Annual Report 2021

Board of Trustees

Brad Avery

Tim Collins

Stacy Cannon

Dan Daniels

Matt Echeverria Gary Pickett

James “Walkie” Ray Peter Rooney

Board of Governors

Kirstie Acevedo Brad Avery

Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs Arthur Carter

Tim Collins

Brandon Goethals Chet Harrison Riley Hayes

Karen Jacoby Gary Pickett

James “Walkie” Ray Greg Salmeri

Adam Schwerner

Amy Uyemura Ron Vanderhoff

Staff Directors

Scott LaFleur, Executive Director

Kyle Cheesborough, Horticulture Director

Catherine Dickinson, Education Director

Beverly Morgan, Event Director

Jill Thrasher, Library Director

Visit us at: 2647 East Coast Highway Corona del Mar, CA 92625

Phone: 949-673-2261

Email: info@slgardens.org

A LETTER FROM THE GARDEN

To our Valued Members and Community,

This first annual report is a reflection of how far we have come and where we intend to go. It demonstrates the creativity, tenacity, and adaptability of a dedicated and talented team.

As we closed the books on the 20/21 fiscal year, the pandemic persisted. Sherman Library & Gardens continued to provide the public with a safe oasis of inspiration. Daily visitation was greatly increased with an unprecedented diversity among guests. Nearly 80,000 visitors explored the garden this year. Resoundingly, we heard a huge, ‘Thank you!’ Thank you for staying open, for maintaining a place of peace and respite, and for creating a safe environment.

To support this further, we reinvented two events: Creatures of the Night became Eerie Evenings, where families explored the dark and spooky side of horticulture, and Nights of 1000 Lights had a reduced admission with non-interactive experiences to promote social distancing. We also introduced greenHouse, an Instagram-able pop art exhibit. These events sold out with record attendance and mass social media engagement.

With the library remaining closed, Sherman Library focused on digitizing important collections, promoting its holdings, publishing articles, establishing an online service for city directory requests, and cultivating partnerships with other professional institutions, and donor support. They launched a Digital Catalog with over 8,000 historic photographs for public viewing, and also professionally photographed its fine art collection.

Education is the core of Sherman Library & Gardens’ pillars—history, horticulture, and the arts. Due to this, we were thrilled to hire Education Director, Catherine Dickinson, who implemented an education plan and connected us further to the art world. She formed a strategic partnership with Backhausdance, an award-winning contemporary dance troupe based in Orange County. The Backhausdance performance elevated our presence in the world of performing arts as we became a venue to showcase their arts. It was a spectacular event to cap off a truly spectacular year!

Despite the challenges of Covid-19, Sherman Library & Gardens has grown team members, taken on new initiatives, and created lasting collaborations with individuals and organizations. This was possible because of our Trustees and Board of Governors’ support of our dedicated and talented staff. I am deeply grateful and truly honored to be a part of this team.

Our vision for the future is to fulfill the increasing demand for quality programs; advance as a cultural hub for the community; and champion our mission to provide the public with an oasis of inspiration and education for regional history, horticulture, and the arts. To drive progress toward this mission, we have developed a proposed master plan that creates a state-of-the-art educational, horticultural, and multimedia arts facility. New amenities will provide the resources needed to reach beyond the walls to inspire and educate the next generation. We are thrilled to advance Sherman Library & Gardens into a world-class botanical garden and historic research library with your support!

Sincerely,

Scott LaFleur, Executive Director

Our Mission

Sherman Library & Gardens provides the public an oasis of inspiration, education, and appreciation of regional history, horticulture and the arts. Keep in touch online: thesherman.org @theshermangardens @theshermangardens @ShermanGardens

Share your photos online and see what other visitors are discovering: #exploreshermangardens

Copyright © 2022 Sherman Library & Gardens. All Rights Reserved.

Meet KYLE CHEESBOROUGH

our Horticulture Director. Before his home at the Gardens, Kyle’s career path lead him to working at commercial nurseries, zoos, and even a historic cemetery. Kyle’s favorite place in the garden is the Sun Garden with Shermie.

