THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC GARDENS ASSOCIATION Vol 24, No 1 • 2009

in the GardenExhibits

Check out the Public Garden’s fresh

new lookinside!

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Editor

Madeline Quigley American Public GardensAssociation (APGA)

Editorial Advisory Board

David Michener Chair, University ofMichigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum

Nancy Chambers Glass Garden, Rusk Institute

Catherine Eberbach University of Pittsburgh

Linda Eirhart Winterthur Museum & CountryEstate

Susan T. Greenstein Growing MindsConsulting

James P. Folsom Huntington BotanicalGardens

Virginia Hayes Ganna Walska Lotusland

Robert T. Hyland Loomis Creek Nursery

Karl Lauby The New York Botanical Garden

Carol Line Fernwood

Janet Marinelli Blue Crocus Publishing +Interpretation

Scot Medbury Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Donald A. Rakow Cornell Plantations

Lisa Wagner South Carolina BotanicalGarden

Issue Reviewer

Karl Lauby

Vice President for CommunicationsThe New York Botanical Garden

APGA Board of Directors

PRESIDENT

Christopher P. Dunn Harold L. LyonArboretum

VICE PRESIDENT

Nicola Ripley Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

PAST PRESIDENT

David Barnett Mount Auburn Cemetery

TREASURER

Paul B. Redman Longwood Gardens

SECRETARY

Barbara W. Faust Smithsonian Institution

DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE

James Cocos Missouri Botanical Garden

Kitty Connolly Huntington Botanical Gardens

Patrick Larkin Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

Luke Messinger The Dawes Arboretum

Wilf Nicholls MUN Botanical Garden

David M. Price Bok Tower Gardens

PublicGarden

American Public GardensAssociation100 West 10th Street, Suite 614Wilmington, DE 19801302/655-7100, Fax 302/655-8100www.publicgardens.org

Volume 24, Number 1, 2009. The Public Garden (ISSN 0885-3894) is published quarterly by the American Public Gardens Association, 100 West 10th Street, Suite 614, Wilmington, DE19801. ©2009, American Public Gardens Association. All rights reserved. The Public Garden is indexed in The Bibliography of Agriculture. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of APGA. The Public Garden welcomes editorial submissions but asssumes no responsibility for the loss or damage of unsolicited material. APGA The American PublicGardens Association serves North American public gardens and horticultural organizations by promoting professional development through its publications and meetings; advocatingthe interests of public gardens in political, corporate, foundation, and community arenas; and encouraging gardens to adhere to professional standards in their programs and operations. SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscription is automatic for APGA members. For membership rates, call 302/655-7100. Nonmember subscriptions are $40 a year. Residents of Canada and othercountries, add $10. CHANGE OF ADDRESS Send new address, zip code, moving date, and old address label to APGA, 100 West 10th Street, Suite 614, Wilmington, DE 19801. ADVERTISERS For information about advertising, contact Madeline Quigley, Director of Marketing, APGA, 302-655-7100, ext. 17, or mquigley@publicgardens.org.

Cover: “La Cabeza” by Niki. Niki de Saint Phalle Exhibit at Missouri Botanical Garden. Photo by Jennifer Meinhardt, Missouri Botanical Garden.

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19 The Collections Connection: How Desert Botanical Garden is Engaging VisitorsElaine McGinnThe director of planning and exhibits describes the

remarkable collaborations that ushered in a new era of

exhibition development in response to increasingly

sophisticated public expectations for exhibit excellence.

22 Dallas Blooms: A BlockbusterShowDave Forehand and Jimmy TurnerCelebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009, this out-

standing flower show’s secrets of success are revealed.

24 Big Exhibits: Creating Growth for a Small ArboretumRick Colbert and Betsey NeyTyler Arboretum’s board and staff ’s leap of faith is

rewarded, and special outdoor temporary exhibits

become part of its organizational culture.

27 The Morris Arboretum GardenRailwayPaul W. MeyerNow in its twelfth season, this entertaining exhibit has

become a favorite family tradition that continuously

introduces the Arboretum to new audiences.

29 Events at Public Gardens:Is Bigger Better?Miriam PinskerA graduate student reports on the findings of her

master’s thesis, which involved the candid anonymous

feedback of twenty-six directors of large public gardens.

DEPARTMENTS35 Viewpoint

Icing the Cake: Planning for Exhibits inyour GardenCindy TylerA landscape design expert describes how garden audi-

ences benefit when diverse exhibit ideas and plants are

brought together to produce magical results.

38 NAPCC Collection ProfileThe Cercis Collection at the JC Raulston ArboretumMark WeathingtonThe Arboretum’s assistant director/curator of collec-

tions discusses the role of Cercis (redbud) in its collec-

tion and important collaborations with NAPCC.

40 Celebrating the Global GardenHappy Birthday to KewKatie Elzer-PetersFew gardens can discuss a quarter of a millennium’s

worth of history and plant collections; staff members at

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew reflect on a remark-

able milestone.

44 Growing Greener Answers to Your Questions About SustainabilityJanet Marinelli

42 Advertisers Index

2008 IndexAvailable online at www.publicgardens.org

contentsPublicGarden

7 About This IssueExhibits in the GardenGwen L. StaufferThe executive director of Ganna Walska Lotusland

shares her thoughts on what makes exhibitions

successful during these challenging economic times.

9 Making Music, Making Art,Making a Garden:Big Ideas and Collaborations Combine toCreate an Innovative LandscapeSusan T. GreensteinTen years ago, Toronto’s famed Music Garden

welcomed its first visitors. Enjoy this look back on

the making of a public garden that celebrates Bach

and a unique approach to garden design.

11 Exhibitions as a Way InMadelaine ZadikThe Botanic Garden of Smith College capitalizes on

campus-wide expertise and collaboration to produce

an array of unique exhibits that engage visitors with

plants in unexpected ways.

15 Darwin Exhibition Bridges AllAspects of Garden’s Mission:Science, Horticulture, and EducationTodd Forrest and Karen DaubmannAn extensive Garden-wide exhibition at The New York

Botanical Garden set a new standard for creating rich,

interdisciplinary programs that draw new audiences,

introduce new ideas, educate, and inspire.

18 Dealing with Donated Sculpturein the Public Garden Carter van Dyke and Jurgita TamutyteStaying true to your public garden’s mission, while

trying to fulfill your donors’ wishes—a delicate

balancing act is put into perspective.

THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC GARDENS ASSOCIATION | Vol 24, No 1 • 2009

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EXHIBITS IN THE GARDEN

Special thanks to Terra DesignGroup for providing many of thephotos seen in this issue

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GWEN L. STAUFFER

E X H I B I T S

A B O U T T H I S I S S U E

A Blooming Trend in Public Gardens

This issue of Public Garden exploresthe booming trend of exhibitinstallations in public gardens.

Given the primary purpose of exhibits—to increase revenue—and the currentfinancial strain on all of our institutions,this seems a timely topic. There is a verymatter-of-fact rationale for developingnew, permanent displays or especially acycle of temporary exhibitions—we haveto keep the public coming. The prag-matic, revenue-driven objectives toincrease gate receipts, invigorate mem-bership, and build donor capacity seem ascritical to meeting the mission as theexhibits themselves. In fact, public gar-dens measure the success of exhibits, par-ticularly temporary exhibitions, in termsof bodies counted and dollars generated.

In these troubling economic times,when nearly every organization, corpora-tion, foundation, and global citizen isassessing their shrunken net worth andreducing their spending, can we expect toexperience this same level of “success” fromour exhibits? With the growing phenome-non of “staycations”—people staying homefor vacation and seeking out local enter-tainment rather than traveling—perhapsexhibits are well-timed prospects for bothpublic gardens as cultural resources for thecommunities they serve, and the citizens ofthese communities who are looking forsomething fun or interesting to do that isclose to home.

On the other hand, perhaps they arenot. Many public gardens, and other cul-tural institutions such as museums andaquariums, are now reporting a drop inexhibit sponsorship and support, and invisitation. Exhibits are expensive endeav-ors. Is the offer of annual exhibitions still asmart strategy for attracting audiences?What would happen if a public gardendecides to get off the “exhibit treadmill”?

The challenge of creating exciting andprofitable exhibits while preserving ourgarden’s raison d’être is not an easy one.Temporary exhibitions can set up theexpectation that our gardens are simplyanother choice for entertainment if they donot relate to the garden’s mission. In theminds of our visitors, our gardens could beperceived as an entertainment venue orperhaps a gallery, but maybe not a place toappreciate, study, and enjoy plants.

Perhaps entertaining visitors is enough.Simply getting them into the garden wherewe can capture and direct their attentionmay be the mission-related reason fordoing exhibitions. But how do we measurethe success of “stealth education”?Without front-end evaluations and back-end visitor surveys that measure the educa-tional impact of an exhibition—somethingfew public gardens talk about and mostlikely do not implement—how do wereally know if our exhibitions engender adeeper understanding of the importance ofplants in our visitors’ lives, or if the exhibi-tions are merely pleasurable distractions?

Right: Large crowds gather at the “Urban Nature”exhibit at Denver Botanic Gardens.Top left: “TREEmendous TREEhouses” at PowellGardens featured ten custom-designed, site-specific treehouses. (Pictured: Kiderpillar Cocoon)

From the “Art to A-Maze” exhibit at MinnesotaLandscape Arboretum: “The Green Grump” by Marjorie Pitz of Martin & Pitz Associates, Inc.

If an exhibit fails to develop deep orlong-term appreciation of and engagementin our core purpose by visitors, who arenot already inclined toward gardening,conservation, or sustainability, yet producessignificant revenues, should we consider ita success? This is a question that donors arenow considering, as they are looking tosupport organizations that make the mostof their resources to fulfill their missions.The impact of the recent economic down-turn and the accompanying scandals thathave affected some non-profits has usheredin an era of compulsory accountability forall non-profits, including public gardens.Donors are demanding greater responsibil-ity from the organizations they support,and they are expecting evidence of theproper and most effective utilization oforganizations’ resources to meet their mis-sions-related goals.

For those public gardens that are in thecycle of annual, temporary exhibitions,there may be no choice but to continue thecycle—their audiences may have come to

expect it. Moreover, there is increasingcompetition for the public’s attention andtheir shrinking expendable dollars, andmany public gardens may rely on the rev-enue that exhibitions generate. But publicgardens do have a choice about the type ofexhibitions they produce, and how theyleverage exhibitions to stimulate their audi-ences’ sense of awareness, wonder, under-standing, and curiosity about plants andthe natural world and inspire them toengage in gardening, learning, conserva-tion, and sustainability.

Temporary exhibitions and permanentgardens that capture visitors’ attention andhave meaning in their everyday lives willhave the greatest success, measured by theamount of revenue earned and contributed,and the number of visitors who are enlight-ened to the mission of public gardens. Withthis in mind, we can design exhibitions andgardens that meet our primary purpose—to connect people to plants.

Gwen Stauffer is the Executive Director ofGanna Walska Lotusland. Lotusland is theformer estate of Madame Ganna Walska,who developed enchanting, quirky gardensand highly diverse plant collections from1943 until her death in 1984. Lotusland hasled the sustainable horticulture movement inSouthern California, and serves as a reposi-tory for globally rare plants. Prior to joiningLotusland, Gwen served as ExecutiveDirector and CEO for New England Wild Flower Society, and before that asExecutive Director for Callaway Gardensand Preserve. Gwen can be reached atgstauffer@lotusland.org.

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A B O U T T H I S I S S U E

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This garden was all about inspiredideas and where they come from,”says landscape designer Julie

Moir Messervy about the extraordinaryMusic Garden she designed for theHarbourfront in Toronto, Ontario,Canada. Completed in 1999, the three-acre Toronto Music Garden is as much apiece of art in itself, as the music fromwhich it springs. Seen from one of thetall buildings that flanks the waterfront,the Music Garden appears to be a giantart installation, as much sculpture as it isgarden. Although many beautiful gardensare extremely artful, the Music Gardenseems to stretch itself beyond the

boundaries of landscape design andenters a realm of large-scale, conceptualart. The difference is that conceptual art usually indicates that the concept or idea involved with the work will takeprecedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns, and that a conceptualist’s work may require little or no physical craftsmanship in its execution, whereas the Music Garden’sexecution involved great care being takenwith materials and a very high level ofaesthetic choices in its realization.

When world-renowned cellist Yo-YoMa first contacted Julie about this project,

SUSAN T. GREENSTEIN

TO CREATE AN INNOVATIVE LANDSCAPE

he sent her a recording of the “First Suitefor Unaccompanied Cello” by JohannSebastian Bach, and he asked that she “lis-ten to this and tell me what you think.” Atthe time, Yo-Yo Ma was involved in a filmproject— a series of six films, each devotedto one of the Bach cello suites. Each filmfeatured collaboration with artists from

BIG Ideas&CollaborationsM A K I N G M U S I C , M A K I N G A RT, M A K I N G A G A R D E N :

Combine

“

1. Landscape Designer, Julie Moir Messervy, and notedcellist, Yo-Yo Ma, on site at the Toronto Music Garden.

2. Detail of the Toronto Music Garden showing theCourante’s swirling path through a wildflowermeadow culminating in a twirling Maypole.

1.

2.

Maiking Music, Making Art, Making a Garden

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Maiking Music, Making Art, Making a Garden

different disciplines, and the goal was foreach artist to create a work inspired by oneof the Suites. Other films in the seriesincluded a focus on dance and movementwith contemporary choreographer MarkMorris, ice dancers Torvill and Dean, and agrand Kabuki master. Why not a landscapedesigner to express Bach in the more sub-stantial and lasting form of a garden?

So began this collaboration of Yo-YoMa, Julie, and the film production com-pany, but it began in Boston, not Toronto.A site was selected, the mayor was onboard with the project, and the designprocess had begun. In her work, Juliealways seeks to find the “inward” garden ofher clients, and then incorporates that viewwith her own vision, and she is always onthe lookout for the Big Idea. In this casethere were several layers of big ideas—Bach was inspired by ancient dance forms,Yo-Yo Ma was inspired to see the musicexpressed in a landscape, and Julie wasinspired by the music itself, music thatspoke to her of nature and nature’s shapes,forms, and movements. Ultimately, thescheme for this garden ran into all sorts ofdifficulties in Boston— and it was clearthat it could not be completed there.

Fortunately for all concerned, the filmcompany, Rhombus Media, was based inToronto; Toronto’s mayor, Barbara Hall,was very much an “arts” mayor; andthrough various connections it was discov-ered that the parks department had a par-cel of land for which there was as yet nodesign. Even more fortuitously, Jim Fleck, aToronto businessman and music lover, gotinto a conversation with Yo-Yo Ma after aconcert, and they began exploring the pos-sibilities for the Music Garden. What grewout of this chance meeting was Mr. Fleck’sparticipation as the key mover and shakerfor the fund-raising that was needed tomake this landscape vision a reality. Jim

Fleck describes himself as civic-minded, anart and music lover, and interested in gar-dens. With the Big Idea in place, Mr. Fleckwas just the person to make this garden areality through his many contacts and hisbrilliant fund-raising ability.

