July News from the Garden

Letter from the Executive Director

Greetings! I hope this note finds you well and enjoying the summer. We've had an unusually wet one here. Adolfo, our Head Gardener, has only watered the Garden one time! Yet another example of what seems to be a series of weather extremes. Despite being closed for Open Days the rest of the summer, there is a wealth of activity and planning for future events taking place every day. I thought the July newsletter might be the perfect opportunity to inform you of our activities. Two weeks ago artist Dixie Friend Gay and her crew finished installing a 7' x 24' glass mosaic mural commissioned by John not long before his passing (see above). Dixie, who lives in Houston, is an established and respected artist best known for her numerous public art commissions, including those at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the Port of Miami, Indianapolis International Airport, Sam Houston State University and Texas A&M, Galveston, and now, this beautiful one at The John Fairey Garden. Dixie consulted with former Garden Horticulture Director, Adam Black, to help determine the plant and animal species depicted in the mural. Here's an excerpt from Adam's description - "There are many meaningful finer details many might not easily pick up on...the fallen leaves at the bottom would be recognizable to oak gurus as the Loquat-Leaved Oak, (Quercus rysophylla), one of John's favorites. Knowing John's emphasis on a natural and cultural connectivity with the Mexico he loved instead of a line of separation increasingly dividing us, Dixie asked me for a suggestion of a representative critter to put in with a natural range on both sides of the political boundary. We homed in on the Striped Whiptail Lizard (Aspidoscelis inornatus) as that symbol...Other plants like the pink pea-flowered Tephrosia potosina in the lower left is based off of John's plantings from his Mexican collections... Also included are some of John's favorite collections that were formerly in the garden but lost over time which he was eager to plant again...including the boldly spotted, reddish orange Iris relative Tigridia pavonia and Mexican Poppy Mallow (Callirhoe involucrata var. tenusissima), which I am still hoping to help the garden obtain from mutual colleagues with whom he shared... We are really proud of this addition to the Garden and are eager for our guests to experience it. You can see details of the mural in the Closeups from the Garden section below. We consider this the first step in creating an environment that our guests can visit and spend time in on days other than Open Days. Next we are planning to purchase tables and chairs and umbrellas so our guests can have lunch on the plaza and enjoy the mural. Other improvements are in the works as well. Underwriter letters for our 8th annual Taking Root Luncheon went out in the mail yesterday and we are gearing up for what we anticipate being a joyous reunion of our beloved community to celebrate and support the Garden. We've created an all-star Host Committee, and our fabulous Co-Chairs are new friends of the Garden, Laura and Galen Hines-Pierce. We are looking forward to benefiting from their energy and efforts to introduce the Garden to a wider audience. Our luncheon keynote speaker will be William Bryant Logan, an arborist and author of four books, including Oak: The Frame of Civilization. When I spoke to Mr. Logan about the Garden and John's collecting trips to Mexico, he became excited, saying he had always wanted to collect Oaks in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains, a center of distribution for Mexican Oaks where John Fairey concentrated much of his Mexican plant collection efforts. Mr. Logan is so enthused about our collection that he is arriving a day early just so he can spend the day before the luncheon touring the garden. Expect a Taking Root keynote that connects Mr. Logan's deep knowledge of the history of Oaks with our special collection. Less than a month after Taking Root, the Garden will host a day long Celebration of the Life of John Fairey, a memorial event we were unable to have previously because of the Pandemic. We hope all friends of the Garden will join us as we remember John and his contributions to horticulture and art. We will also unveil Dixie Friend Gay's mural and the footbridge to the North Dry Garden. Event details will be announced closer to the day of the event. John founded the Garden in 1971, fifty years ago next month. Unfortunately, the Pandemic also precluded us from a proper celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Garden, so we are planning a 50+ Celebration that will focus on programming around four of John's primary interests: Mexican folk art, architecture, education, and, of course, horticulture. We are in the beginning stages of the planning for next year's events but we are very fortunate to have recruited two savvy and committed co-chairs for 50+, Susie Bowen and Jessica Phifer. We a hoping to kick off the year's events with an exhibition of selections from John's Mexican folk art collection housed at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas in Beaumont. AMSET's Director, Lynn Castle, and team have been generous with their time and encouragement and we're looking forward to seeing some of John's collection temporarily back in the gallery. There is more in the works and I will share that with you as details become confirmed. It promises to be a busy summer out here. Enjoy the rest of yours. Warm regards,

Two Painless Ways to Support the Garden With just a few minutes of your time you can set up a contribution to The John Fairey Garden just by shopping. Amazon and Kroger each have programs that allow you to name a non-profit and they automatically send us a percentage of each purchase you make. The percentages are small but every little bit helps. Please consider taking just a few minutes to set up an additional way to make a painless monetary contribution to the garden. How to sign up for AmazonSmile Visit https://smile.amazon.com/. Sign in with the same account you use for Amazon.com. Select your charity. Start shopping! Remember to checkout at smile.amazon.com to generate donations for your chosen charity. Tip: Add a bookmark to make it easier to shop at smile.amazon.com. How to Sign up for Kroger Community Rewards Visit  http://www.kroger.com. New users will need to create an account which requires some basic information, a valid email address and a rewards card. Once logged into your Kroger account search for The John Fairey Garden Conservation Foundation either by name or WF492 and then click Enroll. Purchases will not count for your organization until after you register your rewards card. Participants must swipe their registered Kroger rewards card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger rewards card when shopping for each purchase to count. 

Now Blooming – Globba schomburgkii Globba schomburgkii, a lovely tropical ginger commonly known as Golden Dancing Ladies Ginger, has been blooming for a few weeks now in the Woodland garden. The name Globba derives from an Indonesian word for the plants, "galoba". There are probably only about 35 species in the genus all from Asia and belonging to the Zingiberaceae family. They grow in zones 8, 9, 10, and 11, and like light shade/filtered sunlight. These make a nice ground level counterpart to the similarly showy Hedychium coccineum which blooms six or seven feet in the air.

Some Important Dates to Remember As mentioned above, there are a number of important activities happening at the garden in the coming months that we think you'll want to participate in. We will provide details as the date approaches but please go ahead and put these on your calendar so you can join us. Taking Root Luncheon - Tuesday, October 19, 2021 A Celebration of the Life of John Fairey - Saturday, November 13, 2021 Budding Out Plant Festival - Saturday, March 19, 2021

Volunteers and Docents Needed We're always looking for volunteers and docents and have a variety of tasks suited for a range of volunteer interests and skills. If you're interested in finding out more or in signing up, email info@jfgarden.org or call the office at 979.826.3232

Closeups from the Garden