Our Bedrock
Mission Statement: Gardens and programs that inspire,
educate and enrich our lives and our community.
Purpose Statement: To educate and encourage citizens on the importance of developing, restoring, maintaining and conserving wildlife habitat and the native plants that comprise that habitat.
Welcome new members–we hope to see you at our monthly classes and upcoming events!l And to those who have renewed–thank you! Memberships help support our organization and our gardens!
Note: We can now accept memberships and renewals online with this link: Membership/Renewals.
However, to help us cover our processing costs for the convenience of using online payments, it is necessary to include those costs in our online membership fees. Amounts remain the same as before for checks/cash.
Separate donations can also be transacted online!
June Class
Saturday June 17th at 10:00am entitled ~Vermicomposting (worm composting); Turn Your Garbage into Gold ~ conducted by Brigg Franklin, Worm Wrangler.
Vermicomposting is a composting method that uses earthworms to transform organic waste into a substance like humus. It is considered by many in horticulture to be one of the best soil amendments available. An added plus, it keeps some food wastes out of landfills!
We will have a drawing for the bin created for use in class.
Saturday Morning Work Parties
Saturday morning work parties are ongoing and last through October. For those who would like to volunteer at the gardens, each Saturday morning (from 9:00am to noon) volunteers are guided by one of our garden coordinators to work in the gardens. Non-Saturday dates will also be available as determined. We have a sign-up system using SignUpGenius. Additional sign up dates will be routinely added. To sign up to work on listed days, here is the link: SignUpGenius
Bare Root Trees, Shrubs & Plant Sale-Recap
The plant sale on Saturday April 29th (and subsequent days) was a big success! We managed to find homes for all of the bare root trees, shrubs and many perennials and potted items. We had a few folks who came back multiple times filling up their vehicles each time! This was our big fundraiser for the year and we took in approx. twenty-two thousand dollars.
Thanks to all who participated as volunteers and purchasers–we could not have done it without you’all!!
Art in the Garden-Save the Date
Plans are moving right along for our 11th annual July 9th event with partners The Hardy Plant Society of Oregon. Artist spaces have been assigned and we have a great mix of returning and new artists this year–34 artists in all!! It’s a great day (hopefully a good weather day) for families to enjoy art, the gardens, a yarn spinning demonstration and some music. While there, visit The Clark County Composters Demonstration area to learn about composting and recycling.
Tours/Talks
Julie, puts on her resident tour guide hat later with a church group of 15-25 people from St. Andrew Lutheran, to do a nature experience outing on June 17th. They want to do a walking tour and have a sandwich lunch at the gardens. Comments from the planner of the tour: “I visited your place today and it is perfect. Very nice work you have done there.”
Sharing……
We recently received a generous online donation with the comment: “My partner and I walked the gardens and got to know each other on our first date on 12/31/21. Neither of us had been there before. We returned for our anniversary last December. It’s a special place for us. Thank you so much!”
I decided to find out more about this wonderful story and spoke with Melissa. Here’s more: “We found each other on an online dating site and talked on Zoom before deciding to meet in person. Even though it was December, I wanted to do something casual outdoors so we could enjoy nature and talk, so Bob did a web search for nearby outdoor locations and found the botanical gardens. It was the first location for our long first date which also included mini golf, lunch, and hanging out and chatting. A year and a half later we’re still having a great time with each other.
I realized that Bob and I don’t have photos of us in the gardens. We need to visit again and take some pictures!
Once again for our new members…..
For anyone interested….
Booklet
With funding from a Washington Native Plant Society (WNPS) grant and with many volunteer hours from committee members (you know who you are) a longtime dream has been fulfilled.
We have created a free 52-page booklet as an educational tool that includes dozens of high-quality photos, descriptions and other information regarding native plants found at The Wildlife Botanical Gardens and reasons to incorporate them in your landscape. Here is the link to finding it on our website:
https://naturescaping.org/resources/free-booklet/
Recent Comments from Business Google
5 star reviews from: Kelsey, Sara, Kathi and Arti with comment: “Beautiful garden with lots of benches and picnic tables”
In Memoriam…..
In the November 2022 newsletter we shared information about the passing of Fran Hannah in October of that year. She was one of NatureScaping’s longtime garden coordinators among other things. See Volunteer Spotlight to follow. There will be a commemoration in the Collector’s Garden (“Fran’s garden”) on Saturday June 10th from 11am – 1:00pm.
Please join us to celebrate “The Wonderful Life of Fran” along with some of her friends and family. We’ll share remembrances of Fran and her work, a poem by Terry Covington, a long time (NatureScaping) friend of Fran’s, photos and the dedication (reveal) of a memorial stone placed in the Collector’s Garden in her honor. Please join us in celebrating her life, her loves, and her contributions.
Light refreshments will be available.
Volunteer Spotlight
Written by Terry Covington (with editing)…
Fran Hannah was one of our dedicated volunteers and avid gardeners who passed away last year. Fran volunteered with NatureScaping for more than 15 years, working as a Garden Coordinator in the Manor Garden and finally the Collector’s Garden (formally called the Butterfly Garden which she renamed), which was her special love. Fran also helped out with plant sales and administrative tasks, served on the Board for several years, and – a big part of her special legacy – founded Art in the Garden, now in its 11th year and one of our most popular events. As I write this, I hear her saying, “Now, it wasn’t just me, there were several of us on the committee that first year!” But it was Fran’s idea, after she had seen a similar art event in the Bellevue Botanical Gardens.
Many of us remember walking past the Collector’s Garden and seeing – in that garden with many tall plants – a beautiful, tall woman whose naturally curly hair was a bit windblown; but she always managed to look elegant even while playing in the dirt! (Fran also improved and cared for the gardens at the Pythian Home, where she lived for several years. Fran was always looking forward.) Fran loved eccentric people, she said; and she also loved birds, cats, Washington State (of which she was a native), the Columbia River Gorge, where she hiked a lot, art, and she collected beautiful handkerchiefs.
Nature Related Quote of the Month
From Alfred Austin: There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder.
Enjoy!