Gatherings NEWS
VOLUNTEERS IN THE GARDEN NEWSLETTER
VIG Update
President's Musings
The Garden Corner
MARCH 2017
Dateline
Highlights
How is Yellowstone Like the Sonoran Desert?
page 8
Community Gardeners Rock!
page 14
History of the DBG Butterfly Pavilion
page 14
PRESIDENT’S
PRESIDENT’SMUSINGS
MUSING
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Early phase of construction for the new Horticulture facility - Hazel Hare Center for Plant Science
What is there to say but WOW! So many parts of The
Saguaro Initiative (TSI) are coming to fruition this
month. Phase 1 of the horticulture facility - Hazel Hare
Center for Plant Science - is now complete including a
new, state of the art greenhouse, Learning Lab, Great
Wall, Courtyard, gabion baskets and raised beds for
therapeutic horticulture. (See Pat Fickes’ and Archer
Shelton’s articles for more detail.) And each of these
integral parts is now in place in part as a result of great
energy, sweat, and enthusiasm from you, Volunteers in
the Garden. THANK YOU.
VOLUNTEERS IN THE GARDEN
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
As if that weren’t sufficient, the new butterfly pavilion is
now open, again with much hard labor from many VIGs.
So much to be proud of.
And from the office of our Executive Director, an
announcement that Ken Schutz has been selected for a
national position as a member of the National Museum
and Library Services Board.
PRESIDENT
MARILYN WOLFE
VICE PRESIDENT SUE LANKER
SECRETARY
CHARLA BUCKLIN
TREASURER
GENE ALMENDINGER
A bimonthly newsletter for and by the
Volunteers of the Desert Botanical Garden
Good news all around. Keep up the good work.
MARILYN WOLFE
VIG PRESIDENT
2
EDITOR/LAYOUT
KATHY WEBER
PROOFING EDITOR
ELAINE GRUBER
STAFF LIAISON
NANCY WHITE
VIG UPDATE
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JANUARY VIG MEETING
EXTRACTING DNA FROM PLANTS
Ancestry.com, 23 and me, DBG citizen scientists, what
do they all have in common? Each has studied DNA.
Our January VIG meeting introduced 100 plus of us to
how to extract DNA from a banana. Our speaker was
one of our own volunteers, Dr. John Soper.
by and for our volunteers. Mark your calendars for
the 2nd Monday of each month. The FYI emails will
let you know a couple of weeks in advance who the
next monthly speaker will be, so come join your fellow
volunteers.
John gave the VIG Board a list of supplies; soap, salt,
rubbing alcohol, hot water and lots of bananas. Our VIG
President, Marilyn Wolfe, who really doesn’t even like
the smell of bananas, was assigned the job of buying all
those bananas and keeping them in her car. Marilyn was
able to talk Nancy White into storing them in her office
over the weekend. Last I heard, Marilyn was still airing
out her car. But I digress. The experiment was truly
a great learning experience….and I have the pictures
to prove it. Lots of concentration, furrowed brows,
laughter and most everyone enjoyed the success of
capturing a DNA string.
SUE LANKER
VIG VICE PRESIDENT
WE WELCOME YOUR
ARTICLES AND PHOTOS
Do you have something you would like all VIGs
to know about? Have you traveled somewhere
we all should see? Submit your articles, photos,
and blurbs to Gatherings Editor Kathy Weber at
[email protected].
This is just one example of the monthly meetings held
3
VIG UPDATE
NOMINEES FOR THE 2017-18 NOMINATING
COMMITTEE
In accordance with the VIG Bylaws, Marilyn Wolfe, VIG President, has
selected candidates for the Nominating Committee for 2017-18. Election
of these candidates will be voted upon at the April VIG Recognition
meeting.