Another vital component of the MusicGarden’s successful realization was the cityof Toronto and the Toronto ParksDepartment. Toronto was in a green move-ment even then, which had led theDepartment to purchase native plantmaterials for another park that ultimatelywere not going to be used. This stroke ofluck, at the right time, provided much ofthe trees and shrubs for the Music Garden,and served to inspire the entire plantpalette. It also inspired the use of nativematerials for the hardscape, for which Julieused tumbled granite with feldspar, thematerial of the ancient Canadian Shield.

Because of the highly sculptural natureof the plantings, and the desire to maintainthe essential vision of the Music Garden,you might imagine that maintenance issomething of a challenge. However, fromits inception, the Music Garden projectwas a coveted assignment for the parksdepartment staff. Colette Martin, horticul-tural supervisor for the Music Garden,asserts that “from the beginning, the MusicGarden was always considered a specialarea—very high profile, but different horti-culturally as well.” This enthusiastic atti-tude was a direct result of the inclusiveprocess that Julie Messervy led during thedevelopment of this project. Everyone whoworked on the Music Garden—construc-tion crews, stoneworkers, horticulturists,parks department staff—all were invited tounderstand the underlying inspiration forthe garden, and all came to appreciateBach’s music, Yo-Yo Ma’s influence, andJulie’s concepts for the design.

The Music Garden, which is really aseries of garden rooms, with each move-ment of the Bach Cello Suite expressed as adifferent room, is a unique approach togarden design. If they wish, visitors mayuse audio wands with Bach’s music toexplore the garden, or they may choose touse the garden for passive recreation, to lis-ten to a concert (which is a regular part ofthe programming of the garden), forstrolling along the harbor front and watch-ing the boats, for sunbathing, reading, andall the usual uses for a garden. No matterwhat the use, the Toronto Music Gardenprovides an invigorating setting. The sixmovements of the cello suite involve visi-tors in a rich garden experience, whetherthey are listening to the music or not: thePrelude with its undulating “riverscape”with curves and bends; the Allemande, aforest grove of wandering trails; theCourante, a swirling path through a wild-flower meadow; the Sarabande, a conifergrove in the shape of an arc; the Menuett, aformal flower parterre; and the Gigue,giant grass steps that “dance you down tothe outside world.”

Some public gardens choose to featureart as a way to attract visitors; the TorontoMusic Garden has become a space wherethe garden is art, and a sense of artfulnessimbues the total garden experience.

For more information about theToronto Music Garden, visit Julie Messervy’swebsite at www.juliemoirmesservy.com or thecity of Toronto’s online music garden pageat www.toronto.ca/parks/ music_ index.htm

Susan T. Greenstein. Most recently directorof the Kykuit program and of audiencedevelopment at Historic Hudson Valley,Susan serves on APGA's publication com-mittee and is a past chair of the historiclandscape committee.

She is now reviving her previous consultingcompany, Growing Minds, to provide projectdirection and expertise in education, mar-keting, outreach, and audience developmentfor gardens and other non-profits.

stgreenstein@optonline.net

Overview of the Toronto Music Garden with all of the six ‘movements’ visible; from right to left: Prelude, Allemande,Courante, Sarabande, Menuett, and Gigue.

Exhibits as a Way In

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We all know that plants areamazing, beautiful, and fasci-nating, and I’d be willing to

bet that this is the reason we work atpublic gardens. However, I fear this“world of wonder” remains largely invisi-ble to the average person. If you stoppedsomeone on the street and asked what heor she thinks about plants, what kind ofresponse do you think you would get? Asprofessionals we need to find a way toexpose what is still a well-kept secret.

At our various institutions, we haveprobably all struggled with how to get thegeneral public excited about plants.Connecting people with plants is verybasic to our missions. At the same time westruggle with issues of increasing our gar-dens’ visibility, visitation, and revenuestreams. The world today offers muchcompetition for the attention of ourpotential visitors, who are rather discon-nected from the plant world. In this cli-mate, exhibitions can be an extremelyeffective tool. Changing exhibitions are aperfect way to attract people to our gar-

dens with the offer of something new, cap-ture them at a “wow” moment, and thenfurther engage them. Fostering thatengagement and leading our visitors todevelop that sense of wonder about theplant world is what I focus on in our exhi-bition program at the Botanic Garden ofSmith College.

We are located at a small liberal artscollege, and as such, our mission includeseducation as its main component. Ourexhibitions follow suit. Our primary audi-ence is always the college community;however, we also serve the general publicand local schools. When we began ourexhibition program in 2002, we had justcompleted a major renovation of our facil-ity and had a new exhibition gallery. I amfortunate to work at an institution thatencourages creativity and innovation; mydirector, Michael Marcotrigiano, in partic-ular, sees the value of our eclectic approachand has been very supportive.

Rachel Carson’s writing provides muchinspiration for me. In The Sense of Wonder,she observed how much her nephew

Exhibitions as a

MADELAINE ZADIK

A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful,

full of wonder and excitement. It is our

misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed

vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and

awe-inspiring is dimmed and even lost before we

reach adulthood. If I had influence with the good

fairy … I should ask that her gift to each child in

the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible

that it would last throughout a lifetime.

Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

Way In

1. Vegetarians, panel from Plant AdaptationUp Close: A Biological and ArtisticInterpretation

2. Title panel for Asian Gardens of the1920s: The Travels of Elizabeth K. Roys

3. Panel from Virginia Woolf: A BotanicalPerspective

1. 2. 3.

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Exhibits as a Way In

Whenever people choose to visit publicgardens, they come looking for an experi-ence. Once inside, they discover somethingdifferent from what they might find athome or during other leisure-time activi-ties. Exhibitions are important in helpingto shape that experience. I try to rememberthat exhibitions are environments wherepeople are affected sensually, emotionally,and intellectually. They may be moved bysomething beautiful, startled by somethingbizarre, intrigued by something novel, oreven repulsed by something disgusting.That is the point of entry—a successfulexhibit takes people places and opens theireyes to something new. The big question ishow to accomplish this.

A good start is to look at your institu-tion’s strengths and to capitalize on them.At the Botanic Garden of Smith College,we decided to use the college’s resources toour advantage and investigated how wecould collaborate with other academicdepartments and programs to approachour botanical subject in a whole new wayto create new interdisciplinary entrywaysand connections. This has resulted in thedevelopment of some unusual exhibits thatwe might not have otherwise imagined.

picked up on their walks in the woods,even though she purposely only shared herpleasure with what they saw, and she madeno conscious effort to teach names or offerexplanations. I try to approach our exhibitsin the same “spirit of two friends on anexpedition of exciting discovery.” This isdirected at adults and children alike, tohelp all of us rediscover that “joy, excite-ment, and mystery of the world we live in.”Today we are more likely to call it informaleducation. Carson explained, “Once theemotions have been aroused … then wewish for knowledge about the object of ouremotional response.” Motivating people towant to know more will serve us betterthan simply providing information that wewant them to learn, and it will keep themcoming back for more.

Carson suggests that we try to beacutely aware of what regularly goes unno-ticed. One way to achieve this is toapproach our subject matter as if we areseeing it for the first time and imaginingwe might never see it again. Can we stepout of our regular roles as educators pro-viding “information” and enter a newmode? I see this as a challenge — to bringa new way of seeing to how we createexhibits and interact with our audiences.

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Intentionally operating outside our com-fort zone has been quite a learning experi-ence for us. We are presenting our subjectin ways that often require some stretchingon our part. Even if you are not at a collegeor university garden, you can collaboratewith other institutions (including aca-demic ones) and community members toachieve these kinds of synergistic partner-ships. Consider museums, televisionshows, city parks, publishers and authors,local retailers, and community clubs andorganizations. There are many opportuni-ties out there. I will describe a selection ofour exhibits to illustrate the range ofoptions possible, limited only by imagina-tion (and, perhaps, one’s budget).

Our first exhibition inaugurated thenew gallery with a splash and much sur-prise. We collaborated with two math professors to produce Plant Spirals: BeautyYou Can Count On. The exhibit featured anovel way for most of our visitors to lookat and relate to plants. We introduced con-cepts of Fibonacci Numbers and theGolden Mean, phyllotaxy models, spiralpatterns seen microscopically in meris-tems, spiral lattices, and more. The exhibitused an extremely bright color scheme,

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 13

stunning photos, and video footage. As theviewer went through the exhibit some ofthe material became quite challenging, e.g. the “universe of spirals.” The exhibitwas everything we had hoped for — it provided a very new entryway into theworld of plants for both scientists andartists. People reported being both surprised and intrigued.

Next we took off in a totally differentdirection, working with the EnglishDepartment, the library’s rare book room,and the international Virginia WoolfConference, to present Virginia Woolf: ABotanical Perspective. This exhibitionshowcased the gardens of Woolf ’s familyand friends, her sister Vanessa Bell’s botan-ical artwork from the dust jackets ofWoolf ’s books (available to us through thelibrary), botanical descriptions fromWoolf ’s writings, and original hand-printed editions of her short story, KewGardens. Since we send students to Kew onan internship we were able to make a con-nection there. Through the conference wewere able to take advantage of scholarsaround the country who shared some oftheir work with us, including a PowerPoint

display on Woolf ’s house and gardens.Faculty and staff shared photos they hadtaken of various gardens, so we were ableto involve more people in the making ofthis show.

Some of our exhibits have been devel-oped to draw attention to our students andalumnae. Smith Chrysanthemums: HybridAlums displayed the history of a century ofChrysanthemum Shows and studentbreeding work at Smith College. A majorelement of that show was theChrysanthemum Hall of Fame, showingyearbook photos going back to 1920 ofstudent hybridizers with the mums theyproduced (also a favorite for studyingchanging hairdos). Last year we updated itand showed it again. Inevitably visitorscome looking for a photo of themselves orsomeone they have heard is shown there.

Also popular with alumnae wasDesigned Landscapes, which featured thework of twenty Smith College graduateswho are landscape architects and gardendesigners. We were able to display somematerials from the College Archives thatincluded plans drawn by Alice Orme Smith(Class of 1911, and probably the first

alumna to become a landscape architect),who won awards for her designs of theGarden of Religion and the Main Vista atthe 1939 World’s Fair in New York City.Other projects displayed covered a widerange—from road planning at YellowstoneNational Park, to urban landscapes and aplan for the renovation of one of our gar-dens. Additionally, the exhibit gave stu-dents new ideas for career paths.

A historical perspective was featured inThe Botanical Discoveries of Lewis andClark, which was based on a book writtenby a Smith graduate. It included excerptsfrom the book with watercolors of the

1. Plant Spirals: Beauty You Can Count On, in Church Exhibition Gallery, BotanicGarden of Smith College

2. A Place to Take Root: A History of FlowerPots and Garden Containers in NorthAmerica, in Church Exhibition Gallery,Botanic Garden of Smith College

3. Title panel for Plant Adaptation Up Close

1. 2. 3.

Exhibits as a Way In

plants, a slideshow of the original herbar-ium specimens now housed in Philadelphiaat the Academy of Natural Sciences, as wellas specimens of the same species from theSmith Herbarium. The stories of what theexplorers went through to collect thesespecimens spoke for themselves, but theartwork and herbarium specimens caughtpeople’s attention in another way. On viewduring bicentennial celebrations of theexpedition, many local schools were inter-ested in connecting this to their curriculum.

When we received a box of notebookscreated by a Smith student during her trav-els through Asia in 1926 and 1927, weknew we were in possession of a treasure.The notebooks constitute a unique histori-cal chronicle and provide an irreplaceablefirsthand account of Asian gardens in theearly twentieth century. Additionally theycontained stunning photographs. We werefortunate to have a student work on cata-loging the notebooks and developing anexhibit from the material. Asian Gardens ofthe 1920s: The Travels of Elizabeth K. Royswas the result, providing a wondrous pho-tographic tour and an introduction to dif-ferent cultural concepts of the garden.

The exhibit I am most proud of is PlantAdaptation Up Close: A Biological andArtistic Interpretation. For it we collabo-rated with a local artist and the SmithMicroscopy Facility. It was particularly suc-cessful because it offered a new view of theplant world. While the focus is on sevenadaptations and the structures that enablethose adaptations to particular situations,the visitor is drawn in by beautifully col-orized electron micrographs, amazing 3-Dimages (that require special glasses), andprovocative titles for each of the adapta-tions: “Vegetarians,” “Social Climbers,”“Guzzlers,” “Meat Eaters,” “Sunbathers,”“Drifters,” and “Squatters.” A special kid’sguide and workbook required children tofind the actual plants in our collection. The success of this exhibit which offers newdoorways into the botanical world is evi-denced by it being a favorite of our traveling exhibits, and often rented by non-botanical institutions.

Producing exhibits is time consuming.In between our in-house exhibits,

we have been able to find other intriguingexhibitions to rent. We continue to try tofocus on different aspects of horticulture,botany, and landscape. A Place to Root filledour gallery with an incredible assortmentof flower pots, telling the history of flowerpots and garden containers in America. Itwas produced by Susan Tamulevich ofHorticurious (www.aplacetotakeroot.com).We were able to make a book connection aswell, bringing Sydney Eddison to speak oncontainer gardening. No End to the Banana,

produced by Bioversity International,brought to life the uncommon story of thiscommon fruit — everything you everwanted to know about bananas and more.It included the story of how the banana weeat and love is threatened and what is beingdone to save it. And we displayed an unex-pected assortment of products made frombanana fiber. And, again we made a bookconnection, this time with Dan Koeppeland his book, The Trouble with Bananas.

The New England Wild Flower Society’sexhibit, Rare and Endangered Plants of NewEngland, acquainted visitors with some ofour native flora. The photographs and textinvited visitors to look closely at four dif-ferent habitats and the beauty they offer,and then gain an understanding of howthat beauty is threatened. TulipMania, pro-duced by the Chicago Botanic Garden wasa good tie-in with our annual Spring BulbShow—since that always draws about20,000 visitors to the garden over a two-week period, we figured it was an excellentopportunity to expand people’s conscious-ness about the world of bulbs and to workcooperatively with a sister garden.

With improved exhibit fabrication, sev-eral of our exhibits are now available totravel to other institutions, and that hasenabled us to expand our reach even fur-ther. Even after we have taken our exhibitsoff our walls, they can continue to influ-ence how people engage with plants. Afterall the work we put into these incredibleeducational ventures, I never want to takedown any of the exhibits! Fortunately, theyall live on in virtual format (even the 3-Dimages work online if you have the glasses).You can see them at:www.smith.edu/garden/exhibits/past-exhibitions.html.

Using a variety of approaches has servedus well in our exhibition program. It hasbeen pretty successful in bringing to lightvery different aspects of the world of plants,providing visually interesting elements thatdraw people in and engage them on severallevels. What makes me the happiest is whenI overhear someone say something like,“Wow, isn’t that cool?!” or “Look at this—Ididn’t know that!” For me, that sense ofwonder is the ultimate success.

Madelaine Zadik is the Manager of Educationand Outreach at the Botanic Garden of SmithCollege, where she is responsible for the exhibition program. She can be contacted at mzadik@email.smith.edu.

