2022
History
of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
and The Friends of the Wildflower Garden
2022 is the 116th year of the Garden, the 70th year for the Friends and Susan Wilkins’ 19th year as Garden Curator. Jennifer Olson began her second year as Friends President.
The Shelter Improvement Project, first announced in 2019, then delayed in 2020 due to lack of a staff planner at the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) and further delayed at the beginning of 2021 with Covid, finally went out for bid late in 2021 but the bids were few and much higher than MPRB could accept. The project thus returns to “on-hold” status.
Reelected MPRB Commissioners: The newly elected Commissioners of the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) took office at the beginning of the year. The Friends are pleased to have in office Commissioners Meg Forney, Stephanie Musich and Elizabeth Shaffer who are strong supporters of the Friends, the Wildflower Garden and the work of the Friends Invasive Plant Action Group (FIPAG). Commissioner Forney has also been chosen President of the Board.
The Friends’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEI) debated additional changes to the Friends Mission Statement of 2020 but decided that it met current needs.
The board of director meetings of the Friends on January 31 and April 11 were both held via Zoom. A proposal by Garden Curator Susan Wilkins to have the Friends support a Garden Naturalist Program at the Byrn Mawr Elementary School was met with interest and with questions about the details of duties, funding and MPRB support. This would give a naturalist full year employment - school time and then the Wildflower Garden in the season - something long desired as all Garden support staff are part time and many do not return in years following. The proposal did not go forward during 2022 but in subsequent years a new solution was found.
At the April board meeting George Lawton, with a background of volunteering and business executive experience was appointed to the Board of Directors.
Improvements were made to the Garden infrastructure during the winter months by the MPRB. First, the shelter’s wood storage box was replaced with a new structure. Then the combination work shed and office was re-roofed.
Thirdly, the largest project was the replacement of a section of the 1946 cyclone fencing that ran from the restrooms eastward to where the fence made a 90 degree angle in the area of the 1993 addition to the upland garden. Cutting out the angle added additional area to space within the Wildflower Garden fence. Invasive plants in this area had been strictly controlled by the work of volunteers over the past 10 years. The new fence is black and higher so that deer cannot jump it, eliminating the need for the barbed wire that was atop the old fencing.
Below: The new fence line with the new trees incorporated into the Garden space on the far side.
Photo G D Bebeau.
A number of green ash trees were removed from the wetland area of the Garden during the winter to open the canopy to newly planted wetland species and also to be a step ahead of the Emerald Ash Borer which would have eventually killed the trees. By mistake the young Yellowwood specimen just inside the front gate, planted by former gardener Cary George, was broken off by MPRB workers when another tree they were felling hit it.
There was a lot of snow during meteorological winter - 46 inches from December to the end of February.
This coyote was seen on a ridge line around the Garden in March. Photo by MPRB staff.
The Garden opened on Friday April 15, resuming opening hours at 7:30 AM following two years of 10 AM opening during the covid pandemic. The weather was cloudy and cold. There was still a bit of ice at the back fence near the water channel. But on April 23 we had 70 degrees and a thundershower. The early snow trillium were not early this year and did not bloom until April 12th so Garden visitors were sure to see them this year.
Visitors to the Garden are being automatically counted as they enter either gate instead of relying on a hand count at the front gate (which did not include the back gate). Late last year the MPRB installed an automatic counter (photo right) at the front and back gates which give time of day tracking. Shelter volunteers still count visitors that also enter the Shelter.
With the restrictions of Covid reduced, the Martha Crone Shelter reopened to visitors after a two year closure. The initial weeks were staffed by the Garden naturalists, then the volunteers resumed duties in June. The public was not required to wear masks, but the MPRB staff were so required.
Garden Curator Susan Wilkins wrote in the spring Fringed Gentian™ (Vol. 70 No. 1):
As we approach that most exciting time of year when the scents of subtle spring things like moist mosses and warming bark emerge and the sounds of water trickling and cheerful birds pop up here and there to our delight, I want to wish each and every one of you the very best for a season of touching down, deeply, on the beauty of nature that lives inside and outside of each one of us. May we all take good care of ourselves, each other and this incredibly beautiful planet, our only home, now and always. Enjoy the start of spring!
