Greater Philadelphia Gardens

Little Explorers: Butter Churning

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

2/4/2009

This fun-filled adventure is the first event in Bartram's monthly program for toddlers and families.

Little Explorers: Butter Churning
Wednesday, February 4 10-11:30 am

Join us for the first installment of our monthly program for toddlers and families!

Bring your little one (ages 2 to 4) for a morning of baking, butter-making, reading, and a journey around the garden.

The fee is $5 per child, free for members and neighbors from the 19143 zip code.

This event will be held at Bartram's Garden, at 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard, Philadelphia.

Gardens, Adventures, and Faraway Places: Bhutan and a stop in Bangkok on the way there

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

1/29/2009

Come see some of the beauty of this unique Himalayan culture and what we have to learn from this small, special country with Claire Sawyers, Director

In October 2008, Claire visited the tiny country of Bhutan for a 10-day vacation. While the organized tour focused on the festivals of Bhutan, she had the chance to visit some natural areas and agricultural lands, and learn about how they measure "Gross National Happiness" instead of GNP.

Formerly known as the Lunchtime Lectures, the Gardens, Adventures, and Faraway Places lecture series is an informal way to share what has been seen and discovered in various gardens and natural spaces both in the United States and abroad. Bring a bag lunch and join staff and guests of the Scott Arboretum for a visual tour of their travels to beautiful places. Free and open to the public, the series is held from Noon to 1 p.m. in the Lang Performing Arts Center Cinema at Swarthmore College. Contact the Scott Arboretum Offices at 610-328-8025 for more information and parking instructions.

Ready, Set, Bluebird | Get ready for early nesting bluebirds.

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

1/25/2009

Wednesday, February 25; 1:00 pm � 3:00 pm; $20 Advance Reservations Required 302-239-4244 http://www.mtcubacenter.org

Join bluebird expert Katharine Patterson for a discussion on how to start
attracting bluebirds into your backyard. What kind of bluebird house to use,
where to place your house, plantings for bluebirds, bluebird box maintenance,
and identification of common bluebird competitor nests will be discussed.
You’ll receive a plan for a bluebird house to help you get started.

Instructor: Katharine Patterson, Birder

Seed Saving, Swapping and Starting Workshop

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

1/25/2009

Get a jump on your spring gardening by learning more about the seeds you plant.

Seed Saving, Swapping and Starting Workshop
Sunday, January 25 1-4 pm

Join Bartram's gardener Nancy Wygant and Liz Dailey from the PA Horticultural Society to
learn more about seeds and get an early start on your spring gardening!

Participants are invited to bring seeds from the swap, labeled with the name and date collected or purchased.

Free Admission! This event will be held at Bartram's Garden, at 54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard, Philadelphia. For directions, click here.

Please RSVP to amcdowell@bartramsgarden.org or 215-729-5281 x103.

Native Plant Explorers: A Fascinating History | Who discovered the native plants we know and love?

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

1/24/2009

Saturday, January 24; 10:00 am � 11:30 am; $20 (refreshments included) Advance Reservations Required 302-239-4244 http://www.mtcubacenter.org

Delve into the colorful history of native plants and the people who discovered
them. Students will learn the history of important eastern North American plant
explorers like André Michaux and Peter Kalm who spent years searching for and
discovering the native plants we know today. What motivated these individuals?
Was it science, fame, fortune or perhaps all those things? The answers will
astonish you...

Instructor: Gregg Tepper, Mt. Cuba Center

Guided Tour: Perennials in the Winter Landscape

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

1/18/2009

Learn how perennials can add interest to your winter garden.

Join Andrew Bunting, Curator of the Scott Arboretum, for a free tour of the Scott Arboretum. Learn how perennials can add interest to your winter garden. The tour will conclude at the Science Center prior to the lecture titled Good Plants: 70 Years of Hopes, Failures, and Successes by Dick Lighty. The tour will begin at the Scott Arboretum Offices and is free and open to the public. In case of inclement weather, the tour will be canceled. For more information, please call the Scott Arboretum Offices at 610-328-8025.

Lecture: Good Plants: 70 Years of Hopes, Failures, and Successes

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

1/18/2009

Dick Lighty has spent 70 years learning to garden and is going to share his experiences.