Throughout the year, the Sherman Gardens’ horticulture team continued to maintain the collections to the highest standards, and create stunning designs. Their innovation was responsible for the amazing displays of flora throughout the gardens, as well as the agility and creativity to support the Education Programs and Special Events.

In addition to their involvement throughout the Education Programs and Special Events, the horticulture team created the Mediterranean gardens adjacent to the Tropical Conservatory. The design of this area embraces the ecological and sustainable gardening ethos of the organization. With proper design and implementation of the sustainable landscape, a healthy pattern began to form between each component: people, animals, plants, water, soil, insects, and wildlife. These sustainable patterns were also at play with the design of the Mandala Garden. The word ‘mandala’ is a Sanskrit word for a circle contained within a square, often with sections radiating out from the center point. The process of making mandalas helps to manifest stability in our inner life, supporting mental health and the desire for a peaceful environment

The team was also fortunate to trial a variety of Iceland Poppies used in the cutflower market trade from an Italian seed company. It was reported that this variety of Colibri had huge flowers, 2-foot-tall stems, and was double the size of normal varieties. They did not disappoint with blooms over 8 inches in diameter!

The intersection of horticulture and art played out with an amazing summer exhibit greenHouse. The horticultural team designed the exhibit to re-create interior rooms outside—creating juxtaposition on the, “safer at home,” mantra of the pandemic. Visitors discovered lavish ‘living’ rooms throughout the Gardens nestled into the garden space: You entered the formal garden for a grand dinner party, relaxed on a luxurious grass upholstered sofa, or retreated to the study and settled in to read a succulent story. Lay back on the ‘flowerbed’ and admire a canopy of vines growing overhead. There was even a playable moss-covered piano for guests to enjoy!

“I LOVE THE SEASONAL ARRAY OF ANNUALS & PERENNIALS.”

Meet CATHERINE DICKINSON

our Education Director. Working for a range of cultural and education organizations in three different countries, she brings experience that our community appreciates.

This year was the first year for the Sherman Education Program. Even with some limitations brought by the pandemic, many new programs were launched and over 6,000 participants benefited.

Providing all guests an opportunity to learn from the garden was of the utmost importance to the education team. Throughout the year, new classes and programs were introduced that included interactive activities to increase engagement. Online participants benefited from the inaugural Virtual Lecture Series while in-person art and horticulture classes resumed in outdoor classroom settings using social distancing and other precautions.

The Sherman Education Program designed and established a new elementary school field trip program. Second and third-grade students from home school groups were welcomed into the garden to pilot our Habitat Explorers sessions. The sessions, linked with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) curriculum, proved successful and gave young visitors the opportunity to learn about plant adaptation in the Tropical Conservatory, Succulent Garden, and Mediterranean Climates Garden. This outdoor learning experience was designed to enhance students’ understanding of the science concepts they are learning in the classroom or at home, with an enriching outdoor destination.

For preschool children and growing families, the weekly Little Seedlings Story Time became very popular and was offered with complimentary entry. Young families also enjoyed the Garden Scavenger Hunt, Parent & Me art classes, and Garden Sprites preschool dance classes.

The Mini-Gardeners Summer Camp, and subsequent After School Club attracted elementary-aged children that were excited to learn about growing food. The children discovered many edible plants in the garden, planted their own mini-garden, and learned the basics of plant care.

In the summer, two high school interns were welcomed for a seven-week, paid program. The goal of this program was to introduce young adults to a career in public gardens and develop skills in environmental education. This year’s interns worked alongside the horticulture team while in the gardens, and discovered the wider world of public gardens through external field trips.

Lastly, the Group Tours program became increasingly popular throughout the year as safety restrictions eased. The docents conducted tours of the garden and were also available to assist guests in the garden as ‘Docent on Duty’. The Sherman Library & Gardens is extremely grateful for the Docents’ dedication and engagement with the community and visitors!

All of the Education Program’s activities further enhanced the gardens’ mission to provide people of all ages and diversity with an opportunity to discover, learn about, and engage with horticulture, regional history, and the arts. This was possible with the expertise of our staff, the strength of our collections, and our unique campus.