The nominees are:
Barb Lieberson, Chair (second term)
Rebecca Berry (second term)
Mario Gonzalez (first term)
Jane Williams (first term)
Archer Shelton (second term)
Leslie Leviness (second term)
Marilyn Wolfe (first term)
BARB LIEBERSON
NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR
NOMINEES FOR VICE PRESIDENT,
SECRETARY AND TREASURER
The VIG Nominating Committee has selected the following persons as
officer nominees for the 2017-2018 year. Each selected nominee has
provided a bio in their own words as presented below.
Vice President: Sue Lanker
Secretary: Crista Abel
Treasurer: Jim Hermann
Election for these offices will be held at the April VIG Recognition
meeting. In accordance with the VIG Bylaws, nominations from the floor
may be made by submitting in writing to the President the name of the
nominee with the endorsement of five (5) VIG members and the written
consent of the nominee to serve.
Many thanks go to my committee of Rebecca Berry, Leslie Leviness,
Janie Parks and Archer Shelton for all of their service and help in the
nominating process.
BARB LIEBERSON
NEW VOLUNTEERS JOIN
OUR RANKS
Education staff has recently
completed another new volunteer
training class. Graduates of this class
total 25. Here is a brief highlight of
most. As you will see, they bring a
myriad of skills, passion, and interests
to the Garden.
Lynn Archuleta, a 20 year DBG
member, has been a volunteer
at animal shelters, a zoo, and a
homestead farm. She has extensive
retail and management skills, also
served as a college advisor and
registrar. Lynn is interested in working
in the butterfly pavilion (just in time!)
and eventually as a hort aide.
Tia Biakaiddy is a sophomore at ASU
majoring in Landscape Architecture
Design. She says she was “so
enchanted by the stories about the
Garden” she decided to use her
education and become a volunteer.
Tia is eager to try community garden
and hort aid work.
Ken Cameron, recently retired from
the grocery industry, is, after being
a member for 15 years, joining
our volunteer ranks. His interest in
animals and plants will be helpful as a
butterfly and plant sale VIG.
Diane Carlson, a visitor since 1980
and retired elementary teacher, has
just completed a Master's degree
in biology. Her degree focus,
“Connecting Arizona Children
to Nature through Gardening for
Wildlife,” will fit right in with the
Great Milkweed Grow Out and
monarch research.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR
I have lived in Phoenix my entire adult life (originally
from Washington state), except for a 5 year stint in
Colorado. I am currently the VIG Vice President, a
Tuesday Docent, Envoy and Special Events volunteer.
I was the Trip Chair the past two years. I have been
a volunteer for 10 years. I also volunteer with the
Maricopa County Master Gardeners, usually selecting
gardens for their annual garden tour and dealing with
municipalities on the permits necessary for the selfguided tour.
I have retired twice, once after a 30+ year career with the telephone company
and then again after a 5 year stint managing the DBG Butterfly Pavilion.
My spouse, Jim Joling and I enjoy escaping to Payson whenever we
can…as well I am an avid tennis player.
Ivanna Caspeta was introduced to
the Garden by her mom, a former
docent. She is a high school senior
interested in marine biology. Ivanna’s
interests are working with plants,
perhaps the community garden, and
people.
SUE LANKER
VIG VICE-PRESIDENT
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Continued on page 5
VIG UPDATE
I’m a native of the Southwest, having lived in Texas,
New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. Regardless
of where my family lived, gardening was always
an important part of my life. When my family
moved to Yuma, Arizona I learned the challenges
of growing plants in the desert. I continued to
learn more about desert gardening when I moved
to Tempe to attend ASU. I earned my bachelor’s
degree in elementary education, and master’s and
PhD in psychology. As a teacher, and then as a
school psychologist, I integrated gardening into as
many activities as possible. I developed counseling groups for students
centered on creating school flower and vegetable gardens. Children
learned to manage their behaviors and feelings as they learned to care
for plants.
My first visit to the Desert Botanical Garden was in the early 1980’s, and I’ve
enjoyed watching it evolve since that time! The Garden plant sales were
wonderful opportunities to learn, and to add plants to my home garden.
After retiring I was pleased to finally have time to volunteer at the Garden.
