The Bridge | Spring 2019

The Bridge SPRING 2019

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Children’s Garden Festival “Where the Wild Things Are” The Art of Flowers, featuring designer Louesa Roebuck

vision statement

THE BRIDGE EDITORIAL STAFF:

Myriad Botanical Gardens seeks to enhance the quality of life and vibrancy of downtown Oklahoma City by creating and sustaining a world-class public garden and offering year-round horticultural, cultural and recreational programs and events for all.

Jim Vidmar

EDITOR, VP MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION CREATIVE DIRECTION AND DESIGN

Katrina Ward PHOTOGRAPHY

Katrina Ward DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Sarah Carson CONSERVATORY MANAGER

Roberta Rowland the cover

MYRIAD GARDENS DIRECTORS:

by Carl Shortt

CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Maureen Heffernan

on the right

provided by Louesa Roebuck

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Debora Morey CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Chuck Davis DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Susan Grossman DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC EVENTS

Marissa Raglin DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION

Joel Bramhall DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION

Leslie Spears DIRECTOR OF HORTICULTURE

Nate Tschaenn DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES

Greg Darby

Myriad Gardens Foundation executive board of directors

community board

CHAIR

PRESIDENT

HONORARY

Larry Nichols*

Chris Fleming

Dixie Jensen

CHAIR EMERITUS

Brian Alford

Michael Laird

Robert Allee Regina Banks Tony Boghetich Gerry Bonds Lindsey Brock Bob Calvert Janie Comstock Irma Elliott James Everest Warren Filley Ginny Greenberg Linda Haneborg Seyan Hefner Dannie Bea Hightower Linda Horn Gail Huneryager

Paul Lefebvre Jean McLaughlin Robert Meinders Allen Paine Morton Payne Kent Phillips James Pickel Christina Rehkop Andy Rine Lynn Robberson D. Joe Rockett Kim Searls Marsha See Carl Shortt Caleb Shough Beth Wells Roy Williams

James R. Tolbert* III* TREASURER

Matt Cole* Mark Beffort Chris Fleming John Hart Meg Salyer* Avis Scaramucci* Sean Trauschke EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Maureen Heffernan** CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Chuck Davis** DEPUTY DIRECTOR/SECRETARY

Debora Morey**

* Also a member of the Community Board **Also Officers of Myriad Gardens Foundation Community Board and Scissortail Foundation Board

The Myriad Gardens Foundation wishes to thank our sustaining partners, leaders in providing major ongoing annual support: BancFirst The Chickasaw Nation Continental Resources Devon Energy Corporation Gardner Tanenbaum Holdings LaDonna and Herman Meinders Robert H. Meinders Jean and David McLaughlin Newmark Grubb Levy Strange Beffort OGE Energy Corp.

Oklahoma City Economic Development Trust The City of Oklahoma City Avis Scaramucci

Letter from the Director I always learn so much from the keynote speakers at our Annual Gardening School.

At this year’s March 9th event, the theme was on herbs and kitchen garden design. One speaker, Matthew Benson, who gardens on an historic farm property in the Hudson River Valley of New York, spoke about how he planted an apple orchard of old varieties that would have been growing on his property in the mid 1800’s. In the course of his apple research, he discovered a man in Virginia whose job, (a niche job if there ever was), is to maintain old apple tree varieties that were growing on Civil War battlefield sites. Battlefields were often on or near farms with apple trees. I found this fascinating and reassuring that such trees are deemed worthy of such care and respect so as not to lose the depth, richness and atmosphere they bring to these historic landscapes.

Our speaker talked about his love of the motley apples from his heritage orchard and much preferring them to the factory farm-like perfection of apples found in today’s supermarkets. At the time of the Civil War, there were hundreds of apple varieties growing in the U.S. Today, only a few dozen or less are sold in most stores. He prizes his old varieties precisely for how motley they all are – they are uniquely delicious yet are gnarled and misshapen with splotchy colors. He describes them as wabi-sabi - the Japanese term for something that is perfectly imperfect.

The exhaustion of striving for Instagram-like perfection in today’s gardening may be why the awareness of wabi sabi is so popular in our culture now. The way of looking anew at how perfect the imperfect can be in your garden or life. It is not lowering your standards so much as raising your awareness of what can be beautiful. Weeds are becoming chic as is using foraged plants for floral arrangements pointing to a trend away from more ‘perfect’ arrangements.

Today’s new floral artists want you to look differently at what plant material can be used, how it can be acquired and to more simply yet creatively compose it for striking effects.

For our Art of Flowers luncheon May 2 from 11:30a.m. – 1pm, floral arranger Louesa Roebuck of Ojai, California, will demonstrate a new wabi-sabi approach to flower arranging.

Like the slow food movement, ‘slow flowers’ are grown, collected and composed with care. Even withered plant material is used to show beauty and form in all plant life stages.

I hope you can join us to meet and see this talented floral artist demonstrate making arrangements in this style. You are sure to be inspired and learn to sharpen your eyes on what is considered beautiful and useable for your own arrangements from plants growing in your backyard.

This event serves to raise funds for a matching grant from The Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation for our spring bulb endowment fund. The fund helps us purchase thousands of tulips and daffodils for dazzling displays for thousands to enjoy each year.

Please plan to visit soon to enjoy all the exuberance of spring at Myriad Gardens.

Maureen Heffernan Executive Director

SPRING 2019 Garden Happenings

CHILDREN’S GARDEN FESTIVAL JUNE 7–16 2019 10am–5pm

inspired by Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are”

Journey into the wonderful land of imagination and mischief at the Myriad Gardens’ annual Children’s Garden Festival. The Children’s Garden is transformed into a world of Wild Things as we celebrate the 50th year of one of America’s most beloved children’s books.

$8 per person includes free carousel rides 2 & Under Free Members skip the line

“There are no ideas too wild and no dreams too big.”

I M PORTA N T ACTIV ITY DATES: JUNE 7–16

Children’s Garden Festival

JUNE 8

Where the Wildlife Are 11am –12pm

JUNE 8

Where the Wild Things Are Movie Night 6pm –9pm

JUNE 11

The Books of Maurice Sendak 2pm –3pm

JUNE 13

Super Silly Monster Fun 2pm –3pm

JUNE 14

Wild Plants 1pm –2pm

JUNE 14

Where the Wild Things Are Sensory Evening 6pm –8pm

JUNE 15

Friends of the Metropolitian Library Book Sale 10am –5pm

JUNE 16

Wild Dad Day—Fathers Get in free ALL DAY

DAILY

Face Painting 10am –5pm

DAILY

Story Time 11am –11:30am

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SPRING 2019 Garden Happenings 6

A Wildly Great Idea

When Oklahoma City Community Foundation issued a bold challenge for great ideas, Myriad Botanical Gardens jumped at the chance to do some creative thinking. Then we got wild.

We are honored to be recognized as a runner-up for the Oklahoma City Community Foundation’s Great Idea Challenge. The Foundation launched The Great Idea Challenge last spring in recognition of the organization’s 50th anniversary in 2019. In the spirit of founder John E. Kirkpatrick’s ingenuity and vision for Oklahoma City, The Great Idea Challenge is intended to launch new, bold initiatives that will carry Oklahoma City and Central Oklahoma into the next 50 years. The Foundation received nearly 100 applicants and ultimately awarded six winners and three runners-up a total of $1 million.

As a runner-up, Myriad Botanical Gardens received $20,000 to develop ReWild OKC. This exciting new program will suggest a re-envisioning of Oklahoma City as an urban garden and will challenge the public to see naturalized plants in an aesthetic way.

Taking a layered approach to rewilding our city, we will label wild plants throughout downtown, curate a weedy vacant lot into a

green zone and create vertical gardens on walls and fences. As such, we will stitch together a garden across the city.

