UT Gardens – Jackson Receives Grant from American Conifer Society

Posted: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 8:02 pm

JACKSON, Tenn. – The Southeastern Reference Garden Committee of the American Conifer Society has awarded the University of Tennessee Gardens in Jackson a grant to provide identification labels for the Gardens’ conifer collection.  In addition, the $1500 grant is to be used to help fund a one-day conifer symposium.

Jason Reeves, curator of the UT Gardens – Jackson, will manage the grant and symposium.

“I am extremely pleased that the ACS has recognized the Jackson Gardens, and I look forward to completing the outdoor labeling project as well as to presenting a conifer symposium here in West Tennessee,” said Reeves.
 
The date for the symposium has yet to be determined, but Reeves said conifer enthusiasts can look for it in February 2012. He expects the topic to be conifers for “our” climate.
 
“Investing in our reference gardens is one of the strong tenets of ACS and we’re excited to be a part of this conifer expansion at UT Gardens – Jackson,” said Barbie Colvin, ACS southeastern region vice president, in an e-mail to Reeves.

The UT Gardens – Jackson are located on the grounds of the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center. Research gardens and displays include a kitchen garden, a low-maintenance fruit demonstration orchard, an All-American Selection display, a no-spray rose research garden, turf wheel, turf variety trials, compost display, plant screen demonstration, and a magnolia collection. They are free to visit and open to the public during daylight hours.
 
The Gardens are also home to West Tennessee’s Summer Celebration, UT AgResearch’s premiere lawn and gardening educational event, which annually attracts more than 2500 visitors. The Summer Celebration is held the second Thursday of July, which this year falls on July 14.
 
In addition, the arboretum at the UT Gardens – Jackson has long been an attraction to local residents and to children who collect leaves for school projects. More than 50 new species and cultivars of trees have been added to this collection in the last three years. The UT Gardens – Jackson was named a Conifer Reference Garden by the American Conifer Society in March 2009.
 
The West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center is one of 10 field laboratories operated across the state by the AgResearch unit of the UT Institute of Agriculture. At each facility UT researchers work to solve real-world problems faced by producers and industries so businesses can thrive and consumers can enjoy high standards of living.

More information about the UT Gardens – Jackson, the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center and the Summer Celebration, including a map and directions, is available online at http://westtennessee.tennessee.edu/

Posted 3.22.11