THE GARDEN MCKEE BOTANICAL GARDEN | SPRING 2020 IN THIS ISSUE… Contribute to McKee’s Future..........................3 11th Annual Motor Car Exhibition .................11 Grand Central .................................................4 Education Blooms in the Garden...................12 The Garden in the News..................................6 The Evolution of McKee’s Volunteers.............13 Children’s Garden Grand Opening..................8 GCA Day at McKee .......................................15 The Future Role of Orchids at McKee.............10 Shopping at McKee .......................................16 www.mckeegarden.org The Children’s Garden AHOY MATEY’S! features include the entry A Message from Christine Hobart, Executive Director Monkey Bridge and Grand anuary 25, 2020 marked another historic day for McKee—the opening of Entry Bridge, Waterlily the Children’s Garden! A crisp morning with the prettiest blue skies greeted Fountain and Karst Splash almost 100 people who came to witness the ribbon cutting. Pride, joy and Garden, Music Maze, Blue J enthusiasm exuded throughout. At last, the Children’s Garden is open! Crab Reading Circle and Stumpery, Fairy Forest and A week ago I started my newsletter article talking about the opening of the Fairy House, Bamboo Children’s Garden, but, as I sit here today, the world, including McKee Botanical Village Boardwalk and Garden, has come to a halt with COVID-19 (the Coronavirus). While I had hoped Bamboo Village Huts, and to keep the Garden open as long as possible, the health and safety of our staff is the pinnacle of the Garden, of utmost importance so we decided today to close until we are assured that it is the Scorpion Pirate safe to reopen. These are ever-changing, unprecedented times so we are making Shipwreck in the Grand the best decisions with the information that we have at the moment. I know that Discovery Tree. we will hear the laughing and giggling again soon, and it will be so welcome! Throughout the month of This is our first digital newsletter; I hope you will enjoy the new format. Our February, McKee hosted membership base has now grown to over 4,500, so instead of printing and mailing Grand Opening activities the newsletter, we decided to post it on our website and email it to everyone. that included Make & Take With our members staying at home during these trying times, I’m sure it will be Craft Time, Build A Fairy a welcome distraction. Enjoy! House, Pirate & Fairy Temporary Tattoos, Balloon As soon as it is safe for our staff, we will once again open our Garden gates. Twisting, Reptile Discovery McKee has been a destination for 50,000 visitors this year and we’ll be here for you Meet & Greet, Fairy Hair once again. Stay well and thank you for your continued commitment to McKee.■ Applications, Butterfly Blogger, and a Visit from a Gratefully, Magician. Christine Hobart Executive Director THE GARDEN MCKEE BOTANICAL GARDEN | SPRING 2020 | PAGE 2 J. EARL MORGAN III CONTRIBUTE TO MCKEE’S FUTURE President PETER BENEDICT II Plan a Special Gift First Vice President MATTHEW MCMANUS cKee Botanical Garden is Second Vice President your Garden. This historic ANITA CALABRO Treasurer community treasure is a M STEPHANIE HURTT place for you and your loved ones to Secretary embrace and experience all the magic it offers. A place to revitalize, renew, 2020-2021 and reclaim your spirit. Board of Directors DR. M. ARTHUR BUDDEN MRS. LAURIE W.G. CARNEY If you would like to extend your JOHN D’ALBORA IV support of McKee Botanical Garden MARION DE VOGEL to make a lasting impact to the LOGAN GEESLIN environment and our community, ROBIN JONES BARBARA KAYTES please consider including the Garden CATHERINE KIRBY in your will or estate planning. JOHN KURTZ JEFFREY LOCKHART MISS ALMA LEE LOY The McKee Legacy Society recognizes BARBARA HOLMÉN-MCKENNA individuals who have named McKee Botanical Garden as a beneficiary in their KAREN K. MEYER estate planning. When you join the McKee Legacy Society, your generosity helps JOHN J. SCHUMANN, JR sustain this extraordinary space and ensure the Garden continues to thrive for MS. SUSAN SCHUYLER SMITH B. ROBERT WOOD generations to come. 2020-2021 Alumni “Our life in Vero Beach would not be as rich without the history, beauty, tranquility, & Board Council excitement of McKee. Our desire to always be a part of McKee made it easy to provide a MS. ROSAMOND W. ALLEN provision in our wills to the Garden’s future. To leave a legacy is our way of giving back MR. ROBERT W. BAUCHMAN MRS. DEBORAH CRUM to McKee for all its many gifts to us.” MR. DANIEL G. DOWNEY, JR ~ Jeffrey & Donna Lockhart MRS. NATALIE C. JACKSON MRS. E. BRADLEY JONES For more information on making a planned gift to the Garden or if you have MRS. LEE LAPOINTE included McKee Botanical Garden in your will or estate plans, please contact MRS. BARRY MACTAGGART MRS. GAIL L. MALIN [email protected] or call 772-794-0601.