“ReWild OKC is an entirely new way of thinking about our urban and natural environment,” said Maureen Heffernan, executive director of Myriad Botanical Gardens. “The program will improve the quality of life by creating harmony between nature and the city. The Gardens horticultural staff will cultivate a pocket garden downtown by naturalizing a vacant lot and creating or labeling vertical gardens on walls and fences. These spaces will be extremely low maintenance and composed of native plants not commonly seen in designed gardens. Rather than being customary destinations, they will be found spaces, naturalized, wildlife-friendly greenery embedded into the structure of our city.”

The ReWild green spaces will be aesthetically pleasing and, once established, require very little maintenance with drought resistant and wildlife-friendly plants. The labeled weeds, gardens and vines will be combined into an urban green walking tour that the public could do independently or in groups. Greening our urban landscape will improve sustainability and quality of life in Oklahoma City and could become a national model for rewilding urban areas.

Selection of sites will begin in late spring and the weeds will be cultivated and labeled this summer. Stay tuned!

BEFORE This area is just an un-used patch of land where “spontaneous urban plantings” (or weeds, if we’re being technical) are growing.

AFTER The project proposes adding an acknowledgment of the growing plants and land, creating a destination and education opportunity.

WRITTEN BY

Sarah Carson

TOGETHER SQUARE Groundbreaking

WRITTEN BY Jim Vidmar PHOTOS BY Katrina Ward

A collaboration between OGE Energy Corp., The Energy Assist Foundation, Team Griffin and Myriad Botanical Gardens is creating a unique space in the heart of Downtown OKC called Together Square. Together Square, located west of Myriad Botanical Gardens across Hudson Street, will feature a basketball court branded by the Team Griffin Foundation, a futsal soccer court branded by the Energy Assist Foundation and a large open space for general use. (Futsal is an emerging form of soccer played on a smaller, hard-surface court.)

OG&E and partners broke ground Thursday, February 21 and expect to open the courts to the public around June 2019. Myriad Botanical Gardens will provide general maintenance and care for the site including lawn care and related horticultural maintenance that will help connect the new site to the botanical gardens across the street. Upon completion of Together Square, Myriad Botanical Gardens will also coordinate rentals of the courts and grounds for private and corporate events.

PHOTO Mayor David Holt, Taylor Griffin (Griffin Foundation), Sean Trauschke (OG&E CEO), Tim McLaughlin, Representative Mickey Dollens, Maureen Heffernan (Park Management CEO & Executive Director) breaking ground.

PHOTOS LEFT (1) A John Rex Elementary student plays soccer before the groundbreaking. (2) Tim McLaughlin speaks.

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SPRING 2019 Garden Happenings

THE

Myriad Gardens Foundation Invites You to Celebrate

ART

OF FLOWERS Thursday, May 2 11:30 am to 1 pm Myriad Botanical Gardens Park House Event Center

Born in the middle of Ohio, Louesa Roebuck grew up in the buckeye state, as well as in Lexington, Kentucky. She studied printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design where Roebuck earned a degree in marketing. More than 20 years ago she moved to California and within five days found herself working at the famed restaurant Chez Panisse.

“I had little to no idea of the power of the transformative community I’d entered,” she said of that time. “I continued my education of California culture and beauty and went on to open August, a seminal and before-its-time fashion, and art and community hub. It was an early proponent of the intersection of luxury apparel and green socially responsible textile practices.” Roebuck closed her store as a result of the economic crash of 2008 and returned to her lifelong love of foraged and gleaned floral work­—her current medium of choice—followed closely by monotypes.

The author of Foraged Flora, Roebuck is a designer of ecologically sound flora installations whose impressive client list includes Michael Pollan, Michelle Obama, Todd Selby, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Alice Waters of Chez Panisse. Her work has been featured in Vogue, The New York Times, and Martha Stewart Magazine.

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20 19

LEARNING FROM THE BEST

WRITTEN BY

Susan Grossman

Art of Flowers celebrates floral arranging with foraged flora designer Louesa Roebuck

Louesa Roebuck, provided.

The arrival of spring carries a variety of meanings. For us at Myriad Botanical Gardens, spring means flowers. Thousands of them, planted in the fall, resting through the winter and blooming all over the grounds each spring.

As Oklahoma City’s premier public garden and green space, we continuously seek creative ways to promote our mission of horticultural education while raising necessary funds to support the Gardens.

Join us for an elegant luncheon to learn the art of floral arranging while helping to support Myriad Gardens Foundation.

This event serves to raise $50,000 we need each year to make this spectacular spring bulb display happen.

Thanks to a matching grant endowment from the Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation, funds raised at The Art of Flowers will be applied to the Rapp Foundation challenge grant that establishes a permanent endowment for spring bulb displays for the delight and enjoyment of all.

When fully realized, this endowment guarantees the Gardens will have a dazzling array of spring flowers in perpetuity.

Co-chaired by Jil and Tony Boghetich, guests for the second biennial Art of Flowers will enjoy a seasonal lunch prepared by The Social Order Dining Collective and then learn the fine art of floral arranging using foraged flora with special guest Louesa Roebuck.

The California resident will demonstrate how to create artful arrangements at home for everyday use, as well as for special occasions. Several of her creations will be available for sponsors, as well as items to assist with home floral arranging.

Myriad Gardens Foundation is the 501 c 3 nonprofit organization that manages Myriad Botanical Gardens. Sponsorships and ticket purchases are tax deductible.

Co-chairs Jil and Tony Boghetich

ART OF FLOWERS is May 2ND. Space is extremely limited. for tickets and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Susan Grossman, Director of Development (405) 445-7090 or sgrossman@myriadgardens.org or go to our website: myriadgardens.org.

PHOTOS provided from Louesa Roebuck.

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SPRING 2019 Garden Happenings

Annual Garden Fund WRITTEN BY

Sarah Carson

GOAL: $50,000

TOTAL RAISED TO DATE: $26,000

Last year brought many significant changes to the Gardens, including the addition of Mo’s Carousel, adaptive play equipment in the Children’s Garden, renovated classroom and Visitor Center in our Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory, a spectacular holiday light display and the new Tanenbaum Reflection Garden. With all of these changes, our Annual Garden Fund goal is ambitious at $50,000. This fund provides unrestricted money critical to the sustainability and continued growth of the Gardens. With just four months left in the fiscal year, we need to raise another $24,000.

With your help, we can reach our goal and continue to provide beautiful gardens and quality programs for years to come.

Donate online at myriadgardens.org or contact Sarah Carson for more information at 405-445-7088 or scarson@myriadgardens.org.

PHOTO BY Doug Hoke

MO’S CAROUSEL RE-OPENING! Upgrade your membership to Family PLUS and get free carousel rides year-round 10

SPRING HOURS:

CLOSED Mondays and Tuesdays OPEN Wednesday–Friday 12pm –4pm

Saturday and Sunday 11am –5pm

OPENING THIS FALL WRITTEN BY

Jim Vidmar

Work is progressing at Scissortail Park toward the opening later this year. The 3.7 acre Lake is beginning to fill up and many features including the Bandshell, Boathouse, children’s playground and the Café have taken shape and are nearing completion. The Social Order Dining Collective will be managing the Café and recently released the name and brand identity, “Spark.” Spark will feature a casual dining environment overlooking the Great Lawn and Park that will include burgers and shakes.

