BANGOR – The Eastern Maine Native Plant Arboretum will sponsor a Landscaping with Native Trees and Shrubs Field Day at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 26.

The new arboretum, created to serve citizens of Penobscot County and surrounding counties as an outdoor classroom for the study of native tree and shrub species best suited for regional landscapes, is located next to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Office on Maine Avenue in Bangor, adjacent to the University College of Bangor campus.

Extension horticulture educators Gleason Gray of Penobscot County and Marjorie Peronto of Hancock County, working with horticulturist Reeser Manley of University of Maine in Orono, obtained a Project Canopy grant to create the arboretum. Matching support was obtained from the Bangor community, including several regional garden clubs and the Maine Federation of Garden Clubs.

On May 3, Penobscot County Extension master gardener volunteers planted 97 trees and shrubs in the arboretum. Twenty-four different tree and shrub species native to Maine were planted, including many lesser-known species such as striped maple, yellow birch, pagoda dogwood, mountain holly, American hophornbeam, black cherry, red elder, showy mountain ash and others.

In the future, extension master gardener volunteers also will be responsible for maintenance of the arboretum and for collecting data on the performance of each plant.

The day’s activities will begin with a dedication ceremony to mark the opening of the arboretum. Participating in the opening ceremony will be University College of Bangor Dean Tracy Gran, Judi Perkins of Keep Bangor Beautiful and Michael DeBonis, director of Project Canopy, a Maine Forest Service program providing the seed money for the arboretum.

After a ceremonial groundbreaking, horticultural workshops will be conducted. Reeser Manley will conduct the workshop, “Selecting Native Trees for Managed Landscapes,” at 10 a.m.

Bob Bangs of Windswept Gardens in Bangor will give a talk on “Designing Landscapes with Native Plants” at 11 a.m.

Peronto will lead a workshop on “Proper Planting Techniques for Trees and Shrubs” at 1 p.m. and University of Maine horticulturist Hillary Schultz will discuss “Maintenance of Native Plants in the Landscape” at 2 p.m.

Extension master gardener volunteers will conduct tours of the arboretum hourly.

In addition to the workshops, fact sheets for each native tree or shrub species will provide a description of the plant, its landscape use, photos of the ornamental features and information on light requirements and soil requirements.