After taking the New Volunteer training with my mom, we decided to jump
right into Docent training! The training was exciting and challenging. It
was wonderful to refresh my teaching and interpreting skills. I participated
in the Certified Interpretive Guide training and received my certification
through the National Association of Interpreters. I’m a Wednesday Docent
and co-day captain, and enjoy other volunteer roles as well. I’ve been a
Lumi lighter, manage the “What’s in Bloom” kiosk, and at the end of each
year complete a data analysis of guest guide and docent guest contacts.
For the past two summers, I’ve prepared materials for flashlight tours and
discovery stations.
When I’m not at the Garden I like to spend time with my family, work in
my garden, paper craft and sew.
CRISTA ABEL
VOLUNTEER
Continued from page 4
Dennis Checkoway, a pharmacist
by vocation, wants to learn about
desert plants and will get that
education when he begins to work as
a groundskeeper in the community
garden and, eventually, as a hort aid.
Mark Coryell joins us with much
tour guide experience. He formerly
worked at Taliesin West and for the
National Park service in San Francisco
at the Marin Headlands. His interests
lie in public conservation efforts. Mark
hopes to be a Guest Guide and work
as a hort aide.
Joel Dawkins has a background in
sales and marketing, most recently
in solar energy. He is on the Board
of Directors at P.S.A. Behavioral
Health/Art Awakenings. Joel wants
to become more knowledgeable
about his native surroundings and
is interested in “almost everything
offered” at the Garden.
Linda Eeva is an Arizona newcomer
with a background in property
management and extensive
construction and design skills. She
currently runs her own small ranch
complete with ducks, chickens, a
horse and a dog! Linda will start
Continued on page 6
In 1951 I moved to Phoenix from
Indiana. Graduating from ASU
with a BS in Business, I worked
eight years in the hospitality
industry. I knew I needed to be
outside and started to work for a
landscape design and installation
firm. Completing the Maricopa
County Master Gardener program convinced me I wanted to
stay in the green industry. When I
started a landscape maintenance
company, I often needed expert information on plants,
thus beginning my contact with the Garden.
After selling my landscape company, I became a sales
manager for LESCO, a national landscape and turf industry supplier. After 13 years at LESCO I became a sales
manager selling hardscape materials, especially boulders,
some of which are at the Garden. For 15 years I was an
active member of the Arizona Landscape Contractors As-
sociation. My last job before retiring was with the Scottsdale
School District helping train autistic and special needs high
school students for possible work in the green industry.
In the early 70’s, I served six years in the US Army Reserves
in Military Intelligence. I helped start the Arizona Croquet
Club and was an officer or board member for 25 years playing in tournaments across the country. I served as the first
Southwest region vice president for the United States Croquet Association.
Since becoming a VIG four years ago I have worked as an
Envoy, Guest Guide, Special Events volunteer, and Butterfly
volunteer. I really enjoy working two shifts each plant sale
and two nights during Lumi. I am very excited about the
new Butterfly Pavilion and can’t wait to volunteer there and
to bring my wife and four grandchildren to it. Most Monday
mornings you can find me as an Envoy in the kiosk.
JIM HERMANN
VOLUNTEER
5
TAKING CARE OF BEESNESS
Continued from page 5
volunteering with butterflies and
Guest Guiding.
Jo Hayslip, an RN, is a Master
Gardener who wishes to learn even
more about the desert and share
information about the Garden with
others. Jo plans on being a Guest
Guide.
Late last year, volunteers were given the opportunity to take a continuing
education class at a 50% discount. I have to say, I was THRILLED to get
this news! Because I still have a full time job, I usually miss the monthly VIG
meetings held during the daytime because I am at work.
Normally when I want to take a class I just sign up to be an Instructor Aide
– it’s an easy volunteer job, and you get to attend the class free! But this
time, I actually wanted to focus, and “be” a student, not a worker – I wanted
to really take this opportunity and make the most of it. So I began looking
through the courses. The one stipulation we were given was that the course
had to be “educational” (meaning “Soap Making 101” wasn’t going to fly). There were just so many great opportunities to choose from! I kept reading
what was available and one class kept sticking out for me – Beekeeping for
Beginners.