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A Place to Take Root: A History of FlowerPots and Garden Containers in NorthAmerica, in Church Exhibition Gallery,Botanic Garden of Smith College

Darwin Exhibition

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 15

Of all The New York BotanicalGarden’s recent exhibitions, per-haps none addressed the Garden’s

over-riding mission—to be an advocate forthe plant kingdom—as comprehensively asdid “Darwin’s Garden: An EvolutionaryAdventure.” This Garden-wide exhibition,which took place from April 25 to June 14,2008, incorporated multiple venues at theGarden and drew significantly from each ofthe three pillars of its institutional mission:horticulture, science, and education.

The exhibition’s success, while certainlylinked to some degree to keen public

Science, Horticulture, and EducationTODD FORREST AND KAREN DAUBMANN

interest in Charles Darwin, is largely attributable to the scope of the exhibitionand to the many alternative avenues ofengagement it provided visitors. It offeredboth substance and beauty: plenty of his-torical and educational material plus anidealized spring English garden brimmingwith color. There were scientific lecturesand discussions, as well as fun ways toexplore Darwin and plants.

“Darwin’s Garden” evolved as an exhi-bition idea over several years, beginningwith discussions in the LuEsther T. MertzLibrary between David Kohn, PhD, ascholar on Charles Darwin who was doingresearch in the Library’s extensive collec-tion of Darwiniana and who subsequentlycurated the exhibition, and Susan Fraser,the Library’s director. The discussions grewto include the heads of the Horticulture,Science, and Education divisions, as well asthe Director of Public Programs and manyother individuals at the Garden. The syn-thesis of discussion and brainstorming ledto a rich program of events and displays.The exhibition required extensive work byteams of staff in every division and a majorGarden-wide commitment.

Perhaps the greatest challenge in devel-oping “Darwin’s Garden” was to create anexhibition that would captivate an audi-ence that has come to expect the higheststandard of horticultural excellence, whilealso conveying the rich and complex scien-tific, historical, and cultural messages that

The exterior of the replica of Down House, part of the flower show in Darwin’sGarden: An Evolutionary Adventure at The New York Botanical GardenPhoto by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Children in a replica of the Beagle, part of the Darwin for Kids programming in Darwin’s Garden: An Evolutionary Adventure at The New York Botanical Garden Photo by Talisman BrolinTALISMANPHOTO

Darwin Exhibition Bridges All Aspects of Garden’s Mission:

Darwin Exhibition

different climbing mechanisms of vinesand other climbing plants.

Darwin’s Botany in His Own WordsThe exhibition in the LuEsther T.

Mertz Library’s Rondina and LoFaroGallery included original historical docu-ments exploring Darwin’s deep personalrelationship with plants that began inchildhood. It combined information aboutDarwin as a person with the story of hisrich botanical ideas, featuring Darwin’sown writings and collections. Illustratedbooks, manuscripts, and other historicaldocuments offered insight into his thinking and demonstrated the impor-tance of botany throughout his life. Ahandsome exhibition catalog, featuring a scholarly essayby Dr. Kohn onthe essential role of plants in Darwin’s lifeand science,accompanied the exhibition.

Children’sAdventureswith Darwin

In the EverettChildren’s Ad -ven ture Garden,an interactiveexhibition withplants importantto the develop-ment of the con-cept of evolutioninvited children to explore and learnhands-on. A centerpiece of the display wasa replica of HMS Beagle, the ship that tookDarwin on a five-year voyage to SouthAmerica and around the world. Kids couldclimb aboard and imagine they were onDarwin’s adventure. Children’s activitiesincluded potting up a vegetable plant andcreating a herbarium specimen.

Darwin’s Living LegacyAs part of “Darwin’s Garden,” visitors

were brought up to date on current

make the Darwin story so fascinating to somany. The overwhelming public responseto both the beauty and the content of theexhibition was tremendously rewarding.

It was fitting for an exhibition onCharles Darwin’s work with plants to takea multi-pronged approach. Darwin himselfhad wide-ranging interests in all aspects ofnatural history—from archaeology to geol-ogy to biology. He was immersed in scien-tific exploration and analysis, fascinatedwith gardening and nature, and dedicatedto education and the sharing of informa-tion through publication.

“Darwin’s Garden: An EvolutionaryAdventure” presented the little-knownstory of Charles Darwin’s lifelong fascina-tion and work with plants. Few peopleknow that Darwin was an avid gardenerand that many of his scientific discoverieswere inspired by more than forty years of research and experimentation withplants and flowers. Dr. Kohn explains the significance of the exhibition: “Only in his work as a botanist can we truly see all the dimensions of Darwin as a scientist—that is as a successful collector,as a powerful theorist, as an insightfulobserver, and as a rigorous and almostprophetic experimenter.”

Darwin’s Own Garden Re-created“Darwin’s Garden” was a Garden-

wide exhibition with components in multiple venues. In the Enid A. HauptConservatory, a stunning flower show re-created Darwin’s own garden at DownHouse in Kent, England, filled with color-ful delphiniums, foxgloves, and other typi-cal English cottage garden flowers thatDarwin and his wife, Emma, grew, as wellas a kitchen garden and an orchard. Theexhibition also featured vignettes thatinterpreted Darwin’s work with livingplants and botanical research. Interactivedisplays of plants explained some ofDarwin’s often simple yet ingenious exper-imental studies, such as his investigationsinto pollination and the co-evolution ofplants and their pollinators, and his manyexplorations into the power of movementin plants—from insectivorous plants thatdynamically trap their prey to the many

evolutionary plant science. The concept of evolution is the foundation of all plant science today at institutions such as TheNew York Botanical Garden. To educatevisitors on the latest thinking, the exhibi-tion included an Evolutionary Tour and a scientific symposium.

The Evolutionary Tour took visitors ona scavenger hunt through the tree of lifeamong living plants in the Garden’s collec-tions. In the Haupt Conservatory and sur-rounding outdoor plantings, this approxi-mately forty-minute walking tour high-lighted representative plants in the evolu-tionary Tree of Life. It was accompanied bysignage and commentary by the exhibitioncurator and Garden scientists, and wasaccessible via visitors’ cell phones.

Stops on the Evolutionary Tour high-lighted selected groups of plants on themodern tree of life. In the Enid A. HauptConservatory, visitors saw living represen-tatives of some of the earliest forms ofplant life such as algae, mosses, ferns, andcycads. In the surrounding outdoor plant-ings, the Evolutionary Tour featured someof the great diversity of flowering plantsthat have evolved on Earth in the past 140million years.

In 1859, Darwin’s theory of naturalselection as the engine of evolution shat-tered basic assumptions about science and

16 | PUBLIC GARDEN

Displays showing one of Darwin’s experiments, part of Darwin’s Garden:An Evolutionary Adventure at The New York Botanical Garden Photos by Talisman Brolin | TALISMANPHOTO

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 17

and poetry from Darwin’s era, much of itheavily influenced by nature. An additionalaudio tour—separate from the one for theEvolutionary Tour—was available to guidevisitors through “Darwin’s Garden” in theHaupt Conservatory and Mertz Library.

Results, Traveling Exhibition, andLessons Learned

Both the exhibition and the sympo-sium received extensive press coverage;together they drew more than 143,000 visi-tors. Year-to-year comparisons of audienceand revenues are not possible because“Darwin’s Garden” overlapped during itsfinal weeks with the Henry Moore exhibit.Nevertheless, prior to the Moore opening,“Darwin’s Garden” visitation and revenues

were significantly aheadof the prior year.

In a popular feature in the HauptConservatory, visitorswere invited to sit atDarwin’s desk to jotdown their observationsas they looked out the window at the re-creation of his garden.This allowed visitors toput themselves inDarwin’s home and sur-roundings, and take onhis worldview. Feedbackincluded sketches of theflowers in the gardenand commentary thatranged from the per-sonal to the philosophi-cal. Many visitors com-

mented on the sheer beauty of the flowers;others, on Darwin’s penetrating insights orthe exhibition’s celebration of the diversityof life. This feature became a valuable evaluation tool.

After closing in New York, parts of“Darwin’s Garden” traveled to TheHuntington Library, Art Collections, andBotanical Gardens in San Marino,California, where they were on displayfrom October 4, 2008, to January 5, 2009.

the world. The impact of the thinking helaunched is no less significant today. Asymposium held over two May evenings,which was open to the public and quicklysold out, featured presentations by scien-tists, historians, philosophers, and environ-mentalists. Hosted by the Garden in col-laboration with the American Museum ofNatural History, the symposium, “Darwin:21st-Century Perspectives,” offered anopportunity to hear top scholars and com-mentators discuss how his thinking con-tinues to influence science and societytoday. Edward O. Wilson, PhD, two-timePulitzer Prize winner, entomologist, andbiologist known for his pioneering workon evolution and sociobiology, introducedboth sessions and served as moderator.

Many other educational tools and pro-grams were employed to tell the history ofCharles Darwin’s work with plants, toexplain the cultural and historical contextof his work, and to relate it to today’s sci-entific challenges. A special Web site cre-ated for the exhibition included an interac-tive diagram of the Evolutionary Tour,information on other elements of theshow, and background material on CharlesDarwin, the man. Weekend programs fea-tured drop-in lectures, workshops, andguided tours. Performances featured music

Among lessons learned were “thinkbig” and “engage the visitor.” The flowershow set piece with interactive, participa-tory exhibits is a powerful combination.Beautiful plants attract the attention of vis-itors, who then become engaged in differ-ent ways and at different levels with thescience embodied in the observational andparticipatory exhibits. Not everyonestopped and participated in the scienceactivities and observational experiences; wemight do a better job in the future of stim-ulating engagement. Another lesson:mounting a Garden-wide, multi-venueexhibition is compelling, valuable, andrewarding; it creates a visit that has manychapters, is eye-opening, and involves visi-tors in shaping their own visits. We alsolearned that there are challenges to travel-ing an exhibition that includes livingplants. Each garden has its own growingconditions and horticultural expertise, andnot every potential venue has the resourcesto devote to such a time and labor inten-sive program. Going forward, we mightdesign an exhibit that depends less on liv-ing plants and more on elements that areeasier to travel such as books, maps, orconstructed set pieces. Finally, mainte-nance of an interpretive exhibit thatincludes live specimens is very challengingand requires almost daily, or more fre-quent, changes and alterations.

While this was certainly not the onlyway to offer mission-driven exhibitions(“The Orchid Show,” now in its seventhyear and a visitation and revenue success, ismission-driven but has a narrower mes-sage: the beauty, diversity, and fragility oforchids), “Darwin’s Garden” set a newstandard for creating rich, interdisciplinaryprograms that draw new audiences, intro-duce new ideas, and educate as theyinspire. Bolstered by the success of“Darwin’s Garden,” we look forward tocreating similarly complex and innovativeexhibitions in the future.

Todd Forrest is Vice President ofHorticulture and Living Collections at TheNew York Botanical Garden. KarenDaubmann is Director of Exhibitions.

Often public gardens or parks canbecome the recipients ofunwanted works of art. Pieces

may be donated by an artist, often to pro-mote their work, or by an estate as part ofa will, or they may be pieces that remainfrom a local fund raising event. How doesone address this issue, especially if thegift is from a major donor? There are anumber of issues to resolve: first, how totactfully go through a vetting process, sothat potential donors are not discour-aged, and second, if the artwork alreadyexists, how to find the correct placementso that it will fit within the proper con-text of the garden.

It is important to have an institutionalart policy and a master plan. The planshould identify where sculpture may beappropriately placed within the landscapeand should describe the functional role ofpotential placements: e.g., dominant focalpoint, suggestive, or merely additive, whilea policy should take into account issues oftheme, context, scale, material, and safetyfor all artwork, donated or not. A policymight specify that the donated piece of artis unacceptable if it is presented strictly topromote one’s services or if it contradictsan institution’s mission. It is also helpful tohave a committee to guide policy, ratherthan have all the decision-making burdensor blame falling on one person, e.g. adirector.

A clear and concise master plan can bean excellent fundraising tool. Institutionaldevelopment offices, however, must befully conversant with policies, becausemany donors want to dictate where artpieces should be placed. This is to beexpected, since specific locations are

frequently associated with some aspect ofthe donation, as when a loved one is beingcommemorated. Having a mechanism inplace to discuss artwork placement andrelevance to the institution’s function mayhelp reduce potential donor misunder-standings early in the negotiation process.

For example, at St. Mary MedicalCenter in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, thegarden committee was approached by anindividual who wanted to donate a statueof St. Francis for the Cloister Gardendesigned by our firm. Although the hospi-tal is a faith-based institution and part ofthe Catholic Healthcare network, the gar-den was designed with a Japanese theme toemphasize the hospital’s mission to servepeople of all faiths. Consequently thedonation was not accepted.

Sometimes the sculpture is alreadythere, and there is nothing else to do butfind a better place for it. In Doylestown,Pennsylvania, the presence of outdoorsculpture has become an essential compo-nent of the Doylestown HospitalCommunity Arboretum experience. A gen-eral consensus had developed that“humanistic,” non-abstract pieces weremore appropriate for the hospital settingthan “modern” pieces. However, the hospi-tal already had a large unpainted steelabstract sculpture, donated over twenty-five years ago by the sculptor. The piecewas the subject of spirited debate and hadbeen relocated numerous times on thehospital grounds. The landscape architecthelped to find it a permanent home in thestory-telling area in the Children’s Gardenof the Arboretum, where it now has anappreciative audience and become afavorite of the children.

A second piece of sculpture, a yellowmule, was donated to the hospital by theartist’s mother, a staff physician. The mulewas not a commissioned piece of art, but aremnant of a public art project called“Miles of Mules”—a series of fiberglassmules decorated by local artists. The mulewas also placed in the Children’s Area andincorporated into a new perennial bed andhas become a whimsical addition to thelandscape, peeking out from a woodedarea where it is visible from patient rooms.While it might not have merited placementon the hospital grounds on its own, thesculpture was incorporated into spatialsequencing designed to pique curiosity and engage people into walking theArboretum trails.

Understanding the institutional cultureis critical when accepting a gift of art.Donors can have many reasons for theirgenerosity, but ultimately the benefit mustaccrue to the garden itself.

Carter van Dyke, ASLA, AICP, is presidentof Carter van Dyke Associates, a landscape architecture and planning firm inDoylestown, Pennsylvania.

Jurgita Tamutyte, MLA, jurgita@cvda.com,is landscape designer at Carter van DykeAssociates.

18 | PUBLIC GARDEN

in the Public Garden CARTER VAN DYKE AND JURGITA TAMUTYTE

Dealing with Donated Sculpture in the Public Garden

Dealing with

Donated Sculpture

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 19

How Desert Botanical Garden is Engaging Visitors

Gardens attract visitors for a variety of reasons: beautifulplant displays, educational

programs, musical concerts, art exhibits,and scientific study. Often perceived asconservative and predictable, gardens arefaced with the challenge to strengthenconnections to visitors who have choicesin where they spend their leisure timeand dollars. Exhibits provide an excellentopportunity to meet this challenge. Well-designed and inspired exhibits caneffectively communicate messages, makegarden collections accessible to visitors,and provide an open-ended aestheticexperience that speaks to a broad range of audiences.

