December News from the Garden |
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Letter from the Executive Director |
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Greetings!
This is the final newsletter of 2020, a year that surely brought its share of challenges to us all. The garden lost its founder, John Fairey, in March, and because of the pandemic we were not able to properly celebrate John’s life – some unfinished business we plan to resolve in 2021. The pandemic also precluded us from opening to the public for all of the spring and part of the summer. As time went on we gained a little more understanding of the risks, and we were able to reopen in September in a way we felt was safe and respectful. Since then, we had a good run of Open Days that were well attended by guests willing to wear masks and social distance. A public garden without the public is inconsequential, so our sincere thank you to all who visited us this year. We are gratified that we could provide a safe place for you to go and hopefully find some solace. We are also deeply grateful to all our volunteer docents who showed up to accompany our guests on garden tours. We could not uphold our mission without them.
COVID-19 also forced cancellation of the Taking Root luncheon, our principal fund raising event of the year. Though we regrettably couldn't convene in person, the event proceeded with a live streaming video honoring John and the garden. Because of our incredibly generous supporters, we had our most successful fund raising event ever; a testament to the generosity of our community, and strong evidence of the garden's importance in the region. If you'd like to watch the video, you can do so here.
As I write this, the first vaccine shipments have been distributed, and though the situation may get worse before it gets better, we are optimistic about next year, and moving ahead on a couple of big projects that will enhance guest experiences from now on. First, a large garden-inspired wall mosaic John Fairey commissioned from artist Dixie Friend Gay will be installed near the nursery, offering a new place for guests to gather. We are also working on a new bridge designed by Metalab that will connect the hallway with the North Dry Garden, making one of the garden’s most compelling features once again accessible to the public. Andrew Vrana, co-founder of Metalab was a former student of John's at Texas A&M, and generously designed the bridge pro bono in his honor. Both projects are under way with installation planned for the first quarter of 2021. Stay tuned for progress updates. We also have big programming plans that we hope will expand perspectives of the garden and introduce a new audience to its innumerable wonders. When life returns to a semblance of normalcy next year, we will marshal all our resources and opportunities to begin that work in earnest.
On a personal note, I want to express my appreciation for the encouragement I've received since taking this position. I come to this job as a horticultural outsider but, like our indefatigable community of stalwart supporters, I am committed to preserving, sharing, and advancing John's incredible legacy of beauty, integrity, and discovery. If you'd like to make a year-end contribution to support our efforts, you may do so here.
Again, thank you. I hope you have a joyous and healthy holiday. We look forward to seeing you in 2021.
Warm regards,
Randy
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January Open Days on the 9th and 23rd |
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January may not seem like such an optimum time to visit the garden, but surprisingly, the winter months are reliably the most beautiful months in the garden, led by the changing foliar colors of maples, sweet gums and oaks. Beneath the canopy, stunning floral colors of farfugium, camellias, prunus mume and mahonias, which have already begun to bloom in fall, continue well into February when they will be joined by the Asian magnolias and early ground covers like trillium, blood root and eomecon. Also, the cypress trees that line the creek have dropped their needles, leaving a gorgeous carpet of terra cotta colored needles on the hallway floor. A sudden deep freeze could possibly create an intermission, but our experience is that after a few weeks, the show will go on.
We'll have two Open Days in January – Saturday, January 9th, and Saturday, January 23rd. Unlike our fall tours, we will have one tour that begins at 11 am. If a large number of people show up at 11, we will break off into smaller groups. We hope you'll join us and see what a wonder January can be in the garden.
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Whether the area is small or large, has sun or light shade, Tecomaria capensis can brighten the garden with brilliant trumpet shaped red flowers and neat green foliage. Once lumped with new world Tecoma because of its resemblance, this widely found South African plant can form a large rambling self-layering screen or can be trimmed into a tidy shrub. It's drought tolerant and cold hardy (herbaceous) in the Houston area zones 8b - 9b. Gallon pots available.
- Craig Jackson, Nursery Manager
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Notes from the Nursery Manager |
Mulch has been the subject of many garden articles to the point that most gardeners now use mulch as a matter of course in areas where retaining even moisture in the soil is important. In this article, I'm going to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different types of mulch that are readily available.
Inorganic mulch, like gravel, is in fact a type of mulch suitable for xeriscaping because it drains and dries pretty quickly. When applied in sufficient quantity, for example two inches thick, it effectively suppresses weeds and makes pulling them easier. Pea gravel is a good example. Expanded shale is another. Pea gravel is heavier than expanded shale and tends to hold firm, where expanded shale tends to wash out faster on a slope. But because expanded shale is lighter and less dense, it tends to dry out faster. Another example of gravel mulch is river rock. Unfortunately, river rock mulch can be difficult to weed when weeds with deep roots sprout.
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From left to right: pea gravel mulch, pine needle mulch, mixed leaf mulch |
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Organic mulches are well suited to mesic gardens, for example, pine straw, pine/cedar bark and leaf mulch. Of these, bark dries out the fastest and so is more appropriate in areas where less moisture retention is desired. Of these, leaf mulch is most effective against weeds and retaining moisture. Unfortunately, many gardeners find leaf mulch to be aesthetically unpleasing, or worse there's the fear of being labeled too lazy to rake and bag. Luckily there's an easy solution to this. If you've ever been to the John Fairey Garden, you'd notice at the very beginning of the tour under the trees on the Oak Berm a lot of mixed leaf mulch which is in fact very aesthetically pleasing because little bits and pieces of plants from other parts of the garden are mixed and carried there by gardeners, sort of a subtle introduction to the rest of the garden. So if you have pines, oaks, hickories, maples, sweet gums or any other deciduous plants in your garden, rake the leaves, mix them up and use them as mulch just like nature does. If you don't have a nice variety of trees, just ride around your neighborhood and grab bags of them that have been put to the street in fall. Unfortunately, your mulch may be too fluffy and might blow around and might take quite a while to decompose. In that case, just put the mulch in a pile and run it over with the lawn mower. It'll decompose and release nutrients faster. Your garden will be mulch happier.
Happy Gardening!
Craig Jackson
Nursery Manager
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Round Two of Docent Training
We're still looking to fill our next class of docents. If you're interested in finding out more or in signing up, email info@jfgarden.org or call Margaret at 979.826.3232
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