Signs at the Native Arboretum
Display Signs
In collaboration with the Fairfax County Park Authority, we created two display signs at the Preserve. A large welcome sign, located in the main lawn near the Preserve driveway, introduces the Native Arboretum project and describes some of its key features. A smaller display, between the parking lot and the Rain Garden, explains the purpose of rain gardens and discusses how we want this particular rain garden to work.
Botanical Signs at the Preserve
In October 2008, we began installing small identification signs near a selection of plants growing in those parts of the Preserve that we are currently restoring. We have since halted this effort—not permanently, but just until some of our plantings are a little better developed.
You can find the signs that we have already installed along the lawn near the main path into the forest, and in the Restored Habitat Area. (Those in the Restored Habitat Area are visible from the main path.) The signs are made from etched metal plates attached to wooden frames. The frames are set in the ground with metal post anchors. Each sign identifies a nearby plant, or sometimes a group of plants, all of the same species. On each sign, you’ll find a common name, the scientific name, and references to at least two major field guides. The field guides are cited in an abbreviated format. Here are the full references:
Little, Eastern Trees:
Elbert L. Little, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern Region (New York: Knopf, 1980).
Petrides, Eastern Trees & Shrubs:
George A. Petrides, A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs: Northeastern and North-Central United States, and Southeastern and South-Central Canada, 2nd ed., Peterson Field Guide Series 11A (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1972).
For a survey of field guides covering the mid-Atlantic, see our List of Field Guides for the Greater Washington Region.