News and Views From The Gardens

Transcription

1 News and Views From The Gardens Winter 2014 Civitati Faventes Horti Inside This Issue: Volume 19, Issue 3 Page New Board Member 2 Board Meeting Highlights 2 Patiently Waiting.. 2 Inquiring Minds Want to Know 3 Japanese Gardens 3 Member Volunteers 4 More Volunteer Activities 5 The Gardens in Autumn 6 You are cordially invited to High Plains Reader Article 7 Hosted by Tea Time At The Atrium Afternoon Tea Northern Plains Botanic Garden Society NRI Atrium Elegant Valentine s Dinner 700 1st Avenue South, Fargo Saturday, February 7, :00-2:30 p.m. First Seating or 3:00-4:30 p.m. Second Seating $20 per person Advance Reservations Requested Call or annr56@aol.com Treat your favorite Valentine to an elegant, romantic dinner of Appetizer, Soup, Entrée, Dessert and Coffee Enjoy an elegant tea with dainty sandwiches, scones and sweets Shop the Boutique for delightful handmade crafts and baked goods Saturday, February 14, 2015 The NRI Atrium Gift Suggestion Watch for details in January Treat your friends and relatives to Tea Time at the Atrium Tickets available now For Holiday Gifting Call or annr56@aol.com

2 Northern Plains Botanic Garden Society Newsletter Ruth Morton, Editor * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Published by Northern Plains Botanic Garden Society P.O. Box 3031 Fargo, ND NPBGS Phone: info@ Website: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Board of Directors Jim Anderson, President John Zvirovski, Vice President Elly Heinz, Secretary Bill Fredet, Treasurer Paula Grimestad Tim Kennedy Cathi Tiedeman Board News Board Welcomes New Member Tim Kennedy Tim has an advanced degree in landscape architecture from Cornell University. He has taught in the landscape architecture departments at the American University of Sharjah, the University of Georgia and at North Dakota State University. Tim has also worked as a landscape architect with an internationally renowned firm. He has entered several design competitions, including the National Peace Garden. Tim is looking forward to helping NPBGS enhance and grow its presence in the Fargo-Moorhead community. He will also be working with the Garden committee. We are excited to work with Tim as he shares his expertise as a new Board member. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Northern Plains Botanic Society s mission is to establish and operate a regional botanic garden, conservatory and arboretum in Fargo. Patiently waiting Several months ago the City of Fargo agreed to seek out approximately three acres of land for NPBGS use. The City has three parcels of land under consideration at this time. Once the appraisal process is completed, a decision can be made on which one will be offered to the Society. Negotiations may possibly begin in the spring. November Board Meeting Highlights Mosaic Consulting is revising the financial format to more closely parallel a for-profit business model. This will help improve the auditing process. A membership/donation solicitation letter will be sent out between Thanksgiving and mid-december, to include a letter outlining the new dues-collection procedure. All annual dues will now be collected in January of each year. The Board moved to have attorney Randy Stefanson contact the Fargo Park District legal team to begin discussion regarding reimbursement for improvements made at the 28th Avenue site, should we decide to move our display gardens to another location. The NPBGS will maintain the 28th Avenue site until further notice. The annual Plant Sale will take place at the greenhouse as usual in Sadafumi Uchiyama will again be involved in the planning and design for the new Moorhead site, but for now NPBGS will use the current plan and design while both are being updated. John Zvirovski and Jackie Williams will collect feedback regarding refreshing our website before meeting with the web team to implement new ideas. -2-

3 Focus on NPBGS Garden Sites Inquiring minds want to know. what s going on with NPBGS? A lot, actually, although mostly behind the scenes. Demolition continues at the former Moorhead Power Plant site and may not be completed until next year. The good news is that no pollution of the soil has been found so far. Meanwhile the NPBGS Board is re-working our business plan and revising the garden site plan. Both of these documents will be shared with the Moorhead City Council as we work toward a solid agreement regarding land use. The Board is pursuing two possible options: a 99-year lease or a long-term lease with the option to purchase the land at a later date. Once demolition is complete, the site will be re-graded, and stabilized and protected from flooding. Then it will be ready for garden construction. It may take several years to begin to realize our vision for a Japanese garden in Fargo-Moorhead. During this transition the 28th Avenue garden site has not been forgotten. The Board is continuing conversations with the Fargo Park District regarding this location. The plan is to continue to maintain and beautify the gardens there until such time as we have a new site for our display and theme gardens. Japanese Gardens in America The existence of Japanese Gardens [in Japan] can be traced back many centuries. Their purposes and users varied throughout history. Originally intended as retreats and hunting grounds for the elite and ruling classes, most eventually found a role as public spaces, and today are treasured sites in Japan. Throughout centuries of evolution, Japanese gardens have been appreciated for their sensory, scenic and symbolic effects. Japanese-style gardens are relatively new outside of Japan. With increasing interest in Japanese gardens, old gardens in America are being rediscovered and restored. The attraction of a new market for gardens in America has brought skilled craftsmen and gardeners from Japan who raise the quality of these gardens. One of the interesting projects being conducted on a former garden site in the US is restoration of the Defiant Garden at the Manzanar Internment Camp in California by the National Park Service. The Japanese internees confined to Manzanar during World War II, in defiance of the authorities, utilized objects and plants found in the desolate campsite to construct the garden. Today annual pilgrimages by former internees and their relatives speak to the symbolic importance of the Manzanar site. It is the hope of the Northern Plains Botanic Garden Society to construct a Japanese-style garden on the Moorhead Power Plant site. It is an opportunity for Moorhead, Minnesota to be part of the new national movement for defining Japanese Gardens in America while considering Japan s centuries-long appreciation of the sensory, scenic and symbolic effects of their ancient gardens. Adapted from an article by Vern Hunter Squatters Rights? Moorhead Power Plant demolition -3- A Defiant Garden of the 1940 s in California

