Flowering Trees Class Offered
June is the month when many of the flowering trees start to show their colors- they thrive with longer daylight hours, afternoon downpours and warmer temperatures. This class will include a walk around the property as we identify different species and discuss each tree’s eventual size, availability and maintenance. We’ll also cover how to find the perfect tree for your property. Everyone should wear shoes for walking, a hat, and sunscreen and bring drinking water.
Date: June 8, 2019. Talk will begin at 10 a.m. and attendees receive a 20% off coupon good toward purchases of trees or plants in the Garden Shoppe
Cost: Edison Ford Members $10; non-members $15. Registration is not required.
Exhibit at National Garden Now on View
From now until October 1, 2019, a special garden display created by Edison Ford staff will be on view at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.!
The display tells the story of how and why Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone utilized their Fort Myers laboratory to search for a domestic source of rubber. Dozens of plants are on display, and a recreation of a portion of the Laboratory, life-size cutout of Thomas Edison, and replicas of items which would have been found inside the Laboratory help to create an immersive experience for visitors. Click the images below for two different views of the display.
Are you traveling to Washington, D.C. this summer? Make sure you don’t miss this incredible display! And don’t forget– the original Laboratory and surrounding research gardens can be viewed year-round here at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates.
Wedding Profile: Olivia Sutton & Osman Ulug
Congratulations to Olivia Sutton and Osman Ulug, who were married at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates on April 13, 2019!
- Where did you & your fiancé meet? We met during Freshman Year at Washington University, both studying biomed engineering at the time. Osman like[s] to joke that he “dropped the major, kept the girlfriend.”
- Who popped the question– and how, where and when? Osman proposed in the gazebo in Central Park in NYC while the 500s bells were ringing after a long day of fun in the city at the Museum of National History and getting waffles.
- Why did you choose Edison and Ford Winter Estates for your wedding day? Olivia has been visiting Edison and Ford Winter Estates since she was a baby. The grounds are perfect for the outdoor wedding we hand in mind. Plus much better weather than New York in April!
- Do you have any advice to those planning a wedding? Have a sister that loves wedding planning! Maintaining a healthy balance between maintaining your vision and being able to go with the flow goes a long way. Also, start early because time flies!!!
Jackfruit and Special Plant Sale
Want a tree that is sure to make the neighbors stop and stare? Then consider the jackfruit, a tree that produces one of the oddest and largest fruits of any plant. We first wrote about this tree in 2011. But since that time, jackfruit has become more mainstream and can even be found in local grocery stores either whole or in pre-packaged foods as a protein substitute for meat.
The tree we featured in 2011 was lost to Hurricane Irma in 2017. A smaller jackfruit tree we planted prior to the storm survived, although it was uprooted. Today, it’s producing three jackfruits on its fairly small trunk and they are almost ready to pick by our garden staff. You can see them between the Edison Guest House and McGregor Blvd.
Jackfruit trees are fairly easy to grow and most varieties can be kept small, to about eight feet tall or so. We have a few jackfruit trees for sale in our Garden Shoppe, along with hundreds of other Florida-friendly plants and tropical fruit trees. Visit Edison Ford this Saturday for our “Grow Fort Myers” event, a day of free gardening workshops and special discounts in our Garden Shoppe. For more info and a workshop schedule, click here.
Preparing to Send Edison’s “Lab” to D.C.
We are less than ten days away from traveling to our nation’s capitol to set up replicas of the Edison Botanic Research Corporation’s (EBRC) lab and rubber research gardens! Edison Ford is honored to be part of the Gardens Across America exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Gardens on display this summer from May 24 to October 1, 2019. Our display will be in a prominent location looking out across the National Mall, just a block away from the U.S. Capitol Building.
Our garden and curatorial teams, lead by Eric Frankovitch, Garden Specialist, have been busy creating and constructing the display. Most labor-intensive has been the design and build of the lab replica, an 8 x 2 x 6 ft wooden structure with a life-size cutout of Thomas Edison at a chemical work table. We’ve also created garden plot markers, plant identification plaques and educational signage about the history of Edison and the rubber research he, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone conducted in Ft. Myers. For the past few months, our garden staff and volunteers have been caring for the approximately 150 plants that will be on display in D.C.
The finishing touches are being made on the lab replica now. On May 10, Eric will load up a box truck and haul all the materials and plants needed to D.C. Upon arrival, he’ll construct the replica lab and fill our 275 sq ft garden bed with the six species of rubber research plants we’ve selected to represent the 17,000 plants Edison and his team tested in their search for an American source of natural rubber.
We hope you’ll have a chance to stop by and visit our display just outside the front doors of the U.S. Botanic Garden this summer. The Gardens Across America exhibit is free for all visitors, as is admission to the U.S. Botanic Garden.