Dick Lighty has spent 70 years learning to garden, and at age 10, developed a lifelong interest in plant variation, particularly plants of interest to gardeners. He has explored the cultivated flora of the world and sought useful and ornamental plants in the wild on five continents. His training as a geneticist and plant breeder has given an analytical bent to his approach to “good garden plants.” In this talk he will focus on the results of personal experience in the garden with plants, old and new, that he and others have introduced to cultivation, particularly those he has found useful in reducing maintenance while providing seasonal aesthetic interest through attributes like texture, form and color. A reception will follow this lecture.

Dick Lighty retired in 1998 after 15 years as the founding Director of Mt. Cuba Center for the Study of Piedmont Flora. In 1960 he established and directed the research programs of Longwood Gardens and in 1967 founded the Longwood Graduate Program in Public Garden Administration at the University of Delaware. Dick currently serves on six boards including The Garden Conservancy and Longwood Gardens; and is the recipient of the Scott Garden and Horticulture Medal and Award, among many others. With his wife Sally, he gardened for 46 years on seven acres of woodland and sunny open space around their home where an extensive collection of native plants and exotic trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants blended to create naturalistic scenes. He has named and introduced more than 30 new species and cultivars to American horticulture.

Greenroofs for Sustainable Landscapes | Does the concept of a living roof fascinate you?

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

1/17/2009

Saturday, January 17; 10:00 am � 1:00 pm; $35 (lunch included) Advance Reservations Required 302-239-4244 http://www.mtcubacenter.org

This course will describe the basics of green roof architecture with emphasis on
the aesthetic and ecological benefits. Sarah Murphy will illustrate the design
process with specific case studies. How to select your system, what plants to
choose, and how to maintain your greenroof will be discussed in this innovative
and informative class.

Instructor: Sarah Murphy, Greenroof Canopy

Guided Tour: A Walk with the Curator

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

1/12/2009

Join Andrew Bunting, Curator of the Scott Arboretum, for a series of free tours at the Scott Arboretum.

"A Walk with the Curator" program, previously only available to interns of the Scott Arboretum, provides an in-depth look at the collections, gardens, and plant selections through the eyes of the man responsible for curating the collection. Andrew Bunting will discuss the most recent accessions acquired for the collection, why plants were removed from the collection and maybe should be removed from your garden, as well as the latest garden designs at the Scott Arboretum. The tours are a Monday each month from 2:30 to 3:30 pm, and the topics are the curator's preference.

The tour will begin at the Scott Arboretum Offices and is free and open to the public. In case of inclement weather, the tour will be canceled. For more information, please call the Scott Arboretum Offices at (610) 328-8025.

Shake Up Your Foundation | Reinvent your foundation planting and replace invasives with natives.

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

1/11/2009

Wednesday, February 11; 1:00 pm � 3:00 pm; $25 (refreshments included) Advance Reservations Required 302-239-4244 http://www.mtcubacenter.org

Foundation plantings often consist of invasive plants and are an ecological
desert for wildlife habitat. Put the life back in your foundation plantings by
using native plants. Do a landscape assessment and learn what shrubs,
trees, and groundcovers are more environmentally-friendly.

Renee Kemmerer, Mt. Cuba Center

Chanticleer Awards Three Scholarships To Enhance Professional Development

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

    The Board of Directors of the Chanticleer Foundation in Wayne, Pa., has announced three Chanticleer Scholarships in Professional Development for 2009.
    Receiving the awards are Brian Sullivan, Descanso Gardens, La Canada, Calif.; Adrienne Roethling, Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden, Kernersville, N.C.; and Ian Simpkins, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Miami, Fla.
    The goal of the Chanticleer Scholarship is to build better public gardens by providing their staffs with professional development opportunities designed to encourage creativity. The Scholarship has two core components: support of an academic experience to improve leadership skills, and support of travel to meet with leaders to build on that academic experience.