The Scissortail Park staff are also busy preparing for a tentative grand opening toward the end of September that will include concerts and activities for all to enjoy. Visit the Scissortail Park website often for construction updates, grand opening details and even a live webcam at www.scissortailpark.org

PHOTOS BY

AERIAL FROM THE NORTHEAST CORNER

FUTURE HOME OF THE INTERACTIVE FOUNTAINS

MAPS

SPARK CAFÉ

AERIAL OF THE GREAT LAWN, LAKE, TRELLIS GARDENS

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SPRING 2019 Garden Happenings

Against the Grain PHOTOS BY

Katrina Ward

Furniture Works of Art

by Marking Tree Design

O N V I EW March 14 to April 28, 2019 Visitor Center at Crystal Bridge Free to view during business hours.

9am –5pm Monday–Saturday 11am –5pm Sunday PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE MYRIAD GARDENS FOUNDATION

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Zach True Hammack is an Oklahoma artist whose upbringing centered on a family-owned lumber business in Oklahoma City called Arrowhead Lumber. Building on Hammack’s love for art and design, in addition to a passion for their family’s Native American heritage, he began Marking Tree Design gradually over three years.

A “marking tree” is a form of technology, like arrowheads, created

by American Indians. The top of a tree sapling is tied down, causing a horizontal bend in the base of the tree as it grows. These trees were used to point to trails and water sources and would last as a part of the landscape for future generations guiding them to safe passage or water in unknown territory.

This use of nature, without misusing or causing harm, is a recurring theme throughout Native American folklore and is something reflected in Marking Tree Design’s work. Salvaging and reclaiming wood to use in furniture and through sales not only adds aesthetic value to Marking Tree’s products but also lends tradition and backstory to every piece that is created and sold.

Zach transforms the reclaimed wood into a variety of tables that are both beautiful and functional.

The studio is located in the newly developed West Penn District (1615 North Portland) in Oklahoma City. Clients include ADG, Rebel8 Men’s Salon, the Union Bar and Restaurant, and residential clients. Learn more about the variety of inventoried and custom table options available at www.markingtreedesign.com/ Hammack’s work is a permanent part of the Visitor Center, which was renovated and reopened in November 2018. Those pieces include the counter to the guest services desks, benches and tables.

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SPRING 2019 Garden Happenings

Ladybug in the Lobby Sawdust, sycamore and piano keys may not sound like much on their own, but in the hands of sculptor Don Narcomey, the elements together created a small but mighty addition to the renovated Visitor Center. It’s a ladybug, to be exact, which is attached to a stainless steel leaf motif in the ceiling of the lobby.

“I’m mostly a wood guy so while the ladybug could have been created out of glass or metal, my proposal was for wood,” Narcomey said. “Wanting to be as realistic as possible, I studied images of actual ladybugs and went from there.”

The core of his piece is sycamore, a hard 14

wood that is light peach in color. Narcomey carved the basic, round structure for the bug, then created a resin of sawdust to color the body in the red shade of most ladybugs.

“Since I work with a lot of exotic woods, I save sawdust as I work,” he explained.

“There are a wide range of colors and I incorporate those to make a paste.”

Next came the incorporation of ivory skins from piano keys, and ebony to form the face and the spots. The carved, underside of the figure is painted with India ink.

Discovery is the impetus behind the careful creation of Narcomey’s piece, inspired by

WRITTEN BY

Susan Grossman

a suggestion from Larry Nichols, chair of Myriad Gardens Foundation executive committee, and chair emeritus of Devon Energy Corp. Devon Energy helped finance the renovation with a lead gift of $1 million in 2018.

“The thinking was to have a little piece of discovery on the ceiling, a little something to see in passing, and a ladybug fits perfectly into that scenario,” Narcomey said. “It was a fun but intricate process to create.”

The sculptor made two of the bugs, one for the Gardens and one for Nichols. See more photos of the unveiling on the facing page.

ABOVE

Larry Nichols, Chairman Emeritus - Devon Energy, opens a lady bug gift comissioned for him. Artist Don Narcomey describes how he made the lady bug and what it symbolizes. Bob Ross, President and CEO of the Inasmuch Foundation, accepting a gift recognizing support from the Foundation.

RIGHT

Larry Nichols reveals the lady bug on the ceiling at Jingle Mingle.

TOP PHOTOS BY

Shannon Corman RIGHT BY

Emma Williams courtesy ADG, PC LEFT BY

Don Narcomey

The Love of Color Featuring paintings by Nancy Junkin

O N V I EW March 14 to May 28, 2019 Visitor Center at Crystal Bridge Free to view during business hours.

9am –5pm Monday–Saturday 11am –5pm Sunday PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE MYRIAD GARDENS FOUNDATION

IMAGES Provided.

Nancy Junkin was born and raised in Ponca City, OK. As a child, she loved art instruction and would spend hours painting with oils and creating abstract designs. After graduating from The University of Oklahoma in 1970 with a BA in English, Nancy taught first grade in Noble, Oklahoma then left the state to live in Texas for 12 years. Upon returning, Nancy moved to Edmond, OK. After her children were grown, along with working as an investment consultant, Nancy pursued her interest in and love of art by taking classes at the University of Central Oklahoma toward a M.F.A. She left graduate school to work with an interior design firm, enhancing her eye for design and color. During that time, Nancy continued drawing and painting and has been actively painting and showing for over 15 years. Currently, Nancy lives in Oklahoma City and works with oil and acrylic paints, occasionally incorporating mixed media.

Linda Howell, of Howell Gallery in Oklahoma City, helped facilitate the display of Nancy’s work. Nancy is one of the many featured artists at Howell Gallery.

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SPRING 2019 Horticulture

HORTICULTURE HAPPENINGS

WRITTEN BY PHOTOS BY

Despite being a rather small public garden at about 15 acres, the horticulture staff at Myriad are constantly working to make improvements to our gardens.

We are always adding new plants and expanding our collections. Each year we also undertake a number of projects.

Sometimes they are big, like adding a new garden space such as the Tanenbaum Reflection Garden that was completed in 2017. Sometimes it’s a number of smaller projects like adding interpretative signage to the Color Curve or expanding our collection of conifers on the East Lake, just a couple of improvements made last year.

This year, thanks to a grant from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, we are focusing on another large project.

There is an area in the Meinders Garden between the boulder fountain and the seasonal plaza that is fairly secluded and has great potential but lacks any defining characteristics or anything of particular interest. It’s just a bit of lawn space surrounded by planting beds with no real path through it, so it is easily ignored. Even so, it has great potential and just needs something to draw people in. Now this area is finally going to get the attention it needs and will be renovated into new garden space. Hopefully it will become a popular area to have lunch out in the garden since it is so near our seasonal plaza.

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Another smaller, but still significant project underway this year is renovating plantings surrounding the north exit of the Crystal Bridge. Equisetum hyemale, or horsetail, was planted in several areas throughout the gardens, including the north lobby, during the renovation of the outdoor gardens in 2011. While equisetum is a fine plant for contained areas, it is a poor choice for mixed plantings as it spreads aggressively with underground rhizomes and is very difficult to eradicate.

Many of our smaller projects have involved removing and replanting areas infested with this pest. The planting beds by the north lobby are one of the last strongholds of equisetum. Unfortunately removing it will also require removing most of the plants that it is growing through, mainly patches of liriope (Liriope muscari) and sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium). On the positive side, this gives us an opportunity to improve this area with a small collection of ornamental shrub hedges that will help serve as a wind screen.

Nate Tschaenn Carl Shortt

STACHYS OFFICINALIS ‘HUMMELO’, BETONY

Perennial

Plant of the Year

Each year the Perennial Plant Association selects a single plant to receive the honor of being named Perennial Plant of the Year. This program is in its 30th year now of selecting outstanding perennial plants that are suitable for a wide range of growing conditions, are easy to grow, and have multi-season interest. Despite Oklahoma’s tough climate, most of the previous 29 selections grow well here given the right growing conditions. For its 2019 award they have picked another great plant for Oklahoma gardens, Stachys officinalis ‘Hummelo’, commonly known as betony.