The same newsletter issue contained a two-page spread on the “Warblers in the Garden” written by Howard Towle, a frequent birder at the Garden. Other articles were on “The Trilliums at Eloise Butler” by Gary Bebeau and “What’s It Like to Be a Bird” by Lauren Husting.
The storage area at the rear of the Crone Shelter was converted to staff office space and some new furniture was purchased for the staff in the shelter. Among the new pieces was a desk unit that now holds a new video microscope. Visitors in the Martha Crone Visitor Shelter could discover new dimensions of nature exploration with this wonderful new tool, called a Microeye. This tool allows people of all ages to look at natural materials up close with ease. It was a popular new addition to the Shelter and was a nod to Eloise Butler and her passion for using microscopes to see the patterns and details of the natural world up close. Photo - MPRB.
A microscope has long been a feature on the counter in the Crone Shelter for children to use. In 1994 Tim Nordquist built a microscope for the Shelter in honor of his brother Daniel as part of a family memorial to Daniel that includes the Nordquist fountain on the hill in the upland.
Garden Storytime (MPRB photo below) for young people was resumed this season including a Spanish version thanks to the hiring a new Garden Naturalist this season who spoke Spanish.
There was a partial burn of the prairie area in the spring.
In April Friends President Jennifer Olson organized a display case presentation about the Wildflower Garden at the Minneapolis Sumner Library Branch. The exhibit changed seasonally and was maintained by Jennifer and several Friends members. The first display in the spring featured some history about Eloise Butler, spring wildflowers and a display of Judy Remington’s glass tiles on spring wildflowers. Judy, a former editor of The Fringed Gentian™, is pictured in the photo next to the display case. Summer flowers were on display until through September 12, followed by a fall and winter display. The Library is located at 611 Van White Memorial Blvd, (at Olson Highway), Minneapolis.
To help promote the Garden and the Friends, two new handouts were made available to shelter visitors. Jennifer Olson created a tri-fold sheet containing bits from the Friends monthly Twigs and Branches newsletter. Four were produced during the year. Postcards with information about the Friends and a photo from the Garden were printed for visitors to take. Examples shown below.
Susan Wilkins had Garden volunteer help from a number of organizations during the year to help with weeding and trail maintenance work. One such group from Medtronic is pictured below working with cedar shaving for the Garden paths. MPRB photo.
The required annual report to the Minnesota Charities Office of the Attorney General was distributed and approved at the April board meeting and then filed by the treasurer. The Federal non-profit report had been filed in March by the treasurer.
On June 29th Jennifer Olson hosted a Friends 70th anniversary party at her house in Golden Valley. Thirty members and donors attended on a nice early summer evening. Several speeches were given and Jennifer provided all the refreshments.
The summer issue of The Fringed Gentian™ (Vol. 70 No. 2) featured a timeline of all the major Garden projects that the Friends have done for the Garden in partnership with the MPRB. Other articles were about “Asiatic Jumping Worms” by Colin Bartol, an interview with Friends board member Steve Benson by Candyce Bartol and a review of a new birding board game, “Wingspan” by Lauren Husting.
Below: The Showy Lady's slippers were in good form on June 16. Photo G D Bebeau.
Plants for the Garden: Over the past two years, the addition of new plants continued while visitation to the Garden was in a more restricted mode. All the way back to Eloise Butler’s time, the majority of planting effort in the Garden consisted of the addition and replacement of existing plant species. Unlike long-lived trees, most herbaceous plants die out more quickly (except, it seems, for Trout-lilies which seem to last forever) and need to be replaced to keep the collection in tact. The Garden has its own plant budget that is frequently supplemented by funds from the Friends. The Friends budget adopted for 2022 allocated up to $7,500 for plants for the Garden.
Susan Wilkins reflected on the Garden plants in the Summer issue of the newsletter:
It’s hard to fathom — as the naturalistic style of the Garden belies the facts — but this space is highly managed. Plants are intentionally added each year to foster the goals mentioned above. They are thoughtfully placed and arranged to enhance the “primeval wilderness” design aesthetic that Eloise Butler laid out for the Garden. Management also includes the weeding out of what is not wanted
Garden Kiosk: At the end of July a new structure appeared at the Garden front gate. Marylynn Pulscher of the MPRB environmental department found money in the MPRB budget to construct a small kiosk to greet visitors at the gate. The table that had been in use during the pandemic was quite successful in making contact with visitors and now this more appropriate structure will be staffed by a volunteer and have handouts for visitors to use in the Garden. Photo by Bob Ambler.