Please let me be clear, I am in no way ever planning on becoming a
beekeeper; however, I love bees, knowing where to find them in the Garden
and learning more about them.
It was a great class! Dan Punch was a very informative instructor and I
learned all the basics about bee hives and how they work. I also learned
about the queen bee, her role, the role of worker bees in and out of the
hive, honey, royal jelly, and all the things about bees. Dan also talked about
beekeeping attire, and tools and items needed to keep the hive, how to
obtain the bees for the hive and websites to obtain all these items. Dan
also let us know that the beekeeping community was pretty tight knit and
were always willing to help out other beekeepers. All things I never knew!
Something else that stood out was that Dan let us know of bee hive volunteer
opportunities – places we could go to volunteer to learn how to keep a hive,
suit up properly, and how to operate the beekeeping tools.
The class was held on a Saturday, and since I’m a Sunday docent, I got to share
the info I learned with my fellow docents during our lunch hour. It was pretty
cool because it was like a mini monthly meeting. I got to share what I learned
and my team asked questions, and in the end I think we all learned something
about bees we didn’t know. For me, that was the best part!
Consider taking advantage of the 50% discount for classes, if you have not
already. I think this is a great program and I’d hate for us to lose the opportunity
because so few of us used it. Also, it’s a great way to meet new people and learn
more about something that you thought you already knew a lot about.
KATE ROE
VOLUNTEER
6
Elizabeth Hamilton moved to the
desert to learn more about it. She asks
“what better place to do this than the
DBG?” With her degree in journalism,
she has writing and photography skills
that we can surely use. She plans on
working in the butterfly pavilion and as
a hort aide.
Janet Laing, a longtime member, has
been a human resources manager. She
also was a former docent at the Frank
Lloyd Wright Studio in Chicago. She
hopes to be an Envoy and/or Guest
Guide.
LeRoy Meister, retired Manager of
a heavy equipment repair company,
loves the “presentation of the desert."
He describes himself as an urban
gardener, likes to hike and travel and
wants to be a groundskeeper, work in
the community garden, and at plant
sales.
Jack Mikelson recently retired
from the City of Chandler in the
Development Services Department.
An outdoors man, he enjoys hiking,
golf, camping and hopes to become a
groundskeeper and a hort aide.
Vernon Rupp, retired after 35 years
in banking and accounting and as
a teacher of high level computer
skills, says he “loves the Garden; it’s
a treasure." As a Master Gardener,
he’s interested in working as an Ask a
Gardener, Guest Guide and Docent.
Vickie McDermott-Rupp is joining her
husband Vernon as a new VIG. Also
a Master Gardener, she would like to
be a Docent, Guest Guide and Ask
A Gardener. She “loves sharing our
beautiful desert!”
Continued on page 7
FEBRUARY FINDS FLOAT
FOLKS FABRICATING FINE
Continued from page 6
Karen Schneider grew up on a ranch
in North Dakota. She worked in the
state as a nurse practitioner for 38
years in dialysis units. Karen wishes to
continue helping others, this time as a
Docent or Guest Guide, so that others
can learn about desert plants.
The former Float Committee, a group of
enthusiastic VIGs who produced numerous
award-winning DBG floats for the Phoenix
Festival of Lights Parade in years past, has
been reconstituted, reconnected, reenergized, repurposed and renamed.
Michael Spahle is a real
outdoorsman. A retired Honeywell
aerospace engineer, he volunteers
with the City of Phoenix at Papago
Park as a park steward and
previously at Tonto National Forest
as a wilderness steward maintaining
backcountry trails. Michael loves
to travel in his Jeep and RV. He will
begin as a groundskeeper, moving
into hort as opportunities open up, as
well as community garden work.
