TWIGS _FJOA Quarterly Newsletter

~ TWIGS ~

A Quarterly Newsletter of

Friends of Jensen - Olson Arboretum

Summer Issue June 2017

Quarterly News and Updates

In this issue: Jensen-Olson Arboretum enjoys another milestone, infrastructure improvements, A birthday party in July, and more...

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Jensen-Olson Arboretum marks another milestone in its growth as a public garden: docents welcome visitors and guests

With great pleasure, the Arboretum announces its inaugural cohort of volunteer docents, ready and willing to greet you and answer your questions.

Volunteer docents are common to many public institutions...botanical gardens, museums, and galleries, among others. The word docent means "to teach or guide" and JOA docents have recently participated in a 4.5 hour training session in order to do just that - teach visitors and guests about the many facets of the Arboretum.

Each docent agrees to volunteer a minimum of 8 hours time over the course of the season serving as greeter, question-taker, policy enforcer, and general source of information.

Look for them throughout the Arboretum (hint: they'll soon be wearing sporty docent vests) and offer them your thanks for their service and their willingness to spend time learning more detailed information about the Arboretum, its plant collections, its history, and its ecosystem, so in turn, they can share their knowledge with others and enhance the overall visitor experience.

An historic moment: Jensen - Olson Arboretum's first-ever docent to welcome visitors, Patricia Wherry greeted approximately 60 visitors on her first day. She is pictured here with Merrill Jensen, Horticulturist and Arboretum Manager.

UAS Assistant Professor of Forest Ecology, Brian Buma, and UAS Professor of Biology, Sherry Tamone each volunteered their time to offer one section of docent training - the forest ecosystem surrounding the Arboretum and the inter-tidal ecosystem which is such a part of the Arboretum's identity. Thank you Brian and Sherry for sharing your time and expertise in support of our new docents!

Below are photos of the Arboretum's inaugural group of volunteer docents during training in early Spring 2017; included are: Kelly Jensen, Pat Harris, Julie Nielsen, Linda Wild, Patricia Wherry, Julianna Humphreys, Morgan Humphreys Davis, Rachel Barth, Merrill Jensen, Barbara Bartoo, Macky Mcclung, Deb Rudis, Kim Garnero, Anne Post, and Laurie Sica

Commemorative bricks installed by expert volunteer - thank you!

On a sunny Saturday in April, Bill Ehlers together with his grandson, spent several hours at the Arboretum installing our most recent order of commemorative bricks. You may remember Bill as one of the seasonal gardeners during the first years of the Arboretum’s history as a public garden. More recently, we have come to depend on Bill’s willingness to volunteer and his significant expertise in brick-laying – thank you, Bill for sharing your Saturday time with the Arboretum.

We have another set of bricks to install and hope to have those in place (location still to be determined) later this year. Until then, please come and enjoy this new addition to the landscape of the Arboretum.

Bill Ehlers; April 2017

Southeast Alaska Land Trust, in partnership with The Canvas, to host Plein Air Painting Workshops at the Arboretum

Saturday, July 15th the Southeast Alaska Land Trust, in partnership with The Canvas, will host its 3rd consecutive painting workshop at the Arboretum. Taking inspiration from the ocean side setting, participants will get creative and learn to paint using oils. A morning and afternoon session are offered and all details can be found here.

Infrastructure improvements (aka: the Summer of Construction)

Please pardon our messes; we are working to improve and enhance the visitor experience. Honest! With funding from various sources, including the CBJ 1% sales tax initiative as well as monthly rental income from the manager's residence, improvements include construction of a small parking lot and also repair to the sunroom which is used for seed starting and staging of plants to be added to the collection.

Projects are slated to begin in mid-late Summer; the sunroom repair and parking lot construction will be complete by Fall. Also included is a new entry to the Arboretum accessed via a path from the new parking lot, but that will likely not be complete until Spring 2018. Updates and timelines are regularly posted on the kiosk for your reference.

Please join us for

Birthday Party!

Years

Old

In late July 2007, the Jensen - Olson Arboretum celebrated its opening year with a ribbon-cutting, refreshments, and lots of plans for a full and successful future. Honoring Caroline Jensen's vision and legacy in these first 10 years has been a joyous responsibility.

You're Invited!

On July 29, 2017, the Arboretum will host a 10th Birthday Party to thank you for your support, with festivities throughout the day. Look for details to come in a separate mailing to your Inbox next week, but be assured, we'll have kids activities, a dignitary or two, cake and ice cream, and lots of reminiscing and laughter, so join us, won't you?

Jensen - Olson Arboretum

A few Frequently Asked Questions

we hear and answer...

A sampling of questions that we often hear from garden visitors. Submit your question to collectionsfjoa@outlook.com and we may answer it in a future issue.

Q: How many different Meconopsis do you have at the Arboretum?

A: Known also by their common name, Himalayan Poppy, the Arboretum currently holds 15 different species and cultivars of this genus in its accessions . And while the well-known, brilliant blue is the most highly coveted, flower colors of Meconopsis here at the Arboretum include white, yellow, pale purple, and sockeye red.

The Arboretum is a member of The Meconopsis Group, an affiliate of the Scottish Rock Garden Club; our membership affords us the benefit of seed exchange and first choice of seed availability...such a beguiling genus!

Meconopsis baileyi 'Hensol Violet'

Meconopsis staintonii

Meconopsis paniculata

~ Look for these highlights in the Autumn issue of TWIGS ~

*Sneak Peek: 2018 - hosting the American Primrose Society National Show

*Photos: the newly-installed Word Garden, the 10th Birthday Party,

parking lot construction

*Putting the garden to bed - Autumn tasks

Mid-Summer at the Arboretum

SAVE the DATE

*July 8 Children's Program - Art at the Arboretum, 11:00 - Noon

*July 15 SEAL Trust and The Canvas, Plein Air Painting Workshop; see article in this issue

*July 29 10th Birthday Party including Children's Program - Bug Day! and many

other activities; see article in this issue

*July 30 FJOA Members Annual Picnic, 5:30 - 7 :30pm

*August 5 Juneau Garden Club Members Annual Picnic, Noon

All events at the Arboretum unless otherwise specified

Is it time to renew your Annual Membership? Visit our website to renew today!

Mission Statement

The vision of the Arboretum is to provide the people of Juneau a place that both teaches and inspires learning in horticulture, natural sciences and landscaping - to preserve the beauty of the landscape for pure aesthetic enjoyment - to maintain the historical and cultural context of the place and its people.

Caroline Jensen