At the Desert Botanical Garden inPhoenix, Arizona, our response to thechallenges that face gardens in the twenty-first century was to re-define and positionour role in the community by creatingexperiences that are engaging and unex-pected. Five years ago, as part of planningfor a major fundraising campaign, Tendingthe Garden, the executive director, staff,Board of Trustees, and volunteers began adialogue about opportunities and possibil-ities for the Desert Botanical Garden expe-rience. We sought innovative ways to ren-ovate existing and outdated displays. Ourvision: for every element of the Garden to reflect excellence and beauty; to transform the visitor experience into one

of discovery, inspiration, and meaningabout deserts and desert plants.

The first challenge was to understandfundamental questions about what wewanted to communicate. We recognizedthat simply re-designing our exhibits wouldnot necessarily transform the visitor experi-ence. We developed new ways of thinkingabout our audience and how to convey ourmessages as an engaging and compellingattraction. Important conversationsfocused on key questions such as: How dowe make the visitor experience meaningful?What do audiences want to see? What isthe message we want to communicate?What are the outcomes or results of theirexperience? Answers to these questionsbecame the framework for a new directionin exhibit planning and design.

ELAINE MCGINN

The Collections Connection

Collections Connection

The Sybil B. Harrington Succulent Gallery at night.ABOVE:All interpretive signs are bilingual. LEFT: Pachypodiums are highlights of the SucculentGallery. Photo by Steve Martino

The

alternative solutions. At the beginning ofan exhibit project, it is important thateveryone understand what the themes andgoals of an exhibit will accomplish, theprocess of exhibit development, and theprinciples of effective design.

The cactus and succulent exhibit devel-opment team met for many months torefine the exhibit concepts and goals. Werethought and retooled our efforts in teambuilding, seeking fresh ideas and new waysof developing and building partnershipswithin our own staff and with outside con-sultants. The direction established for theexhibits was clear: design new cactus andsucculent structures that complement eachother, provide exhibit areas to meet horti-cultural, research, and educational needs,and create a dynamic venue for display andinterpretation. We sought to create a rich-ness and diversity within the displays thatwould invite a sense of discovery andvisual excitement.

Once the program had been developed, the search began for a land-scape designer to help us fulfill our vision.The design of the new structures wasawarded to landscape architect, SteveMartino. A native of Phoenix, Arizona,Martino is recognized as a leader in desertlandscape design. Inspired by the simplic-ity of the greenhouses in our propagation

the new cactus and succulent houses couldbe. Recognized throughout the gardenworld for these collections, we wanted toshare a more complete story about themand the evolution of desert plants. Ratherthan renovate the existing structures, wesought ways to meet the challenge of creat-ing a transformative visitor experience tothese unique collections.

The foundation of successful exhibits iscreated by the teams assembled to developand implement them. A critical componentin the exhibit development process, theDesert Botanical Garden exhibit develop-ment teams include a wide array of special-ists from across many disciplines. Eachteam includes audience specialists fromeducation, development, and marketingstaff; content specialists from research, hor-ticulture, and collections; communicationspecialists—interpretive planners, exhibitdesigners, and visual communicationexperts; and installation specialists—proj-ect managers, landscape architects, con-struction contractors, and graphic design-ers, among others.

Team members need to possess valu-able characteristics, which include problemsolving, creative thinking, adaptability, andopen mindedness. It is not a linear process,and issues that have been resolved oftenrequire additional discussion and

Using our living collection of plants asthe foundation to inform and entice visi-tors to learn about and appreciate desertplants, our exhibit planning and develop-ment became fast paced and focused. Earlyin the process we identified two exhibitareas, the Cactus and Succulent Houses, forrenovation. Both of these had establishedcollections, but the aesthetic and interpre-tation were not meeting our standards ofexhibition excellence. A significant giftfrom the Sybil B. Harrington Trust in 2006provided the funding to begin implement-ing our vision for these major exhibit areas.

The original Cactus House was built in1950 as an aluminum lath house. Its pur-pose was to display the more tender cactusand leaf succulents which required shadefor survival in the harsh Sonoran desertsun. In 1965, an adjacent Succulent Housewas built to allow for separate cactus andsucculent presentations, with the intentionof expanding each collection. Through theyears, as the collections grew, the structuresand displays became outdated. The plant-ing beds were in need of enhancementsthrough contouring and hardscaping ele-ments. Interpretation had been retrofittedto the existing plant palette, and manyplants had matured beyond the roof line.

The exhibit development team began toevaluate and brain storm ideas about what

20 | PUBLIC GARDEN

Collections Connection

area, he designed new structures that com-plement each other and open up vistas tothe surrounding desert buttes. The effectis distinctly “Southwest” and establishes anew design aesthetic for the DesertBotanical Garden.

Scott Scarfone of Oasis Design Groupwas hired to lead the team in designing theplant displays. His experience in designingspaces for conservatories appealed to theteams’ vision of creating the ‘unexpected’with desert plants. The first step in devel-oping the planting plan was to identify theplant requirements for each exhibit, whichbecame the focal point of the design crite-ria. Scarfone and the horticulture staffworked many months to locate key specimens to enhance the collections and elicit surprise from the visitor.

Both Martino and Scarfone collabo-rated closely with the exhibit developmentteam focusing on the collections’ require-ments for sun and shade, water anddrainage, location and size. Additionalconsiderations were given to how the newexhibits would relate to other display areas

within the Garden, audience expectations,and interpretive formats. Interpretationwas developed to allow the Garden tocommunicate a more complete story aboutcactuses and succulents. Key interpretivemessages for the new galleries focus on theevolution and adaptation of cactus andsucculent plants.

Two years of planning and construc-tion culminated with the opening of theSybil B. Harrington Cactus and SucculentGalleries in spring 2008. The exhibits havebeen met enthusiastically by the stakehold-ers and the community. The transforma-tion we sought came to fruition throughvision, comprehensive planning, and teamwork. By actively engaging in a dialogue toarticulate what we want our exhibits tocommunicate, we better understand theconnection between innovative exhibitdesign and a meaningful visitor experi-ence. We do not assume that visitors sim-ply want to view our collections. We seekout possibilities and purpose in the experi-ence that will transform the relationshipbetween the visitor and our mission.

Summative evaluation is on-going, butearly results show that these exhibits areattracting visitors’ attention, holding theirinterest, and communicating messages thatare understandable to the casual visitor.Both the Cactus Gallery and the SucculentGallery are currently filled with an excep-tional Dale Chihuly glass exhibit thataccentuates the plant displays. It is satisfy-ing to overhear conversations about the“amazing plants” that are showcased withthe vivid glass sculptures. Through a cre-ative and collaborative process, we haveimplemented a new era of exhibitiondevelopment that meets our mission,accommodates our collections, and keepspace with increasingly sophisticated publicexpectations for exhibit excellence.

Elaine McGinn is the Director of Planningand Exhibits at the Desert Botanical Gardenand can be reached at emcginn@dbg.org.

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 21

Kew staff collecting Potamogeton species fromthe British uplands. Over half of the nativeaquatic species studied can be preservedunder standard seed bank conditions.

22 | PUBLIC GARDEN

Dave Forehand and Jimmy Turner

The year 2009 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of DallasArboretum’s spring festival,

“Dallas Blooms.” In existence for onlythirty-two years as an official public gar-den, the Dallas Arboretum is a city-owned property maintained by the non-profit, Dallas Arboretum BotanicalSociety. “Dallas Blooms” has been anintegral part of the garden’s marketingplan since its early days. The DallasArboretum’s sixty-six acres were createdfrom the combination of two large pri-vate estates. The property, though wellpositioned next to White Rock Lake andcovered in native trees, had no signifi-cantly designed garden or display areas.The main source of revenue from thebeginning has been from gate revenueand membership sales. So, from early on,the question was: “How do we attractmore guests to the Dallas Arboretum?”

This question was first addressed by theBoard of Directors and the then small staff.One of the founding members, RalphRogers, who was Chairman of the Board atthat time, was convinced the garden neededa “hook,” a unique experience to motivatepeople to visit a new and unknown public

15,000 bulbs and charged admission for a“drive-through viewing” of the plantings,which were a resounding success. Fromthat first year the “Dallas Blooms” bulbdisplay has grown into our largest event ofthe year with over 450,000 bulbs and over150,000 annual bedding plants installedeach year as the focal point of our annualsix-week spring festival.

“Dallas Blooms”— a branded event—attracts 150,000 visitors of the 533,000who come to see our garden each year.Twenty-five percent of our visitation is by members, and on average we have18,000 complimentary visitors per year.The Arboretum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and NewYear’s Day. General admission is $9.50 for adults, $8 for seniors aged 65 and older,$6 for children aged 3-12, and free forArboretum members and children agedtwo and under. On-site parking is $5.Group discounts are available withadvance registration.

Because the festival is such an important part of our annual budget anddevelopment, we begin planning years inadvance for each one. Each festival’s

space. What could we do to be more thanjust open parkland? At the time, the DallasArboretum was working with one of itsfirst landscape architects to design key gar-den areas, and the decision needed to bemade as to how these designs would impactthe future direction of the garden. NaudBurnett, designer of our Jonsson ColorGarden, after much input from RalphRogers and many others, suggested a largedisplay garden utilizing year-round color.His design was to have huge beds ofchangeable color with the edges of the gar-den planted with thousands of azaleas andan overstory of flowering trees. Over theyears this concept has set the tone for allnew gardens at the Dallas Arboretum, cul-minating in our emergence as a noted dis-play and color garden.

The next big decision was what toplant in our new color beds to attractguests during early spring. An idea wasformed, with the help of a local bulbimporter Abbott-Ipco, to try Dutch bulbsas annuals. Tulips are not perennial in ourzone-eight garden, and at that time therewere no comparable local large-scaleplantings of them within our area. Thatfirst year the Dallas Arboretum planted

Dallas Blooms: A Blockbuster Show

DAVE FOREHAND AND JIMMY TURNER

DALLASBLOOMSA B L O C K B U S T E R S H O W

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 23

theme is chosen a minimum of two yearsin advance to allow our horticulture, mar-keting, and education departments time todesign beds to match the theme, coordi-nate guest events and entertainment, andtheme educational items. Some priorpopular themes have been “FlowerPower”— a sixties-themed year, “Proud asa Peacock,” “Eiffel Flower,” “20thAnniversary,” and “Star of Texas.” Thetheme for our 2009 “Dallas Blooms” willbe “A Classic” in honor of the festival’stwenty-fifth anniversary. Each year theevent is underwritten by a naming spon-sor, and supplemented with severalsmaller named sponsorships. Historicallyour sponsors have renewed their under-writing each year.

Always with the enjoyment of the guestin mind, each “Dallas Blooms” festival’stheme is interpreted in multiple ways by aplanning committee. Our guidelines forchoosing a theme include the following:• How would the theme work horticul-

turally?• What is the connection to education

for both children and adults?• Are there items that can be themed for

purchase in the gift shop?

• How can the “Streetscape” be themedto match?

• Does the theme suggest any specialevents, type of musical entertainment,or special availability of food items?

• Are there opportunities forDevelopment underwriting?

An integral part of each theme is our“PR hook.” After twenty-five years ofplanting hundreds of thousands of tulips,narcissus, and hyacinths, it gets hardereach year to obtain press coverage for oursix-week festival. We have discovered thatby doing a horticulturally unique itemeach year, there is always something freshfor the press to speak about. The market-ing and horticulture departments joinforces to build a “mosaiculture,” or topiaryitem as it is more commonly called, to bethe centerpiece of the event. “FlowerPower,” for example, was interpreted witha VW van and Beetle covered in psyche-delic-colored flowers, and “Star of Texas”with a twelve-foot-wide cowboy hat, atwenty-foot-tall star, and a covered wagonall planted in red, white, and blue flowersaccompanied by two mustang horses andtwo longhorn cattle topiaries. Our “Proudas a Peacock” theme centered on two pea-cock topiaries covered with ivy, their color-ful forty-foot-long tails made of flowersspread across the lawn. The “PR hook” forthis year’s anniversary theme of “A Classic”is a sixteen-foot-tall and twenty-foot-widesilver anniversary cake with white petuniaand dusty miller frosting.

Also during our twenty-fifth anniver-sary year, local architects will compete in“Classic Storybook Playhouses.” Sixteenstorybook playhouses will be interspersedabout the garden for the guests’ enjoymentand will stay in the garden untilDecember. During the “Dallas Blooms”festival, we have weekend events to bringsomething fresh each week. ‘ArtScape,’ ajuried fine art fair of over ninety artists,will take place on the weekend of March21 to 22. In addition, throughout the fes-tival various musical acts will perform inthe garden.

In an effort to increase gate attendanceon non-weekend days, we created“Kimberly Clark’s Mommy & MeMondays” and “Children’s Medical Center

Tiny Tot Tuesdays.” The activities offeredduring these times encourage entire fami-lies to visit the festival and promote familyfun. There are arts and crafts, petting zoos,story time, face painting, music, and horse-drawn wagon rides for the children.

The major consideration when planning any festival is budgeting the costof the event against expected attendancerevenue. Some of our most importantbudget items are:• The horticultural labor commitment of

twenty-five full-time staff plus ten tem-porary workers to install bulbs andcolor from Thanksgiving to lateJanuary.

• A topiary centerpiece costing from$6,000 to $10,000 for the plant materi-als and installation. An additional$10,000 to $20,000 may be needed tocreate new metal topiary frames forany new themes. We can offset this byrenting our frames to other gardens inyears we do not use them.

• Plant materials for festival include$90,000 per year for bulbs and $55,000for cool season annuals such as pansies,poppies, snapdragons, and dianthus.

• Other costs to budget include“Streetmosphere,” entertainment, extrastaffing, buses, etc.

The success of our “Dallas Blooms” fes-tival is easily measured by the number ofvisitors we see during this six-week periodeach spring. In 2008 we recorded our sin-gle largest attendance for any single day inthe history of the garden, and our totalattendance during the festival reached150,000 people. MSN online ranked“Dallas Blooms” as one of the “Top 10Things to Do in Spring” nationwide. Webelieve the Dallas Arboretum has maturedover the last twenty-five years from a sim-ple arboretum into a world-class displayand botanical garden.

Dave Forehand is the Vice President of Gardens and can be reached at dforehand@dallasarboretum.org. Jimmy Turner is the Senior Director ofGardens and can be reached atjturner@dallasarboretum.org.

“Dallas Blooms” has become a branded event for us attracting 150,000 visitors of thetotal 533,000 who come to see our garden each year. Some popular themes have been“Flower Power,” a sixties-themed year; “Proud as a Peacock;” and “20th Anniversary.”

24 | PUBLIC GARDEN

RICK COLBERT AND BETSEY NEY

In 2000, Tyler Arboretum had ninefull-time employees, an $852,245budget, a part-time visitor center,

and an estimated autumn (Septemberthrough November) attendance of 4,000.In fall 2001, the institution still had ninefull-time employees, but a $1,128,562budget, a newly constructed full-time visi-tor center (operating whenever theArboretum was open), and an autumnattendance of 11,678. Welcome, “BigBugs”! This well-known traveling exhibitwas our first foray into the world of temporary outdoor exhibits. Last year we

planted over 1,000 plants on their farm inthe mid 1800s. In 1944, the last member ofthe family bequeathed the 650-acre propertyto the community. For a small organization,the idea of tackling a large exhibit like “BigBugs” was daunting, but it was a perfect wayto begin to combat the “hidden gem syn-drome.” Many of you know what this is—agreat organization that no one seems toknow about. Being located in the horticul-tural Mecca of the Delaware Valley can be achallenge. The public gardens in this area arediverse and spectacular, and it can be diffi-cult to stand apart from the crowd.

presented our fourth special exhibit,“Totally Terrific Treehouses.” For the Juneto October display period, our attendancerose by over 400 percent, and our admis-sion revenue for the period jumped from$27,344 in 2007 to $188,662 in 2008.