Susan Wilkins cited the kiosk in her fall report saying:
The new kiosk at the front gate to the Garden has been well received and serves as a wonderful location for visitors to be greeted by volunteers. This season, docent volunteers received training and then jumped right into serving visitors in this location without missing a beat! We are excited about this new space and the way it affords visitors to learn a bit about the Garden and gather resources for visiting before entering. And for those visitors who are seeking solitude, we completely understand! Volunteers have been trained to lean back and see if visitors want to engage before initiating a conversation.
Initially, the Friends volunteer group provided two shifts per day beginning at 10 AM, covering the hours when most people visit. Twenty-nine volunteers worked the kiosk during the season.
During the summer days of managing the Garden, a group of the naturalists came upon a discovery. They learned that they were looking at the lily-leaved twayblade (Liparis liliifolia)—a plant they did not recognize or know was in the Garden. Former Head Gardener Cary George had found twayblades in Theodore Wirth Park in the 1990s and transplanted some into the Wildflower Garden.
The staff wrote in the Friends Newsletter:
It is likely from this transplanting that our population came from. L. liliifolia is known to be a traveler and to disperse their seeds and “move around” disturbed forested areas. Knowing that these plants may have been here for the past 20 years, moving around the meadow via seeds and quietly blooming close to the ground, is a reminder that for as many blooms as we love to see throughout the seasons, the flowers bloom whether we see them or not!
The 70th Annual Meeting of the Friends was held on September 18 at 2 PM in Johnson Hall at the Sumner Public Library, 611 Van White Memorial Blvd, (at Olson Highway), Minneapolis. Social gathering from 1:30 - 2 PM. It also had a web link via Zoom. Susan Wilkins, Curator of the Garden, spoke on the state of the Garden, committee reports were given and a new board of directors were elected.
Guest speaker Dr. Lee Frelich, Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Forest Ecology spoke on "Could climate change turn Minnesota into the new Kansas?” Some of his conclusions were reported in the fall Fringed Gentian™.
Directors elected were Candyce Bartol, Colin Bartol, Gary Bebeau, Steve Benson, Bruce Jarvis (new), George Lawton, Jennifer Olson, Jim Proctor and J. Pam Weiner.
New director Bruce Jarvis lives in Bryn Mawr, has been a shelter volunteer since 2018 and birds with EWBG Saturday early birders and has taught various aspects of biology at several different colleges and universities.
Four members have guided the Friends as president since our 50th anniversary in 2002. Steve Pundt, 19th president, 1999-2006. Pam Weiner, 20th president, 2007-2016 Kathy Connelly, president, 2017-2020 Jennifer Olson, president, 2021 - present.
Retired directors - Retiring from the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting were Kathleen Connelly, Sally Pundt, Steve Pundt and Lauren Husting. Kathy joined the Friends in 1989 and was president 2017-2020. The Pundts have been Friends members since 1992, Steve was president 1999-2006. Lauren continues as media communications person.
Below: Retiring Friends Board Directors Kathy Connelly and Sally and Steve Pundt. Photo Colin Bartol.
During their tenure the Friends have carried out their mission by funding numerous plant purchases for the Garden, instituting the Student Transportation Grant Program, forming the Friends Invasive Plant Action Group, helping the MPRB fund restoration of habitat and a bee survey, providing a custom screen door, desk and rain gutters for the shelter and 294 feet of wrought iron fencing for the back of the Garden, funding numerous small projects plus the Ken Avery Birding Terrace and providing half the funding for phase I and II of the wetland boardwalk. Many thanks to our 3 past-presidents and to our current president - Jennifer Olson. Well done to all who provided support for this work!
At the board of directors meeting following the annual meeting the officers elected were: Jennifer Olson, president; Candyce Bartol, secretary; Gary Bebeau, treasurer.
In committee roles were: Gary Bebeau - memorials, money management and website, Jim Proctor - Invasive Plant Action Group (with non-board member Kari Christianson as co-chair), Colin Bartol - newsletter editor, and non-board members Lauren Husting - media communications, Christi Bystedt - donor coordinator and Melissa Hansen - volunteers coordinator.