The group of energetic volunteers with the
new name of the Furniture Committee has
been working since spring, 2016 to design,
supply, organize and construct the numerous raised beds and substrate bins that will
be needed in the Learning Lab of the new
Hazel Hare Plant Science Center opening in
late February.
The raised beds will be used in the new
Therapeutic Horticulture program. The program will be a part of the expanded list of
services and teaching opportunities that will
be available later this year.
Helena Tuman is a retired 30+ years
elementary teacher. She says “it’s time
to participate in a new world” now.
Helena has been a home gardener,
loves horticulture and plans on
working in the butterfly pavilion and
as a groundskeeper.
The six raised beds have been designed
and constructed to accommodate a wide
range of participant needs, including
wheelchair accessibility, high and low beds
and seating on the bed edges.
Becky Verdone, a Master Gardener,
is an active volunteer with several
organizations, including formerly
docenting at SMOCA (Scottsdale
Museum of Contemporary Art). A
retired manufacturer’s rep, Becky says
she “loves our DBG” and hopes to be
a Guest Guide and Ask A Gardener.
Matching substrate bins will store materials
such as compost, vermiculite, perlite and
native soil. These will be mixed to make a
growing medium needed for classes.
Many of the materials used to make the
beds and bins comes from recycled and repurposed items from the horticulture center
construction. These include concrete forms
used in building walls, used pallets and other cast off items.
Angela Ward, a “young at heart”
realtor wants to learn new things
about the Garden and then share that
knowledge with others. Her passion is
her grandkids. She hopes to work as
an Envoy and butterfly VIG.
Clyde Parks, one of the leaders on the crew,
is happy the former “Floaters” have gotten
together again for a new project.
“There are very talented people who volunteer here, and the skills they possess are
almost unlimited. They’re dedicated to doing
almost anything to help the Garden,” he said.
“When you’re having fun and enjoy the people you’re doing it with, the job takes a back
seat.”
Look for the Furniture Committee’s handiwork when you tour the new Learning Lab.
Top photo: John Earle working on
raised beds (for new hort area)
Second photo from top: John Earle
and Clyde Parks working on therapeutic hort beds.
Third photo from top: Bill Cope
sealing the raised beds.
Bottom photo: Bill Cope and Bill
Cartmell working on raised beds.
Christine Zunino has been involved
in landscape architecture for 25 years
and is now retired. She is anxious to
meet other volunteers and enhance
visitors’ experiences so that they,
too, may love the desert. She wishes
to be a Guest Guide and work in
the community garden as well as at
special events.
ARCHER SHELTON
MARILYN WOLFE
VOLUNTEER
VIG PRESIDENT
7
HOW IS
YELLOWSTONE
LIKE THE
SONORAN
DESERT?
Say what? How could Yellowstone be anything like the
Sonoran Desert you say? Well,
let’s see. First, let me tell you
how this all came about. My
partner, Steve Klug, and I had
the great privilege of being
tour guides in Yellowstone National Park this past summer.
It was Steve’s second year to
work in the Park and my first.
As I learned more about Yellowstone, I
was struck by the similarities between
the remarkable Lodgepole Pines and
our long-living Saguaros. Yellowstone is
about 80% forested and, of those forests, about 80% are Lodgepoles. Their
shallow roots were most fascinating to
me. Because Yellowstone is mostly located within a
huge caldera (the world’s largest known caldera, being
45 x 30 miles!) the soil is still very shallow, even though
the last large eruption was over 640,000 years ago. So,
they have only one way to go: out; not down. I was
constantly reminded of our awesome Sonoran Desert
and how the huge majestic Saguaros have extraordinarily shallow roots as well, with not much more than
about a 2-foot tap root. But the Saguaros have evolved
shallow roots for an entirely different reason. Their roots
stay shallow (only about 3-4 inches beneath the surface
of the ground) in order to get that valuable rain water
whenever they can. To me, those hardy Lodgepoles
were my continuing connection to our enduring and
prolific Sonoran Desert: they’re both survivors.