Taking a Giant Leap with “Big Bugs”

Located about thirty minutes west ofPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, the Arboretumowes its existence to two Quaker brotherswith a passion for the natural world who

Creating Growth for a Small Arboretum

Big Exhibits: Creating Growth for a Small Arboretum

BIGExhibits

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 25

“Big Bugs” was a great success, but thatsuccess did not come easily. We needed toconvince some staff and board membersthat the exhibit was a good fit for theorganization. They were concerned aboutspending precious time and scant resourceson a temporary exhibit that some thoughtwas more appropriate to a theme park. Amajor factor for our success was the adviceand support from organizations that hadhosted the exhibit previously. We startedplanning two years in advance to give our-selves time to raise the capital for both theexhibit fee and necessary site improve-ments to handle the expected increase inattendance. Construction of a small visitorcenter near the parking lot was a majorfacility upgrade. This was the first time wehad a structure that allowed us to greet(and, therefore, record) everyone whocame to the Arboretum. To help defraycosts, we were able to collaborate withMorris Arboretum (hosting the exhibit thefollowing spring) on the development andfabrication of the interpretive signs.

Staff and Board Ask “What’s Next?”

It was a stretch for an organization ofour size to pull off the three-month “BigBugs” exhibit, but it was certainly worth it.People came in droves throughout the fall.Due to the events surrounding 9/11, wewere not on the media radar, but word-of-mouth kept the parking lot full. Staff andvolunteers noted that it was wonderful tosee so many people enjoying theArboretum, and they started commenting,“We need to do something like this againnext year.” We really knew we had a win-ner when our hesitant board membersbecame our biggest advocates and asked,“What’s next?”

Do-it-Yourself ExhibitsWe wanted to keep the momentum

going, but with very little time to plan andraise funds, our options were limited. We

decided to borrow the idea of having thecommunity help create the exhibit thathad been popularized with ChicagoBotanic Garden’s “Cows on Parade” event.Since we are an Audubon-certifiedImportant Bird Area, it made sense to askpeople to create bird houses.

“Bird Abodes” quickly took flight witha call for entries that resulted in over eightyexhibits created by professional wood-workers, home hobbyists, families, andkids. Displayed among the historic trees ofthe original arboretum, the elegant, beauti-ful, whimsical, silly, and clever bird housescharmed our visitors. We did not attractthe same number of visitors as we did with“Big Bugs,” but it was still a healthy boostover our normal attendance, and it kept usin the public eye. Inevitably, as the “BirdAbodes” exhibit settled in, we began plan-ning for the next temporary display. Ourlarge, undeveloped acreage of meadowsand woodlands supports a great diversityof butterflies. “Amazing Butterflies” tookplace in 2004, and combined sculpturesdeveloped by the community with a 1,400-square-foot live Butterfly House. A skilledand enthusiastic Tyler board member fab-ricated ready-to-decorate butterfly andcaterpillar kits that were distributed to thepublic for a small fee with a stipulationthat they be decorated and returned intime for installation. Like the entries for“Bird Abodes,” the butterflies and caterpil-lars created by community members werewonderful. The Butterfly House was also abig hit. Fabricated on a shoestring withinvaluable help from volunteers, the struc-ture was home to native butterflies alongwith nectar and larval food host plants.Frequent demands from visitors that theHouse return the following year made usrealize that this ”temporary” display shouldbecome a semi-permanent feature.

Homegrown exhibits are less expensive,but there are still costs to the organization.Fundraising is more difficult as, unlike arented exhibit, there are no finishedexhibits to show potential funders. Andthese exhibits entail much more time andenergy on the part of the staff, delayingprogress on other important fronts.Involving the community in helping createan exhibit has definite pros and cons.

The success of Tyler Arboretum's first temporaryexhibit, David Rogers’ evocative “Big Bugs”, convinced skeptical staff and board members thatevents of this type could play an important role inreaching new audiences.

Tyler's home-grown Bird Abodes exhibit drewnearly 100 entries from community artisans,professionals, and families.

26 | PUBLIC GARDEN

We established important connections andwere able to tap into an amazing pool oftalent. But this format demands two majorpublicity efforts: one to first attractexhibitors and then another to promote thefinished exhibit. There are also more detailsto coordinate when exhibit contributionsare coming from so many different people.After three years of intense exhibit planningand executing, it was time to regroup. Wesuspended exhibits to allow staff to workon other critical initiatives to continue thegrowth of the organization. Unexpectedly,the Butterfly House helped us maintain apresence in the community. With a popularnew seasonal attraction, our summer atten-dance increased significantly.

Going for the Big Time – “Totally Terrific Treehouses”

Since its inception at Dallas Arboretumand Botanical Society, the treehouse con-cept has succeeded at each garden where ithas taken place. We began planning threeyears in advance, and, once again, peerorganizations generously shared their experiences. Previous institutions haddeveloped a proven model of sending outcall-for-entries information and offeringstipends. Funding continued to be a challenge for us until one of our boardmembers came up with a new twist. He

suggested two categories of exhibitors: onecomposed of traditional stipend recipientsand the other composed of sponsorexhibitors who each donated $10,000 andalso bore the total cost of creating andinstalling their exhibit. Seven sponsors wereselected, which guaranteed them inclusionin the exhibit, but their designs were stillsubject to our approval. Sponsored exhibitsraised important dollars and also served asa way to get board members involved.

Be Careful What You Wish For…

“Totally Terrific Treehouses” succeededbeyond our wildest expectations. Weaccepted seventeen entries, and the diver-sity provided structures that were perfectfor young children, captured the imagina-tion of older kids and young teens, andresonated with adults. But coordinatingand managing the installation of seventeenindividual projects was a serious challengefor the horticulture staff, on top of all thework needed to prepare the Arboretum forthe anticipated surge in visitors. After theopening, the impact shifted to the visitorservice staff. Our parking lot was overflow-ing and staff was often exhausted, butthose skyrocketing numbers that keptbreaking records kept us all smiling.

Two undeniable components of oursuccess were phenomenal publicity andlucky timing. We hired a marketing con-sulting group that developed a compre-hensive plan and worked hard to keep theevent in the public eye. LongwoodGardens, just twenty minutes down theroad, was also hosting a treehouse exhibitin 2008. When we talked with their staff,we realized that, rather than competing forvisitors, the two exhibits were quite differ-ent and very complementary; the fact thatwe were in such close proximity would bea bonus. A cross-marketing plan was devel-oped to encourage visitors to see the fullspectrum of treehouses by visiting bothinstitutions. It worked. News of theexhibits spread like wildfire, and everyonein the region was talking treehouses.

What We’ve LearnedAdvice and guidance from peers has

been essential; in our professional commu-nity, there is really no need to reinvent thewheel. Special exhibits are now part of ourorganizational culture. They have both fos-tered and pushed growth for the organiza-tion in financial resources, donor connec-tions, public awareness, facility improve-ments, and staff development. Each of ourexhibits offered the numerous opportuni-ties for relevant educational programmingand interpretation, directly supporting animportant component of our mission. Ourupcoming capital campaign will benefitfrom connections with new donors andsupporters. The significant increase inmemberships will be supported with refo-cused member events and other benefits.Perhaps the most important short-termbenefit from the most recent exhibitinvolves the timely infusion of needed rev-enue, providing a greatly appreciated cush-ion for our operating budget this year.

Without a dedicated exhibits manager,we have relied on staff committees, addingwork to already full plates. It is clear thatwe need a sustainable source of financialsupport in our operating budget if we areto continue; raising all the revenue neededfor each exhibition is too labor intensive.We are also aware that we need to enhanceand strengthen our permanent exhibitsand collections to complement the tempo-rary exhibit, a goal that has been addressedin our recently updated strategic masterplan. New partnerships have already beenestablished to move these initiatives for-ward. Overall, the benefits of temporaryexhibits greatly outweigh the negatives,and we expect to continue to develop spe-cial exhibits as part of our public program-ming efforts. In fact, the summer of 2009will see the return of “Totally TerrificTreehouses,” with a new twist.

Rick Colbert is Executive Director at TylerArboretum in Media, PA, and can be con-tacted at rcolbert@tylerarboretum.org. BetseyNey is Director of Public Programs and canbe contacted at bney@tylerarboretum.org.

Big Exhibits: Creating Growth for a Small Arboretum

Winning the People's Choice Award, this treehouseconsisted of a cantilevered viewing platform thattook advantage of the sloping trunk of one of Tyler'smassive white oaks.

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 27

In 1998 The Morris Arboretum wasready for a coming out party.Though it had been a public garden

since 1933, it was not until the mid 1990sthat the Arboretum really completed thetransition from a private estate to a pub-lic garden. By that time, the newentrance, parking, and accessible pathsystem were complete, and great progresshad been made in restoring decayingarchitectural features and display gardensto their former glory. We had been oper-ating with the premise of if you build it,they will come. Though attendance wassteadily growing, we wanted to leap

forward from roughly 35,000 visitors toultimately over 100,000.

We had been using one- or two-dayspecial events to build attendance andawareness, but there were limits on thenumbers of visitors we could handle in asingle day, and poor weather often spoiledall efforts. We needed a special attractionthat had marketing appeal and woulddraw visitors seven days a week, all summer long.

In December of 1996, I met Paul Busseof Applied Imagination while leading anintern field trip to The New York BotanicalGarden. Busse was there installing a

holiday garden railroad in the conserva-tory. I was impressed with the creativityand artistic integrity of his installations.But most important, he quickly convinced me of the marketing muscle of hisexhibits. A few weeks later I met Busseagain at the Cincinnati Krohn Conserva -tory, this time with my nine-year-oldnephew in tow as my test audience. Both of us were mesmerized, and the conservatory staff attested to the drawingpower of the exhibit.

Being convinced, I began the processof selling staff and board on the idea, witha goal of mounting an exhibit for the

The Morris Arboretum Garden Railway

PAUL W. MEYERGardenRailwayThe Morris Arboretum

The Garden Railway at the Morris Arboretumhas been instrumental in building family visitation and membership.

offer. Most of the early naysayers wereconvinced when they saw that even the farreaches of the Arboretum were filled withvisitors. It is especially exciting to see somany children bonding with theArboretum. I knew we had arrived whenparents told me that their children wereinsisting on visits to the Arboretum. Somesaid they had to avoid passing by theArboretum gates or the kids would have afit if they did not go in.

We are now planning the twelfthannual Garden Railway exhibit for 2010.After twelve years, the original buildingsare aging and in need of rebuilding. Butthe popularity of the exhibit continues. I cannot imagine the negative impact onour visitation and membership levels if wehad not installed the exhibit. The GardenRailway has helped to make the MorrisArboretum a family destination and hasbrought untold numbers of children intouch with their natural environment andthe world of plants. I often talk withyoung adults who have fond memories ofthe Garden Railway and their walksthroughout the Arboretum with parentsand grandparents. No doubt they willsoon be bringing children of their own tothe Arboretum, continuing what hasbecome a family tradition.

Paul W. Meyer is the F. Otto Haas Directorof the Morris Arboretum of the University ofPennsylvania. He can be contacted atpmeyer@upenn.edu.

consciousness of Philadelphians in waysthat none of our previous events orrestoration efforts had ever done. By theend of that fiscal year our attendance hadnearly doubled to over 70,000 and mem-bership grew by 65 percent. It also helpedshift our audience to a younger, more family-oriented demographic. And mostimportant, the appeal of the garden rail-way continues to be strong, year after year, and our attendance now averages over90,000. Of course, each year our gardenrestoration projects improve the visitorexperience, but it is apparent the GardenRailway is an important part of the mix.

It soon became clear that this would be an annual exhibit, and each year werefresh the Garden Railway with a newtheme. Themes have included “GreatLighthouses,” “Houses of the Presidents,”and, most recently, “Architectural Wondersof the World.” We lease the changing-theme buildings and reuse our purchasedhistoric Philadelphia buildings. In 2001,we added the holiday garden railway forthe period between Thanksgiving and theNew Year. This transformed Decemberfrom one of our lowest visitation monthsto one of our highest.

But most important, we were intro-ducing the Morris Arboretum to a wholenew audience. We cannot teach visitors ifthey are home watching television. Weneed exciting and family-friendly exhibitslike the Garden Railroad to capture theimagination of the media and, ultimately,of our visitors. Once attracted, these newaudiences enjoy not just the GardenRailway, but all that the Arboretum has to

summer of 1998. Initial reactions varied.It was difficult to communicate exactlywhat a garden railway was. Some felt thatit was an abandonment of the Arboretum’smission and the first step down the slip-pery slope to becoming an amusementpark. But, in doing this kind of exhibit wemade a commitment to maintaining ahigh level of horticultural presentation andarchitectural detailing. The early exhibitsfeatured replicas of historic Philadelphiabuildings, including Independence Halland the Betsy Ross House. These build-ings, created by Paul Busse, were finelycrafted using natural materials, such ascones, bark, and tendrils, gathered at theArboretum. Over the years, Arboretumhorticulturist Iana Turner has selected apalette of small, fine-textured plants idealfor exhibiting in the Garden Railway.

The first garden railway exhibit openedin 1998, running from July 4 to October 4,Columbus Day. When the exhibit opened,it created a buzz throughout thePhiladelphia region. We connected withall three major news channels and themajor print media. The TV cameramenloved the sights, sounds, and emotions ofthe Garden Railway, and several mademultiple visits that summer. The exhibitpropelled the Arboretum into the

28 | PUBLIC GARDEN

The Morris Aboretum Garden Railway

According to Director Paul Meyer, “Weknew we had arrived when children wereinsisting on a visit to the Arboretum."

The Taj Mahal was part of the “Architectural Wonders ofthe World,” one of the most popular exhibits ever.

Is Bigger Better

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 29

The hot topic of blockbuster eventsand exhibitions at public gardenshas been a personal interest of

mine even before I became involved inthe field. As a native Atlantan, I watchedas my city was transformed and lifted tointernational esteem when it hosted the1996 Summer Olympics. Later, when I entered the public garden world as avolunteer at Atlanta Botanical Garden, I observed how Dale Chihuly’s and Nikide Saint Phalle’s exhibits helped establishthe Garden as a top Atlanta culturalattraction. When I began my graduatestudies in Public Garden Leadership atCornell University, it seemed natural todelve into research related to this subjectmatter, which became the basis for zmy master’s thesis, “The Impact ofSpecial Events at Public Gardens: IsBigger Better?”.

