Friends of Laurelwood Arboretum has been awarded a grant of $19,450 from the California-based Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust for improvements to our irrigation system. These improvements will aid in the preservation and maintenance of Laurelwood’s display gardens and special collections by encouraging healthy plant growth and reducing plant decline and death. They will also will save staff and volunteer time spent on hand watering and reduce the use of potable water to irrigate our gardens.
The arboretum’s current main source of irrigation is a 70-year-old system of pipes and pumps constructed by John and Dorothy Knippenberg, the former owners of the property when the site was a commercial nursery. The system draws water from one of our two ponds and consists of approximately 6,600 feet of transmission pipes. Water is also drawn from a well to irrigate two display gardens.
Because the current irrigation system does not extend to several of our ornamental display gardens, rhododendron clusters, and landscaped areas, these locations must be hand watered. Hand watering is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. It is also not cost-effective. It requires the use of potable water from the municipal water system rather than storm water runoff collected in our ponds or ground water from our well.
Grant funds will be used to extend the current irrigation system to the Three Corners Garden on Brook Road, the nearby Perennial Garden (which contains Big Leaf hydrangeas and other plants), and the northern end of Dorothy’s Way (which features large clusters of mature rhododendrons).
The Summer Garden and the new Azalea Nursery, located across from the new propagation greenhouse on Home Hill, will be included in the project. It will also include the newly planted landscaping along The Fairway and adjacent to the propagation greenhouse, which areas are now hand watered with hoses.
The irrigation system will be extended to cover the historic South Rock Garden and adjacent areas on Brook Road. Due to the lack of regular irrigation in the rock garden, many of the original plantings could not be included as part of the recent restoration of the garden. The proposed irrigation improvements will allow the restoration of the original planting plan and ensure healthy plant growth and survival.
Finally, the proposed improvements will include the extension of the existing irrigation system to cover the landscaping at the park entrance on Pines Lake Drive West, as well as the clusters of rhododendrons along the perimeter of the park in this area. Similarly, the new Wetlands Garden is not covered by the existing irrigation system and must be hand watered during dry periods. We will connect both areas to the portion of the irrigation system that is supplied by the well, which will also continue to be used to irrigate the nearby Founders Garden and Native Plant Garden.
The grant project will include installation of rotary and spray heads and rotary nozzles, rain sensors, zone valves and controllers and extension of water main lines.
We are grateful to the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust for supporting this important project with its significant grant. This grant represents the sixth grant awarded to Laurelwood by the Trust since 2014.