We lived for five months in a dormitory at Old Faithful
Village, a comfortable room looking out on beautiful
Lodgepole Pines, and ate meals at any one of the Employee Dining Rooms around the Park. We worked in
the Transportation Department of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the largest concessionaire in Yellowstone.
Steve mostly drove the historic yellow touring cars, I
mostly did what’s called “step-on” tours. I would meet
the large tour buses somewhere around the Park, “step
on” the bus, and spend the day with the group touring
them around Yellowstone. As tour guides, we spent our
days interpreting the Park’s many geothermal areas,
the geology, the ecology and the history of our country’s first National Park.
Since it was the Centennial of the National Park Service, the park was pretty busy as we got further into
summer. It was quite an indoctrination for my first year
as a tour guide. We experienced a similar “initiation
by fire” our first year as newbie docents at the DBG
during the first Dale Chihuly exhibit. We had to hit the
ground running that year! However, nothing quite
gets you ready for a summer in Yellowstone; it was
challenging, exhilarating and sometimes exasperating,
but always absolutely and incredibly beautiful.
The Lodgepoles also reminded me of our rugged Palo
Verde trees. The Lodgepole is quite shade intolerant
and will drop lower limbs when
not getting enough sunlight.
The mature forest ends up
looking like telephone poles
with Christmas trees on top.
Similarly, the durable Palo
Verde trees will drop their
leaves or entire limbs because
of dry conditions.
Walking the half mile over to breakfast we’d often see
Old Faithful going off, a Bison grazing right along the
roadway, a pine marten or huge raven checking the car
grills in the parking lot for bugs. Once we even ran into
a badger investigating a ground squirrel’s den.
Last, and comically, I was reminded of our crowd-pleasing
Round-tailed Ground Squirrels
8
Continued on page 9
Round-tailed Ground Squirrel
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Continued from page 8
It was comforting that, while living in such an amazing
and dynamic environment as Yellowstone, I’d be
reminded of the Desert Botanical Garden and astonishing Sonoran Desert. I would, when introducing
myself on my tours, always include where I was from,
and that I am also a docent here at the DBG. Invariably I would have at least a few visitors comment on
how they’d been to the Garden and how beautiful it
is. Those special moments were rewarding and, at the
same time, I was always filled with gratitude for the invaluable training I’ve received over the years as a
docent here at the DBG.
Well, we’ll be off again in May to Yellowstone for the
summer, where I’m sure I’ll once again be reminded of
my beautiful home here in the Sonoran Desert.
Lodgepole pines - Yellowstone National Park
MELINDA LOUISE
while watching the Yellowstone Uinta (pronounced
“you-in-ta”) Ground Squirrels. Just as here in the Garden, you expect them to stand up and do a little songand-dance number at any moment.
VOLUNTEER
Old Faithful geyser (left of photo) and the Old Faithful Inn built (through the winter!) in 1903-1904, and opened in June of 1904.
9
HAZEL HARE CENTER FOR PLANT STUDY
ALL HANDS ON DECK
It has been a privilege to serve as the VIG on the Hazel
Hare Center for Plant Science Committee. With the
completion of Phase 1, I would like to commend the
entire project team for delivering this “shining jewel” in
the Garden, which serves to promote and maintain our
most precious collection, the plants, with a state of the
art greenhouse and teaching space.
The construction project team consisting of: the
Architect - coLAB studio, the Design/Constructor – 180
degrees design inc, the DBG Project Owners – Dr. Kim
McCue and Brian Kissinger, the DBG Project Manager
(Wonder Woman) Kristen Kindl, DBG’s (Renaissance
Man) Raul Puente, DBG Education Director (and kind of
my boss) Tina Wilson, many more key DBG Staff, and I
have worked in a cohesive fashion for more than a year,
meeting weekly at 8AM on Thursdays. The project team
plus a myriad of volunteers included:
• The plant movers and shakers: who relocated/
repositioned thousands of plants in/out/in the green
houses and shade structures, both old and new.
