New Canaan Nature Center
Encyclopedia
The New Canaan Nature Center (40 acres or 16.2 ha) is a botanical garden
, arboretum
and nature preserve located at 144 Oenoke Ridge, Route 124, about 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) north of the center of New Canaan, Connecticut
.
The nature center
includes wet and dry meadows, two ponds, wet and dry woodlands, dense thickets, an old orchard, and a cattail marsh, as well as a 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) greenhouse
. Landscaped areas of the site include a wildflower garden (which won the 1997 Homer Lucas Landscape Award from the New England Wild Flower Society
), a herb
garden and a perennial
border. About 90% of the plant specimens in the wildflower garden are native species, including bloodroot
, columbine
, mayapple, jack-in-the-pulpit, wild geranium
, Solomon's plume
, starflower
, and trillium
. Shade-loving perennials include bleeding heart
, crested iris
, Jacob's ladder
, hepatica
, European ginger and Virginia bluebell
s. Azalea
s, rhododendron
s and a stand of mountain laurel also feature.
The center also contains a small arboretum
of Sciadopitys
verticillata (Umbrella Pine), Chamaecyparis
pisifera Squarrosa (Moss Sawara Cypress), Chamaecyparis
pisifera Plumosa (Plume False Cyprus), Pinus densiflora ‘Umbraculifera’ (Japanese Umbrella Pine), Fagus
sylvatica ‘Atropunicea’ (Purple Beech), Fagus
sylvatica ‘Pendula’ (European Weeping Beech), Cercis
canandensis (Eastern Redbud), Acer
palmatum ‘Dissectum-Pendula’, Pinus cembra (Swiss Stone Pine) and Picea apies ‘Repens’ (Weeping Norway Spruce).
New Canaan Nature Center features many nature programs throughout the year, including the Fall Fair every October, and maple sugaring celebrations in early spring.
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
, arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
and nature preserve located at 144 Oenoke Ridge, Route 124, about 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) north of the center of New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, northeast of Stamford, on the Fivemile River. The population was 19,738 according to the 2010 census.The town is one of the most affluent communities in the United States...
.
The nature center
Nature center
A nature center is an organization with a visitor center or interpretive center designed to educate people about nature and the environment. Usually located within a protected open space, nature centers often have trails through their property. Some are located within a state or city park, and...
includes wet and dry meadows, two ponds, wet and dry woodlands, dense thickets, an old orchard, and a cattail marsh, as well as a 4000 square feet (371.6 m²) greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
. Landscaped areas of the site include a wildflower garden (which won the 1997 Homer Lucas Landscape Award from the New England Wild Flower Society
New England Wild Flower Society
The New England Wild Flower Society is the nation's oldest conservation organization. Dedicated to the preservation of native plants, the Society operates Garden in the Woods, a native plant botanical garden, at its headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts...
), a herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
garden and a perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
border. About 90% of the plant specimens in the wildflower garden are native species, including bloodroot
Bloodroot
Bloodroot is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America from Nova Scotia, Canada southward to Florida, United States...
, columbine
Aquilegia
Aquilegia is a genus of about 60-70 species of perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere, known for the spurred petals of their flowers.-Etymology:The genus name Aquilegia is derived from the Latin word for eagle , because...
, mayapple, jack-in-the-pulpit, wild geranium
Geranium maculatum
Geranium maculatum, the Spotted Geranium, Wood Geranium, or Wild Geranium is a woodland perennial plant native to eastern North America, from southern Manitoba and southwestern Quebec south to Alabama and west to Oklahoma and South Dakota...
, Solomon's plume
Maianthemum racemosum
Maianthemum racemosum is a species of flowering plant, native to North America....
, starflower
Starflower
-Plants:* Borage An annual herb from Syria, naturalized in much of Europe, North Africa, and Iran*Calytrix, a shrub of the myrtle family, native to Australia* Trientalis, shrubs of the primrose family including:...
, and trillium
Trillium
Trillium is a genus of about 40–50 species of spring ephemeral perennials, native to temperate regions of North America and Asia....
. Shade-loving perennials include bleeding heart
Bleeding heart
A bleeding heart is an informal label applied to someone regarded as excessively sympathetic, liberal in a political sense, or both. It is typically considered a derogatory remark...
, crested iris
Iris (plant)
Iris is a genus of 260-300species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species...
, Jacob's ladder
Jacob's Ladder
Jacob's Ladder is a "ladder to heaven", described by biblical Jacob in the Book of GenesisJacob's Ladder may also refer to:* Ladder of Jacob, a pseudepigraphic text of the Old Testament...
, hepatica
Hepatica
Hepatica is a genus of herbaceous perennials in the buttercup family, native to central and northern Europe, Asia and eastern North America...
, European ginger and Virginia bluebell
Virginia Bluebell
The Virginia Bluebell is a spring ephemeral plant with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers opening from pink buds, native to moist woodland in eastern North America.Leaves are rounded and gray-green, borne on a stem up to 60 cm high...
s. Azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
s, rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s and a stand of mountain laurel also feature.
The center also contains a small arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
of Sciadopitys
Sciadopitys
The Koyamaki , or Japanese Umbrella-pine, is a unique conifer endemic to Japan. It is the sole member of the family Sciadopityaceae and genus Sciadopitys, a living fossil with no close relatives, and known in the fossil record for about 230 million years.Its genus name comes from the Greek prefix...
verticillata (Umbrella Pine), Chamaecyparis
Chamaecyparis
Chamaecyparis is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia and western and eastern North America. In the nursery trade it is often incorrectly known as "false cypress" for lack of other common name, so as to distinguish it from other similar genera bearing...
pisifera Squarrosa (Moss Sawara Cypress), Chamaecyparis
Chamaecyparis
Chamaecyparis is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia and western and eastern North America. In the nursery trade it is often incorrectly known as "false cypress" for lack of other common name, so as to distinguish it from other similar genera bearing...
pisifera Plumosa (Plume False Cyprus), Pinus densiflora ‘Umbraculifera’ (Japanese Umbrella Pine), Fagus
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
sylvatica ‘Atropunicea’ (Purple Beech), Fagus
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
sylvatica ‘Pendula’ (European Weeping Beech), Cercis
Cercis
Cercis , is a genus of about 10 species in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to warm-temperate regions. It contains small deciduous trees or large shrubs commonly known as Redbuds...
canandensis (Eastern Redbud), Acer
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
palmatum ‘Dissectum-Pendula’, Pinus cembra (Swiss Stone Pine) and Picea apies ‘Repens’ (Weeping Norway Spruce).
New Canaan Nature Center features many nature programs throughout the year, including the Fall Fair every October, and maple sugaring celebrations in early spring.