“THERE IS NO MORE BEAUTIFUL WORKPLACE THAN SHERMAN - TO BE SURROUNDED BY GARDENS AND ART EVERY DAY IS A GIFT.”

KEY PERFORMANCE

Meet JILL THRASHER

our Library Director. Joining the Sherman Library in 1998, she can still lose herself among the books, papers and objects. The library is a unique space where visitors can examine regional history and art in a peaceful, quaint setting.

The overarching goal for Sherman Library is to increase access to its holdings. For any research library, making information about its holdings widely available is critical to generating use. Over the last year, this was further improved by creating collection guides, digitizing materials for the Sherman Library Digital Catalog, expanding online reference services, and improving educational outreach.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, Sherman Library was open by appointment only, as well as provided remote research assistance. Despite these limitations, requests for access to our manuscript, photograph, and book collections were overwhelming. The library reopened in June 2021 to the public, and the library welcomed more than 4,000 visitors between June and October 2021.

Sherman Library also increased its city directory research program, a revenue-generating service, which averaged nearly 50 requests per month in the program’s first year. To assist in these requests, Sherman Library hired a Library Aide, Lauren Healey, a graduate student in San Jose State University’s MLIS program. Lauren completed all city directory requests, welcomed visitors to the library, and assisted guests in impromptu research requests.

Creating the Sherman Library Digital Catalog was a major success of the year. The W. C. Sawyer Collection was uploaded to the digital catalog, making over 8,000 photographs available online. Sherman Library increased its online archival and manuscript resources, which attracted academic researchers. Sherman Library’s archival collections were used in four published books, over a dozen published articles, and other publications. Paul Wormser and Jill Thrasher published several articles for CDM Life, The Sherman Times, and the Tales and Treasures library blog.

Sherman Library’s art collection grew with a commitment from Woody Dike, son of noted watercolor artist Phil Dike. Sherman Library entered into planning phases to accept a large collection of watercolor paintings, oil paintings, lithographs, serigraphs, and a number of sketches. This art donation will be the subject of a future exhibit dedicated to the work of Phil Dike and the Brandt-Dike School. This donation also affords Sherman Library the opportunity to rotate artwork and have sufficient works to lend to qualified institutions.

Finally, Sherman Library has expanded its educational outreach by welcoming intern workers from UCI’s History Department and participating in the Orange County Department of Education’s National History Day program. The UCI intern program gave two students practical archival work experience within Sherman Library’s collection. Whereas the National History Day program tasked students with creating a historical video regarding regional history with prizes for the top researchers. Both were successful programs in deepening Sherman Library’s place in the community.

“SHERMAN LIBRARY HOLDS A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART.”

From left to right, top to bottom: Phil Dike, Sawyer Collection, Newport Harbor Lady Anglers Collection, Irvine Park by Anna Althea Hills, Kay Finch Collection.

Meet BEVERLY MORGAN

our Venue & Communications Manager. Starting her career as Public Relations Coordinator at Neiman Marcus, a Special Events Manager for WeddingChannel.com, and then a PR consultant at South Coast Plaza, she brings a unique combination of skills and experience.

The Sherman Library & Gardens strives to support the best local performing artists, find exciting new ways for guests to experience the garden, and encourage people to use the library, and art collections as a source of inspiration. To help achieve this, the Sherman Library & Gardens continued to seek ways to engage with the community through thoughtfully curated special events. Each event took into consideration the current recommendation of the pandemic while allowing the public an inspiring, safe haven that promoted curiosity and discovery.

Newport Beach Garden Tour

The 25th annual Newport beach Garden Tour was held virtually once again. This long-standing fundraiser is the largest fundraiser put on by the volunteer association. This year the volunteers chose to raise money for our new Education Program in support of Catherin Dickinson. To celebrate the 25th anniversary the Argyros Foundation graciously donated $25,000 as the presenting sponsor for the event. The event embraced the virtual aspect of the tour and included homes from Beverly Hills to San Clemente; the highlight being an exclusive interview and tour of the Thornton Gardens in San Marino, California. The story of this historic estate and its preservation was accepted and screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival. The virtual event included three videos, and then culminated at the Summer Garden Party. The event raised $86,000 in support of the Sherman Education Program.

