Greetings!
Another Budding Out has passed and I’m happy to report that despite temperature in the 50s, wind, cloudy skies, and the threat of early rain, the event was a success.
We advertised that Budding Out would be held “rain or shine,” but I realized the week before with my hourly parsing of the various weather forecasts that my bias regarding “rain or shine” means I naturally assume the latter even when the odds say otherwise. Coming to terms with the fact that it may, indeed, rain proved to be challenging. Fortunately we had little rain though we had contingency plans in case the rain did come. We’re happy we didn’t have to adopt them.
Everyone on our staff – Kara, Craig, Adolfo, Ricardo, Agustin, and Luke worked hard and with intent in the weeks and months leading up to the event. I’m so grateful for the care and pride they take in the Garden.
I'm also grateful for all the vendors – plant, arts and crafts, food, and informational – for trusting us as a venue. The quality of their offerings makes them a good fit for the Garden. And finally, a big thank you to all the volunteers who made things run so smoothly. A particular thanks to the Daikin employees who volunteered, many as returning volunteers. A special thanks, too, to Marjorie and Paul Merritt who did whatever needed doing both before and during the event.
125 people (more than 25% of our guests) viewed the Garden on tours guided by docents Debra Caldwell, Mark McKinnon, and Wally Wilkins. The undisputed star of the tours that day were the two Chionanthus retusus (Chinese fringetree) that were pretty much at their peak during Budding Out. The blooms on all the Chionanthus retusus in the Garden have been incredible this year, giving credence to the genus name which comes from the Greek word chion meaning snow, and anthos meaning a flower. The blooms are relatively short lived and after a few weeks start to lose their crispness and snow white color. The fact that this show is so temporary intensifies my appreciation of them, another valuable lesson of the beauty of impermanence a garden teaches us over and over.
We’ve had our after action review of this year’s Budding Out and have discussed ways we can make it even better next year. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share them with us. Before we know it, it will be time for the next one. We hope to see you all there. Rain or Shine.
Warm regards,
