and interest.
Tropical Valley Expedition, British Columbia
Documentary showing an expedition through northeastern British Columbia by Mary Gibson Henry, Pennsylvania botanist and plants woman. Mrs. Henry was interested in the legendary “Tropical Valley” of northern B.C., where the warmth of hot springs supposedly fostered vegetation not otherwise found in the region. The film was shot in the summer of 1931, during the first of four such journeys she made in the period 1931-1935. Mrs. Henry was accompanied by her husband, Dr. J. Norman Henry; four of her children; topographer Knox McCusker (of the Dominion Topographical Surveys Branch); Dr. B.H. Chandler, a surgeon friend; and outfitter S. Clark, as well as various wranglers. The second and third reels of this three-reel film show the party of 16 travelling by pack-train, crossing rivers, caching food, and fishing, as well as some camp scenes. At an encampment of “Grand Lake Indians” on the Tetsa River, they engage Charlie Macdonald, the chief’s son, to guide them to Toad Hot Springs on the Toad River, but they do not proceed north to Liard Hot Springs. On the return trip south, stops include St. Paul’s Lake, Henry River, and Lake Mary and Lake Josephine [named after the Henry’s daughters]; these place names do not seem to have become official. Following the Peace River, they arrive at Hudson’s Hope (having travelled 800 miles in 79 days), and continue down river to Taylor Flats.
Henry in the fall reminds us how much open space matters
The Henry Botanic Garden’s 42 acres of woods, fields, and streams are majestic in the fall. It is hard to imagine that this glorious, ever-changing, natural rainbow palette is so close to the hustle of a major city. As one recent visitor observed: “After spending time at Henry I feel better than I felt when I arrived.” To that point, Henry’s ancient stony outcroppings, cooling alpine sites, lush dappled forests, dark riparian glens, and broad open meadowlands play a significant role in purifying our air, filtering the water, controlling flooding, and preserving a pristine view shed.
Mary Gibson Henry: Botanist, Plant Hunter, Explorer
An exhibit inspired by the 1963 display of her work at the NY Botanical Garden
Beginning on Oct. 25th, the public is invited to see the exhibit and visit the Henry Foundation on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 am to 2 pm with a $10 admission fee for the exhibit. A garden visit will also be available for $10. No charge for members.
Group reservations by appointment at 610 525-2037 or susan@henrybotanicgarden.org
Artifacts from Mary Henry’s explorations, including her scientific equipment, herbarium specimens, maps, tools, family photographs and numerous awards will be on display in our new gallery. Many of these items were featured in a 1963 exhibition of her work at the NY Botanical Garden. Others are from the archives or on loan from family members. The exhibit will continue through March 2019.
Bulb Sale Pick Up Begins
Oct. 23
“The Living Forest: A Journey into the Heart of the Woods”
Presentation by Joan Maloof, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2 pm, Sharpless Auditorium, Koshland Science Center, Haverford College
Joan Maloof founded the Old-Growth Forest Network to preserve, protect and promote the country’s few remaining stands of old-growth forests. She is an ecologist, conservationist and writer with a unique voice. Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies at Salisbury (Md.) University, D. Maloof has studied and worked with plants all her life. She has published numerous research articles and written several books, including “Nature’s Temples: the Complex World of Old Growth Forests” (2016) and “The Living Forest: A Visual Journey into the Heart of the Woods” (2017). The free-of-charge presentation will be followed by a reception. Follow the signs from the Lancaster Ave. entrance for ample parking in the visitors’ lot on the Haverford College campus. The annual event is co-sponsored by the Haverford College Arboretum Association, the Hardy Plant Society/Mid-Atlantic Group and the Henry Foundation for Botanical Research.
