"Show Me, Help Me" Tour of ZCS

The Habitat Gardening Club of CNY will offer one of its "Show Me, Help Me" tours at the Zen Center. The "Show Me" part means that these landscapes will show tour guests some ways to use native plants and natural landscapes in various settings. The "Help Me" part means that the host has an opportunity to ask the tour guests for help with a landscaping dilemma, getting a chance to tap into the variety of experiences and knowledge the guests have. Our tours each have a unique mix of "Show Me" and "Help Me," but they're all interesting and worthwhile.

We will observe the Zen Center's native and/or edible plantings which include berries, pawpaw, cherries, mayapple, wild ginger, cohosh, bur oak, bloodroot, sugar maple, spicebush, ostrich fern, and others. In addition, we'll look at Onondaga Creek and the potential to enhance riparian vegetation. Deer, weeds, invasive species, and feral cats present challenges to the reclamation of this historically important crossroads property.

Myorin Catherine Landis of SUNY-ESF will be our tour guide. The Zen Center has 6 acres along Onondaga Creek in the Valley section of Syracuse. The property has a rain garden, a small woodland, and various other gardens. They've added many native and/or edible plants over the years in an effort to restore the woodland and other areas for wildlife and people. Species include black walnut, basswood, white pine, black raspberry (volunteers!), pawpaw, peach, chokecherry, bur oak, sugar maple, hazelnut, maidenhair fern, wild ginger, mayapple, cohosh and others. Tour guests' perspectives on the suite of challenges as well as opportunities for this centrally located urban property are welcome! There are lots of weeds and invasives like Norway maple and buckthorn.

The Show Me, Help Me tours are free and open to the public.