Nights of 1000 Lights

The Sherman Library & Gardens flagship event was started 6 years ago and has quickly become the most popular event. This year, the event was scaled back to create non-interactive experiences. Fairy dancers, jugglers, miniature horses, and a gnome scavenger hunt were seen throughout the gardens. Attendance was reduced from 10,000 to 5,000 with timed entry to prevent overcrowding and allow for recommended social distancing. The overwhelming response from members and guests was gratitude that they could still enjoy the holiday cheer and tradition.

Eerie Evenings (Replacement for Creatures of the Night)

An event that was built off interactive experiences with plants & animals was reimagined by the talented and creative horticulture team. Eerie Evenings replaced creatures throughout the gardens with carnival-like experiences mixed with plant humor: "Behold the man-eating plants at a dining room table set with deadly vegetarian delights!” The highlight of the evening was a Bayou Apothecary that looked and felt like it was a Hollywood set. Once again reduced attendance, and timed entry won accolades from members, and guests because the team was able to showcase creativity while still providing concern for safety.

Plant Society Shows

Supporting local plant societies, and providing them with a low-cost exhibition space, is central to the Sherman Library & Gardens’ mission. The Plant Society Show and Sale program offered guests the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of plants via exhibits, lectures, and demonstrations. In 2021, the Sherman Library and Gardens Plant Society Membership was created. This membership offers selected Orange County plant societies the opportunity to stage one plant show and sale a year and use the gardens for an annual meeting. During the year guests enjoyed shows staged by Orange County Chrysanthemum Society, Southern California Hibiscus Society, Southern California Begonia Society, Orange Empire Bonsai Society, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Orange County Fuchsia Society, Saddleback Bromeliad Society, and North American Clivia Society.

“THE GARDENS ARE THE PERFECT VENUE FOR SO MANY OF LIFE’S RITES OF PASSAGE.”

“I wanted to express my gratitude for your collaboration with Backhausdance company. I was in the audience Saturday afternoon with my parents and children. It was one of the most beautiful, and moving experiences I have had since the beginning of the pandemic. I didn’t realize how much I missed the performing arts until the dancers entered the space, and began their movement.” –Emily Miller

Backhausdance: Garden Flow Residency and Performances In 2021, the performing arts program returned with a series of wonderful garden performances by Backhausdance. Thanks to a $20,000 grant from Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley, Sherman Library & Gardens was able to play a role in resuming performing arts in Orange County. Members, dance fans, and supporters of all ages gathered for an afternoon and evening of performances throughout the garden. The performances were the culmination of a month-long residency by the company of dancers and was experienced by over 1,000 people.

The following notes donors who supported Sherman Library & Gardens from October 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022

$25,000+ Argyros Foundation

Jim & Karen Jacoby

H. V. Nootbaar Fund

Volunteers of Sherman Library & Gardens

$10,000 – $24,999

Kay Azuma & Robert Chavez

Julia Banning

Barbara Belveal

Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs & Don Jacobs

Daniel & Joan Carter Terry Causey Theresa Chang

Susan Colombo & Debbie Schuck Josephine Herbert Gleis Foundation John Lawson

Orange County Board of Supervisors Doug & Lisa Mae Thompson

$5,000 – $9,999

Richard & Hyla Bertea

Louise Brigham Sara Bancroft Clair

William Corkett

Herbert Family Foundation R. “Kelly” & Kay Mortenson Kelly

Michael & Sally Schreter

Peter & Alexandria Strelow Gary & Amy Uyemura Tae Yoo

$2,500 – $4,999

Alan & Betty Andrews Dennis & Diane Baker

Richard & Diane Cannon Arthur & Donna Carter Bruce Crary

Dan & Judy Daniels Thomas & Barbara Davis Ken Fait

Colin & Diane Forkner

Steve Hampson & Harold Koopowitz Jerry & Maralou Harrington

Robert Haskell

Richard & Sandra Haskell Richard & Johann Jonas Stephan & Cristan Jonas

Dennis & Joanne Keith Jenny Klein

Brent & Diane Liljestrom James & Katie Loss Karen McCulley Marilyn & Robert McIntyre Akane Miyasako