• The form fitters: who prepped the formwork with
leaves for the South retaining wall.
• The pallet busters: who broke down and removed
nails from the wood pallets donated by Intel.
• The Planter-neers (Furniture Committee) who
created and constructed the planters and furniture
for the education center.
• The rock stars: who moved and “loaded” rocks
throughout the jobsite, primarily at the Great Wall
(Horthenge) and gabion baskets.
• The patio patrons: who laid bricks and moved sand
for the Ironwood Courtyard patio.
• The landscape luminaries (stars): who got down
and “dirty” digging irrigation lines and planting
hundreds of plants throughout the entire project
site.
These are the people who delivered phase 1 of the
Hazel Hare Center for Plant Science which serves as a
stellar example of “cutting edge” design, construction
and green materials.
By now everyone has toured the Hazel Hare Center for
Plant Science (phase 1) which encompasses: the Marley
Horticulture Learning Lab, the Ottosen Great Wall,
the Cohn Ironwood Courtyard, and Greenhouse West
(including the Marta Morando & Bill Moio GHW Bay 1)
and I’m sure will agree, this was a resounding success
and architectural/construction achievement. A Big
Congratulations to the entire Project Team!
PAT FICKES
VOLUNTEER
10
THE GROWING AGAVE
FLOWER STALK
March 27, 2016
While walking along the Wildflower Trail in
March 2016, I happened upon an agave that
had just begun to bolt. The one thing that
I thought in that moment was that if I start
taking photos now, I can have a good record
of how quickly the plant grows. It would be
a great way to translate this to our visitors –
showing them that an agave CAN grow 6-8
inches a day. I say this fact to our visitors
often, but NOW, I have proof!
I’ll be the first to say I’m not a huge agave fan.
Up to this point the only thing that I remember
about sharing the agave with our visitors was
from my first round of Flashlight Tours. I was
often asked one question: “How do you make
tequila?” As a good docent, I’d smile and say
that this plant was so much more than that, and
then go into its adaptations, and how Native
peoples would use the plant in their daily lives
before I would eventually say “I have no idea
how tequila is made.” I figured at this point I
was able to give the educational information
because history had taught me that once I said
I don’t know how tequila was made, guests
would walk away. I never took it personally – I
hope the agave bed didn’t either…
April 03, 2016
But now, here was a great chance to actually
SHOW something that this plant did. This
was exciting for me! It started on a late March
Sunday, I stood there as people walked by,
and pointed out the beginning bolt or flower
stalk. It was a good conversation piece – all
those sugars inside were coming together and
BAM – Hello Flower Stalk! It sparked a lot of
questions, “How high will it grow?” “Will it
produce another stalk?” “Does it really die?”
Suddenly, it was so much fun talking about this
plant! Not one tequila question!
April 17, 2016
April 24, 2016
Then, during week 2, I would stand by the
agave again and show photos of where it was
last week. People were amazed. This week
was fun because people began to notice
more about the plant. People asked about the
markings on the leaves and it let me explain
how tightly compacted this plant was at its
core. I enjoyed showing the “teeth marks” left
before and after each leaf.
In week 3, looking at week 1 photos was
actually quite amusing! I think the best part at
this time was pointing out the little pups at the
April 10, 2016
Continued on page 12
May 01, 2016
11
Continued from page 11
plant base. There weren’t a lot of them, but
enough to explain the asexual properties of
this plant and that the pups were exact clones
of the agave that had a growing flower stalk.
Weeks 4–5 the flowers started to show their
buds. This was cool because this agave
had sort of a candelabra flower stalk, while
just around the corner of the trail, there was
another agave that was more of a candlestick
styled flower stalk. It was exciting watching
visitors walk back and forth between the two
plants and asking questions of both types of
flower stalks and seeds.
