Friends of the Wildflower Garden
P. O. Box 3793
Minneapolis, MN 55403
News Update from the Friends
FIPAG's restoration work in the oak savanna continues in 2025:
The Friends Invasive Plant Action Group held 20 events in 2024 throughout the season from May to November with some seed sowing during the winter. Work continued in the new area southeast of the Garden where a hillside and pond is being restored and a wider clearing was made on the west side of the Garden following the path outside the Garden fence in the area of Old Andrew’s Cave. The southeast area is being cleared of invasives and planted in with native seeds around the remaining old oaks to bring back what was once an open oak savanna. The photos show the progress being made. FIPAG now holds work sessions every other week instead of concentrating on spring and fall. This allows more volunteers to help as many more work sessions are available for those with limited time. Many non-affiliated volunteer groups also provide help.
Above: A large area above this pond has been cleared of standing buckthorn. Stumps will be removed or stripped down during the summer to prevent regrowth.
Below: A view of the new area with pool where the FIPAG began work in 2023.
Below: A panorama of a hillside in the SE work area showing winter work. Photo Jim Proctor. [larger photo.]
New fencing project completed.
Replacing the Garden’s aged fence began in 2022 when MPRB replaced a section of upland fence with a new fence adding additional space to the Wildflower Garden. Now the remainder of the old fence in the upland all the way to the wrought iron fence at the back gate has been replaced with $95,500 of funding from the Friends.
The 900 feet of new fence realigns the boundary adding up to 3 additional acres to the Garden. The replaced fence is of 1946 vintage and keeping it intact continues the process Eloise started in 1924 of having a fence to protect this valuable area. Roaming hogs are scarce now-a-days in Wirth Park, but not so the quadrupeds with white tails
More details and larger map here.
Student visits have continued in summer 2024:
The Friends provided $3,000 in transportation funds for 400 students from Minneapolis Schools in summer 2024. Groups are now planning visits for the 2025 season. Bus costs are now between $280 and $300 per trip. This program has been in place since 2009 and over 6,000 children have been able to experience the Garden because of it. Some of the Friends’ supporters have specifically requested that their donation be applied to this program. You may do that also, either via your annual support payment of via a separate donation. We need your help to keep this going. Visit our website “Donate & Support” page for details.
Bee Survey Completed:
A bee survey in the Wildflower Garden concluded 2 years of field work in August 2024. Results will be known this summer. The Garden is doing this survey every 10 years to keep track of species and habitat changes.
The Friends provided $5,000 toward the cost of this work with the Garden funding the remainder. Last time 104 species was tabulated, keyed to what plants they visited. Once again, Dr. Elaine Evans of the U of M Bee Lab conducted the survey and will provide results during the winter.
Photo below: Individual bees are first sorted by what plant they were collected from and then the Bee Lab staff makes an identification of each bee.
Volunteer Appreciation Event
This event, hosted by the Friends and the Wildflower Garden saw 78 volunteers attending on October 27th including two MPRB commissioners and the three top MPRB staff of the Environment Stewardship Division which is responsible for the Wildflower Garden. Food, beverages and door and raffle prizes were provided by the Friends and desserts by the Wildflower Garden.
Friends Annual Meeting Concluded:
The Annual Meeting and Lecture took place September 25, 2024 at 7PM in the Wirth Park Chalet Fireside Room with guest Heather Holm speaking on Oaks, Fire, and Climate Change. Over 80 people participated in person and via Zoom. Heather Holm is a pollinator conservationist and award-winning author of four books: Pollinators of Native Plants (2014), Bees (2017), Wasps (2021), and Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States (2022). Both Bees and Wasps have won multiple book awards including the American Horticultural Society Book Award (1018 and 2022 respectively). Heather’s expertise includes the interactions between native pollinators and native plants. She participated in volunteer ecological landscape restoration projects.
Volunteer Greeters:
Forty one Friends volunteers have staffed both the entry Kiosk and the Martha Crone Shelter this season, the shelter for the 54th consecutive year. Through October 31, over 50,000 people have been engaged at the Garden with staff and volunteers.
Your donations
You should know that your support contributions to the Friends are entirely used for these Garden projects and our other mission programs. Our administrative expenses are small, on average, 5% of revenue or less, and these expenses are funded from non-contribution revenue.
If you want to read more about the historical aspects of the Garden and the things the Friends have accomplished over the last 73 years visit the "garden history tab" and the "Friends history tab." Links at the bottom of this page.