The Great Oak Tree

The Great Oak Tree is the most famous tree at Boxerwood, and could probably be considered the center of everything that happens in the garden.  Her trunk was once so enormous it took at least 8 first-graders to hold hands and make a circle around her. This giant red oak has been overseeing the garden and its growth for a long, long time.  We used to think that she was one enormous tree, but after one of her "limbs" came crashing down in the fall of 2002, we discovered that she was actually made up of eight separate trunks that had grown so closely together that they almost fused.   We left the large fallen "limb" in place to allow students a chance to explore life from a squirrel's point of view; buy by summer of 2004, the limb had become so decayed that we had to cut it for safety's sake.  
Come sit under the tree or forage for acorns (just be sure you put them back for the real squirrels when you leave).  Aside from squirrels, the great oak tree is also a great place for birding, and the rich soil and leaf litter surrounding it are full of bugs and other fun critters, including lots of decomposers.