While new for public gardens, block-busters have been a long-time practiceamong museums and city chambers ofcommerce (Bean, 1994). In the museumworld, big-name temporary exhibitionshave become primary marketing tools,bringing enormous benefit to both hostmuseums and their local economies.Exhibits such as “Tutankhamun and the

Events at Public Gardens

Is BiggerBetter?MIRIAM PINSKER

Golden Age of the Pharaohs” and “BodyWorlds” have brought in millions of dol-lars in revenue and millions of visitorswherever they travel (Granberry andLevinthal, 2007) (Kinnaird, 2007). Whilemuseum blockbuster exhibits are mostanalogous to what we are doing at publicgardens, I found literature related to cityevents more pertinent to my analysis ofblockbusters at gardens.

Major cities often vie for the privilegeof hosting what economists call mega-events, large-scale sporting events such asthe Olympics and the Super Bowl, or highprofile political conventions, such as theDemocratic and Republican NationalConventions (Surowiecki, 2004).Supporters of these events argue they pro-vide an incomparable economic boom tohost cities; likewise, the publicity sur-rounding these events is highly desirable,bringing national or worldwide attentionto the city and building the city’s brandname (Surowiecki, 2004). Despite thesebenefits, some economists feel the empha-sis that cities place on holding these type ofevents is not warranted, and that, in fact,mega-events rarely live up to their expecta-tions. Mega-events drive tourism, but theyoften require months and even years of

To blockbuster, or not to blockbuster: that is the question.

When I entered the public garden world as avolunteer at Atlanta Botanical Garden,

I observed how Dale Chihuly's and Niki de Saint Phalle's exhibits helped establish the

Garden as a top Atlanta cultural attraction.(Pictured: Niki de Saint Phalle exhibit at

Missouri Botanical Garden)

preparation that are both expensive anddisruptive to normal city operations(Surowiecki, 2004). On a dollar-for-dollarbasis, many economists feel that citiesderive greater benefit from holding smaller,more frequent events—such as tradeshowsand small-scale conferences—that are lessdisruptive and put less stress on the localcommunity (Albright and Karp, 2002).

The example of mega-events can easilybe applied to public gardens. Mega-eventsare analogous to garden blockbusters intheir potential to bring hoards of publicityand economic benefit to gardens.However, some garden professionals, likeskeptical city economists, feel blockbustersare not worth the effort and instead chooseto emphasize event strategies focusedaround smaller, more manageable events.So which is the better strategy? To block-buster, or not to blockbuster?

What I did (research methods):To understand the climate surrounding

large events at public gardens, I developeda survey and distributed it in August 2007to sixty-two large public gardens—thoseclassified by the American Public GardensAssociation as having a yearly operatingbudget of at least $2.5 million—in the U.S.and Canada. Large gardens were chosenbecause of their greater likelihood of hold-ing blockbusters and thus their potential toyield a larger data set.

The survey contained three parts,aimed to capture the following:1. Qualitative data related to garden

directors’ opinions of large events atpublic gardens.

2. Qualitative and quantitative data on allthe large events—including block-busters—held by each garden over thepast five years.

3. Quantitative data on four garden met-rics (over the past five years): visita-tion, total garden revenue, member-ship, and gift shop sales.

All participants were granted confiden-tiality; as such, numbers were assigned inlieu of names. The survey garnered a 42%response rate, with twenty-six public gar-dens participating.

What I found (qualitatively):In speaking with colleagues during the

preliminary stages of my research, I wasstruck by how divided professionals appearto be over the topic of special events.Therefore, I felt it crucial to collect direc-tors’ opinions of the role special eventsplay at public gardens. The results I foundwere interesting but not quite as variable asanticipated (for a summary of responses,see Table 1).

• Nearly all directors agreed that largeevents are beneficial to public gardens(Figure 1). Of the specific benefitscited, increased visitation topped the

list (a full list of benefits cited can befound in Table 2). Garden 107’s direc-tor encapsulated other benefits ofevents in this response:

“Large events such as exhibitions arebeneficial to botanical gardens becausethey enable us to communicate our mis-sion more broadly to an expanded num-ber of visitors, some of which might nothave been aware otherwise.”

• In addition, directors like Director 104discussed the benefits of publicity andaudience diversification that events canprovide, especially higher profile block-buster events:

“They provide an opportunity to buildvisibility and an audience. Gardens taketime to grow and to ‘show.’ I’ve noticed,over the years, how ‘non-living’ muse-ums, such as art museums, benefit fromthe opportunity that doing ‘blockbuster’shows provide. There is an opportunityto obtain press coverage, an opportunity(through the formulations and creationof the ‘show’) to cultivate an audience ordevelop a new one.”

• Another sentiment expressed is thatbotanical collections are not enough;public gardens need events to createcompelling reasons for visitation:

“Given the demand for the public’s dis-cretionary time and money, gardens arein a very competitive market, and notjust with other not-for-profits. As much

30 | PUBLIC GARDEN

Is Bigger Better

Table 1. Garden Directors’ Opinions on Large EventsQuestions about Large Events Mean* P-value**

1. Large events are beneficial to public gardens. 5.9/7 <.0001**

2. If we had the ability, we would hold more events at our garden. 3.9/7 0.84

3. Large events are effective in achieving my garden’s goals. 5.1/7 0.007**

4. Large events cause disruption in the garden. 4.5/7 0.22

5. Holding a large event is a great way to expand my garden’s audience. 6.0/7 <0.0001**

6. Large events should relate to the core mission of my garden. 5.7/7 <0.0001**

* 7-point scaled answer with 1 (Strongly disagree) - 7 (Strongly agree)** Significant at p<0.05

Facts & Figures

From the “Art to A-Maze” exhibit at MinnesotaLandscape Arboretum: “Acorn Arboreal Arch” by

Cynthia Markle and Diane Edinger

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 31

as I hate to say it, ‘just plants’ are notenough to bring them in, especially formost young gardens. Special eventsintroduce a ‘new’ public to our gardensand remind past visitors that it’s time torevisit.” (Director 105)

Though the idea that plants alone donot attract visitors denotes a tinge ofdefeatism, it has backing in culturaltourism literature. Research indicates thatthe type of tourist most likely to visit pub-lic gardens is more drawn to “living cul-ture” than to “museum culture.” “Livingculture” is distinguished by an ability toengage people through a cultural experi-ence, such as an event or exhibition;“museum culture,” on the other hand,relates to exposure to specific objects orsites, such as a botanical collection (Tweed,2005). This finding underscores thepotential events have to create compellingreasons for tourists to visit public gardensinstead of engaging in other activities.

Directors overwhelmingly classifiedevents as beneficial to their organizations;however, they also recognized the costsand disruptions associated with holdingevents. The top disruptions cited werediverted staff time and high impact anddamage to grounds. Many directors con-sider these disruptions and others—listedin Table 3—as factors limiting how manyevents their garden can manageably hold.Director 106 explained, “Staff time is

considerable across all departments. Weare currently exceeding the staff ’s capacityto carry out the existing roster of events.”Likewise, Director 122 said, “Currentstaffing levels prevent us from holdingmore events.” In a perhaps hyperbolic, buttelling statement, Director 106 goes so faras to say, “If we had many more events thestaff would mutiny!”

In an attempt to reconcile the push-pull dynamic created by the costs and ben-efits of holding events, directors high-lighted two components of successfulevent management. One pointed to thepotential for mitigating event coststhrough a “culture shift…[where] disrup-tions can be assimilated as an ongoing partof operations” (Director 112). This kindof shift cannot occur overnight, butinstead must be incorporated over timeinto a garden’s organizational culture,through clear communication andemployee involvement on all levels.Ideally, these efforts will help stave off anynegative impact that events can have uponstaff morale. Other directors, includingDirector 126, stressed the importance ofevent evaluation in mitigating event detri-ments:

“Events should be evaluated regularly tosee if they have grown into somethingthat does not reflect the goals of the gar-den and to evaluate if they: promotemission, public outreach, generate fund-ing/donations, remain vibrant and not

stale or routine, etc. They should be dis-continued if they don’t meet expectations(before they become a burden).”

Directors also expressed that with everyevent and every event mishap, they learnimportant lessons that help fine-tunefuture event management decisions. Forexample, Director 107 expressed that,“…the logistics involved in managing alarge crowd is something we continue towork to refine.”

These responses provide a valuableperspective on how today’s public gardenleaders regard the relative costs and bene-fits of events and exhibitions. However,this information alone does not providethe whole picture or directly address theblockbuster question posed at the outset ofmy research. Building on the informationgathered from the survey, I was able tomove forward in my analysis of how spe-cific types of events at public gardens drivegarden trends.

What I found (quantitatively):I assessed four economic measures: visi-

tation, total garden revenue, gift shop sales,and membership (total, new, and renewals).As increased visitation was earlier identifiedas the top event benefit, and because visita-tion was the measure most consistentlyreported by the gardens surveyed, my dataanalysis focused on the impact of reportedevents on garden visitation.

Figure 1. Are Large Events Beneficial to Public Table 3. Event Disruptions Cited by Garden Directors# Times Cited Event Disruptions

6 Diverted staff time

5 High impact/causes damage to grounds

3 High expense and hidden costs

2 Disrupts regular visitors

2 Large recovery time to return to normal operations

1 Disrupts local community

# or

Res

pond

ents

Strongly Disagree > Strongly Agree

12

10

8

6

4

2

01 2 3 4 5 6 7

32 | PUBLIC GARDEN

Is Bigger Better

Blockbuster ImpactNearly all of the surveyed gardens

experienced an increase in visitation overthe years reported. Four gardens in par-ticular—as can be seen in Figure 2—expe-rienced a notable jump in attendance dur-ing specific years. Not surprisingly, eachof these spikes corresponds to years thosegardens held Chihuly’s glass exhibit. Inconducting a regression analysis, I wasable to more conclusively illustrate the sig-nificant effect this exhibit has upon gardenvisitation. Results from tests of signifi-cance, of what I like to call the “ChihulyEffect,” can be found in Table 4. To clarifysome of the statistical terminology, a sig-nificant result—such as that seen for visi-tation and gift shop sales—is representedby a p-value of less than 0.05, indicatingthat the Chihuly exhibit had a statisticallysignificant impact upon increases in gar-den visitation and gift shop sales.

The other blockbuster exhibit reportedon by survey gardens was Dave Rogers’“Big Bugs.” In contrast to the Chihulyexhibit, regression analysis results indi-cated that “Big Bugs” did not have a signif-icant effect on visitation or any other eco-nomic measure (Table 5).

Non-blockbuster ImpactMy initial research related to block-

buster events; however, as my researchprogressed, it became apparent that it was

just as important to assess the impact ofsmaller, non-blockbuster events on gardentrends. Despite the recent buzz surround-ing blockbusters, these smaller events—even at the largest of our public gardens—are the ones held most frequently. Forexample, of the 257 events detailed by thetwenty-six participating large gardens, thetop three reported event types were non-blockbusters, falling under these cate-gories: holiday/cultural celebration, gar-den/collections-specific, and art-related(visual and performing). For the scope ofmy project, I assigned “non-blockbuster”status to any reported event that did notfall under the category of a big-name,travelling exhibition (e.g. Chihuly, “BigBugs,” Henry Moore).

In assessing the significance of the topthree non-blockbuster event types on gar-den visitation, only the holiday/culturalcelebration category was found to have asignificant positive effect on visitation(p=.0069, at a significance level ofp<0.05). While the other categories didnot show a statistically significant impacton increases in visitation, their impact onvisitation was still positive. Furthermore,the three most frequently held eventtypes—holiday/cultural celebrations, gar-den/collections-specific, and art-related—showed more success in attracting visitorsthan the other categories of events. Onaverage, these events had a 30% increase

in visitation associated with them, com-pared to the 4.8% change in visitationresulting from all other event types.

What does it all mean?Based on the results from my statistical

analysis, it could be easy to conclude that,of the events assessed, the Chihuly exhibitis the only one worth holding. However,adopting this view would be short-sightedand overly simplistic.

The Larger PictureWhile there is great value in taking a

statistical approach to a topic that is oftendiscussed anecdotally, statistics must besupplemented with the other factors thatplay into successful event planning.

First, it is important to recognize thatmany, if not most, public gardens do notpossess the means—with regards to infra-structure and design—to hold an exhibiton the scale of a Chihuly exhibit. In thewords of the director of Garden 114,“Most gardens were not designed withlarge events in mind. Therefore, oftentimesextraordinary measures must be taken toaccommodate the events.” Even whenthese “extraordinary measures” are achiev-able, they often result in previously dis-cussed disruptions that hurt staff moraleand put undue stress on the overall opera-tions of the garden. Next, it is important to

Figure 2. Visitation at Gardens Holding Chihuly Exhibit

Facts & Figures

# V

isito

rs

Year

Garden #107109113125

1400000

1200000

1000000

800000

600000

400000

200000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Chihuly has been a blockbuster draw for public gardens aroundthe country. (Photo courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden)

point out that event benefits are not alwaysaccounted for by the studied economicmeasures. In revisiting Table 2, it can beseen that many of the benefits of eventscited by directors are less quantifiable,such as diversification of garden audienceand increased connectedness to commu-nity. It can be argued that these benefitsdo in turn impact a garden’s bottom line;however, the effect is less immediate and,therefore, will take longer to translate to ameasurable economic benefit.

Big Impact versus Steady GrowthAnother important factor when weigh-

ing the relative benefits of blockbustersversus smaller events or exhibitions is thetimeframe of benefits. My results indi-cated that non-blockbusters on the wholedid not have a statistically significantimpact during the five-year time periodanalyzed; however, these events still pro-vided a level of economic benefit thatcould translate to subtle, long-term gains.On the other hand, a blockbuster likeChihuly offers gardens an instant boostthrough an influx of visitation. This boostis often short-lived and leaves along withthe departure of the exhibit. Therefore, itcould be argued that annual garden eventsprovide a steadier, yet less dramatic, flowof visitors from year to year, compared tosingle-run blockbusters.

The concept of annual versus one-time

economic benefit. These non-economicgoals may vary based on individual gardenfactors, most principally garden mission.The issue of how mission drives eventplanning decisions at public gardens wasoutlined in a concise, effective construct bythe director of Garden 126, who statedthat events can be placed in three cate-gories:1. Events that embody the mission

of the garden2. Events that reflect the mission

of the garden3. Events that create revenue and/

or visitation to promote the mission of the garden.

Under this construct, mission—noteconomics—is the ultimate measure bywhich to guide event decisions. Director126 even suggests that Category 1 eventscan lose money and still be justifiably heldagain, further placing fulfillment of mis-sion above economic gain. Though mis-sion-centered, this construct also accountsfor non-mission related events. Accordingto Director 126, these events—which fallunder Category 3 and include blockbusterexhibits—are justifiable when they createsufficient revenue and visitation benefitsthat can then be fed back into the garden’smission. Director 126 is not alone in thissentiment; as stated by Director 107,“…the earned income associated with

events brings up another interesting point.As mentioned before, many gardens donot have the ability to hold large block-buster exhibitions. Even at gardens able todo so, these high-investment events cannotbe held with great frequency. By contrast,non-blockbuster events are less expensive,less labor intensive, and according to mysurvey data, are held with much greaterfrequency. In a sense these events, oftenreferred to as “special events,” are not really“special” at all; they are ingrained in theregular operations of public gardens.According to the director of Garden 102,“holding and implementing these eventsare part of the annual plan and the annualbudget,” and in the words of Director 112,the most effective events are ones that are“assimilated as an ongoing part of opera-tions.” This idea suggests that a non-blockbuster event strategy, more easilyincorporated into garden operations, isperhaps more sustainable than one cen-tered around blockbusters.