At this board meeting approval was given to help MPRB fund a new bee survey during 2023 and 2024. As with one 10 years prior, it will be conducted by Dr. Elaine Evans of the University of Minnesota Bee Lab. The Friends will fund half the estimated cost of $9,000.
FIPAG for 2022: The Friends Invasive Plant Action Group (FIPAG) conducted three buckthorn events in October and three garlic mustard events in the spring. The area of the Maple Bowl now has large spaces free of buckthorn and garlic mustard. Additional weed wrenches and a large selection of native plant seed mixes were purchased for FIPAG for use in the Maple Bowl. Photos below by Bob Ambler.
This October, after a two year absence, the Friends were able to sponsor and arrange an appreciation event on the evening of October 30 for all the volunteers who contributed their time at the Garden. The group includes Friends docents, Friends Invasive Plant Action Group (FIPAG) volunteers and Park Board Garden volunteers and support staff. The Friends arranged rental space, at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, a new venue, provided food and beverages and Susan Wilkins provided desserts and a gift. Sixty people attended. Thanks to Pam Weiner for organizing the event.
In the photo below at the volunteer event are (l to r): Melissa Hansen - volunteer coordinator, Pam Lapham (FIPAG volunteer), Kimberly Ishkov (Garden staff), Jennifer Olson - Friends president.
The lead-off article in the fall issue fall issue of The Fringed Gentian™ (Vol. 70 No. 3) summarized Dr. Frelich’s talk at the annual meeting - "Could climate change turn Minnesota into the new Kansas?” Naturalist Donna Thottungal wrote about the Green Darner Dragonfly, Lauren Husting gave a history of the Quaking Bog, three Garden naturalists wrote about the Twayblade discovery and Jennifer Olson offered her experience with Wildflower Guides.
Jennifer Olson, wrote that:
The yellows pop out at me, but so many of them are composite flowers with their yellow rays; what are their names? With my phone app I can quickly take a picture and get an identification. Unfortunately, I’m missing the experience with that plant – critically assessing the flower, stem, leaves, and its habitat to solve the question who are you? [after using the guides) I feel rewarded solving the puzzle by studying all the parts which nature has evolved into a unique plant!
New Friends History Books and Garden History Books:
During the year board member Gary Bebeau finished compiling six additional history books about the Garden and the Friends. Seventy Years of the Friends in three volumes, documents the activities of Friends of the Wildflower Garden and the events happening in the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden from the founding of the Friends in 1952 until 2022.
Volume I is a 309 page narrative of the period. Volumes II (284 pages) and III (266 pages) are detailed histories of each year, providing background to Volume I. Next was The Wild Botanic Garden, Eloise Butler and the Wild Flower Garden, which provides a detailed narrative of each year of Eloise Butler's tenure as Curator - 1907-1933. It contains historical photos, documents, all the known correspondence between Eloise Butler and Martha Crone, 304 pages. Next is Eloise Butler - Selected Writings, a 177 page volume containing most of her essays and newspaper columns. The last book was The Native Plant Reserve - The Martha Crone Years 1933-1958, 270 pages, which provides a detailed narrative of each year of Martha Crone's Curator years - 1933-1958, which are only summarized in the previous book about Martha Crone (This Satisfying Pursuit - Martha Crone and the Wild Flower Garden) that was published several years earlier. The books were made available in pdf format on the Friends website. Copies of all the books were placed in the Friends archive at the Minnesota History Center.
Long-time Friends of the Wildflower Garden:
42 members have supported the Friends for 20 years or more.
24 of the 42 have been members for 30 years or more,
5 of the 24 for 40 years or more,
2 of the 5 for 50 years or more.
Our 50+ year members are: J. S. Futcher, Lee & Jerry Shannon. Sadly, our longest serving member, Karol Gresser, passed away on August 5th. She joined the Friends in 1967. Karol became a life member in 1999. Her passion at the Garden was birding. Her life list of Minnesota observed species totaled 380, placing her #52 on the statewide list.