Betony is a close relative of and in the same genus as lamb’s ear, Stachys byzantina, and is just as easy to grow. As far as appearances go, it more closely resembles hyssop.

The foliage is crisp, glossy green and lacks the fuzz of its cousin lamb’s ear. It holds its bright-purple flower clusters in upright spikes reaching 2 feet in height. The plant slowly spreads by underground rhizomes but still keeps itself in a nicely shaped clump with uniform height.

Betony is originally from Europe and Asia, but even though it is not a native plant, it is very tough and grows well in Oklahoma even showing a fair amount of drought tolerance. It is also a popular nectar source for pollinators and reblooms when spent flowers are removed. You’ll find it blooming in the Color Curve garden at Myriad in late spring and early summer along with a pink flowering Stachys cultivar, ‘Pink Cotton Candy’.

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SPRING 2019 Horticulture

THE TREE OF LIFE WRITTEN BY Roberta Rowland PHOTOS BY Katrina Ward

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Coconut Tree Produces Fruit For the first time since it was planted in 2011, our coconut tree in the Crystal Bridge Conservatory has numerous maturing fruits on it. It has flowered for several years and made small fruits in the past but, perhaps due to age and temperatures, the fruits have never fully matured. We are hopeful that this year we will get fully developed coconuts! While 8 years might seem like a long time for a tree to bare fruits, this is typical for coconut trees. Coconuts usually start producing fruit within the first 10 years and produce heavy yields of 30 to 75 coconuts until they are 50 years or older.

The coconut nut is not actually a nut! It’s a drupe, a fruit that is pulpy on the outside, has a hard shell on the inside and contains one seed. Some other examples of drupes you may be familiar with are plums, peaches, and olives. Coconuts have a unique exterior for a drupe that is dry and not fleshy or edible.

Coconut trees are some of the most useful trees on the planet. In fact many languages refer to them as “the tree of life”. For example, in Sanskrit ‘Kalpa vriksha’ translates to “the tree that provides all the necessities of life”. This is understandable considering the length of time it has been in cultivation (over 2000 years) and the number of uses of different parts of the tree. The elastic fiber taken from coconut husks, or coir, is used to make mats, brushes and rope. It is even shredded and used as animal bedding and growing media for plants. Coconut leaves can be used to make brooms, baskets, roofing and temporary sheds while the lumber is used

Saturday, May 11 9am–4pm

for building houses and furniture. Fuel and charcoal can be produced from husks and coconut shells. Coconut oil and coconut milk are products extracted from coconut meat. In the Philippines and Sri Lanka alcoholic beverages are created from coconuts, not to mention the piña colada. Coconut water, or juice from unripe fruits, has become popular in the last few years because it is high in potassium and electrolytes. In addition to all that, coconuts have been used to create musical instruments and decorative items in countries.

Next time you’re in the gardens, stop and see our coconut tree and growing fruits. We hope seeing our tree and knowing how useful it is will inspire you to create something with coconuts at home.

Our tree is just starting its most productive phase of its life and we hope to see it continue for many more years.

F REE: The third annual OKC Garden Fest takes place on Saturday, May 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the west side of the Gardens, next to the Children’s Garden and Mo’s Carousel. This annual festival features more than 40 vendors that will be selling items such as perennials, annuals, native plants, herbs, produce, florals, succulents, pollinator plants, wines, and agriculturally-related crafts. Buy items for your garden and home, ask the experts your planting questions, enjoy some family fun activities, and grab a yummy bite to eat. Activities for children will also be offered and food trucks will be on-site.

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SPRING 2019 Membership

Membership Pays Off A year’s worth of benefits and discounts at the Gardens*

Being a member of Myriad Botanical Gardens not only helps us maintain our beautiful grounds, support our programs, and to create fun and innovative events, membership saves you money.

Here is a sampling of ways to do just that during the next 12 months.

*Estimates based on a family of four with a Family PLUS membership valued at $100.

April 2019 Celebrate Easter in the Gardens with a fun Easter Egg Hunt in the Children’s Garden

May 2019 Bring Mom to the Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory for Mother’s Day for free

June 2019 Visit the seventh annual Children’s Garden Festival based on Where the Wild Things Are

$5 SAVINGS PER CHILD

2 ADULTS & 2 CHILDREN = $26 SAVINGS

2 ADULTS & 2 CHILDREN = $32 SAVINGS

Bring a picnic and enjoy The Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare in the Park with your two free tickets $40 SAVINGS for two individuals on weekends during June.

July 2019 Take a family vacation to a nearby Garden with your membership card and receive free entry with our reciprocal benefit: Botanical Garden of the Ozarks 2 ADULTS = $14 SAVINGS

Dallas Arboretum

August 2019 Experience a wonderful date night out in the Gardens. Discount on Outdoor Dinner Series

September 2019 Bring the family for a late summer picnic in the Gardens and enjoy unlimited rides on Mo’s Carousel –

2 ADULTS = $20 SAVINGS

$2 SAVINGS PER RIDER/PER RIDE

October 2019 Enjoy fall festivities during the beloved Pumpkinville in the Children’s Garden

November 2019 Tree For All offers free and low-cost trees to green our urban canopy

2 ADULTS & 2 CHILDREN = $32 SAVINGS

After Thanksgiving bring the family to view holiday lights and get in the holiday spirit with free ice skate rental with purchase of admission at the Devon Ice Rink

December 2019 Ice skate at the Devon Ice Rink, drink hot cocoa, eat pancakes and create Polar Express crafts while Santa reads The Polar Express to children in attendance

2 ADULTS & 2 CHILDREN = $50 SAVINGS

Missouri Botanical Garden 2 ADULTS = $24 SAVINGS and children under 12 are free

$2 SAVINGS PER TREE

2 ADULTS & 2 CHILDREN = $28 SAVINGS

2 ADULTS & 2 CHILDREN = $20 SAVINGS

View our second annual holiday light show Illuminations in the Crystal Bridge Conservatory throughout the month 2 ADULTS & 2 CHILDREN = $8 SAVINGS

January 2020 Feel like a champion on ice with our popular Learn to Curl classes and learn the sport of curling

February 2020 Free your inner Renoir at Painting in the Gardens with Wine and Palette

4 PEOPLE = $20 SAVINGS

$5 SAVINGS PER PERSON

March 2020 Ramp up your planning and get some new tips at our annual Oklahoma Gardening School with a discount on tickets BETWEEN $25 & $50 SAVINGS

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Myriad Gardens Membership Goes Green Members of Myriad Botanical Gardens can help us go green while eliminating the need to carry a card when visiting the Gardens. Our new membership-based app will reduce the amount paper and postage associated with managing the membership process for more than 3000 members and at the same time streamline the use of member benefits.

The free app can easily be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. Search for eMembership Card, download and open the app. Next choose your institution – Myriad Botanical Gardens – and select Find My Membership Cards. Enter the phone number associated with membership and your last name. Then choose Download My Cards and view benefits associated with your membership level as well reciprocal benefits to enjoy at other gardens and museums nationwide.

Choose Accept Notifications so we can communicate important updates via the app.

