Visit Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens on June 9. This Level II arboretum in beautiful Hudson Valley, N.Y., has a total of 21 acres, eight of which are currently cultivated. The gardens are run as a non-profit whose mission is to sustain the native, unusual and historic plant life and serve as a vital educational resource for the public.

The gardens are also focused on saving rare and endangered plants from around the world, with the goal of making sure that species diversity is preserved. The tour will focus on some of the arboretum’s more unusual plants, and will highlight plants that produce wonderful food for wildlife and people alike.

A few highlights will include native plants such as Ptelea trifoliata “Aurea,” American Persimmon, and Zanthoxylum Americanum, an important host plant to the largest North American butterfly. Non-native trees and shrubs will include plants such as Maclura tricuspidata with its tasty mulberry-lychee-like fruit, Zanthoxylum simulans that produces the tingly fruits found in Szechuan cooking, and Pterostyrax hispida, with its unusual epaulette-like flowers among many, many more. Transportation from BBG for an additional $10 fee is available for a limited number of participants.