2012 Annual Report horticulture 2009 ANNUAL REPORT Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Annual Report 2012 Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park promotes the enjoyment, understanding and appreciation of gardens, sculpture, the natural environment and the arts. We strive to provide our guests with a “best in class” experience. We believe in Accessibility To accomplish this goal, we believe in these Guiding Principles: we strive to ensure that all visitors can access our facilities, grounds and programs. We believe in a “best in class” guest experience. We believe in Growth and Change We believe in Quality and Great Design and Aesthetics we embrace growth and change as intrinsic elements of we strive to uphold the highest standards of quality of our Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, which draws our facilities, operations, and reputation, as measured by customer guests to return, our members to renew, and all stakeholders satisfaction, our performance against industry standards, and our to recommend us to others. recognition among our peer institutions. We believe in Diversity, Dignity and Respect, We believe in Innovation and we Value Differences we challenge ourselves to discover new and creative ways to we provide an environment that fosters diversity and instills fulfill our mission. professional behavior among all employees, volunteers, board We believe in Leadership members, and committee members. we act as leaders within the cultural, art, and horticultural We believe in the Accumulation of Knowledge communities we serve. and with hard work and smart work we will further our mission. We believe in Learning and Education We believe in Financial Stability and Sustainability we act with a commitment to promote learning through all we must be financially self-perpetuating to assure that the aspects of our visitors’ experience. Meijer Gardens can be enjoyed for all generations to come. We believe in Enjoyment and Fun We believe in Stewardship we seek to provide an enjoyable experience for every visitor we are given many gifts and we must honor and respect our of every age and ability. donors and their wishes, as well as being fiscally responsible. We believe in a Clean and Safe Environment. Summary We believe in Being Good Stewards of the Environment. We believe in Dignity and Respect – we provide an environment that fosters diversity and professional behavior among all employees, volunteers, board members and committee members. Antony Gormley. One and Other, 2000. Photo by William J Hebert. Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park Annual Report 2012 Welcome In Fiscal Year 2012 Meijer Gardens welcomed 596,892 guests Fred and Lena’s vision for Meijer Gardens included a Japanese to six exhibitions celebrating horticulture and sculpture, garden and late summer ushered in the very beginning of 34 concerts, numerous plant shows, countless educational construction on The Richard and Helen DeVos Japanese Garden programs, classes, camps and other events. Annual exhibitions at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. The project is like Butterflies Are Blooming, Chrysanthemums and More! ahead of schedule and after a successful fundraising and Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World, campaign, we will be able to move aggressively forward to drew popular appeal from all audiences. Temporary sculpture open the Japanese Garden in 2015. exhibitions such as Essence: The Horses of Deborah Fred Meijer’s passion for Meijer Gardens lives on, and is Butterfield, Beverly Pepper: Palingenesis 1962–2012 and shared by such a largenumber of people who give freely of Body Double: The Figure in Contemporary Sculpture, offered their time to bring joy to guests through our horticulture and a wide survey of Modern and Contemporary Art from the early sculpture collections—another testament to Fred’s vision. 1960s to today. Meijer Gardens is fortunateto have loyal and dedicated Our permanent collection expanded when more than twenty volunteers. Over 800 volunteers gave more than 75,000 hours artists from the permanent collection and gallerists with in fiscal year 2012. As an institution, we benefit from their whom we have worked made significant contributions to the presence, talent and skills. More importantly, our guests Frederik G. H. Meijer Memorial Collection. Drawings, prints benefit so much from our remarkable volunteers. and sculpture have been generously donated by many who Fred and Lena Meijer have made Meijer Gardens possible for came to know Fred and Meijer Gardens. millions of guests to experience and enjoy. Though we miss Summer brought expansions to both popular concert series. Fred very much, we are committed to growing and maintaining The