What Scholars Plan To Do

   Brian Sullivan, Descanso’s Manager of Horticulture and Display Gardening, is pursuing a Landscape Architect Certificate in the four-year UCLA Extension program.
   According to David Brown, Executive Director of Descanso Gardens, “Brian has the skills, the personality and desire to become a leader in the field. He started at Descanso Gardens as a volunteer and is now second-in-command of horticulture, design, and grounds. Chanticleer will help him validate educationally what his real-world experience and accomplishments have already provided.”
   Adrienne Roethling, Garden Curator of the Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden (PJCBG), applied for a Chanticleer Scholarship to help develop her skills as a writer. Funds will be used to underwrite journalism classes, travel expenses to meet with horticultural writers, and funding to attend the national meeting of the Garden Writers Association and the American Public Garden Association.
   F. Todd Lasseigne, Executive Director of PJCBG, says: “We will benefit from Adrienne’s enhanced communication skills through her proposed coursework, interviews with noted horticulturists, magazine editors and public garden curators, and also by attending professional meetings. Adrienne is an outstanding employee and a horticulturist with tremendous talents.”
    Ian Simpkins, Chief Horticulturist, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, will attend the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Studies three-week History of Italian Gardens and Urban Landscape program in San Gemini, Italy.
    The timing is particularly appropriate for Vizcaya, which is embarking on a major capital rehabilitation program. The garden’s one-of-a-kind subtropical interpretation of Italian formal gardens will be conserved, with many critical design decisions made along the way. Executive Director Joel Hoffman said that "Ian’s participation in the San Gemini Institute’s program will greatly enhance his knowledge and expertise. The project will help bring Vizcaya to the forefront of historic house museums.”

Scholarships Enhance Skills

    Brian Houck, Chanticleer’s 2008-09 Scholar, is pursuing a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in Chicago, IL. Already, the program is positively affecting his work at the Chicago Park District. He recently transferred from the Lincoln Park to the Garfield Park Conservatory, where he is responsible for the Aroid House as well as some tropical collections.
    Chanticleer Foundation Executive Director R. William Thomas is “convinced the programs will enhance the skills the Scholars need to succeed in public horticulture."
    "We hope the experiences will add to their expertise and allow them to give back to the profession as even stronger leaders," Thomas said. "I’m pleased all four have curatorial responsibilities, and this program will make them stronger in those roles.”
    As part of the program, each Scholar will spend time at Chanticleer, a 35-acre pleasure garden in Wayne, Pennsylvania, about 30 minutes west of Philadelphia.

For more information on the Scholarship or the garden, visit the garden’s website, www.chanticleergarden.org. The next application deadline is July 1, 2009.

Tyler Director Rick Colbert Honored by University of Delaware

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tyler Arboretum in Media, Pa., is pleased to announce that Director Rick Colbert has been honored with a “Distinguished Alumni Award” from the University of Delaware.

The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Distinguished Alumni Award is presented at the University’s homecoming each year to three individuals based upon the nominees’ record of outstanding career accomplishments, service and leadership, and community service activities – especially as associated with the University of Delaware.

Rick Colbert graduated from the University of Delaware with his bachelor’s degree in plant science in 1978. After graduating, Rick became the city horticulturist for the City of Newark. During his time there, he instituted a number of programs for the city and provided partnerships with UD and the Plant and Soil Sciences Department.

As Executive Director of Tyler Arboretum, a position he has held since 1991, Rick has made significant contributions. Sue Barton, professor of landscape horticulture at UD and Colbert’s nominator, says, “He has taken an arboretum known for a collection of old trees and rhododendrons and made it into a vibrant asset for the community, with effective children’s programs and upgraded collections.

Rick continues his service to the University of Delaware by serving on a committee to evaluate and improve the landscape horticulture curriculum.

Tyler Arboretum, one of the oldest arboreta in the northeastern United States, is comprised of 650 acres of unique plant collections, state champion trees, a meadow maze, historic buildings, and over 20 miles of marked hiking trails. The Arboretum offers a variety of educational programs and special events throughout the year.

Call 610-566-9134 or check our Web site www.tylerarboretum.org for more information. Tyler Arboretum is located at 515 Painter Road in Media, PA.