Host your event at the Gardens NEW IN 2019: Add-on Mo’s Carousel rides to any birthday party The Children’s Garden Pavilion is a perfect place for private parties for kids of all ages Members receive a 10% discount on birthday parties The Children’s Garden Pavilion sits in a serene area of the Children’s Garden just a hop and a skip away from the playground and Thunder Fountain Call 405-200-1547 or email rentals@myriadgardens.org to book

BECOME A VOLUNTEER Myriad Gardens offers a variety of fun volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups: Occasional Volunteers – Volunteering once or twice a year Partner Volunteers – Dedicating 36 hours or more a year VolunTEENS – Summer program for youths, dedicating 60 hrs Corporate/Group Volunteers – 4 or more people volunteering together For more information contact Lindsay Dennis at 405-445-7089 or Ldennis@myriadgardens.org 21

SPRING 2019 Education

RECAP:

Gardening School 2019 WRITTEN BY Joel Bramhall PHOTOS BY Katrina Ward

Myriad Gardens’ annual Oklahoma Gardening School took place Saturday, March 9 at Devon Auditorium. Presented by Meinders Foundation and Devon Energy, the state’s premier horticultural symposium attracted nearly 220 attendees. National, regional, and local speakers presented illustrative talks on how best to grow purposeful herb gardens through adaptive designs, proper plant selection, and precise cultivation and maintenance practices, in efforts to produce the finest aromatic, culinary, visual, and therapeutic benefits for a healthier and more bountiful gardening experience. Each presentation connected to this year’s theme, “Growing Beautiful, Successful and LowMaintenance Herb Gardens.” Through individual presentations, a Q&A forum, and in-person meet and greets, participants learned how to develop and maintain more sustainable herb gardens.

The event kicked off as Matthew Benson, a writer, photographer, and organic farmer from New York’s Hudson River Valley, encouraged patrons to grow beautiful food and herbs by displaying stunning images and sharing inspiring garden adventures of his efforts to restore an 1800’s estate farm. Next, Holly Shimizu, former Executive Director of the U.S. Botanic Garden and correspondent for Victory Garden on PBS, presented adaptive historical herb garden designs in application to maximizing space in a modern herb garden. The afternoon provided a touch of home, as Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden vice-president Jenny Wegley instructed on strategic plant selections for a challenging climate. The event concluded with Oklahoma’s own Lori Coats providing her distinctive homespun approaches to herb harvesting and preservation.

An herb infused boxed lunch option catered by Kamp’s 1910 Café accompanied preregistered attendees at Park House Event Center at Myriad Gardens. In addition, an Herb Market hosted by Bill Farris, owner and operator of Prairie Wind Nursery, was a unique feature added to the mid-day activities to complement this year’s theme. Located on the front porch of Park House, all registrants were able to purchase locally grown herbs and inquire directly to the producer.

This year’s Oklahoma Gardening School was presented by the Meinders Foundation and Devon Energy and sponsored by TLC Garden Center, Grooms Irrigation, American Plant Products, Calvert’s Plant Interiors, Kitty & Richard Champlin, Minick Materials, Total Environment, and Plant Wisdom Garden Center. In-kind sponsors were AC Hotel by Marriott OKC Bricktown, Holiday Inn Express-Bricktown and The Green House. Additional supporters included Oklahoma Horticultural Society, SqueezeEveryDrop.com, and Full Circle Bookstore.

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Garden Groundbreakers WRITTEN BY PHOTOS BY

PHOTO BY

Joel Bramhall Katrina Ward

Carl Shortt

Encouraging Results for Students of John Rex Middle School The Garden Groundbreakers enrichment program continues to exemplify the importance of garden-based learning in contemporary education. For one hour each week of the school year, John Rex Middle School students have participated in hands-on horticulture lessons led by Myriad Gardens staff. Now as the hybrid curriculum nears the end of its inaugural year, it is best to reflect on the encouraging results and look forward to the future.

Specifically developed to enrich academic achievement, to enhance environmental stewardship, to encourage healthy and sustainable living, and to expand community and social development, this authentically-designed student-centric program united modern schooling with horticulture education. With these key concepts as the essential bedrock for cultivating success and facilitating lifelong learning, Myriad Gardens staff embraced the students’ youthful intrigue for the natural world by connecting authentic learning goals to purposeful action. “I have seen skeptical students – those who dislike dirt and insects – become eager participants. As an educator, there’s nothing more rewarding than witnessing the spark of excitement and genuine curiosity in a student,” said Olivia Dias, Children’s Garden Manager.

By integrating outdoor learning activities such as seed starting, bulb planting, edible gardening, compost aeriation, native plant identification, and STEM based pollinator adventures, students have demonstrated an overall average academic improvement of 26.2% from pre- to post-assessment within the framework of Garden Groundbreakers. The intangible impact can be seen in the daily instructional classroom as well. “Students alluded to concepts they learned in Garden Groundbreakers while in science class, especially when we discussed weather and climate,” described Clayton Myers, Sixth Grade Teacher at John Rex Middle School. →

Special thanks to Avis and Phil Scaramucci for underwriting several initiatives at Myriad Botanical Gardens in 2019. These include up to 35 interpretive signs, enhancements to the Children’s Garden Porch and curriculum support for the John Rex Middle School Garden Groundbreakers program. The Scaramuccis are longtime supporters of the Gardens with Avis currently serving on the Executive Board, as well as the Community Board.

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SPRING 2019 Education

684

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lesson rotations

With only two lessons remaining, one centered on tree identification through artistic illustrations and another focused on healthy living, the students will continue to care for the vegetables they planted under a row cover in February and March. In May, executive chefs from Nonesuch – dubbed “America Best New Restaurant 2018”

by Bon Appetit – will harvest the ripe vegetables and prepare a healthy dish for students to enjoy at Park House Event Center. “This first year has set the foundation for future middle school students to prosper at the Myriad Gardens,” said Lily Peppers, Youth & School Programs Coordinator.

In an era of education reform and environmental concern, Garden Groundbreakers has merged these two distinct challenges into one robust, future-focused solution, in hopes others will follow. The opportunity for this innovative enrichment program grew from the unique partnership between Myriad Gardens Foundation and John Rex Charter Elementary School. Upon the opening of John Rex Middle School at the Myriad Gardens’ Dean A. McGee Education Center in August 2018, Garden Groundbreakers immersed students in an environment bursting with garden-based learning opportunities. As a result, a legacy has been built that will reach far beyond the whiteboards and trimmed hedge confines of each respective organization, and live on in the actions of each student.

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ENRICH — ENHANCE — ENCOURAGE — EXPAND

combined total student hours

456 seeds started by students

228 bulbs planted by students

35

essential vocabulary terms instructed in classroom and virtually

packets of Seed Savers Exchange heirloom seeds donated

10

research-based methods and models applied

4

sixth grade classes

4

John Rex Charter School Instructional Staff 24

C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S APRIL–JUNE YOUTH & FAMILY ongoing :

Reading Wednesdays

Every Wednesday, 10am The Garden Classroom FREE, Best for ages 2 to 5 Bring your youngster for story time each Wednesday at 10am.

Books are nature-themed and selected based on the season. ongoing :

Little Saplings

Spring Session - every other Tuesday from March to June, 1011am Children’s Garden Porch M $3; NM $4, Best for ages 2 to 5 Join us in the Children’s Garden for an hour of songs, games, and interactive nature fun. Each week features a new theme with corresponding activities and learning opportunities ongoing :

Guided Walking Tour

Last Saturday of Every Month, 10-11am Garden Grounds FREE Expand your knowledge of Oklahoma plants and find inspiration for your own garden with our educational walking tours. ongoing :

Sprouting Chefs

April 13, May 18, June 15 The Garden Classroom Thanks to the Sprouts Neighborhood Grant, we are pleased to offer Sprouting Chef classes throughout the year. Sprouting Chefs is a cooking program where kids can learn the basics of cooking while making delicious, healthy dishes using garden fresh and seasonal ingredients. This spring and summer we have a class each month that focuses on a variety of produce and how to make yummy dishes out of them. Check out each individual listing online for specific pricing and age recommendations. ongoing :

Summer Celebration Series

May 31, June 21 Children’s Garden With school out of session and the excitement of a new season entering the scene, we are eager to launch the Summer Celebration Series, which will showcase different aspects of the Children’s Garden and the natural world around us. Demonstrations, hands-on activities, experiments, crafts, games and more will be available for families to learn about exciting topics such as weather and pollinators. Check out our website for more information on dates and themes.

