Viles Arboretum

A beautiful Autumn day we decided to explore a place in Mike's neck of the woods that we had never been to  before. We find that we have seen more of other people's hometowns than our own. We bundled up and jumped in the car with Mike's parents and headed to Viles Arboretum located on Hospital Street in Augusta, Maine.

I could not seem to find a great deal of information about this place but will share what I learned.

In 1843 the State Hospital which later became Augusta Mental Health Institute (AMHI) purchased land across the street for spring water. They created a mile aqueduct to remove the constant problem of insufficient water for the hospital and its patients. They continued to have issues and made improvements to the delivery system for 33 years until they supplemented with city water.

As well as a source of water the land was used by the hospital for farming and livestock. The patients would till the land, feed the animals, and harvest the food. They would prepare the meals fresh from the farm. It was a great system that provided the patients with a sense of purpose and of course many therapeutic benefits.

Later an acre per patient was added increasing the land property.

Image taken from Maine Encyclopedia

The Arboretum (224 acres) that is here today started in 1981 when the Maine Forest Service developed it. They started with the planting of 120 trees, built fences, trials, and bridges for easy navigation. William and Elsie Viles provided guidance and funding and were honored by renaming the Arboretum after them. Later they added a visitors center, educational wing, botanical labeling, and brought art into the walkways.

Stone sculptures were dispersed throughout the gardens. They were for sale by local artists. We also were able to see new one being carved.

The trails were well labeled and the provided map was helpful in navigation.

Gorgeous apples in the orchid.

Decisions, decisions...

In 1992 the Harvard University Arnold Arboretum sold its hostas collection to the Viles Arboretum which now boasts over 200 different varieties. I love learning the names of trees, plants, and grasses and thanks to the adoption of the Arnold labeling protocol I can easily see the names of them. Living in New England I think everyone can identify the Sugar Maple but I wanted to capture the size of the trees.

American Chestnuts (Castanea dentata) on the other hand might not be so easily identified. They used to be the dominant tree in the north east forests but a fungus that was inadvertently introduced in the 1800s from Asia devastated the tress from Georgia to Maine. The American Chestnut Foundation is trying to revitalize their growth and has 16 state chapters growing a variety of species to ensure the genetic diversity and local adaptability of the trees. They added the trees to Viles in 1998 and have the largest collection in Maine.

The tree is gorgeous no matter the season.

This green spikey cupule or burr holds the fruit inside. There can be from 1 to 7 nuts inside.

Sadly the deer and squirrels have already eaten the fruits.

Milkweed (Asclepias L) named after the Greek god for healing.

I was seriously fascinated with this weed. I lived in Maine for 20 years and vigorously expelled it from my lawn and garden that entire time. I never let it to get the pollination period so I never knew how soft and beautiful the seeds where. The plants in several different stages of growth covered the fields at the arboretum.

They remind me of dandelion seeds when you would release them into the air and they would float into someone else's yard.

 

The leaf of the milkweed is pretty much the exclusive food source for Monarch butterfly larvae. The leaves are toxic to many animals so they avoid the plant. The butterflies accumulate large amounts of the poison causing them to be distasteful to other creatures.

If prepared correctly it rids the body of warts and dysentery. It can also suppress coughs and asthma attacks. 

During WWII milkweed was used for pillow filling. It is also used to clean up oil spills. 

Mike's mom was a wealth of information about this plant. 

We walked around for about an hour but the pictures do not show all that was seen. My camera battery quickly dies upon our arrival and the spare battery was charging at home.

Overall it was a peaceful walk and we all agreed it would be colorful to visit it in spring and summer when the flowers are in bloom.