Artist Patrick Dougherty To Create an Abstract Sculpture at Morris Arboretum

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

     The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is planning something quite unusual for visitors this spring. Internationally renowned artist Patrick Dougherty will create a unique, abstract sculpture at the Arboretum during a three-week on-site residency from March 30 to April 18.
     Working with volunteers and staff, Dougherty will weave hundreds of sticks and saplings into a whimsical site-specific creation along the banks of the Wissahickon Creek in the Morris Arboretum’s Butcher Sculpture Garden.
     Dougherty arrives at the site of each new installation with no preconceptions as to what he will create. Instead, using locally gathered natural materials, he draws inspiration from the surrounding environment to design a large-scale structure that when completed, may remind visitors of a nest, cocoon or even a fairy tale dwelling. Each of his sculptures is designed and executed without the use of nails or other supportive hardware, and the result is a creation that may resemble something artful that was shaped by a powerful wind that swept across the landscape.

Inspired by Local Environment

Spanning more than two decades, Patrick Dougherty has created over 175 large-scale temporary structures worldwide. All of Dougherty’s environmental installations are site-specific, inspired by the local environment. No two are alike. Construction of the sculpture evolves daily, and takes on new characteristics, constantly building the excitement and anticipation about the final piece.
At the conclusion of his Morris Arboretum residency, Dougherty will name his creation and leave the Arboretum with a distinctive architectural element that will remain in place as long as it lasts in the natural environment.

Artist To Present Lecture April 5

    Patrick Dougherty will be artist-in-residence at the Morris Arboretum from March 30-April 18. He will present a lecture on April 5, "The Art of Patrick Dougherty: Primitive Ways in an Accelerated World," in the Upper Gallery of the Widener Center at the Arboretum.
    For more information about the exhibit or to register for the lecture, please visit www.morrisarboretum.org. You can also learn more about Patrick Dougherty and view his work at www.stickwork.net.
     This project is made possible with support from the Madeleine K. Butcher Fine Arts Endowment.
    The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is located at 100 East Northwestern Avenue in Chestnut Hill. The 92-acre horticulture display garden features a spectacular collection of rare and mature trees in a Victorian landscape. The Arboretum features numerous picturesque spots such as a formal rose garden, Japanese gardens, swan pond, meadows, and the elegant Fernery.
     The Morris Arboretum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the official arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Dick Lighty To Speak of Gardening Successes, Failures at Free Lecture on Jan. 18

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

   Dick Lighty, an almost-legendary figure in the mid-Atlantic horticultural world, will be the featured speaker for the Joanne Walkovic Memorial Lecture at Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College on Sunday, January 18.
    His topic will be "Good Plants: 70 Years of Hopes, Failures, and Successes."
    The annual lecture, which is co-sponsored by Scott Arboretum and the Hardy Plant Society/Mid-Atlantic Group, is free and open to the public. It will begin at 2 p.m. in Science Center 101 at the college, and a reception will follow the lecture.
     Lighty, a geneticist, plant explorer and plant breeder, who retired in 1998 after 15 years as the founding director of Mt. Cuba Center for the Study of Piedmont Flora, has spent 70 years learning about gardening.
     At the age of 10, he developed a lifelong interest in plant variation, particularly plants of interest to gardeners. He has explored the cultivated flora of the world and sought useful and ornamental plants in the wild on five continents. His training as a geneticist and plant breeder has given an analytical bent to his approach to “good garden plants.”
    In this talk, Lighty will focus on the results of personal experience in the garden with plants, old and new, that he and others have introduced to cultivation, particularly those he has found useful in reducing maintenance while providing seasonal aesthetic interest through such attributes as texture, form and color.
    In 1960, Lighty established and directed the research programs of Longwood Gardens, and in 1967 he founded the Longwood Graduate Program in Public Garden Administration at the University of Delaware. He subsequently went to the Mt. Cuba Center.
     Lighty currently serves on six boards, including those of The Garden Conservancy and Longwood Gardens, and is the recipient of the Scott Garden and Horticulture Medal and Award, among many honors.
    With his wife, Sally, he gardened for 46 years on seven acres of woodland and sunny open space around their home, where an extensive collection of native plants and exotic trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants blended to create naturalistic scenes. He has named and introduced more than 30 new species and cultivars to American horticulture.
    The Scott Arboretum is an educational garden of ideas and suggestions. Covering more than 300 acres of the Swarthmore College Campus and exhibiting over 4,000 different kinds of plants, the Arboretum displays some of the best trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals for use in the Delaware Valley. Established in 1929 as a living memorial to Arthur Hoyt Scott, the Arboretum is open to the public year-round free of charge, from dawn to dusk.