APRIL Revenge of the Plants! All about Carnivorous Plants

Wednesday, April 17, 6-7pm The Garden Classroom M $12; NM $15, Best for ages 8 to 11 Kids will learn how these meat-eating plants work, why they eat meat and how to keep them alive.

Natural Easter Egg Dyes Saturday, April 20, 10-11:30 am Children’s Garden Porch M $12; NM $15, Best for ages 6 to 10 Learn history about plant dyes and the tradition of Easter egg dyeing while discovering how the colors are made. Each participant will then use natural colors we learn about to dye four Easter eggs to bring home.

Family Workshop: Microworlds Saturday, April 27, 10-11:30am The Garden Classroom M $6; NM $8, Best for ages 8 to 11 We’ll explore the hidden parts of soil in this class as we dive into the microscopic world of nature.

Gardening with Worms Saturday, April 27, 1-2 pm Children’s Garden Porch M $7; NM $9, Best for ages 6 to 10 Learn the recipe for excellent compost through the science of vermiculture. Observe compost bins in the Children’s Garden through a hands-on lesson and learn about what we should and should not add to make our compost healthy and safe to use.

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SPRING 2019 Education

YOUTH & FAMILY

ADULT

MAY

ongoing :

Tiny Greenhouses Wednesday, May 1, 6-7pm The Garden Classroom M $8; NM $10, Best for ages 7 to 10 Start spring seeds with your family as we create mini greenhouses made out of recycled materials.

Last Saturday of Every Month, 10-11am Garden Grounds FREE Expand your knowledge of Oklahoma plants and find inspiration for your own garden with our educational walking tours.

APRIL

Seed Bomb Walkup at Garden Fest

Terrarium Workshop for Adults

Saturday, May 11, 11am - 2pm Children’s Garden Entrance All ages welcome Join us to make homemade seed bombs so you create color explosion flower gardens in your yard and neighborhood.

Saturday, April 5, 10-Noon The Garden Classroom M $23; NM $28 Register by Tuesday, April 2 Design your own moss and rock terrarium and learn how to best display your new work of art.

Severe Weather Science Saturday, May 25, 10-11 am Children’s Garden Porch M $6; NM $8, Best for ages 7 to 11 The class will observe science experiments and visit the Children’s Garden weather station and Air Quality Bench, where they will find instruments that meteorologists use to predict storms. Participants will create a homemade barometer to take home.

Everything You Need to Know About How to Start Growing Food

Family Workshop: Twig Engineering Thursday, May 30, 2-3pm The Garden Classroom and Garden Grounds M $6; NM $8, Best for ages 8 to 11 Kids will use their imagination and STEAM skills to create twig boats out of natural materials.

Tomato Titans: Growing Delicious Tomatoes

Thursday, April 18, 6-8pm The Garden Classroom M $8; NM $12 Register by Friday, April 12 Learn the basics and a whole lot more in this session with local expert Dale Spoonemore.

JUNE

Saturday, April 20, 10-Noon The Garden Classroom M $14; NM $19 Register by Tuesday, April 16 This comprehensive discussion will cover how to start tomato seeds, transplant and care tips for seedlings, insect and disease control methods, as well as proper watering and fertilizing techniques.

Wild Plants

Beginning Gardener

Friday, June 14, 1-2 pm Children’s Garden Festival Programming Tent M $10; NM $12, Best for ages 6 to 10 From vines and edibles to carnivorous plants and stinky flowers, join us for a closer look at these plants and learn why they have these qualities. Participants will end by decorating a pot and planting their very own wild plant to take home.

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Guided Walking Tour

Saturday, April 27, 1-2:30pm The Garden Classroom M $14; NM $19 Register by Tuesday, April 23 Learn the bedrock essentials in choosing the right location, testing and sustaining soil health, and selecting the most suitable vegetable and flower varieties. Also, learn proper plant care and maintenance.

MAY

JUNE

Soil: The Key to a Healthy Garden

Growing Fruit in Oklahoma

Saturday, May 4, 1-3pm The Garden Classroom M $9; NM $14 Register by Tuesday, April 30 Learn the basics of soil structure, soil testing, how to amend problem soil and the essential ingredients and steps in preparing, maintaining, and utilizing organic compost.

Organic Gardening

Thursday, June 20, 6-8pm The Garden Classroom M $14; NM $19 Register by Tuesday, June 18 Learn how to get started with home fruit growing, from choosing plants to site considerations and including details of soils, planting, subsequent care including pruning and dealing with pests and problems.

Saturday, May 18, 10-Noon The Garden Classroom M $14; NM $19 Register by Tuesday, May 14 Topics will include building organic soil, companion planting, protecting beneficial insects, securing best heirloom seeds, and unconventional planting methods. Registrants will receive free seeds to take home.

Myriad Kitchen: Coffee

Saturday, June 22, 10-Noon The Garden Classroom M $14; NM $19 Register by Tuesday, May 14 Coffee Slingers Roasters has handcrafted original beverages to use coffee as means of building positive bridges. This interactive class will focus on coffee sourcing in Central America, as well as the key fundamentals of roasting and the farm-to-cup concept.

Highlights in Botanical Drawing Workshop Saturday, June 29, 10-Noon The Garden Classroom & Crystal Bridge Conservatory M $29; NM $34 Register by Tuesday, June 25 Immerse yourself in botanical drawing with pencil, toned paper and white compressed charcoal. Begin with a group instructional warmup session, and then stroll into the Crystal Bridge Conservatory to discover your own spaces and subjects to draw

To register, visit myriadgardens.org 27

SPRING 2019 Events

PUBLIC EVENTS APRIL ongoing : Botanical Balance Presented by Fowler Toyota, sponsored by Stephenson Cancer Center and Tinker Federal Credit Union.

Tuesdays at 5:45pm and Saturdays at 8am until May, then at 9am starting May 4th FREE yoga Tuesday night at Myriad Botanical Gardens has been a place for yogis of all levels to center and recharge.

Rexfest – Luminarium Albesila April 25–28, 10:00am – 7:00pm RexFest is thrilled to partner with England-based Architects of Air to bring one of their world-renowned luminaria, called Albesila, to Oklahoma City. Walk through the inflatable sculpture, which disperses light and color while creating a sense of wonder. The maze of winding paths and large domes will be set up at Together Square, adjacent to John Rex Charter Elementary School.

MAY Dancing in the Gardens: SALSA May 3, 7–11pm Seasonal Plaza We kick the season off with Cinco de Mayo. Join us as we transform the Seasonal Plaza into an urban dance space.

Sensory Night in the Crystal Bridge Presented by Sprouts, sponsored by Goldfish Swim School

April 18, 6–8pm Join us inside the Crystal Bridge for an Easter evening tailored for families with special needs children. This is not an Easter egg hunt, but a fun-filled evening for families and typically developing siblings.

Happy Hoppy Easter Party Presented by Tinker Federal Credit Union and Goldfish Swim School

April 20, 10am The Easter Bunny is in town and can’t wait to visit with you! Bring your basket to scramble for eggs and have a Happy Hoppy time in our Children’s Garden! Activities include games, crafts, refreshments and of course, photos with the Easter Bunny. Open to children 0-8 years old.

