Chelsey Bowermaster, our new Executive Director

Beth Lavence, Director of Member Engagement

Roger Edmonds, Horticulturist

JANUARY

A new year always brings challenges and excitement for us, the nature around us just continues on and right now are just waiting for the right time to get on with it.

The staff has been doing weekly walkarounds of the grounds and has posted some great photos on our Facebook page.

This month is drawing to a close but they are busy recruiting new volunteers.

And planning new mini-events:

FEBRUARY

This was posted on our Facebook page and it gives me hope that we will soon have our trees full of all kinds of feathered friends but for now I will be happy with the blue jay.

Even when we are closed our staff continues to educate - like showing types of winter food for wildlife found on the grounds. This was posted on our Facebook page.

A February thaw and Mr. Cardinal is taking in the sunshine.

This month is quickly moving along; we have been in a cycle of snow that soon melts off and then more snow which also fades quickly away.

Today is overcast and quite chilly. As I walked around, the space whispered to me of the beauty to come soon. The fish sleep under their protective cover and the mosaic sculpture looks on stoically. I imagine what the raised beds will look like in a couple of months when the tulips appear.

MARCH

We have reached the first “tween” month, the time when we do not know if winter is over but we are desperately wishing spring would be early.

All throughout the time we have been closed the Welcome Center has been undergoing an amazing transformation. Cole and his helpers have spent a huge amount of volunteer hours making the space look new again.

I am many times overwhelmed by the beauty that exists in nature and many times see it best here in our green space.

The robins have arrived, a harbinger of spring.



It is time for the Master Gardeners to prune the orchard.

This month is rapidly drawing to an end and the tulips have made their appearance.

APRIL

This is on our Facebook page today with a caption about strollers available so you can bring your plants to the Arboretum.

???

Oh, right today is April Fool’s Day!

This month is starting out with some unseasonably warm temperatures, today I am walking around in bright sunshine with an expected high temperature of near 80 degrees.

So, we see some early bird plants while the mosaic sculptures are still sleeping. But I am excited the waterfalls are on and the fish have woken up. The tulips seem to be on schedule - I love the rhythms of creation.

In typical Iowa fashion, the weather patterns have shifted once again. Although today is sunny the temperatures are decidedly cooler. Undaunted, we take down the deer fence around the orchard.

We can never say thank you often enough to all those who volunteer their time to come and help us. This great space would not exist without every one of you. Just recently we had a group from Don Bosco High School.

As April draws to a close we hold a special one-day event to celebrate Arbor Day and display the entries for our Fairy Door contest.

A special treat was the chance for the first arriving guests to select a sapling to plant in their yard. These were provided by long-time volunteer Tim. Tim was on hand to share planting tips with the winners.

We also had the opportunity to show off our new look in the Welcome Center and this year's fantastic Magnolia blossoms in the Hillside Garden.

This visitor chose to plant their sapling on the grounds with some help from our Horticulturist Roger.

We had our first storytime a little early this year as part of this event.

Of course, everyone was welcome to stroll the grounds and enjoy the first glimpse of nature’s best springtime display. I am happy to say that there was plenty to make your heart glad.

To make your visit complete we unveiled a new photo backdrop in the Children’s Garden painted by a local artist, Stephanie Fever.

MAY

We are into springtime and the gardens are shaping up, the koi-pond has been repaired and we are excited to begin our new season. This weekend is the annual plant sale, so much fun to be had.

I cannot say it enough times, we so appreciate each and every volunteer. Without them, we would literally cease to exist. Our volunteers are also known in the community and once again one of ours has been recognized.

The plant sale is in full swing and even though it is rainy we have visitors, thanks to all who came out. 

We are always grateful for Cedar Valley businesses that allow their employees to spend time with us helping out. These folks are from Viking Pump. They are working in the Rose Garden.

And we had another group from John Deere.

In the orchard, we are planting some new apple trees.

This month has flown by and as it draws to a close, we can see how much progress our beautiful green space has made.

JUNE

We are moving into summertime; school is out and the gardens are coming alive.

Our friends from Viking Pump spent another workday with us.

We have a great lineup of mini-events this season.

I came out this first week in June to check out my favorite green space and things are looking great. The mosaic sculptures are filling out, the Rose Garden is set up for a weekend wedding, the annual display is planted, and the fish are looking happy (the forget-me-not pond is getting an upgrade in the U-V filter and the fish are looking blue). And a new sensory garden has been planted in the Children’s Garden. The beauty of this place never gets old.

Storytime is in full swing; 

Having been mired in a drought, we finally got some rain this past weekend. Hard to believe that June is almost gone but here we are in the last week. Things are shaping up for a good-looking mid-summer.

The last day of June and the lazy days of Summer are upon us;

The orchard is showing promise of an abundant harvest for the Food Bank this year.

As the dog days of summer approach, the drought is easing some.

JULY

The butterfly lady is here again (Ann Ginther)

This month we start with several mini-events.

Some wise person once said that the only constant in life is change. Circumstances are never set in stone; our Executive Director had to step away and our manager of member engagement did as well. Chelsey and Beth; you will be missed and we all appreciate the tremendous contributions you made to the Arboretum. For the remainder of this season, the Board of Directors has put in place a transition plan. It included some additional staff positions. Let me introduce you to those folks.

