Going Vertical

MBG is Growing Up!

By Casey Sharber, MBG Director of Horticulture

Our plant collection is going vertical this summer as we begin planting our newlyinstalled wire trellis system. The intent of the collection is two-fold: camouflaging concrete and displaying different vining plants so home gardeners can see and learn about vines that grow well in Oklahoma.

Most often, trellises are used to shade and/or screen something, and we’re using them as screens. Specifically, we are trying make our urban garden just a little greener and soften the look of concrete by growing plants over the concrete surfaces located around the water stage, elevator shaft, and the pedestrian bridge that spans the lake. Thanks to our talented friends at Tony’s Tree Plantation, the affectionately-named Tiki Room inside the Crystal Bridge has never looked better! It features a lovely centerpiece fountain, gorgeous pavers and a selection of flowering and foliage plants that grow well in Oklahoma. What a transformation. Just think of what they could do for you. Come see for yourselves! “Vertical’ gardening is a big horticultural trend now especially in urban areas where you cannot always grow out – but can usually grow up.

Trellises also provide a gardener with the opportunity to incorporate new and different plants into the mix. We intend to take full advantage of this by growing several different types of vines, adding to our already-existing plant collection.

There is a multitude of vines to select from these days, which makes choosing our vines exciting and fun. We will use perennial and annual vines, evergreen and deciduous vines, and of course flowering vines. Some may be slower growing, while some we know will be more aggressive, but all of this will be advantageous, educational, and beautiful for our garden visitors.

Some of the vines will include: Argyria nervosa (Wooly Morning Glory); Vigna Caracalla (Corkscrew Vine); Clematis; Akebia quinata (Chocolate Vine); Gelsemium sempervirens (Carolina Jessamine); and Bignonia capreolata (Crossvine)

Visitors will be able to come see the new vine collection display and can use it to help them determine which plants provide the look they want in their own spaces. Homeowners wrestling with how to hide an unsightly view throughout the year may be draw to one plant, while condo dwellers looking for a tropical, flowering vine to add temporary interest a patio may identify another.

We are excited to be going vertical and look forward to the visual interest this will provide to the garden and the value it

Tiki Room Gets a Makeover!

will provide to our visitors.

Upcoming Art

MBG Fine Art Series: J. Don Cook and Bert Seabourn

Apri l 18 – May 31 Opening Reception Thursday, April 18, 5 – 7pm South Lobby • Crystal Bridge • Free to the public

In 2012, photographer Carl Shortt kicked off what has become the Myriad Botanical Gardens’ Fine Art Series by staging a show of his photographs for all to enjoy. In January, colorful abstract painter Joy Richardson became the second, and we are pleased to announce that the third installment is a collaboration by two uniquely brilliant artists, Bert Seabourn and J. Don Cook.

Cook is a wildly prolific artist. He’s a painter, photographer, sculptor and writer. For years, he roamed the world as a photojournalist, earning three Pulitzer Prize nominations, and three years ago, he compiled the fruits of that labor into an award-winning book, Shooting From The Hip. Other artistic enterprises have included creating large-scale steel sculptures with the “spot” use of stone or glass incorporated; creating paintings on aluminum panels and writing – he has completed a novel and is working toward publishing it.

Music Man, Bert Seabourn, 48x36 Acrylic on Canvas

A painter and printmaker, Seabourn has experimented extensively with graphic media, gouache, watercolor, acrylics and oils for over fifty years. He continues to exhibit throughout the United States and has shown his art in England, Germany, France, Russia, Taiwan, Singapore, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. His work is in public and private collections worldwide. He says of his work, “My name has long been associated with being a Native American painter and/or a painter of Indians. I think of myself as an American expressionist who sometimes paints Indians and sometimes paints non-Indians and sometimes paints landscapes and sometimes paints flowers. I think of an expressionist as a painter who expresses himself with the honest use of paint...meaning it drips, it smears, it splatters, it runs...it does all these things.”

In June, look for an indoor–outdoor art and sculpture exhibit featuring the artists of Red Earth. Opening reception is scheduled for Friday, June 7.

All art is available for purchase and a portion of the proceeds benefits the Gardens.