Eight Brandywine Museums and Gardens To Offer Free Admission January 10

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

   Three members of Greater Philadelphia Gardens are among the eight cultural institutions in the Brandywine Valley that will offer free admission during a huge Open House on January 10.
   The Brandywine River Museum, Hagley Museum and Library, and Winterthur will all waive entry fees on that Saturday, along with the Delaware Art Museum, the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, the Delaware Historical Society, the Delaware Museum of Natural History, and Rockwood Museum.
    The Open House is designed to celebrate the rich artistic and cultural heritage of the Brandywine Valley. All of the participating institutions are members of Brandywine Museums and Gardens Alliance, which promotes the region's many attractions.
     “We’re inviting our close neighbors and visitors from afar to an open house,” says Lora Englehart, chair of the Alliance. “It’s especially exciting to introduce local residents to the wonderful attractions we have here. People come from all over the country to visit our museums and gardens – if you live nearby, the admission-free day is your chance to get to know the treasures in your own backyard. It’s a great way to beat the winter doldrums, too.
   “We’ve made it easy to take advantage of the Brandywine Valley’s cultural opportunities,” Englehart adds. “Whether it’s a spectacular art museum, a kid-friendly natural history museum, a historic site, or an estate, our doors are open – and on January 10th, our cash registers are shut!”
    The institutions participating in the Open House offer attractions that should appeal to a wide variety of interests. The Brandywine River Museum, for instance, is known for its unparalleled collection of art by three generations of Wyeths; the Delaware Art Museum has a highly regarded collection of American art and illustration, and British Pre-Raphaelite art; the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts is among the nation’s leading contemporary visual arts organizations; the Delaware Historical Society includes the Delaware History Museum and the Read House & Gardens; the Delaware Museum of Natural History features an African watering hole, dinosaur skeletons, and an interactive Discovery Room; Hagley Museum and Library, on a 235-acre site along the Brandywine River, houses the remains of the original DuPont gunpowder mills and family residence; Rockwood Museum is an English-style country estate that features unique gardens and a Rural Gothic mansion; and Winterthur Museum & Country Estate is the ancestral home of renowned antiques collector Henry Francis du Pont -- the 235-room mansion, set amid 1,000 acres, houses the preeminent collection of American antiques and decorative arts.
     Plan to visit one or more during the Open House? Find out more about them below.

* Brandywine River Museum, U.S. Route 1, Chadds Ford, PA 19317; www.brandywinemuseum.org.

* Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19806; www.delart.org.

* Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, 200 S. Madison St., Wilmington, DE 19801; www.thedcca.org.

* Delaware Museum of Natural History, 4840 Kennett Pike, Delaware Route 52, Wilmington, DE 19807; www.delmnh.org.

* Hagley Museum and Library, Delaware Route 141, Wilmington, DE 19807; www.hagley.org.

* Historical Society of Delaware (includes Delaware History Museum in Wilmington and George Read II House and Gardens in New Castle), 504 Market St., Wilmington, DE 19801; www.hsd.org.

* Rockwood Park and Mansion, 610 Shipley Rd., Wilmington, DE 19805; www.rockwood.org.

* Winterthur Museum & Country Estate, Delaware Route 52, Winterthur, DE 19735; www.winterthur.org.

Philadelphia's Gardening World Loses Two Good Friends, as Year Wanes

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The horticultural world in the Greater Philadelphia area lost two good friends as the
year wound down: Marjorie Bayersdorfer, 75, a wonderful gardener and a native plant advocate who served as volunteer coordinator of the native plant program at Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust in Huntingdon Valley; and Christopher Goodrich, 65, also an avid gardener and for six years a board member for Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania.
Both died in December – Mrs. Bayersdorfer of ovarian cancer on Dec. 14 at The Hill at Whitemarsh, a retirement community in Lafayette Hill to which she had moved in recent years with her husband, David; and Mr. Goodrich of a heart attack on Dec. 1 in the woods on his property in Bucks County, where he lived with his wife, Susan.

