Floral grave blanket honors Michael Jackson

Students in floral design, a class held in the greenhouses on the St. Paul campus, created a floral grave blanket honoring Michael Jackson that was on display at the Rosedale AMC theater near campus this weekend. Michael Jackson’s biographical movie, This Is It, was playing at the theater. Floral design teaches principles and elements of design for use in commercial flower shops and at home.

Click here to learn more about the grave blanket and the process of making it.

Housing Application Available

Attention seniors: The fall 2010 housing application is now available! If the U of M is one of your top choices and you know you want to live on campus, I recommend you apply for housing early. The earlier you apply, the closer to the top of the list your name will be. (Housing assignments are based on the date you submit your completed housing application.)

Bailey Hall on the University's St. Paul Campus is home to many CFANS students

Within the residence halls, you will find Living Learning Communities (LLC). They are a great way to meet students who have a common interest. There are four communities specific the the majors and programs we offer in CFANS:

• St. Paul Engaged Leaders House
• Environment House
• Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives
• Pre-Veterinary Science House

If you want to participate in any of these Living Learning Communities, simply mark it on your application. Also note that you can make changes to your application online up to May 31st, 2010, and still keep your spot on the list (see application FAQs for more commonly asked questions)!

'Hungry Planet' provides food for thought

The Bell Museum of Natural History currently has a thought-provoking exhibit that looks at the grocery lists and dining room tables of people around the world. The exhibit, Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, explores 10 different cultures, many with ties to Minnesota. Explore current food issues via photography and hands-on exhibits. Learn about how other cultures grow, process and eat food and compare to your dining room table experience!

Buy your Honeycrisp apples locally

I love the crisp crunch and sweet juice that comes when biting into the tasty Honeycrisp apple. It turns out that cool weather is key to the fantastic taste we have come to expect of Minnesota’s state fruit, according to U of M apple breeder David Bedford. You can now buy the apple in far-off locales, but because it was developed to be grown in Minnesota’s cool weather climate, to get the best taste you should buy locally.

Photo credit

Visit the Star Tribune Web page to see the full-length article.

Where did the fall colors go?

I was outside this a couple weekends ago raking leaves and found that the Ginko leaves in my front yard were all green. Turns out I am not alone. The reason that many leaves in southern Minnesota fell off trees before they turned color was because of cold overnight temperatures.

"Leaves generally go from green to yellow, or red, or brown in fall as a result of both shortening days and cooling temperatures," said Jerry Cohen, a professor of environmental horticulture here at the University of Minnesota.

Read the full length article in the Star Tribune.

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Apple season is open!!

From the first apple cultivar, Minnehaha, which was introduced in 1920, CFANS Horticulture department has a long tradition of researching and developing apples. Our Minnesota state fruit, the Honeycrisp apple, was developed by the U of M. If you haven’t tried, it you should! It is so juicy and sweet and crispy–-everything you want in an apple. You can purchase it and many other apple varieties at the Landscape Arboretum’s Apple House, which is now open. This year’s new fruit is the delicious SweeTango.