March of Dimes walk

May 4, 7am–1pm Band Shell/Devon Lawn Walk to help more babies be born healthy. Registration 9:00am, Start 10:00am. Walk distance: 2 miles

Great Strides Walk

Funny Bunny Easter Egg Hunt

May 11, 7am–3pm Band Shell/Devon Lawn For more than 30 years, Great Strides – the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s largest national fundraising event – has supported the Foundation’s mission to cure cystic fibrosis and raise awareness for this rare, genetic, life-shortening disease that makes it difficult to breathe and shortens lives. Check in: 9:00am, Walk: 10:00am.

Walk distance: 1 mile

Presented by Midtown Vets

April 20, 2pm Join us for the fifth annual Dog Easter Egg Hunt at the Gardens.

Bring your leashed dog to the Devon Lawn for a tail-wagging good time. There will be separate hunts for big and small dogs.

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For more information, events, and to register visit myriadgardens.org

Full Moon Bike Ride & Run May 17, 8–10pm Devon Lawn Bring your bike and meet up at the Band Shell stage on the Devon Lawn for a leisurely hour’s ride through Downtown. The Full Moon Bike Ride and Run is a casual monthly event where friends and families can enjoy a leisure one-hour bike ride or 5K run, through downtown OKC as the sun sets.

DeadCENTER Film Festival

JUNE Arts Council of OKC Twilight Concerts

June 2–August 25, 7:30pm Band Shell/Devon Lawn Thank you for joining us every Sunday night this summer for the 2018 Sunday Twilight Concert Series, presented by the Chickasaw Nation, at the Myriad Gardens Devon Lawn Stage. Each week we brought you a different genre of entertainment from 7:30 to 9 p.m. and also gave you the chance to enter a drawing for prizes! Attendees were encouraged to bring blankets, chairs, and picnics; however pets, smoking and glass containers are prohibited

Barre 3

June 3, 6-8pm Devon Lawn With no experience required, participants are asked to bring a yoga mat, water and lots of energy to an athletic one-hour class led by a team from barre3

Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park: The Comedy of Errors

June 8, 9pm-11:30pm Band Shell/Devon Lawn DeadCenter Film Fest, named for its central geographic location in Oklahoma City (the center of the U.S.), is Oklahoma’s largest film festival and has been named one of the “Top 20 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” and among the “Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” according to MovieMaker magazine.

Sensory Night at Wild Things June 14, 5:30-7:30pm Children’s Garden

Sonic Summer Movies: Trolls

Additional supporting sponsors: Casady Orthodontics, Oklahoma Fosters, Platt College

June 19, 8pm/screens 9pm Devon Lawn

Summer Solstice & Bike Ride/Run June 21, 7-10pm Devon Lawn

Sonic Summer Movies: A League of Their Own

Additional supporting sponsors: Casady Orthodontics, Oklahoma Fosters, Platt College

June 26, 8pm/screens 9pm Devon Lawn

Weekly Walkups

June 6–29, 8pm Water Stage June 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29

June 24–August 9, 10am–Noon Children’s Garden

Dancing in the Gardens: DISCO

International Mud Day

June 7, 7–11pm Seasonal Plaza

Presented by Tinker Federal Credit Union

June 29, 9am–Noon Devon Lawn Create clay critters to take home and, if the spirit moves you, take a mud bath in the dirty, yet delightful mess. Kids will get goggles to protect their eyes and a clean-up station will be available to wash up. Wear appropriate clothes and/or bring your swimsuit for the Thunder Fountain.

Thank You! $50,000+ The Chickasaw Nation Devon Energy Corporation Inasmuch Foundation Robert H. Meinders The Meinders Foundation LaDonna and Herman Meinders OGE Energy Corp.

Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation Scaramucci Foundation $25,000–$49,999 The Anschutz Foundation BancFirst Continental Resources Jean and David McLaughlin Newmark Grubb Levy Strange Beffort Oklahoma City Community Foundation $10,000–$24,999 Ad Astra Foundation Downtown OKC Inc. E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation Express Employment Professionals John M. Gordon Howard Family Charitable Foundation, Inc The McGee Foundation, Inc. Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma City Midtown Renaissance REHCO Downtown Development, LLC SONIC, America’s Drive‐In SSM Health Care of Oklahoma Stephenson Cancer Center Glenna and Richard Tanenbaum Thunderbird TelecomPioneers Tinker Federal Credit Union $5,000–$9,999 Mo Anderson American Fidelity Foundation Anonymous Arnall Family Foundation Bob Burke Cox Communications Crawley Petroleum Corporation — Corporate Member Delta Dental of Oklahoma Goldfish Swim School Ronnie and Shahnaaz Irani Jean I. Everest Foundation Josephine Freede Sherri and Bill Lance Lingo Construction/Greenshade Trees Polly and Larry Nichols Oklahoma State Fair, Inc. The Painted Door Presbyterian Health Foundation Records-Johnston Family Foundation, Inc. Richard L. Sias Lee Allan Smith Specialty Real Estate Services Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation Becky and Barry Switzer Beth and Jim Tolbert Williams, Box, Forshee & Bullard, P.C. $2,500–$4,999 Ann Lacy Foundation Anne and Bob Calvert Jil and Tony Boghetich Cornerstone Development LLC Fowler Holding Company Fred Jones Family Foundation Amy and Kelly Gray HoganTaylor LLP Merrill Lynch Midtown Vets Kent E. Phillips Beth and Carl Shortt

Listed are financial and in-kind donors to Myriad Gardens Foundation from January 1, 2018 to March 26, 2019

Jeanne and Ted Strickland Tapstone Energy, LLC $1,000–$2,499 ADG, Inc Advanced Dental Implant & Denture Center, LLC American Plant Products Bank of Oklahoma Pat and Van Barber Barkocy Construction BC Clark Jewelers BKD Foundation — Corporate Member Annie and Richard Bohanon Gerry and Ken Bonds Rob Braver Lindsey Brock The Cary Group Center For Economic Development Kitty and Richard Champlin Chesapeake Energy Arena | Cox Convention Center Coast to Coast Motors Crowe & Dunlevy Sally Dasovich Dobson Technologies Karen and Warren Filley First Fidelity Bank First National Bank of Oklahoma FIS Foundation, Inc Flintco, LLC Floyd’s Recreational Vehicles LLC Kimberly Garrett Ginny and Bob Greenberg Grooms Irrigation Company Maureen Heffernan James H. Everest Family Trust Millie and Johnson Hightower Tami and Dennis Hines Holiday Inn Express — Bricktown Leslie and Cliff Hudson Maggie and Blair Humphreys KIMRAY, Inc.­­­ — Corporate Member Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores Oklahoma Allergy & Asthma Clinic, Inc. — Corporate Member Oklahoma City Thunder Darlene and Allen Paine Platt College Rain Bird Corporation Tiffany Self Smith & Pickel Construction, Inc. SNB Bank of Oklahoma City Super Cao Nguyen TLC Nursery & Greenhouses Total Environment, Inc. Veolia North America Visionary Oklahoma Women Donna and Blake Wade Beth and Ed Wells Whitten Burrage Law Firm Carolyn and Don Zachritz Contributing Members at Garden Leader Level Cathy Davis Hilary and Peter Farrell Suzette and Kim Hatfield Cynole and Kenny W. Holloway The Meinders Foundation $250–$999 American Fidelity Assurance Company—Corporate Member Jerry Baird Alison and Thomas Berger Debra and Glenn Blumstein Guy Bramble The Bridge Assembly of God Michael Brooks-Jimenez Karen and Robert Browne James Burnett Carolyn and Jim Clark