An Extraordinary Gardener

     Before they downsized and moved to Lafayette Hill a couple of years ago, Marjorie and David Bayersdorfer had lived for half a century at the Elkins Park property they bought as newlyweds. The mature and majestic trees in the back yard – tulip poplars, oaks, dogwoods – were a major selling point for the young couple, and eventually provided the canopy for a lush woodland garden that was a magnet for wildlife.
     Mrs. Bayersdorfer, who was a clinical social worker in private practice, had an office in her home – which worked well, she once said, as she would have hated to leave her garden to travel to work.
      “Marjorie was an extraordinary native-plant gardener,” says Nancy Beaubaire, director of communications for Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in Bucks County, where Mrs. Bayersdorfer taught a class about observing nature to understand the habitat in your own backyard. “My jaw dropped the first time I visited her home garden, and was transported into a naturalistic setting sprinkled with evidence of Marjorie’s artistic and whimsical touch.
        “As I became friends with Marjorie through working together on the Millersville Native Plant Conference, I saw that her influence extended well beyond her home garden. Marjorie had a gift for inspiring others to become stewards of the environment. She shared her passion without preaching, was interested in learning from others, and wanted to hear what they had to contribute to the conversation.”
      In 2002, Mrs. Bayersdorfer started a native plant group at Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust.
     “These dedicated volunteers grew native plants, installed gardens and started two public plant sales that take place each year,” said her daughter-in-law, Cyane Gresham. “They constructed and installed a native garden for stormwater from parking areas. [Mrs. Bayersdorfer] was especially proud of creating a butterfly garden that attracted awards and recognition from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society – as well as butterflies!”

A Garden for Wildlife

It was the “indirect influence” of Cyane Gresham plus the Conference on Native Plants in the Landscape, held each year at Millersville University in Lancaster County, that changed the way Marjorie Bayersdorfer thought about gardening, and turned her into a native plant advocate (but not a purist – spring-flowering bulbs were part of her sunny front garden).
“I realized that wildlife was so directly involved with what was planted,” she told me when I interviewed her in 2003 for a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “If we were going to plant a garden that would sustain itself, we had to have wildlife in the garden. If you can attract birds to your garden, they take care of the insects. And if you don’t spray, you have good insects in your garden, such as ladybugs, and you don’t have aphids, because they eat them.”

Sharing With Other Gardeners

      The idea of gardening to attract and sustain wildlife was a concept she loved to share with other gardeners. She was on the executive committee for planning the Millersville conferences, and spoke to gardening clubs and other organizations.
     “I remember a lecture she gave at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve that essentially focused on looking at the big picture in a garden or in a natural environment, beyond just the plants,” Nancy Beaubaire recalled this week. “For the lecture, she created a very beautiful, and very useful, calendar template for suggesting what one might observe and how to record it. I saw eyes wide open at that program – people becoming aware of a new way of seeing. As always, Marjorie went the extra mile, touching minds and igniting imaginations.”
       A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. on April 26 at the butterfly garden at Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust, 2955 Edge Hill Road in Huntingdon Valley.
       A full obituary appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec. 21. To read it, click here. For more information about Marjorie Bayersdorfer and her interaction with Pennypack, click here for a blog maintained by her son Alan and daughter-in-law Cyane.

Chris Goodrich, Activist and Gardener

      Christopher Goodrich had been a member of the board at Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania for six years before stepping down recently.
     “He was active on the marketing committee and chaired that committee during times of dramatic growth and innovation,” arboretum Director Paul Meyer said in an email. “The Arboretum has lost a dear friend.”
       He was also a hands-on gardener. As John Morrison wrote in the Philadelphia Daily News this month: “Chris was a passionate gardener, and the garden he created at his Tinicum home was on the Philadelphia Horticultural Society’s garden tour. During the season, he would rise at 5 a.m. to work in his garden before going off to work.”