Haylie Wasem

Tracy Grandy

And Cathy Niebergall

As much as I love to look at beautiful landscapes like our great gardens, I think hearing the sound of children’s laughter and seeing their wide eyes and wonderful smiles makes our green space so special. What part of what we do expresses that better than storytime? Our police force never disappoints.

We had our first musical mini-event of this season. It was held on the patio and a good time was had by all.

One more month comes to a close and July is going out in spectacular fashion. Kudos to our garden staff and great volunteers as I continue to be amazed by how absolutely lovely this place is.

A huge thank you to the folks from Next Generation Wireless, even in the scorching heat (in the 90’s) today they came out and worked.

AUGUST

What better way to start the month than storytime with the Fire Fighters?

There is an interesting lineup of mini-events this month.

And:

These folks are enjoying one of them.

As always, the children’s garden is the spot for smiles and giggles during storytime.

SEPTEMBER

This season is moving along, but we have one last hurrah before winter’s chill moves in.

As I strolled (make that rode around in the Gator) through the grounds today I was reminded one more time of the wonderous beauty of the place.

We had a volunteer appreciation day event and everyone had a great time.

As we close out this month, the gang is out setting up for our last event of the year. This year’s market vendor “The Patch” has been out to set up their wares. It looks like great fun.

OCTOBER

The last month of our season has arrived but there are still things to do in the gardens. We had a visit from three folks from Lennox in Marshalltown. They helped us with some much-needed chores. Thank you, Melinda, Tara, and Patti.

The first week of this month and the Autumn Festival is in full swing.

The middle of the month has crept up on me, today is overcast and the wind is chilly. I move through the trees and I am at peace, they are like old friends and we commune about the end of an eventful year. They are showing me their often-hidden selves and I am in awe of the natural world that we take for granted.

Fun facts gleaned from scientific sources; When leaves appear green, it is because they contain an abundance of chlorophyll. There is so much chlorophyll in an active leaf that the green masks other pigment colors. As autumn days grow shorter, less chlorophyll is produced. The decomposition rate of chlorophyll remains constant, so the green color starts to fade from the leaves. At the same time, surging sugar concentrations cause increased production of anthocyanin pigments. Leaves containing primarily anthocyanins will appear red. Carotenoids are another class of pigments found in some leaves. Carotenoids can be orange, yellow, or red. This verifies that the leaves I admire are a glimpse of inner beauty (kind of think there is a life lesson here).

If you put any store in first impressions, then if you visited today, you should be breath-taken as you enter the Hillside Garden.

Autumn at the Arboretum has event Sundays and we have had the last two of this year. Pets on Parade and Witches Hallow.

This is the last week of the season so we may as well go out with a bang. I have run out of superlatives for this month so feast your eyes on the wonderous beauty of this space;

Some chores are yet to be done to get ready for winter, one of which is to take out the annual display.

It has become our custom to plant these beds with bulbs that will blossom next Spring. This gives us the jolt we need to kick off a new season.

Albert Einstein once said;

“Learn from yesterday

Live for today

Hope for tomorrow.”

It is October 25 and Roger and Tracy are planting tulips.

A bit of excitement is in the air this October 27 as the long-anticipated water project gets underway. Hawkeye has partnered with us to bring city water to our facility. We will only use our well for irrigation. The Welcome and Education Center buildings will be connected to city water. 

NOVEMBER

We may be closed to the public but the work now begins for next season. It is time to plan the garden displays and what we can add to the visitor experience. The word was sent out for donations of some small stones that we can use as borders. Thank you to all those who responded.

Now that the trenching is complete, the hookups for the water were completed this month.

Thanks to funding from the Gaming Association and the partnership of Hawkeye the Welcome and Education Centers have safe clean water. Not only will this enhance the visitor experience, it will be beneficial to our plumbing systems. We will continue to use the well for all irrigation purposes in the gardens. Young Plumbing and Heating were able to complete the pipe hook-ups in a week.

This month draws to a close on a fairly pleasant day with blue skies and sunshine.

DECEMBER

Today I am reminded of the opening line of a ballad from the 1960’s “A Winter’s Day in a Cold and Dark December”. Despite that, the gardens display a stunning array of beauty. Mixed with that charm are a few subtle reminders that we coexist with the natural world; we fence off our tender plants from ever-hungry critters and barricade our slumbering fish from marauding predators.

Our new Operations Manager started this month; welcome LuAnn Edmonds.

Special Announcement:              

We are eager to introduce you to our new Operations Manager, LuAnn Edmonds! LuAnn has a background in horticulture, garden management, and staff leadership. We look forward to continued growth and change under her leadership and hope that you’ll give her a warm welcome to our team. She looks forward to meeting you when we re-open at the end of April.

Today is December 31 and another year comes to a close. A time of reflection, a time of resolution, perhaps a time of regret, but hopefully a time of eager anticipation of what comes next. For me, as I commune once again with my friends the trees of the Arboretum, it is a time of peace in the midst of the trial and stress of this world racked with anguish, violence, and turmoil. The cycles of nature soothe me, the wonders of the natural world heal my soul. What I see today may look gloomy as the snow spits at me, but I see ethereal beauty and joy.