Mission-driven, robust exhibition programs

Up until this point, I have primarilydiscussed the relative benefits of differentevent types with regards to how theydirectly or indirectly drive economictrends. However, it is important to recog-nize that event goals set by gardens arewide-ranging and always revolve around

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 33

Table 4. Chihuly Effect on Economic MeasuresEconomic Measure* Regression Coefficient P-value**

Visitation .3812 .0001**

Gift Shop Sales .1668 .0026**

Total Revenue .0559 .5238

Total # Members .0837 .1365

New Members .8196 .2533

Renewal Members .0990 .5619

*Log value**Significant at p<0.05

Table 5. Big Bugs Effect on Economic MeasuresEconomic Measure* Regression Coefficient P-value**

Visitation .0809 .5862

Total Revenue -.1037 .9965

Gift Shop Sales .0062 .9752

Total # Members .1226 .9837

New Members .9598 .8489

Renewal Members -.0394 .6994

*Log value**Significant at p<0.05

Is Bigger Better

large events supports all our programsincluding scientific research, children’seducation, and horticulture.”

By integrating my research findingsinto the construct proposed by Director126, I created a model to help public gar-den professionals take a holistic approachto event-related decisions:

Conclusions:Let us return to the original question:

to blockbuster, or not to blockbuster? Myresearch suggests that there is no simple

answer to this question. What began forme as a question, of whether or not gar-dens should hold blockbuster exhibits,ended as an examination of the complexdecision-making process involved in set-ting effective garden event strategies. Myresearch results showed that these strate-gies should incorporate both the economicand less quantifiable impacts of events, andthey should also account for the individualdifferences in the missions and organiza-tional goals of gardens. The proposedevent model can be used to assess currentlyheld events, guide future event-relateddecisions, and involve garden staff with theevent-planning process. It is my hope thatthe findings of this study, in addition tofuture research on the subject, will enhancethe knowledge and perspective by whichpublic garden professionals approachevent-planning at public gardens.

References:Albright, M., and D. Karp. 2002. Conventions

may pay, but not in cash. St. Petersburg Times,31 July 2002.

Bean, S. 1994. Museums and the Reformulationof Ethnographic Practice. AmericanEthnologist. 21(4):886-891.

Granberry, M., and D. Levinthal. 2007. King Tutcoming to Dallas. Dallas Morning News, 20October 2007.

Kinnaird, E. 2007. BODY WORLDS. KnightRidder Tribune Business News, 29 May 2007.

Surowiecki, J. 2004. The Financial Page ComeOne, Come All. New Yorker, 80(25): 68.

Tweed, Chris. 2005. A Taxonomy of CulturalAttractors. Report for PICTURE (Pro-activemanagement of the Impact of CulturalTourism upon Urban Resources andEconomies). Belfast: Queen’s University in Belfast.

Miriam Pinsker holds a master’s degree fromCornell University in Public Garden Leader -ship. This article is based on the research sheconducted while at Cornell. Miriam will soonbe concluding her year as Curatorial Intern atthe Scott Arboretum. She looks forward toapplying her talents to development andfundraising for public gardens. Miriam canbe reached at mrp25@cornell.edu.

34 | PUBLIC GARDEN

1. Is Mission

Non-blockbusters1. Lower investment

2. Less short-term, butpotential long-term gain

3. Sustainable

Blockbusters1. Higher investment

2. Proven short-term, butdoubtful long-term gain

3. Questionable sustainability

2. Reflects Mission 3. Feeds Mission

Categories of Events

V I E W P O I N T D E PA R T M E N T S

As designers, we quickly learn thatthe term “exhibit” means differentthings to different people in the

public garden world. The dictionary definition includes: to show, display,demonstrate, put on view, and present.Therefore, at the simplest and mostessential level, exhibits in a garden are theplants that are displayed and presented;their composition and use educate andinspire garden visitors. However, whenengaged with clients in the programmingphase of design, the term “exhibit” gener-ally means more than the plants.

If we liken plants to “the cake,” mostclients consider exhibits “the icing.” Just as

a cake with luscious buttercream icing is abestseller at the bakery, public gardensbenefit from exhibit icing. Gardensenhanced with sculpture, architecturalcues, water features, interactive compo-nents, and even animals will help bringmore people through the garden gate thanif plants were the only ingredients.

Exhibits also provide an opportunity todeepen content and to create excitement.Imagine colorful butterflies of all shapesand sizes dancing about in a screened but-terfly house - an enchanting experiencethat releases the youngster in us all. Suchan exhibit also enables the educational staffto tell the story of pollination with gusto.

Visitors carry this layered, nuanced experi-ence beyond the garden gate and back todinner table conversation, which by almostany measure equals success.

Of course exhibits, like icing, come inmany flavors. Permanent exhibits arethose elements that are integral to thedesign of the garden space. They are care-fully conceived to support the aestheticand educational message of the garden.For instance, a spectacular fountain plays acentral educational and horticultural rolein the Trout River Plaza at the JacksonvilleZoo and Gardens. Water spills from a great bronze bowl and splashes onto a richly detailed pebble mosaic floor

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 35

Planning for Exhibits in Your Garden

IcingtheCake

Left: Trout River Plaza in Jacksonville Zoo and GardensAbove: Pebble Mosaic by MetaMosaics

CINDY TYLER

depicting the animals of the Trout River. A basking anhinga sculpture rises from the water along with a “boil” of mullets.Visitors learn of the native animals of the adjacent Trout River as a preview of the native plant garden planned for the River’s banks.

Education and beauty are not the onlyexperiential layers that exhibits offer. Well-designed exhibits give us reason to pauseand fully absorb the sights, sounds, and fra-grances of the gardens in which they arelocated. Exhibits help cure “plant blind-ness” that plagues the majority of gardenvisitors. At Trout River Plaza, the soothingsound of the cascading water entices visi-tors to linger, to play with the water, and toenjoy a respite from the Florida heat.While seated in the Plaza oasis, visitors findthemselves surrounded by an intriguingarray of plants. A cascade of colorful annu-als spills from great urns balanced atopencircling vine-clad columns. Creeping figand flowering vines cling to a sinuous petalwall and drip from a curving arbor above.The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens staff ishappy to note that visitors are now readingplant labels and asking questions about theplants. The carefully crafted combination

of exhibits: pebble mosaic, sculpture, andinteractive fountain plus the plants work inconcert to create an exquisitely rich garden– a multi-tiered extravaganza!

Public gardens benefit from tempo-rary exhibits as well. Temporary exhibitsfreshen and invigorate the visitor experi-ence. They, too, come in a range of flavors,details and costs. Consider the blockbuster- the wedding cake of the garden world.Nationally and internationally-recognizedtraveling exhibits such as Chihuly, Niki, orChapungu create a stir in the communityat large, spike visitation numbers, increasememberships, and ultimately improve thegarden’s visibility within the region. Theyrequire the most funding to rent, insure,and transport and the largest staff to man-age the procurement, marketing, unload-ing, maintenance, protection, and crowdcontrol, among other things. Once theexhibit arrives - typically in large trucks - itneeds to be unloaded and stored in a safeenvironment. Outdoor elements requireprotection from inclement weather, van-dalism, and general wear and tear fromcurious visitors. Care must be taken inplacement of these pieces so they are dis-played effectively, typically requiring large

areas of garden, exhibit hall or conserva-tory space. Proper lighting of the exhibitmust also be considered. As designers, weremind our clients with an interest inexhibiting at this level that these complexback-of-house issues should be addressedearly in the garden design process.

Smaller regional or locally conceivedtemporary exhibits are equally effectiveand engaging. We have found that localartisans and a creative staff are capable ofproducing changing displays that rangefrom the demure to the outrageous. Werecently visited the Minnesota LandscapeArboretum and were delighted to discoverthe Art to A-Maze pieces strung along thegarden path like jewels on a necklace. TheMadhatter Tea Party in the herb garden atReiman Gardens was equally charming;visitors could not help but marvel at thedelicate arrangement of various succulentsin teapots and teacups. From the unex-pected funk of the Urban Nature exhibit atDenver Botanic Gardens to the incrediblecreativity of the treehouse competition atPowell Gardens to the annual blockbusterflower shows at Phipps Conservatory andBotanical Gardens – it is clear that success-ful locally conceived exhibits come in all

36 | PUBLIC GARDEN

“Urban Nature” exhibit at Denver BotanicGardens: “Brick Woman Laying” by Lady Pink.(Photo by Scott Dressel-Martin)

D E PA R T M E N T S V I E W P O I N T

sizes, shapes, and costs. As an addedbonus, these artisan and staff-craftedexhibits are typically designed and constructed so that they can be mimickedin a home, school, or neighborhood park landscape.

How do gardens plan for temporaryexhibits? As garden designers, we encour-age clients to reserve flexible space to stageseasonal and temporary exhibits. Forinstance, the theme of the Idea Garden atMy Big Backyard Family Garden inMemphis will change annually from aNative American Garden to a Harry PotterGarden to a Frog Princess Garden, whilethe Author’s Garden at Heartland Harvestat Powell Gardens will be designed andconstructed by a rotating group of localgarden authors. The Imagination Garden, a transitional garden between the new Family Garden and the existingformal gardens at Fellows Riverside

Gardens in Youngstown, Ohio, will featurechanging exhibits to appeal to the childwithin all visitors.

For a second helping of the photo-graphs from the exhibits mentioned, please feel free to visit an online gallery at the following link:www.terradesignstudios.us/gallery/.

The flavor and complexity of the icing(the exhibit) varies by the size of the cake(the garden), the number of bakers (gar-den staff), and the cost of the buttercream(dollars to fund the exhibit). Exhibits canbe interactive, welcoming whole-heartedengagement of multiple senses, or bestviewed but not touched, as an ornament inthe landscape. Exhibits can be permanentor temporary. All types of exhibitsincrease the diversity of a garden’s audi-ence. They encourage art lovers, bird-watchers, children, and endless interest

groups who otherwise would not beinclined to join plant lovers in the garden.Exhibits elevate a garden’s presence in thecommunity, ultimately increasing visita-tion and membership, while giving educa-tors valuable tools to teach and engagetheir audience. Finally, exhibits help cure“plant blindness.” As designers, we bestserve our clients by discussing, early andoften, the range of exhibit design thatmeets their mission. Once the flavor oficing is chosen, the results are delicious!

Cindy Tyler is the founding principal of TerraDesign Studios www.terradesignstudios.us, apublic garden design firm whose focus is fam-ily gardens, educational university landscapes,and turnkey support for start up gardens.

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 37

Spring Flower Show at Phipps Conservatoryand Botanical Gardens: “Bumper Crop" and"Shoe Garden." (Photos by Robert Vukich)

If we liken plants to “the cake,” most clients

consider exhibits “the icing.” Just as a cake with

luscious buttercream icing is a bestseller at the

bakery, public gardens benefit from exhibit icing.

D E PA R T M E N T S N A P C C C O L L E C T I O N P R O F I L E

38 | PUBLIC GARDEN

The JC Raulston Arboretum(JCRA) is a nationally acclaimedgarden with one of the most

diverse collections of cold-hardy, temperate-zone plants in the southeast-ern United States. As part of theDepartment of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University(NCSU), the Arboretum is primarily aworking research and teaching gardenthat focuses on the evaluation, selection,and display of plant material gatheredfrom around the world. Plants especiallyadapted to the conditions of the NorthCarolina Piedmont region are identifiedin an effort to find better plants forsouthern landscapes.

The Arboretum is a ten-acre jewel thathas been largely built and maintained byNCSU students, faculty, volunteers, andstaff. It is named in honor of its late direc-tor, J. C. Raulston, PhD, who founded it in1976. Plant collections include over 5,000total taxa (species and/or cultivars) ofperennials, bulbs, vines, groundcovers,shrubs, and trees from around the worlddisplayed in a beautiful garden setting.

find species and cultivars. Depending onyour taxonomist of choice, there are six toeleven species of Cercis and several othersub-specific forms. The JCRA currentlyholds seven species and forty distinct taxawith a concentration in the forms of Cerciscanadensis. While there is very little repli-cation of taxa in the JC RaulstonArboretum, the history of freely sharingpropagules with other gardens and nurseryprofessionals has ensured that replicates of our collections can be found all over the world. The stated goal is to collect all known species and subspecies for comparison as well as collecting as many of the various named forms of redbud as possible.

Considerable confusion abounds in theliterature and consequently the market-place surrounding the Asian redbuds. TheJCRA NAPCC collection will help clear upthe taxonomic confusion surrounding thisgroup of landscape-worthy trees andshrubs and provide propagules to otherresearchers and the green industry. Side-by-side comparisons of living plant

North American Plant CollectionsConsortium (NAPCC) Collection

The nature of the Arboretum’s missioncombined with its small size means thatthe collections are constantly evolving asnew plants are added and older specimensremoved. Committing to the long termcuration of a single taxonomic group was only undertaken after careful consid-eration of the limits this would impose on the dynamic nature of the collections.Because the aims of the NAPCC—to make germplasm available for selectionand breeding, taxonomic studies, evaluation, utilization, and other researchpurposes—tie in closely with the goals of the JC Raulston Arboretum, it wasdecided that this would be a mutually beneficial collaboration.

Cercis (redbud) has been an importantpart of the collections of the Arboretumfrom the start. The first accession dates to1978, shortly after the Arboretum wasestablished. While most public gardenshave their share of redbuds, few have sig-nificant collections of the often hard-to-

CercisCollection at the JC Raulston Arboretum

The

MARK WEATHINGTON

1.

3.

material will enable us to develop keys foridentifying plants. The collection will alsohelp the JCRA’s education mission both tothe public and to NCSU students as weimpress on them the importance of coordinated and collaborative efforts topreserve germplasm ex situ.

RecordsThe JCRA maintains meticulous

records on all of our plant material. A cus-tomized database utilizing FileMaker Proand mapped in MapInfo Professionalmakes information easily accessible to allstaff. Periodic inventories, measurements,map, and label checks are carried out by

JCRA volunteers under staff supervision.Wild collected material, which currentlycomprises a very small portion of the col-lection, is documented as fully as possiblewith locality and the environmental condi-tions it was growing in. The updating ofboth the database and maps has beenstreamlined to ensure easy compliance bystaff and volunteers in keeping recordsaccurate and precise. Plants are labeled withan engraved plastic label showing scientificname, common name, family, and speciesnativity. On our website, the list of currentplantings is updated daily, and our photo-graph collection is available for viewing.

IntroductionsBy the mid 1990s, two selections of

Cercis had been selected and named by Dr.J. C. Raulston. The first, Cercis canadensissubsp. mexicana ‘Bonita,’ was grown for itsexceptionally glossy leaves with regularlyundulate margins. The other, C. glabra‘Celestial Plum’ (originally named and stillsometimes seen as C. yunnanensis‘Celestial Plum’), was selected for its blue-green foliage and loads of light plum-pur-ple flowers in early spring. Once thoughtto be lost from cultivation, this outstand-ing selection is making a comeback. Inmore recent years, the JCRA Cercis collec-tion has been used as source material inthe breeding efforts of Dr. Dennis Werner,plant breeder in the Department ofHorticultural Science at NCSU. Over thenext several years he will be releasing newplants in conjunction with the JCRA.Plants coming out of his program in thenear future include weeping forms withboth variegated and purple leaves, as wellas a purple-leaved Cercis canadensis subsp.texensis. We anticipate even more excitingforms of our native redbud to emergefrom this innovative breeding program.

