TWIGS _FJOA Quarterly Newsletter

~ TWIGS ~

A Quarterly Newsletter of

Friends of Jensen - Olson Arboretum

Spring Issue March 2017

Quarterly News and Updates

In this issue: Jensen-Olson Arboretum makes national horticulture news, May brings many celebrations, A birthday party in July, and more...

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Jensen-Olson Arboretum in the national spotlight...again!

Recently, the Jensen-Olson Arboretum has been prominently featured in two different national publications of the horticulture world, and has also achieved a new milestone with its advance to Level II Accreditation with The Morton Arboretum's ArbNet Network. See below for details and an informative link. Congratulations!

Featured in both The American Gardener (July/August 2016) and Horticulture (January/February 2017), the Jensen-Olson Arboretum has been highlighted as a great travel destination among American public gardens. Owing to its unique coastal location and its National Collection, the Arboretum on the shores of Pearl Harbor is indeed a Juneau Gem. As these publications are by subscription only, we are working with the publishers to make a single copy of the article available for posting later this year on the Arboretum kiosk for viewing.

In February, the Arboretum was notified that it had achieved Level II Accreditation with The Morton Arboretum's ArbNet. The Morton Arboretum ArbNet accreditation for the Jensen-Olson Arboretum

is another milestone in JOA's maturity as a public institution and places it among many other institutions committed to sharing "a widely recognized set of industry standards..."

Join us to celebrate completion of the Chilkats View Shelter

Thank you: FJOA Members, Juneau Garden Club, Juneau-Gastineau Rotary Club, Juneau Community Foundation, and CBJ Landscape Crew

Chilkats View Shelter; March 2017

Please join us on Saturday, May 27th when we will celebrate not only Alaska Public Gardens Day, but also the ribbon-cutting for the recently completed Chilkats View Shelter.

Thanks to what was truly a "team" effort, the Arboretum now offers a small, seated area centered around a previously-underused vantage point - a view up the channel to the Chilkat Mountains. While seating only accommodates 5 people, the views are fantastic - enjoy your opportunity to take in the view and be sure to share time with others.

What's in Bloom? Look at the chalkboard to find out!

Coming this year to the Arboretum...a “What’s in Bloom” board to greet visitors. Content on the board will highlight currently blooming special plants and direct visitors to their locations. In addition to assisting with plant identification, this simple display will also help interpret our collections for new and seasoned visitors alike. It is modeled on similar ideas used in other public gardens throughout the country and often seen at entry kiosks or in front of garden retail gift shops.

Made possible by volunteers Larry and Janet Crist, this new feature will be updated weekly to follow each interesting plant through our growing season. Other contributions to the Arboretum from these volunteers include the mailbox structure, a cold frame, and the essential-to-operations potting bench. Look for this new addition on the lawn underneath an umbrella as you enter the Arboretum. And, thank you to Larry and Janet!

The Arboretum turns 10 !!!

10 years has passed so quickly!!! This month marks the 10th anniversary of the day I first set eyes upon the Arboretum. Keep in mind, that was the year Juneau broke a snow record and the Arboretum was under almost five feet of snow during my interview tour, so I couldn’t really get a feel for the garden and its plant treasures. Later that interview week, while looking through Caroline’s old photo albums as part of the tour process, I saw the promise of what lay under all that snow…

The first two years consisted primarily of getting the grounds back into the shape Caroline’s photos showed. Then came the demolition of the boat house, decommissioning the old “plant prison” raspberry bed and creating new planting beds. Thanks to the Juneau-Gastineau Rotary Club, we also added an entry kiosk and a small glasshouse, as well as an aesthetically pleasing (and more visitor-friendly) fence around the vegetable garden. Subsequent years included filling new beds with unique and exciting plant material; much of the plant material started from seeds we had begun sourcing from around the world. Next came construction of the Point Caroline Trail allowing visitors to explore the woods and experience a view of the Channel. The high point of this early journey was applying to and receiving status as a Nationally Accredited Plant Collection of the Plant Collections Network (part of the American Public Gardens Association of which we are members) for the genus Primula.

Projects slated for this season include the addition of the much-needed, 20-space parking lot to be constructed at the top of the lane with a new Arboretum entry, via a trail yet to be constructed. The long-awaited sunroom repairs will also happen this summer eliminating the eyesore which has detracted from the visitor experience. A Garden in Words will fill the last of the unused garden bed space with interactive activity, new plantings, and interpretive signage. It will be an active summer for sure!

Come help us celebrate our 10th anniversary on July 29th with an old-fashioned birthday party…an afternoon of fun, special children’s activities and ice cream. Stay tuned for details later this summer…10 years and counting…. I hope Caroline is smiling at what her gift to Juneau is growing into…

M. Jensen

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: Where does the Arboretum get its plant material?

A: While the Arboretum sources what it can from local vendors, much of the plant material comes from other parts of the country (sometimes in a personal suitcase!) and some material even from other parts of the world. Acquisitions to the living collection are made through seed exchanges, private and commercial growers, cuttings, sharing, and yes, occasionally even a suitcase full of plants returning with the Arboretum Manager from a family visit which might have included a garden center visit.

Mid-Summer at the Arboretum

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

*Sneak Peek: 2017 - the Arboretum turns 10 and we're

celebrating with a birthday party!

*What's going on with the parking situation?

*Children's program events - details

Autumn at the Arboretum, October 2016

SAVE the DATE

*March 15 FJOA Annual Meeting, Valley Library, 5:30pm *May 6 A Day of Primula

***TWIGS Special Issue...later in March, please check your inbox

for a complete 2017 Calendar of Events

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