Alex & Pamela Munro James & Pamela Muzzy Peter & Gail Ochs

Sidney & Nancy Petersen Gary & Nancy Pickett Bill & Patricia Podlich Fernand Poitras Walkie & Janet Ray Dorothy Ray

$2,500 – $4,999 continued

Dick & Mimi Riley Victoria Rosselli

Betty Saidel

Robert & Linda San Miguel

Walter & Donna Marie Sebring

Anton & Jennifer Segerstrom

Michael & Pauline Smith

Kent Snyder

John & Elizabeth Stahr

Joshua & Nicole Strathman Ann Van Ausdeln

Joan Winchell & Christina Winchell-Harris

$1,000-$2,499

David & Linda Adams

Christopher Ainsworth & Christy Gordon

John & Frances Applegate

Brad & Julie Avery Donald & Joan Beall Michele Blake

Herman Cantrell & Joann Data Nancy Chase Casey Chou

Colin & Christine Chu

Andrew Chu & Sarah Han City of Newport Beach

Donna Clark

Natalia Cobar Steven & Franki Cohen

Penny Costa

Thank you for your generous support!

$1,000-$2,499 continued

Bobbi Cox

Andrew & Linda Crean

Maureen Daly & Jose Valencia

Kevin & Susan Daly

Yesenia Deras & Aaron Halstead

Deanna Doerr & James Cole

Jan-Willem Driessen & Elissa Raigosa

Gail Dufour

Anne Earhart

Hank & Diane Elder

Michael & Marilyn Elmer

Kevin Eschleman

Sandy Fainbarg Richard & Laura Farmer

Zemula Fleming Zachary & Valerie Gagnon Margaret Gates

Jerry & Janet Gilbreath

William Gillespie Foundation

Brandon Goethals

Craig & Adam Goldberg

Kipp & Jodi Goll

Judy Greenspon

Kevin Hague & Johanna Kwan

Pauliana Hall & Fred Milani

Chet & Amy Harrison Patricia Hathaway

Gavin & Ninetta Herbert

Michael Ho

Mary Hobbs

Laura Im

Mary Lou Jensen

Jason & Alicia Jonas John Kelley

Robert Kleist

Jerry Klinkowitz & Julie Huffman-Klinkowitz

Richard & Sharon Kobayashi

Shannon Lamb & Steve Carlson Douglas, Eva & Shauna Le Bon Nicole Lee

Christine Lester

Ross Madick & Jacqueline Murphy Chaulinh Mai

Colette Marcellin & Greg Adams

Britt & Mary McConnell

Janine McDonald

Robert & Patricia McLaughlin Jessica Mika

Mary Murfey

Bonnie Neally & Mary Duzak

Karen Noonan

Cynthia O’Donohue & William Farone

Elizabeth Olson

Will & Jenny O’Neill

Mark Perkowski

Steve & Kathy Prough

Aoife Quinn

Violet Rapp Jed & Siobhan Robinson

Aria Roller

Peter Rooney

Jennifer Rosales & Chris Roberts

Roy E. Crummer Foundation

Dorothy Lippman Salovesh Anne Samuelson

Kathleen Schaefer

Andrea Schug & Cameron Djokovich Jeanne Siegel

Evan & Jean Siegel

Marsha & Bill Simmons

Amber Snijdewind & Sean Vaquer

Paige Sparks & Joshua Valenzuela

Arsen & Lynn Stepanian

Virginia Templeton

David & Erica Timmering

Graham Tingler & Annie McCray

Jessica Tran

William Vargo Caroline & Jon Watanabe

Talen Wilkinson & Ashley Galvan Lloyd Wise

Neil & Pat Yarnell

Barron & Pam Zitney

Revenue

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.

—Henry David Thoreau