Mark Weathington is the Assistant Directorand Curator of Collections at the JCRaulston Arboretum at NC State University,http://www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum.

1. The pale lavender racemes of C. racemosa give it the commonname, wisteria-flowered redbud.

2. Several different variegated forms of C. canadensis are in thetrade including 'Silver Cloud' and 'Floating Clouds'.

3. This exceptional early and heavy flowering form of C. chinensishas been named 'Kay's Early Hope' to honor North CarolinaState University's exceptional basketball coach, Kay Yow.

4. Redbud flowers commonly form on completely mature stems asseen on this C. chingii.

4.

2.

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 39

D E PA R T M E N T S C E L E B R AT I N G T H E G L O B A L G A R D E N

40 | PUBLIC GARDEN

The official Kew Timeline starts at53 BC when Julius Caesar isthought to have crossed the

Thames at Kew on his first “visit” toBritain. This year, The Royal BotanicGardens, Kew celebrates its 250thanniversary. From its humble beginningsas a medicinal garden at Kew Palacetended by William Aiton for the royalfamily’s Prince Frederick and PrincessAugusta, the parents of the future GeorgeIII, Kew has expanded into one of themost important centers of botanicalresearch and education, all the while

maintain focus and stay relevant afterfifty, twenty, or even just ten years ofoperation makes Kew’s accomplishmentsthat much more extraordinary.

As with any public facility, there isplenty of information available—statistics,lists of accomplishments, and historicaltimelines—for someone writing a profileof Kew. It would be impossible to give acomprehensive treatment to its centuries ofhistory in a few pages, though. What wason my mind when asked to tackle theenormity of celebrating Kew’s 250thanniversary for Public Garden, was

welcoming approximately 1.8 million visitors each year. Kew’s website receivedtwenty-nine million page views last yearand published 518 papers, research studies, and plans. If you ask someone to name a few botanical gardens off thecuff, Kew is certain to be among thosementioned. This rich history is both an asset and a responsibility for thosecharged with shepherding Kew forward into this century. Philosophiesof botany and horticulture have changeddramatically since the time of Kew’sfounding. Watching gardens struggle to

HappyBirthdaytoKATIE ELZER-PETERS

Kew

1.

2. 3.

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 41

discovering what it is like to work some-where with such a long history and a liv-ing collection. It is one thing to manage ahistory museum of artifacts, and quiteanother to wrangle a 250-year-old livingmuseum, adjusting to the needs of both aworld-wide scientific community andwide-eyed tourists. A garden, withoutcareful stewardship, is but an ephemeralcreation. The following staff graciouslytook a few minutes during busy prepara-tions for the 250th anniversary to reflecton how Kew’s history and traditionsimpact their daily work, and their futureplanning:• Professor Stephen Hopper, Director• Wesley Shaw, Keeper of the Palm House• Nick Johnson, Head of the Tropical

Nursery

• Paul Smith, Head of Millennium SeedBank

• Paula Rudall, Scientist, JodrellLaboratory

• Nigel Taylor, Curator of Kew Gardens• Tony Kirkham, Head of the Arboretum• Rogier De Kok, Assistant Keeper of the

Herbarium

Though each staff member belongs toa different department within the gardens,the similarity of their answers spoke asmuch about the success of Kew as anynumerical statistic available. Thereappears to be a deep current of under-standing throughout the garden of wherethey have been and where they are going,instructive to anyone charged with ensur-ing the success of their own public garden.

The World’s Oldest Plant Possibly the most iconic images of

Kew showcase the Palm House, whichtook four years to build from 1844 to1848. The comprehensive restoration inthe late 1980s took as long as the originalconstruction period. It was built duringthe Victorian era to showcase exotic tropi-cal plants and palms collected duringbotanical explorations funded by the royalbenefactors of Kew. Many modern horti-cultural mainstays were introduced intocultivation during this period. FrancisMason was one of the earliest plant collec-tors for Kew. One of his specimens nowresides in the Palm House—a cycad thathas been at Kew since 1775. Wesley Shaw,Keeper of the Palm House as of this writ-ing, is responsible for the Encephalartosaltensteinii specimen, which, if not theworld’s oldest plant, is thought to be theworld’s oldest containerized, cultivatedplant. Shaw feels the responsibility andprivilege of working at one of the world’soldest public gardens, viewed through thisvery specific charge. He says, “When I

think of how many gardeners have cared for this plant over the years, it gives me a real sense of the heritage andimportance of the living collection that we are all responsible for...and the incen-tive to keep it going through my time inthe Palm House!”

Nick Johnson, responsible for theTropical Nursery also mentioned theEncephalartos altensteinii, noting that thePalm House and its famous plant were ontop of the tour list during his first day ofemployment. The fear of keeping alive a200-plus-year-old plant is always close athand! He says, “We, as gardeners, nevertake the history associated with Kew forgranted. We are charged with keeping itgoing, renewing, and re-invigorating it,passing on our notes and skills to the nextgeneration, all the while adding to theuniqueness of this beautiful institution.”Both Shaw and Johnson noted the impor-tance and the inherent tension in main-taining aesthetically pleasing and scientifi-cally valuable collections and displays.

A Research Facility, PleasureGarden and James BondInspiration

Is Kew’s greatest accomplishmentinspiring a key plot twist in the JamesBond film Moonraker? Probably not, butwhen Ian Fleming met former OrchidHerbarium Keeper Victor Summerhayeson a train one evening, something aboutSummerhayes’s line of work struck a chordin Fleming, who featured a poisonousorchid in his next book. How about theground-breaking work of a former curatorwho aided the British Government by cre-ating runway camouflage using chamomileplants during pre-war trials? Chamomileplanted in grass runways sped recovery,allowing the grass to grow back thicker andquicker, thus lessening the chance that therunways would be discovered in aerial

1. The Kew Palm House was constructedfrom 1844-1848. It is shown here dur-ing its second, most comprehensive reno-vation from 1984-1988. The houseswere entirely emptied, structural elementswere completely re-built, and new plant-ing beds were created to allow for betterspecimen care.

2. Kew is truly a garden for all seasons.The Hercules Fighting Achelus sculpturewas added to the Palm House Pond in1853, and is equally beautiful in thewinter and the summer.

3. The Lake is a central feature of Kew'slandscape and has taken many formsover Kew’s 250-year history. Today, thefour islands in the Lake serve as conser-vation areas, off-limits to regular visitortraffic. This photo shows visitors relaxingby the Lake—many years ago!

4. A horticulturist in the Palm House.

4.

D E PA R T M E N T S V I E W P O I N T

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photographs. Those two tiny pieces oftrivia are but drops in a deep well of contributions Kew has made to history.Neither of those came up as a “greatestaccomplishment” in the eyes of the staff,but they do show how diverse the work atKew can be, and the way it touches,directly or indirectly, lives around the globe.

Every staff member interviewed waskeenly aware of Kew’s position at the worldcenter of botanical and horticultural hubs,and the care necessary to maintain thestandards of excellence required of his orher position. Aptly put by Paul Smith,Head of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank,“The most significant accomplishment ofKew over the past 250 years has been tomaintain its position as global leader in theworld of botanic gardens. Kew is botany inmicrocosm, and in all its forms—horticul-turalist, taxonomist, naturalist, research

scientist, and ecologist—if we don’t knowthe answer to a plant-related problem thenwe will know someone who does!”Professor Stephen Hopper, Director of KewGardens, notes that Kew has used its posi-tion to be “a global force and science pow-erhouse for plants, fungi, and human wel-fare, increasingly in partnership with sisterinstitutions locally, nationally, and aroundthe world.”

The current mission and activities ofKew were made possible, in the opinion ofNigel Taylor, Curator of Kew Gardens, byhorticultural activities at the Garden.“During the era of Empire, our forbearerstransformed agricultural economies withtranslocated plants and exported horticul-tural skills. Had this not occurred, arguablyKew would not be able to have the influ-ence it has today. The spread of plants andthe skills to grow them around the world,particularly in the nineteenth and early

D E PA R T M E N T S C E L E B R AT I N G T H E G L O B A L G A R D E N

42 | PUBLIC GARDEN

2009 • ISSUE ONE | 43

twentieth centuries…that was our greatestachievement.” Taylor’s perspective buildsan interesting bridge between Kew’s earlyhistory and its present activities. He beganwith the thought that naming Kew’s great-est accomplishment over the past 250years “is a very difficult question,” and that“it is tempting to focus on the modernchange in our work towards plant conser-vation as opposed to the exploitationtheme that existed during the royal andVictorian periods—the poacher-turned-game-keeper thing.” Kew’s resiliencecomes from the ability of its ever-changingstaff to build upon the existing foundationlaid by the hundreds of caretakers beforethem, maintaining history with an eyetoward the future. Glass houses originallypurposed for display, now both showcaseand conserve species for the future. Plantspecimens originally collected for pleasure,

now bred and re-introduced into wildhabitats where they are virtually extinct.All of Kew’s conservation and educationprograms, horticultural schools, anddelighted visitors are still possible aftertwo-and-a-half centuries because everyoneat the garden carries with themselves asense of history and an understanding ofthe importance of taking a long view.

Looking Back, Looking ForwardWhen one is but a drop in the river of

history flowing through a garden, deci-sions must be made not for personalaccomplishment or fleeting glory, but forperpetuity. Rogier De Kok, AssistantKeeper of the Herbarium (the Herbariumwith specimens from Charles Darwin, noless), sums it up well: “Do good scientificwork and think long term. The collectionyou make today will be used for centuries

to come, so you’d better make a good one.”Whether maintaining and building theherbarium, keeping collections alive, or carrying out in situ conservation programs, Kew’s staff works with theunderstanding that whatever they do nowwill affect the future of the garden, just astheir own accomplishments have built onthose of their forbearers. To concludetheir interviews, staff members answeredthis question:

Two hundred and fifty years is quite anaccomplishment. Obviously, Kew has donesomething right! What advice would yougive to relatively new public gardens in theUS based on your opportunity to work with and learn from the deep history and experience amassed by current and former Kew staff?

Kew Director, Professor StephenHopper, offered these eloquent and practi-cal thoughts, instructive for anyone work-ing in the public garden field. “I would saythat the heart of Kew’s persistence includesthe combination of inspirational gardensand collections with scientific problemsolving. As a product of theEnlightenment, and under the gifted defacto leadership of Sir Joseph Banks, Kewwent beyond being a royal pleasure gardento becoming a global centre for botanicalscience and economic botany. Today, itaims to inspire and deliver plant conserva-tion worldwide, enhancing the quality oflife. This ongoing transition, remainingrelevant and focused, underpinned bygreat collections, good science andinspired leadership, may well enabletoday’s new public gardens to similarlyendure beyond expectations.”

Katie Elzer-Peters, founder of The Garden ofWords, LLC, is a freelance writer living inWilmington, North Carolina. Her previouswork in public gardens, combined with herlove of history made the investigation intoKew’s amazing longevity an enjoyableundertaking. Contact Katie atkatie@thegardenofwords.com.

44 | PUBLIC GARDEN

A green exhibit isn’t neces-sarily one that tells visitorshow your garden isbecoming more sustain-able and how they can, too

(though that’s a good idea!). Exhibits of alltypes and sizes can be beautiful expressionsof sustainability. As for how green to go,you should make your exhibits as green asyou can, and keep growing greener.

By now, most people in the public garden world are familiar with the LEEDguidelines, performance benchmarks, and rating system for green buildings. The same basic guidelines can also be usedfor creating a green exhibit. Like a greenbuilding, a green exhibit is one that isdesigned to minimize the use of resourcesand the generation of pollution, includingthe greenhouse gases that contribute toglobal warming.

A good source of information specifi-cally on greening exhibits is the GreenDesign Wiki (www.greendesignwiki.com/index.php?title=Main_Page), a publicly cre-ated and accessible resource modeled afterWikipedia. The website is divided into foursections. The first covers choosing materi-als and finishes, such as plywood andpaints, when designing and constructingan exhibit. It includes good backgroundinformation and tips, but an even simplerway to choose green materials is to look forthose that have been certified by an inde-pendent organization, like Green Seal orthe Forest Stewardship Council (see my“Growing Greener” column on findinggreen products in the Green Leadershipissue of Public Garden: Vol. 23, No. 1).

And don’t forget to consider the ecologicalfootprint of ancillary products, like thefood you’ll be selling to the people whocome to see your exhibit. It’s worth notingthat a 2008 study in the journal Environ -mental Science & Technology found that redmeat is 150 percent more greenhouse-gas-intensive than chicken or fish. Cutting backon the red meat and dairy products yousell can make an even bigger differencethan offering locally grown foods.

A second major consideration is howto minimize the use of energy over theexhibit’s entire life cycle, from fabricationand transport to operation and break-down. For example, lighting is a key ele-ment of many exhibits, and specifyingcompact fluorescents or other low-energylamps can reduce electricity consumption.In temporary and traveling exhibits it’simportant to salvage these long-livedlamps for other uses. I’d add that since thewhole idea of an exhibit is to attract visi-tors, often as many as possible, a big partof reducing energy consumption should beencouraging them to walk, bike, or usemass transit to come see it.

A third goal for green exhibit developersis “closing the loop.” Most special andchanging exhibits at public gardens andother museums are one-shot affairs. Nomatter how important the message, inter-pretation as currently practiced is often athrowaway business. But in the words ofKathy McLean in “EnvironmentalConsiderations: Some Guidelines forExhibit Developers,” which can be found onthe Association of Science-TechnologyCenters’ website (www.astc.org/exhibitions/rotten/booktips.htm), “what if the furniture

and crates could be reused for another exhibition? Museums can design for reuse by creating an exhibition furniturevocabulary—a modular standard for exhibitcomponents—that can accommodate avariety of configurations and arrangements.Furniture could be designed in such a way that surface treatments and detailingcould change with each exhibition.” It’s certainly possible right now to at least createexhibits with materials like paperboard andglass that can be recycled. Some standardexhibition materials, such as plastic lami-nates and acrylics, are not yet made of recycled materials.

A final section of the Green DesignWiki, on sustainable graphics and signage, includes links to a few green vendors, such as a printer certified by several groups, including the ForestStewardship Council, and a company that prints banners and other products on material woven from recycled soda bottles using water-based inks.

Green exhibits often cost more initially.But in the longer run, conserving energyand reusing the components can offset thecost and may even save money!

After sixteen-and-a half years at BrooklynBotanic Garden, Janet Marinelli started herown planning, interpretation, and publish-ing company, Blue Crocus Consulting. Shehas written several books and numerousarticles on sustainable buildings and land-scapes; you can find many of them on herwebsite, www.janetmarinelli.com, as well asher blog on plants and public gardens. Sendany questions you would like answered toJanet at jmarinelli@earthlink.net.

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