A Renaissance Man

Others described him as “a true Renaissance man,” interested in a wide variety of activities. The organizations on whose boards he served included the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Presents at the University of Pennsylvania, The Rock School for Dance Education, the Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Philadelphia Boys Choir, among others.
He also traveled all over the world. Born in England, he moved to Australia in the late 1970s and worked for Ogilvie & Mather, an international advertising agency. Even then, he was involved in the community, working on the Adelaide Festival of the Arts, and starting one of the early “Earth Fairs” to bring attention to the nascent green movement.

Memorial Service at Morris Arboretum

     He continued his community involvement after he moved to the United States, including volunteering for a homeless center in New York and Manna in Philadelphia. In 1993, he also started his own firm, Goodrich Advertising, in Philadelphia.
     A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on January 10 at the Widener Center at Morris Arboretum, which is at 100 Northwestern Avenue in Chestnut Hill.
     An obituary for Mr. Goodrich appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec. 16. To read it, click here.

Chanticleer, Longwood Star as Channel 12 Airs 'The Gardens of Pennsylvania' on Jan. 4

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

     Remember your Richard III? That’s the Shakespearean play with those immortal lines, “Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York…”
     A lot of us are already discontented with this winter, though it’s only just begun. But visual respite is in store. Come January 4, some of Pennsylvania’s most beautiful public gardens will be “made glorious summer” thanks to the magic of television – though by a son of Pittsburgh, rather than York.
     At 1 p.m. on Sunday, January 4, public television station WHYY will show “The Gardens of Pennsylvania” on Channel 12, a visual feast put together by Pittsburgh journalist Doug Oster and videographer Bob Lubomski. And they captured their footage of the gardens in our area in July, at the height of summer.
      This one-hour look at some of the most beautiful gardens in Pennsylvania – which also happen to be some of the most beautiful gardens in the country – will showcase several in the Philadelphia region, including Chanticleer in Wayne, Longwood Gardens in Chester County, and Marywood University Arboretum in Scranton.
      Altogether, eight gardens from across the state -- representing a broad range of horticultural interpretations -- were filmed for the show, including the Phipps Conservatorium Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh; Kennywood Park, a traditional amusement park with gardens that is an historic landmark in West Mifflin; a Holocaust Memorial Garden at Mt. Lebanon, south of Pittsburgh; the Erie Zoo and Botanical Gardens; and Hershey Gardens in Dauphin County.
      Pennsylvania’s gorgeous gardens should be celebrated, Oster believes.
    “To showcase and increase public awareness of these gems, WQED Pittsburgh and I have produced ‘The Gardens of Pennsylvania,’ a new public television program that airs in the Philadelphia market on WHYY on Sunday, January 4 at 1 p.m.,” he says. “The Gardens of Pennsylvania tells the story behind the gardens, the people who maintain them, and the reason they came to be.”
      The television special was Oster’s idea. He pitched it to the Pennsylvania Public Television Network, which liked the idea and came up with $30,000 to fund it. Work on the show, which was produced out of WQED in Pittsburgh, began in May, and continued late into fall.
      Oster, who gardens organically on his four-acre property near Pittsburgh, is ideally suited to the task. For a long time he was a photo editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who wrote a gardening column on the side, but he is now a "mobile journalist" for the newspaper, taking photos and writing stories for the paper as well as shooting and producing videos for its web site.
      In addition, this workaholic hosts weekly shows for both KDKA radio and KDKA-TV. He is a contributor to shows on WQED-TV and WYEP public radio. He pens an "herbs and cooking" column for the L.A. Times Syndicate, and writes freelance articles for magazines. And he is the co-author, with Jessica Walliser, of two recently published gardening books, Grow Organic: Over 250 Tips for Growing Flowers, Veggies, Lawns and More, and A Gardener's Journal: Life With My Garden.
      “I love doing all this stuff,” Oster says. “I’m a story-teller – I like to meet people and get them to be comfortable enough to tell their stories.”
       And people do. If you tune in on January 4, you’ll see that Oster and Lubomski talked not only with the people whose vision shapes these gardens – Paul Redman at Longwood and Bill Thomas at Chanticleer – but that they found interesting people wandering or working in the grounds as well.
        So curl up in front of your TV that Sunday afternoon. And note that no matter how chilly it is outside, it will be “glorious summer” in the gardens on the screen.