In Past Years:
20 members served as newsletter editor
22 members served as president
118 names are on the shelter memorial board
137 members served on the Board of Directors
250 Fringed Gentian™ newsletters were created
5,446 Children visited with our Transportation Grant
$47,000 was provided for Garden plants
$98,000 was provided for our educational program
$335,000 was invested in other Garden support.
In December the Audubon Christmas Bird Count was held in Wirth Park, the first in the last 60 years. The official count was done on December 18 by the EBWG early birders group and the Urban Collective Bird Group. Sixty-five people helped; the Friends courtesy of Jennifer Olson, provided coffee, hot chocolate and sweets. In the Minneapolis West circle, 4,369 birds were counted on the 18th representing 38 bird species! One of the more rare birds spotted was the Northern Shrike. There were two additional species counted during the count week. Details of the event were reported in the Spring 2023 Fringed Gentian™
This file photo of the Northern Shrike, one of the rarer birds from the bird count, shows the plumage. Photo - Paul J. Hurtado.
Susan Wilkins summed up the 2022 Garden season this way:
It has been a busy and beautiful season at the Garden this year. Public program attendance has been high, with programs like Garden Story Time, Early Birders, Quaking Bog Tours, and Night-themed Walks drawing 20, 30, 40 people for many sessions. Garden Story Time tops the charts this year with more than 60+ people often attending this season. Clearly the Garden provides so much nourishment and enrichment for visitors in a variety of ways.
Garden wrap-up: for 2022:
• More than 3,000 visitors attended free Garden Naturalist programs:
• Garden Storytime: 1,206
• Early Birders: 532
• Evening Programs: 600
• Informal Naturalist’s Pop-up program engaged 2,000 visitors,
• 12,000 visitor interactions with naturalists in the Shelter.
• Welcome Kiosk docent Volunteers greeted and assisted 6,850 visitors in the last 2 months of the season.
• 68 volunteers within the Friends Invasive Plant Action Group and Legacy Stewards invested 325 hours to remove buckthorn, non-native bittersweet, shrub honeysuckle and garlic mustard
• 3 corporate groups and 45 individuals donated 113.5 hours to trail mulching and field time.
Wrap-up of the year for the Friends:
New Friends of the past year:
• Basic: Brenda Daly, Elaine Eschenbacher, Susan Makela.
• Sponsor: Barbara Broker, Peggy Korsmo-Kennon, George Lawton, Terryl Ann Pearson
• Life: Genevieve Johnson, Donna Schimunek.
Total Friends mission spending was $5,987. Over the past 20 years the Friends have funded $381,000 for the Garden and educational program. Minneapolis Schools did not use the Student Transportation Grant Program due to their covid restrictions and lack of bus drivers.
Donation support beyond memberships during the year was $10,730 from 61 donors. Membership support was $9,185. Memorials of $2,805 were received from 31 donors for 21 different persons. Name plates added to the Eliason Honor Board in the Crone Shelter were for Barbara Larsen McIntyre, Helen F. King, Karol Gresser, Mervyn Palmer, and Rob Dewey.
At the end of the year the Friends active paying membership was 127 plus 49 life members. Courtesy memberships were 21 for a total count of 197. Nine new members joined; 22 were dropped from the roster due to death or for being in-arrears. New members included 2 new life memberships. In spite of many members not renewing their support for various reasons, a number of other members at the sponsor and sustainer level continued their high level of support.
Financial assets at year-end were $218,630 with a substantial portion of that reserved for the Shelter improvement project.
Photo top of page: The wetland in winter. Photo MPRB.
Links to related pages:
- Abbreviated Life of Eloise Butler
- Martha Crone - 2nd Garden Curator
- Ken Avery - 3rd Curator and Gardener
- Cary George - 4th Gardener
- Our Native Plant Reserve - Short document on the origins of the Garden.
- Eloise Butler's writings, a selection of essays written by Eloise Butler on the early Garden years.
- Geography of the Garden- an illustrated tour
References:
Meeting Minutes and correspondence of the Friends of the Wildflower Garden.
Archive of the Friends Newsletter The Fringed Gentian™
Vol. 70 No. 1 Spring 2022, Colin Bartol, Editor
Vol. 70 No. 2 Summer 2022, Colin Bartol, Editor
Vol. 70 No. 3 Fall/Winter 2022, Colin Bartol, Editor