Outdoor Summer Concert Series, featuring nationally Meijer Gardens for generations to come. In all we do, we strive recognized musical acts, expanded to 25 concerts—the to preserve Fred’s vision and his legacy. mostwe’ve ever hosted. Familiar favorites like Lyle Lovett, k.d.lang and Bonnie Raitt along with Amphitheater new comers The Head and the Heart, Darius Rucker, Gavin DeGraw Gratefully, and Colbie Caillat and others drew record audiences to the 2012 Outdoor Summer Concert Series. Our popular Tuesday Evening Music Club featured local performers on nine Tuesdays in July and August. David S. Hooker President & Chief Executive Officer Photo by William J. Hebert. Horticulture Annual Report 2012 Blossoming spring bulbs and trees along with Butterflies Are Blooming hinted at the horticultural beauty that would bloom all year long. Butterflies Are Blooming we prominently featured those in our promotions, our educational Our most popular annual horticultural exhibition featured programming and the presentation of our displays. Some of the thousands of tropical butterflies in the Lena Meijer Tropical cultural traditions involving light that were on display were Conservatory and returning for a second year, a display of Hanukkah, the eight-day festival of lights; the Hindu celebration Monarch caterpillars. Native to Michigan, Monarch caterpillars of Diwali; the parols of the Phillipines; and of course, the traditional were on display in the Seasonal Display Greenhouse and feeding Christmas light displays.In addition, five new structures were added on milkweed plants. More than 169,400 guests visited during to the much-loved Railway Garden display including the Van Andel March and April, 2012, to enjoy Butterflies Are Blooming. Institute, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Maya Lin’s Ecliptic sculpture at Rosa Parks Chrysanthemums and More! Circle and Alexander Calder’s sculpture La Grande Vitesse complete Truly an autumn horticultural feast for the senses, Chrysanthemums with city and government buildings. More than 75,400 guests and More! featured mums throughout the gardens and grounds, delighted in the displays of Christmas and Holiday Traditions with a spectacular wall of mums display in the Seasonal Display Around the World. Greenhouse, which creatively incorporated not only mums, but green apples and plantings of cabbage, kale, millet and more! Other Highlights Back for a second year in 2012 was a special Mum Day in October Sydney Eddison, author and life-long gardener, gave the that offered members and guests horticulturedemonstrations, Secchia Garden Lecture entitled Change: The Passage of Time walking tours and interactions with our expert horticulturists. in the Garden. The Lena MeijerChildren’s Garden offered kid- More than 66,000 guests visited during Chrysanthemums and More! friendly plantings that were chosenfor their appeal to the senses. At the West Michigan Home & Garden Show, our expert Holiday Traditions horticulturists gave presentations for attendees. Plant Shows The Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World exhibition remained a popular destination for horticulture fansincluding in FY 2012 (calendar year 2011) highlighted celebrations of light the Orchid Show, the Michigan All-State Bonsai Show and from many different cultures across the globe. Many people use many more. light as a way to celebrate their holiday traditions and customs and Photo by William J Hebert. Sculpture Annual Report 2012 The Sculpture program hosted a group show of figurative sculpture, equine works by Deborah Butterfield and a retrospective of Beverly Pepper’s career. Deborah Butterfield ArtPrize/Body Double The winter sculpture exhibition, Essence: The Horses of Deborah Body Double: The Figure in Contemporary Sculpture was Butterfield, featured works by one of the most respected and ArtPrize at MeijerGardens and served as the fall sculpture acclaimed artists of her generation whose works Cabin Creek exhibition. This exhibition was a survey of contemporary and Small, Dry Fork Horse, are among our permanent collection. sculpture around the subject of the human figure as both an Butterfield’s horses have been the focus of great interest as object and a metaphor. Considering a wide variety of formal much for their creative use of materials as for their craftsmanship. and conceptual approaches by artists from across the United The horse has been the singular focus of her prolific career since States and around the world, the exhibition illustrated the the mid 1970s—most frequently focusing on the mare instead of diversity and depth of the figure in Contemporary Art from more the stallions and warhorses most commonly encountered in the literal terms to those which are implied or symbolically stated. history