This year has been one of the best years for flower blooms thru Spring, Summer and Fall.  The final blooming finale at the TRWA was Asters, Asters, Asters everywhere.  There were several varieties a with golden rod and other flowers it made for delightful strolls on the TRWA.  Enjoy the slide show below and take some time for a walk on the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum.

Congratulations to all the participants in the Knoxville Track Club's Townsend Challenge - 10K and 15k this past Sunday.    Part of the run took them thru the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum.  Look forward to their next race!

Debris Pile Before at TRWADebris Pile After at the TRWA

It has been a long time, but the pile of debris located at the corner of the Townsend River Walk and Arboretum has been removed.  Would like to thank the Townsend Employees that did the cleanup this morning.  It is greatly appreciated.

A hummingbird feeder has been added to the Pollinator & Memorial Garden.

Why a feeder? Here are some Fast Hummingbird Facts:

• Hummingbirds must consume at least 1/2 of their weight a day in sugar.
• They feed about every 10 - 15 minutes.
• The sucrose they take in is digested in about 20 minutes with 97% efficiency.
• Hummingbirds have great memory knowing which flowers they have been to and how long it takes for each flower to refill.
• At rest a hummingbirds heart beets between 250 - 400 BPM and in flight around 1200 BPM!
• Hummingbirds are mostly attracted to red due to the fact that bees (which can be lethal to a hummingbird) cannot see red (it looks black to them).   Bees are attracted to brighter colors like yellow and white.

A BIG SHOUT OUT TO Rodney & Allison Pearson for doing some badly need maintenance.  Thye trimmed the weeds back around the gardens, some of the Arboretum signs and trees and along the paths.  During their cleanup the discovered the Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower) (see picture below) along the top path.  Thank you for your dedication.

Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)

Thanks Rodney and Allison for cleaning up around the Pollinator & Memorial Garden

Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillars devouring the Red Milkweed at the Pollinator & Memorial Garden

I think Fall is one of my favorite times at the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum.  This years is exceptional with the Pollinator Garden now installed and the abundance of Fall wildflowers.  Last Saturday while hummingbirds were buzzing above my head, I looked at the Monarch Garden that was planted and saw that the Milkweed was being devoured by these cute little orange, black and white caterpillars which weren't Monarch caterpillars but the same colors. After a bit of investigation it was determined that they were Milkweed Tussock Moth(Euchaetes egle) caterpillars aka Milkweed Tiger Moth.  More information can be found here.

This weekend will be a great weekend to see this wide variety of wildflowers throughout the arboretum and along the upper walking path as well as in and around the Pollinator & Memorial Garden.  Take a walk into the Pollinator Garden and see what is growing and if you are lucky enough some of the Milkweed Tussock moth caterpillars will still be around, but be careful of low flying hummingbirds.

If you can't get out and enjoy the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum enjoy it thru my camera lens in the slideshow below.

Hillside Looking Over the Pollinator & Memorial Garden at the TRWA thru a beautiful Iron Weed.

The TRWA is in excellent shape thanks to our maintenance team from the Tuckaleechee Garden Club, so it is time for you to take a stroll thru the Townsend River Walk & Arboretum.

Our maintenance team did a great job of cleaning up around the entrance to the TRWA, the Pollinator & Memorial Garden, collecting trash throughout, destroying the invasive Mimosa trees and putting a nice layer of mulch around the Dogwood Tribe along the top path.   A big thanks goes to Tuckaleechee Garden Club Members: Theresa and Scott Schehr, Martha Frink, Charlotte Miller and Mark Seder for taking the time and effort to maintaining the TRWA.

There are many mid-Summer flowers in bloom throughout the TRWA, the Pollinator & Memorial Garden is beginning to fill in, and the lower path provides comfort from the East TN Summer sun.  The hillside opposite the Pollinator & Memorial Garden is thick with Wingstem, Ironweed, many varieties of Coreopsis and more, all just coming into bloom.

Stop by today and if you like what you see, a donation would be appreciated so that we can continue improving the TRWA for generations to come!

Runners in the Townsend 10K Sponsored by Knoxville Track Club.

The Knoxville Track Club ran their 10K in Townsend on Saturday, July 18, 2020.   Part of the course took them thru the River Walk & Arboretum.  The runners loved the minutes that they ran thru the shaded TRWA.  So glad to have them use the TRWA for such an event.

Just like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon, our pollinator garden is emerging from its transformation. Place your pointer over the picture to see a before image. Scroll to the bottom of the page for a slide show of the garden.

Just like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon, our pollinator garden is emerging from its transformation. The main garden is mostly done with some tweaking and additions to be done but the first phase of the Pollinator and Memorial Garden at the TRWA is coming to a completion.  A complete guide to the garden will be available soon.  The highlights are as follows:

1. Fencing placed around the garden with public entry way.
2. Center Garden Viewing path created with crushed stone and topped with Pea Gravel.
3. Monarch Butterfly Garden planted to the left as you enter.
4. Hummingbird Garden planted to right as you enter.
5. Trellis for Passionflower vines at center back.
6. Butterfly puddler at center at edge of path.
7. Butterfly at right corner from UT Art in the Gardens Butterfly Auction in 2019, by Mountain Ridge Way Products and donated to the TRWA Pollinator Garden.  The butterfly titled "Wings of Awareness" was painted in acrylics by Emily McSpadden, spreading the wings of Autism awareness.  Part of the auction proceeds was donated to the Autism Foundation.
8. Additional flowers from the old garden and some new ones were added to the back half of the garden.
9. The garden was mulched and landscaping fabric was added to areas to help prevent weed growth especially under the Past Members Memorials.
10. Material Funding provided by: Tuckaleechee Garden Club, Blount County Master Gardeners and the Tennessee State Garden Club.

Stop by and view this transformation.  More to come!!