2007
History of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
and The Friends of the Wildflower Garden

The Friends held a Board Meeting on September 17 at the Golden Valley Historical Society. The report on poster sales showed that 103 out of 1000 had been sold and 334 boxes of note cards (these were quite successful). Sale proceeds of $4,250 from Park Board Garden events were sent to the Park Board to buy plants for spring 2008 planting.

MTN Television had produced a video disc about the Garden and Eloise Butler and they had a premier event on November 11. The Friends secured copies of the DVD to sell.

Ann Godfrey reported that volunteers had put in over 1,100 hours this year in service to the Garden. That included 35 shelter volunteers, 25 invasive pullers and 7 legacy stewards in the Garden. A web site did not come about and the committee disbanded. Jeff Lee reported on the possible wetland restoration project that had been discussed all year. Due to restraints and cost estimates, the project was tabled for now.

During the year following the deaths of Lisa Locken and Moana Beim, two memorials were established in the Garden; the funds going from the Friends to the Park Board: A group of friends of Lisa Locken adopted an Oak tree on the path leading to the Garden Shelter and second, the family of Moana Beim adopted several Hemlocks in the Hemlock Grove.

A new editor for the newsletter was found in the person of Linda Cody, who was present at the meeting and was elected to the Board.

In the fall issue of The Fringed Gentian™ [Vol.55, No.3] Pam Weiner wrote her first letter as president, Susan Wilkins wrote about the Wildflower Garden in “100 years of Inspired Beauty.” Phenology highlights for the summer were given by the Naturalists; Tammy Mercer wrote about the Garden being a Rest Stop for Weary Travelers (Birds); Jim Proctor wrote about the invasive work, especially about Japanese Knotweed which had recently been discovered; and also reported on for the items mentioned above.

During the winter the new screen door built for the Martha Crone Visitor’s Shelter and funded by the Friends was installed. The shelter has had various screen doors over the years but there was research evidence that the original design for a door was never followed through on and various substitute doors were installed. One door was damaged in a break-in at the Shelter in the winter of 1977 and was either subsequently removed and replaced with the existing door or was repaired and replaced and was damaged again in a 1988 break-in. So to get back to a more original design, volunteer Kathleen Connelly and Susan Wilkins took on the replacement project and worked to find artisans to create it. The door was completed and installed. In the spring (2008) visitors could enjoy the passing breezes through this lovely work of art constructed of quarter-sawn white oak with mortise and tenon joinery. The carpenter, John May, constructed the door while blacksmith, Tom Latane created unique metal hinges and door handle. The design fits perfectly with the architecture of the Shelter building and looks as if it were always a part of the Garden. [This article has photos of the hardware]

Volunteer Report

On Sunday evening, November 11th, 2007, the Friends’ Board hosted a Thank-You reception for the volunteers who contributed to the Garden’s very successful 100th season. Legacy Stewards, Weed Pullers, Shelter Volunteers, Board Members and members of the Garden staff gathered at the studio of the Minneapolis Television Network at Saint Anthony Main on the riverfront in Minneapolis. They sampled appetizers from the Aster Café and viewed a screening of the 100th Anniversary DVD. For most, it was their first look at John Akre’s production which chronicles the seasons of the Garden through John’s photography and interviews.

Susan Wilkins warmly thanked the Friends for their support of the garden and distributed 100th Anniversary mugs as a thank you from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.

Melissa Hansen added a special touch to the event with an unusual party favor. Melissa learned to propagate two types of ferns that are considered threatened in Minnesota. She brought young Christmas Ferns (Polystichum ancrostichoides) and Marginal Shield Ferns (Dryopteris marginalis) for every volunteer. The ferns need one more winter indoors before being transplanted outside.

Volunteers took them for their own yards and many also took some ferns as foster parents. Those ferns came back to the Garden in the spring.

During the summer the large wood information kiosk that dominated the area inside the front gate was removed due to deterioration. It was used for displays, handouts and a garden map. As handouts were now only available in the Shelter, the kiosk was replaced by more simple information signs in 2009.

The Friends ended the year with assets of $57,000. Revenue in this fund-raising year was $30,200 of which membership revenue was $6,300, memorials were $5,800, sales of anniversary material were $5,600, special donations were $9,600. Expenses were $24,700 of which $11,000 was spent of the anniversary of the Garden, $5,200 for newsletter and other printing, and $6,300 was paid to the Park Board for the screen door and plants.

At the end of the year Gary Bebeau volunteered to create a website for the Friends.

2007 was a year of above average precipitation, coming in the form of summer rains. Late fall produced some snow and the Winter of 2007/08 would be typical, producing the median snowfall of around 43 inches.