UC Davis artists are using the arboretum as a gallery for two installations: Crested Oak, using the remnants of a 200-year-old valley oak; and From Landfill to Landscape, using scrap metal from the university’s landfill.

For Crested Oak, John Gainey used the massive trunk and branches, plus bark and twigs from a tree that had died and was felled last winter. He created Crested Oak as his senior project in landscape architecture, and he subsequently graduated.

“My challenge as an artist was to break the structure of the tree to reveal the character of the basic elements within, and to work with these elements until they spoke and told their story,” Gainey wrote in his artist’s statement.

Look for his work along the waterway near the west end of the arboretum.

Art student Rebecca Portney turned her landfill finds into giant metal flowers, for a welded garden at the top of the lawn overlooking Lake Spafford, east of Mrak Hall. Follow the mulched path to discover these quirky gems; they will be on display through Aug. 19.

Portney's project stemmed from her enrollment in "Advanced Sculpture-Studio Projects," led by art professor Robin Hill.

Both installations are part of the arboretum’s GATEways Project, with “GATE” standing for Gardens, Arts and the Environment, in which UC Davis students share their academic and creative work with campus visitors.

MORE IN THE ARBORETUM

Plants of the Redwood Ecosystem — This tour offers a brief introduction to the complex and fascinating ecosystem of the redwood forest and the most common plants found with the redwoods. 10 a.m. Saturday, July 16, Wyatt Deck.

Folk Music Jam Sessions — Pull out your fiddles, guitars, mandolins, penny whistles, pipes, flutes, squeezeboxes — you name it! — and join your fellow musicians during the lunch hour for a little bluegrass, old-time, blues, Celtic, klezmer and other world music. All skill levels welcome. Listeners, too! Noon Friday, July 22, and Aug. 5 and 19, Wyatt Deck.

Romance and Legend: Roses of the Storer Garden — About the history and geography of wild roses leading up to today’s cultivated varieties. The Storer Garden's roses, selected for their suitability for the Central Valley's climate, do not require chemical pesticides or fertilizers. 10 a.m. Saturday, July 23, gazebo.

Plants from Down Under for Central Valley Gardens — About the many Australian and New Zealand plants that are well adapted to California gardens. 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, east end of the arboretum, at the edge of the parking lot behind the Borders bookstore in the Davis Commons shopping center, First Street and Russell Boulevard.

Native American Contemplative Garden — Honoring the Patwin people who lived at the arboretum site and the descendents who keep the Patwin traditions.10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center.

All programs are free and open to the public. More information: (530) 752-4880 or arboretum.ucdavis.edu (for directions, click on “Plan Your Visit”).