Andrew and Nancy Coats Colcord Hotel Kemp Cole Matthew Cole Janie and Bill Comstock Cathy and James D. Couch Cox Enterprises, LLC Charles and Cassandra Bowen Charitable Foundation Jim Daniel Charles Davis Brett Dean Shirley E. Dearborn Jan and David Delana Downey Contracting, LLC Susan and Carl Edwards Liz Eickman Irma B. Elliott Tricia Everest FIS: Global Business Solutions, OKC Employees Brian Fitzsimmons Fitzsimmons Architects Sue Francis Kris and Bill Frankfurt Joan Frates Connie Fuller GE Johnson Construction Gray, Blodgett and Company PLLC Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Susan Grossman Hall Estill Brooke Haneborg Amanda and Nathaniel Harding Ted Haxel Seyan and John Hefner Joy Heiman Bette J. and Frank D. Hill Missy Hoehn Donald Kyte Michael Laird Lana and David Lopez LawnAmerica Leadership Square EyeCare Level Up Foundation Repair, LLC Little Spanish Bridge LLC Marcum’s Nursery Davalene and Bob McDonald Anna McMillin Debora and Ron Morey Mercury Insurance — Corporate Member Minick Materials McClain Bank Kayla Nguyen OKC Beautiful Okie Kids Playground Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau Oklahoma Property Investors Charles Oppenheim Shannon Oslick Page Concepts Gayle and Richard Parry Paycom Joan Payne Glenda Payne Plant Wisdom Garden Center Price Edwards & Company Joy and Roger Quinn Stacy and Andy Rine Lynn and John Robberson Mary and Joe D. Rockett Meredith Scott Sees Design Marsha and Carson See Amy and Dean Sergent Kelly and Tony Shinn Anne and Gregory Skuta The Social Order Dining Collective Marsha and Allan Storjohann Jeff Struble

Every effort has been made to present a complete and accurate list of donors.

We invite corrections of errors or omissions. sgrossman@myriadgardens.org

Julia Summers Lisa Synar THN Insurance Solutions, LLC Topgolf OKC Trust Company of Oklahoma Nancy H. Tucker Erin M. Van Laanen and John Miles Vicki VanStavern and Don Narcomey Dick Wegener Linda Whittington Renate and Charles E. Wiggin Janet and Wiley Williams Anne and Dick Workman James Young Charles M. Zeeck Contributing Members at the Benefactor Level Dr. Thomas Coniglione Christine and Josh Rankin Katherine and Robin Spaid Steven Welch and Sue Alberti $1–$249 Carol Alexander Marilyn Artus Athleta, Inc. Audio Optical Systems of Austin, Inc Judith F. Austin Matthew Bacon Regina J. Banks Susan Barber Kelley Barnes Paula Barrington Cynthia Batt Margaret and John Biggs Elizabeth W. and G.T. Blankenship Debbie and Bob Blackburn Gwendolyn Booker Charles Bowen Matt Bown Phyllis Brawley Jane Bronnenberg Candice Brown Michael J. Carrier Susan Clark Glenda Crotchett Rebecca J. Cruise and A.J. Kirkpatrick Dig and Hope Garden Club Rowland Denman Nancy and Page Dobson Danielle Dunn Sandra Ellis Robert Eskridge Jay Farber Brad Ferguson Craig Fishbein Lauren and Russ Florence Herb Forrester Nancy and Barry Grove Sue Hale Susan and Nick Harroz David Henderson William Henson Sherry and Larry Howell Gary Huneryager Nancy Izfar Jane Jenkins Lou Kerr Paula Kerrigan Sherry Knight Peg Kunneman Julie LaFollette Linda Lambert Nancy Lange DeAnn Lathrop Jean Laughlin Sue Loftis Laurence D. Lucas

Karen and Robert Luke Elizabeth and Richard Magann Jr Dorothy (Dottie) Marple Kay Martin Linda and Joseph A. McKenzie Joan Menard Earl Miker Gwen Mollis Valerie Moore Crystal Mosteller Jeanette Nance Maggie Murdock Nichols Deborah Oliver Alyce and Ronald Page Katie and Blake Patton Gus Pekara Ron Perry William Peterson Jayme Phillips Kyle Plemons Holly Polodna Ray Potts James Prock Jan Prestwood Erik Rash Christina and Brandon Rehkop Ride OKC Anna and Travis Roach Linda Rosser-McDaniel and Ronald T. McDaniel Belinda Ruffel Ann Ryan Meg Salyer Cathy and Mike Sanner Cathy Scheirman Kim and Tom Searls Janice and Lee Segell Amy and Dean Sergent Shirley and Ben Shanker Sally Simon Chantry Sipress-Banks Carol and Sam Smith Mickie and Michael Smith Leslie A. Spears Barbara and Neil Stanfield Phyllis and Roger Stong Roberta and Bruce Stover Jane Sutter Leslie Tippett Jessica Traitz Tropical Plant Leasing Service Rick Vermillion Catherine Warren Kari Watkins Brian Werkman Shane Wharton Millar White Kathy and John Williams Terri and Guy Woodland Bev Woodrome Carol Woods Yvonne and Denver W. Woolsey Mike & Carol Wofford Nancy P. Yoch Christy Zelley Claranell Zimmerman David R. Zornes Contributing Members at the Patron Level Laura and Kenneth Ainsworth Chris Bachmann Jil and Tony Boghetich Katie and Brian Brown Sonja and Tom Capucille Corey Farmer Kate and Matthew Frankforter Nancy and Barry Grove Mary Beth and L. Michael Guard

Bette J. and Frank D. Hill Brenda and Larry Johnson Dr. Thomas Kupiec Kristin and David Lam Alyce and Ron Page Chris Salyer Isaac Spear Judson and Jessica Tompkins Nancy Tucker Janet and Wiley Williams Donors of Mo’s Carousel to the Gardens Angel and Roddy Bates Darci and Michael Dillard In-Kind 110 Events 405 Brewing Co. 822 Broadway Salon A1 Pet Emporium Accel Financial Staffing Ambassador Hotel American Banjo Museum American Plant Products — Rodd Mosel Anthem Brewing Swag Bark Box Best Santas Black Optical Black Scintilla Boardroom Salon For Men — Classen Curve Calvert’s Plant Interiors Nancy Coats Colcord Hotel Cos Bar Oklahoma City Dust Bowl Lanes and Lounge The Electrolysis Clinc Full Circle Bookstore Maureen Heffernan Hefner Eye Care Holiday Inn Express Homeland Jessie Huff Photography Ben E. Keith Kendra Scott Design, Inc Janie Kimball Labeled Living Langley Auto Center Luber Bros.

Lyric Theater of Oklahoma McAllister’s Deli Midtown Renaissance Minick Materials Mode Boutique Oklahoma City Thunder On A Whim Paint N Cheers The Painted Door Pancho’s Liquortown Pam Patty Parking Management Company ‐ Platt College Precure Nursery Republic National Distributing Company Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop Select Wines & Spirits Skirvin Hilton Caleb Shough Carl Shortt Brian Smith Southwest Stationary and Bank Supply Super Cao Nguyen Syrup Topgolf OKC Trader Joe’s Udånder Whole Foods Market OKC

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Non-Profit Org. US Postage Paid Okla. City, OK Permit No. 100

301 W Reno Ave. OKC, OK 73102 myriadgardens.org

Saturday, May 11 9am–4pm

F REE: The third annual OKC Garden Fest takes place on Saturday, May 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the west side of the Gardens, next to the children’s garden and Mo’s Carousel.

This annual festival features more than 40 vendors that will be selling items such as perennials, annuals, native plants, herbs, produce, florals, succulents, pollinator plants, wines, and agriculturally-related crafts. Buy items for your garden and home, ask the experts your planting questions, enjoy some family fun activities, and grab a yummy bite to eat. Activities for children will also be offered and food trucks will be on-site.