Celebrating Our 60th Birthday
The Annual Meeting--A Change is Coming
Read About It Below
Mark Your Calendars for Tuesday, March 21
This is the year that our long-time chefs, Marylou Hart and Sharon Elwood, are hanging up their aprons. Over the years, their generous donation of time for planning, shopping, and cooking has made it possible for us to treat all our members to a free dinner as part of the Annual Meeting. We know how much we've all enjoyed their dinners and hope you'll understand this is a well-deserved "retirement," and that it will necessitate changes.
Because we wanted to continue the dinner tradition, at least for 2023, we have turned to a professional caterer this year, contracting with Lombardi's for a delicious Italian buffet. But professional caterers come at a cost we can't absorb from our budget. And so, alas, there will be a $35 charge per person for dinner. Wine, beer, and door prizes will still be provided free of charge. Plus, there will be a special keynote speaker (see below).
We hope you understand the need for this change and will attend the meeting and continue to support the Arboretum through your membership. The Annual Meeting is an important one--it's where we elect our officers, let you know what our plans are for the future, and fulfill a legal requirement. And--if you can remember back to 2019 when we held our last in-person annual meeting--it is a very enjoyable event.
To reserve your place on March 21, please purchase your dinner ticket on our website by March 4, and be sure to renew your membership before that date. Because we have to pay the caterers in advance, we cannot accommodate walk-ins.
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Marylou Hart is EA&G's treasurer, an active board member, curator of the Arboretum's Woodland Garden, past plant sale chair, Master Gardener, and doting grandmother. If you see her at the meeting, please thank her for all she does for the Arboretum. |
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Lorene Edwards Forkner will be our keynote speaker. Edwards Forkner is a Seattle-based author and gardener. Her columns are in the Seattle Times and her books in your local library. Her topic will be "A Handmade Garden," or how to create a personality-infused landscape that satisfies your aesthetics and fits within your resources.
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We realize this change will be a surprise to many of you. If you'd like to register concerns or offer suggestions for future annual meetings, please email us at contactus@evergreenarboretum.com. We are trying to figure out what form this event should take in the future and your input is welcome.
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Celebrate The Year of the Rabbit: Build a Wire Cloche
An in-person class in the Classroom Building
Saturday, February 25 from 10 a.m. to noon
Yes, they are cute, but if you're tired of feeling like Elmer Fudd in pursuit of Bugs Bunny, join Kendall McLean in the Horticulture Classroom and learn how to make wire cloches to protect your favorite plants and bulbs from voracious rabbits. We will supply everything you need to make and take home 2 small cloches. However, if possible, bring your own needle nose pliers, wire cutter, and gardening gloves. More tools will make the building process go more smoothly.
The same technique can be used to make tomato cages, peony supports or many other plant supports.
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This class is limited to 15 people; reserve your place soon. |
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What's Blooming in Your Garden Now?
from Eileen Simmons, EA&G President
When we moved to the Pacific Northwest almost 25 years ago, I was so excited to learn that it was possible to have plants blooming in your garden almost all year. Since that epiphany, I have made it a point to add plants to my garden that provide blooms at as many different times of the year as possible.
During a recent walk through my neighborhood, I saw this bright yellow forsythia poking out from a fence and was inspired to walk through my own garden to see what was blooming despite the cold and rainy weather. Below is a sampling of what I found.
I've just started to rake off some of the leaves from last fall and begin spring clean-up so as not to bury early perennials or miss any spring bulbs. I've had a few snowdrops in bloom since early January, but it seems no matter how many I plant, they don't start to colonize as I hoped they would. This weekend's work revealed a few early primroses and one hellebore in flower, with more to come. I really should check my azara. It blooms early, but mine suffered a setback from December's snow and cold when, top-heavy with ice and snow, it fell over. With help we managed to get it trimmed back, upright, and replanted. Time will tell whether it will thrive.
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Help for Arts & Cultural Organizations
In December, EA&G received an $18,600 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce. The grant was part of the federal government's COVID relief funding that was designated specifically for arts and cultural organizations that suffered losses due to COVID.
We first verified that the Arboretum was eligible to apply and then submitted our application, without any idea of how much we might receive. While the amount received was a surprise, the losses were real. 2020 saw plant sale and raffle revenue drop by approximately $16,000. Our membership numbers also dropped.
The board has voted to use this money for the renovation of the Backyard Garden, a project we started working on in early 2022. The grant is not nearly enough to complete the project, but it gets us off to an excellent start.
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Volunteers Make a Difference
Arboretum neighbor and volunteer, Becky Faris deserves a pat on the back. Becky and JoCee, her beautiful labrador, walk in the gardens regularly. When Becky observed that the Mutt Mitt dispenser wasn't being regularly stocked, she volunteered to take on this responsibility--as well as insuring that the Arboretum's trash container is regularly emptied.
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Becky and JoCee enjoy the Arboretum |
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Everett's Public Works Department provided a graphic report of how much good the Mutt Mitt program does in protecting our environment. Now if we could just get everyone to put the bags in the trash rather than leaving them behind. |
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Support Your Arboretum by Joining Today. We Need You More Than Ever. |
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Take a moment to join or renew at www.evergreenarboretum.com and become part of the Evergreen Arboretum & Gardens family. Annual memberships come due in March of each year, but we can accept memberships at any time.
Your support is the key to our success. Your membership shows that you support our mission and the volunteers who dedicate themselves to the gardens. It is more important than ever to insure we remain strong and able to undertake significant projects once the pandemic is behind us. A robust membership base also shows the City that the Evergreen Arboretum is valued. You can join or renew online.
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To contact Evergreen Arboretum and Gardens
email: contactus@evergreenarboretum.com
phone: 425-257-8597
mail: PO Box 13014, Everett, WA 98206-13014
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