New Leaf Projects

Rhododendron Exploration Garden

 
 

The new Rhododendron Exploration Garden will introduce guests to the Rhododendron genus, showcase the ongoing efforts in Northeast Ohio to produce new and sustainable Rhododendron hybrids and help home owners incorporate these beautiful plants into their own landscape plans.


Designed as a complement to the Helen S. Layer Rhododendron Garden, which will continue to serve guests as a rhododendron display garden, the new garden will occupy 4.5 acres and connect to the existing Layer Garden. Vizmeg Landscape, Inc. from Stow, Ohio has been hired to do the grading and rough construction for beds and pathways. This phase of construction is expected to be complete by Oct. 30, 2011. In the spring, Vizmeg is scheduled to return on May 1, 2012 to complete landscape bed construction, install irrigation, and finish the circulation system and remaining stonework.

Holden’s horticulture staff will be purchasing and planting all of the plant material.

 

We anticipate opening the new Rhododendron Exploration Garden in the spring of 2013.


During construction the new garden site will be fenced off and contractors will access the area from a work road off Sperry Road. The Layer Rhododendron Garden will remain open to guests during construction. This is the first major garden project at The Holden Arboretum since the completion of the Arlene and Arthur S. Holden Jr. Butterfly Garden in 2002. The project cost is $2.2 million and includes site preparation and the installation of necessary infrastructure.

Hourglass Pond Project - Complete

Dredging Hourglass Pond

 

Hourglass Pond, located in the Helen S. Layer Rhododendron Garden, was dredged in 2009-10 as part of a project to improve irrigation at The Holden Arboretum. The project allowed Holden to shift its source of irrigation water from Corning Lake to Hourglass Pond. Water drawn from Corning Lake contains a high iron content that leaves its mark on our plants, signage and buildings. In order to alleviate that problem and prepare Corning Lake for future improvements.

 

The project, which included the dredging Hourglass Pond, the drilling of a new well and construction of a new irrigation pump house, was being funded private donations earmarked for capital improvements and was completed in 201x. At that point, pumps were moved from Corning Lake and new lines were installed to feed the irrigation system.  

 

During the project, crews excavated about 20,000 cubic yards of material from the pond basin, giving Hourglass Pond a depth of between 6 to 8 feet.

 

In conjunction with providing Holden with a source of water for irrigation, the project also serves as an opportunity to advance Holden’s master plan for the grounds. Once the pond had been dredged, an underwater shelf, two feet below the surface and 10 feet wide was created and planted with native emergent species. These plants – which include native broadleaf cattail, lizard’s tail, blueflag iris, pickerelweed, broadleaf arrowhead, American water lily, buttonbush and American lotus – will serve as a habitat for wildlife as part of Holden’s efforts to conserve native forests.

 

Work crews at Hourglass Pond

The pond, due to its location in the Helen S. Layer Rhododendron Garden, will also serve as a transition space between the cultivated gardens and the surrounding natural areas, providing home landscapes with an examples of the types of plants they can add to their own landscapes to draw wildlife to their own backyards as part of Holden’s growing trees and communities strategic goals.

 

Finally, improved irrigation will enhance the Holden experience for our guests, while making future improvements to Coring Lake possible.

 

 

 

Holden worked closely with several partners on the project, including MTR, Chagrin Valley Engineering, and the A. M. Higley Company. Construction documents have been submitted for review and the necessary permits to the City of Kirtland, Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Ohio EPA.