Plant Sale Raises More Than $20,000 to Benefit UCF Arboretum
By Shobana Daniell (skdaniell@gmail.com)

ORLANDO, Nov. 22, 2005 -- The University of Central Florida Arboretum's plant sale last weekend raised more than $20,000 to help redevelop the 82 acres of gardens and natural habitat.

Gardening aficionados and even those without green thumbs had plenty of choices during the three-day sale. Hundreds of exotic bonsai plants and trees, shrubs and groundcover, along with ferns, perennials and specialty plants, were available. The selection included rare plants such as Malphigia, Florida Privet and pink Tabebuia.

"We met our expectations and are very pleased with the turnout," said Martin Quigley, director of the Arboretum. "We'll be buying equipment and starting some plantings very soon."

Most of the plants were donated by local nurseries, growers and individuals to support the revival of the Arboretum. The 2004 hurricanes that hit Central Florida were especially destructive to the 10 acres of the plant collection.

"We lost over 90 percent when the pine canopy fell," Quigley said. He added that the native understory plants came back but that most of the cultivated varieties was lost.

Quigley is using those losses as an opportunity to redesign 12 acres of plant collections, and he has an ambitious plan under way to develop a biogeographic garden with collections from different parts of the world.

Quigley said he hopes to raise enough money "to buy equipment such as a tractor, to lay out pathways, construct more boardwalks in the natural area, and of course, buy numerous trees and shrubs."

Meanwhile, the Arboretum remains open to the public.

"Our neighbors, especially children, are invited to visit, stroll around and even volunteer," Quigley said, adding that he is looking for community support for the future development of this unique garden.

The Arboretum, in conjunction with the UCF Physical Plant, was recently awarded a grant of $160,000 from the state's Urban and Community Forestry program to replace trees destroyed by the hurricanes. Work is scheduled to begin in about six weeks.

DATE POSTED
December 9, 2005

CONTACT
Amanda Melco
407-823-2761
amelco@mail.ucf.ed

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LINKS
Biology Dept.
UCF Arboretum