4 Members Help Keep NPBGS Functioning Putting the Gardens to Bed Non-profit Day at West Acres Regional Shopping Center As the gardening season began to wind down, we needed extra help to prepare the gardens at 28th Avenue N for winter. A hardy group of volunteers turned out on consecutive weekends and in spite of some blustery weather gathered for final weeding, trimming and general maintenance. Cathi Tiedeman provided barbeque and all the fixings at the end of one work session. Paula Grimestad brought Build Your Own sandwich fixings for the second weekend. We worked hard, ate well and had a social good time! NPBGS had a successful day this fall while participating in the annual Non-profit Day at West Acres. Our booth was near the fountain in the JC Penney wing, giving us the opportunity to showcase John Zvirovski s beautiful plant designs around the fountain. Volunteers Jim Anderson, Lisa Brown, Maurie Degrugillier, Don Dubord, Roberta Green, Paula Grimestad, Becky McCleary, Judy Maxson, Ruth Morton Harold Rosenheim, Jackie Rosenheim and Cathi Tiedeman. See some of their happy faces in the photos below! Thank you Volunteers!! Maurie and Jim are building the Living Fence, which will be an attractive background for the Chrysathemum Garden. (Why is Jim pointing that drill at Maurie?) Judy Maxson and Lisa Brown are collecting weeds to take to the compost Becky McCleary happily weeding in the Chrysanthemum Garden. -4-

5 Changing the Seasons at West Acres John, Butch, Lisa and Cynthia after a productive morning of decorating. John doing a balancing act! John and Cynthia distributing plants, while Jim, Bill and Butch bring in reinforcements Butch, Bill and Jim admire the display of poinsettias Several dedicated volunteers arrived early at West Acres to change out the seasonal decorations. You can see by these photos that they thoroughly enjoyed working together to bring the joy of the season to the local shopping center. Volunteers were: Jim Anderson Lisa Brown Bill Fredet Cynthia Herfindahl Butch McClymont Jackie Williams John Zvrivoski -5-

6 The Gardens in Autumn Newly constructed Living Fence awaits twining vines Can you find the lonely shovel? Crispy leaves Earth tones Seed pods Surprising splashes of color! Repose Geese flying overhead Promises of new beginnings in the far-off spring -6-

7 NPBGS in the News Conversation related to a recent article about the Northern Plains Botanic Garden in the High Plains Reader The Collaboration: HPR: Can you give us a brief history on the Botanic Gardens? Jackie: The Northern Plains Botanic Garden Society is a 501(c)3 that has an eye toward building a year-round botanic garden, conservatory and arboretum in the Fargo-Moorhead area to build community through art, culture and horticultural education. We are 400+ members strong and growing. We aim to improve green space throughout the region while ever mindful of the environment through activation. We are working with the City of Moorhead on a permanent location while we maintain our project at 28th Avenue and University, the N.R.I. Atrium and West Acres. Anyone who wishes to get active in our mission is welcome to join the Northern Plains Botanic Garden Society or volunteer, hopefully both! You can get information on our fundraising events, membership and ways to get involved by going to npbotanicgarden.com. HPR: How long have you been involved with this society? Jackie: I personally have been involved for just about three years. In addition, my family volunteers throughout the year. It is a great way to spend time with those that I love! HPR: Why did the Botanic Gardens decide to team up with West Acres instead of, say, West Fargo Farmers Market or the Saturday Market at the Dike in Fargo? Jackie: The Northern Plains Botanic Garden Society has a working agreement with West Acres to design and maintain the interior and exterior plant design. West Acres approached us with the idea several years ago, and the project has now come to fruition. The West Acres team views this as a way to reach the community, and together, we are all about offering fresh, local produce and products. The location is great due to the proximity to public transportation and built-in customers! From an interview between Deborah Jenkins (HPR) and Jacqueline Williams (NPBGS) -7-

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