■ MS. SUZAN PHILLIPS MRS. SANDRA RENNICK MRS. TONI (LEE D.) ROBINSON MRS. FRANK SCHROEDER In Recognition of our Legacy Society Members MS. CHARLOTTE TERRY MRS. ANN P. WEBBER SUSAN E. AITKEN* SUZANNE LAPAUGH LIGGETT MRS. ARUN WIJETILLEKE ROSAMOND WARREN ALLEN JEFFREY AND DONNA LOCKHART MR.* AND MRS. ROBERT BROADBENT ALMA LEE LOY 2020-2021 MR. AND MRS. RICHARD B. CANDLER JOHN J. SCHUMANN, JR. Honorary Board MR. WILLIAM C. AND MRS. NANCY M. CURTIS SUSAN SCHUYLER SMITH MRS. ROBERT DENGLER* MRS. SALLY SPROLE* LUCY AUXIER* MARION DE VOGEL DACE STUBBS MR. AND MRS. JAKE DON ECKERT* MRS. MARGARET WOLCOTT, JR. AND DIANNE* BROWN MR. CAMPBELL C. GROEL, JR.* MR. AND MRS. B. ROBERT WOOD MRS. PEGGY POWERS FORD* CONNIE HARPER MR. JAMES S. HAEGER* STEPHANIE P. HURTT *DECEASED JOANNE HAGOPIAN* THE ARTHUR MCKEE LATTA FAMILY MRS. LUCY JONES* MS. SUZAN PHILLIPS MRS. SALLY SPROLE* MRS. JANE WARD* THE GARDEN *DECEASED MCKEE BOTANICAL GARDEN | SPRING 2020 | PAGE 3 GRANDGRAND CENTRALCENTRAL SPONSORED BY A FRIEND OF MCKEE BOTANICAL GARDEN GRAND CENTRAL STICKWORK VOLUNTEERS By Patrick and Sam Dougherty nternationally acclaimed artist Patrick Dougherty returned to IMcKee Botanical Garden for his second Stickwork installation in January 2020. Patrick, his son Sam, and a group of dedicated McKee Botanical Garden volunteers worked tirelessly for three weeks climbing on scaffolding, weaving, bending, trimming and shaping willow saplings into a one-of-a-kind sculpture made exclusively for McKee. Patrick named the new sculpture, which resides in the south end of the Royal Palm Grove, Grand Central. He describes this unique work with great enthusiasm, “It’s a more chaotic line in the CAROLYN ALDHIZER midst of order among the stability of the regal Royal Palms. This work we love! It JANET ANDES seems like maybe the best work we have ever made. It is big and takes over this JULIE BAKER JOHN BOZZA entire grove. We like it because it turns the whole place beneath it into a kind of KAREN BOZZA lounge. There are little cabanas that you can go in and take a look at with the idea MICHELLE BRAHM LISA CAPA of it speeding or whipping around within the space we have here. The sculpture in ELISE CARDAMONE its entirety was directionalized so that it makes it look like it goes from one end of DAVID CARLSON the grove to the other. We love the way that it crosses the top. Sam worked on the LISA CLARK LATRICE COOPER piping that runs along the whole edge of the top, which gives a sense of continuity MARIA COPER to the entire sculpture. I hope you enjoy it, we have!” STEVEN CROZIER JOHN ESHLEMAN LINDA FASANO Patrick and a team of volunteers VALERIE FEEHAN constructed his first installation at McKee, DAWN FISHER SPECIAL THANKS BEV FORD The Royals, over a three-week period in MARTY FRIBERG PRESENTING SPONSOR January 2016. The sculpture featured MIKE GILDEA three tall towers nestled among the stately RICH HALKOVICH A Friend of McKee DARLENE HEISERMAN palms in the Royal Palm Grove. The LOLA HUNTER Royals graced the Garden for two and NAT JACKSON HOTEL SPONSOR BOB JOY Star Suites a half years until succumbing to the CATHY KAISER weather and nature’s elements. LOUISE KELLEY AMANDA KRISTIANSEN Many thanks also to Aiello Landscape GINI ELLIOTT KRUPNICK for their help unloading the truckload Patrick Dougherty’s nature-based JOHN KURTZ sculptures are intended to interact with MARY KURTZ of saplings, and to all of the volunteers LINDA LEMAY their surroundings, adding elements of SUZANNE LIGGETT who assisted Patrick and Sam in whimsy and visual energy to familiar settings. LISA LUGO building Grand Central. MELISSA LYNCH Each installation is unique and temporary JANIS MAINE in its design, built from natural materials BUZZ MARTINO that eventually break down and become part of the landscape once again. DEIRDRE MCDONAGH ED MORRIS Continued next page STAN MURRELL SUE MURRELL LISA O’BRIEN THE GARDEN CINDY PAGELS MCKEE BOTANICAL GARDEN | SPRING 2020 | PAGE 5 CONTINUED NEXT PAGE STICKWORK VOLUNTEERS PAM PELLICCIA SALLY POLK ANGIE RECORD PAULA SACCO PAM SCHLAMOWITZ ROB SCHLAMOWITZ JAY SCHOFF ART SCHREIER JANE SEASE BRENDA SHERIDAN JANE SHULL LARRY SHULL MELANIE SMITH PETE SPENCER MARIANNE SPERANZA BARBARA STARK JUNE STEINBERG SUZY STOECKEL CAROLYN TIMMERMAN ERIC VAN OS DONNA VOLK BARBARA WALSH WILLIAM WALSH BILL WARGO MEG WENZEL SUSAN WHEELER Patrick is extremely conscientious about environmental stewardship and hopes that his work will inspire others to care as well. No trees are killed outright in creating any of his sculptures. The willow saplings are harvested from a farm in upstate New York and are cut in such a way that they will all regrow, much as they would after pruning. When Patrick harvests in the wild, it is always done in areas where the sticks would be cut anyway, such as under power lines or along highway right of ways; sometimes where a forest needs to be thinned because the undergrowth is too thick and not all the small trees can survive that way.