The WAKY Blog

About The WAKY Blog

The Walk Across Kentucky (WAKY) Blog describes and chronicles the development of the Walk Across Kentucky Native Plant Collection.

Contact the Author

The WAKY Blog is maintained by the Native Plants Collection Manager and Curator at The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky.

For questions, please reach out at the following:

Email: arboretum@uky.edu
Phone: +1 (859) 257-6955

Recent Articles

  •  September 22, 2023

    The Kentucky Children's Garden (KCG) has had a great season welcoming children and families from across the Bluegrass. From opening day on April 1 through September 14, 2023, we have welcomed 15,069 guests (not including those under the age of two years). This includes:

    273 school age children and chaperones attending grade level field trips13 Countdown to Kindergarten participants64...
  • By Janet James, Arboretum Volunteer  September 22, 2023

    In previous newsletters, I described my ongoing project of photographing various aspects of The Arboretum’s outstanding collection of Kentucky native tree and shrub species. Their colorful autumn leaves are falling at this time of year, as temperatures drop and daylight hours shorten. 

    When each leaf releases its hold on a twig, a “fingerprint” of it remains behind. Botanists refer to...

  • By Andy Mead, Arboretum Volunteer  September 22, 2023

    The work of a gardener is never done.

    Just listen to Mary Beth McCormac as she plants salvia in the Fragrance Garden, which is this Tuesday’s task for the Arboretum’s Ornamental Gardens volunteer group. [Note: this interview was conducted in May 2023.]

    “We start weeding in late March and we weed all the way through to planting season,” she said. “So, we just started planting. Then...

  •  September 22, 2023

    We are pleased to share an update related to the Dorotha Smith Oatts Visitor Center at The Arboretum. Over the past few months, momentum has been building related to our philanthropic efforts to renovate and expand the Visitor Center. The timing is important, given the increase in the number of visitors and programs offered annually and the need for additional space. The firm of Lord Aeck...

  • By Jess Slade, Native Plants Collection Manager & Curator  September 22, 2023

    Harvest season is upon us!

    This is a time to gather crops and collect seeds from many of our native plant species. Most of our woody plants, including trees like oaks and hickories, bloom in the spring and take the entire growing season to produce mature fruit. In autumn, these fruits begin to ripen and fall from the trees for natural dispersal.

    Collecting seeds from natural areas...

  •  September 22, 2023

    The Arboretum is proud to be a vital part of the Urban Forest Initiative’s sixth annual celebration of Tree Week, from October 6 to 14, 2023, in communities across Kentucky.

    The Arboretum will offer the following programs during Tree Week:

    Saturday, October 7 – Arbor Day (see previous article)

    Sunday, October 8 – Woody Plant Propagation with Dr. Bob Geneve and Shari Dutton...

  •  September 22, 2023

    The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, a partnership between the University of Kentucky and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, is gearing up for its 32nd Arbor Day celebration on October 7, 2023. This event, held in conjunction with the UK Urban Forest Initiative's Sixth Annual Tree Week, will feature a plethora of activities, including a plant and seed exchange, free...

  • By Barry Duncil  February 24, 2021

    With the recent winter storm that just hit Central Kentucky, we thought it would only be appropriate to compare this event to other ice-storm events of the past, and see how it affected the Arboretum. In short, we got really lucky this year! But before we talk about this most recent event, let’s delve a little more into two of the most extensive ice storm events since 2000; the 2003-Bluegrass...

  • By Emily Ellingson  July 14, 2020

    The Arboretum is now open and despite the heat, it is a beautiful time of year to take in the sights and sounds of the Walk Across Kentucky. You’ll find many blooming plants aflutter with insects and birds. In this installment of the Curator’s Choice, I want to highlight three plants - one wildflower, one shrub, and one tree - that you will see blooming at The Arboretum in the month of July....

  • By Emily Ellingson  March 26, 2020

    One of the things that has brought me the greatest joy over the last two months, and especially during these uncertain times, is checking on all our beautiful plants in the greenhouse at the University of Kentucky South Farm. The Walk Across Kentucky (WAKY) native plant collection aims to preserve the genetic diversity and botanical heritage of Kentucky by collecting, growing, and planting...

  • By Emily Ellingson  February 1, 2020

    Due to the warm weather we’ve had in the past month, we’ve been seeing annual plants germinating, early spring bulbs pushing through the soil, and even a few maple buds breaking. However, it is still winter in Kentucky, and the greenest parts of the landscape are still the evergreens. Evergreens fit under the definition of conifers, which are woody trees or shrubs that have...

  • By Emily Ellingson  December 1, 2019

    It seems to be consistently cool in Kentucky and, after the cold snap we had in the middle of November, trees have finally decided it’s time to shut down for the winter. Although some deciduous trees hold on to their leaves in the winter, a trait known as marcescence (the retention of dead plant parts), many trees are now simple skeletons. Although we mourn the loss of lush green leaves and...

  • By Emily Ellingson  November 1, 2019

    This fall, The Arboretum embarked on two collecting trips to gather seeds and plants that will build the foundation for new plantings in the Walk Across Kentucky (WAKY). These wild-collected plants will help us preserve the heritage and genetic diversity and of Kentucky’s flora.

    The first of these collection trips arose from a unique opportunity to collect with a group from the North...

  • By Emily Ellingson  October 1, 2019

    The Walk Across Kentucky (WAKY) native plant collection is a unique and ecologically important plant collection. The WAKY represents plants from all seven physiographic regions of Kentucky, and these plants are wild-collected from across the state. The important goals of The WAKY are to preserve the botanical heritage and genetic diversity of Kentucky’s trees and shrubs. This happens through...

  • By Emily Ellingson  September 1, 2019

    An arboretum is a public garden that focuses on the display of woody plants, such as trees and shrubs. You may be surprised to hear that this also encompasses woody vines (lianas) which, along with perennial herbaceous vines, we grow in increasing numbers in the Walk Across Kentucky (WAKY).  There is a total of 45 native accessioned vines in the WAKY, including naturally regenerating and wild-...

  • By Emily Ellingson  August 1, 2019

    An arboretum is defined as a public garden that educates the public and focuses on the study, display, and conservation of woody plants, such as trees, shrubs, and vines. The Walk Across Kentucky (WAKY) began as an effort to conserve and secure the botanical diversity and heritage of Kentucky through the collection and growing of seeds and plants from the wild. Initial collections focused...

  • By Emily Ellingson  July 1, 2019

    The Arboretum Woods is a 15-acre remnant inner bluegrass woodland, an imperiled plant community in Kentucky, which contains over 90 species of native plants. These woodlands occurred on mesic sites on limestone soils, abundant with phosphorus. They historically had wooded canopies, with a rich understory. Most of these woodlands were developed after European settlement and their plant...