May 8, 2016
In the last few weeks, this flower stalk matured
more and more, had some beautiful flowers
and was upright, bold, proud and a beautiful
healthy green. It was at this point, the docents
were on break for the summer. Because I
travel for work, and my travel season is in the
summer, I was not able to get back to the
garden to take more progression photos. It
was interesting looking at the October photos
when I got back. The plant’s flower stalk had
begun to darken and lean. This was sad to
me because I knew in time, this plant would
be taken out for guest safety (we don’t want
it to fall and hurt anyone). The base leaves
were beginning to dry out, lose all color and
die. This plant was doing exactly what it was
designed to do – bloom itself to death.
October 2, 2016
In the photos presented here, notice the
background. One thing you will see in the
Oct/Jan photos that isn’t in the others ones is
a new blooming desert spoon plant. It’s safe
to say that it began bolting over the summer
and had photo bombed the original plant. I
felt like it was saying “Hey, he’s dying, but
I’m here!” reminding me that plant life still
goes on. You can see it’s more of a candlestick
versus a candelabra, but nice to see both
together.
May 12, 2016
I feel like I got very lucky that I was able to
catch this bolting agave when I did. Sharing
the photos with the visitors over the flower
stalk’s growing life span made the reality of
the end of this plant’s life more tangible to the
visitors.
KATE ROE
VOLUNTEER
Special thank you to Tom Gatz for his help with this article.
12
January 2, 2017
THE GARDEN CORNER
return to cover
TURNING THE TABLES:
PREY KILLS PREDATOR AT DBG
An afternoon with unseasonably warm weather this past
January at the Garden may account, at least in part, for
the very unusual event I witnessed.
Fellow Sunday docent Barbara Hasenkamp and I had
just parted company after spending a pleasant hour
and a half sharing a pretty decent view of one of our
great horned owls in the cottonwoods with Garden
visitors. Heading toward the back parking lot, just
south of the Portal, I encountered a throng of visitors
transfixed on something near a large Weber’s Agave.
“What are you seeing?” I asked. A woman holding up
her smart phone replied “we are watching a squirrel
killing a large snake." “I’m sorry, did you mean to say
a large snake killing a squirrel?" I queried. “No”, she
countered, “take a look for yourself.”
A rock squirrel attacking a gopher snake
eating mongoose).
Still writhing, an approximately three and one half
foot-long gopher snake was being attacked by a rock
squirrel. As I watched, with my mouth hanging open,
the squirrel alternated between biting the snake’s
head and its body. Like a policeman at a crime scene I
started bombarding the visitors with questions. “Who
started it?” “Did the snake fight back?” Another visitor
showed me a video recording she took just moments
earlier of the snake partially wrapped around the
squirrel’s body. By the time I arrived, I wasn’t sure if
the snake was even still alive or if we were just seeing
the nerve synapses still firing, causing involuntary
movements in a recently deceased snake. I explained
to the visitors that rock squirrels, like humans, were
opportunistic and omnivorous, consuming both plants
and animals. Female rock squirrels are also known
to fiercely defend their burrows and babies from
marauding snakes.
As the squirrel attempted to drag the limp and now
apparently dead snake toward its nearby burrow, I
observed how our visitors were reacting to the life and
death struggle they had just witnessed. I listened as
parents gently explained to their children that this is
how nature works and how everything eventually gets
recycled in the environment. I did sense that most of
the visitors were quietly cheering for the squirrel. But
to be honest, my sympathies were with the snake.
After all, we need all the snakes we can get to curb
the ever-growing number of rodents chewing up our
plant collections. Still, as a long-time observer of
nature, I assured the visitors that this was an amazing,
if disturbing, once-in-a-lifetime interaction I had never
witnessed before nor had ever even seen on a nature
program (at least one that didn’t involve a snake-
Not having been there for the beginning of the
encounter, I can only speculate on how a rock
squirrel could have prevailed over an adult snake
that undoubtedly had, until now, always come out
the victor in its many, many previous encounters
with rodents. I wondered aloud if perhaps the 75
degree afternoon temperature after a chilly night
might have enticed the dormant snake to drag
itself out and bask for a few hours in the sunlight;
warm enough to move slowly but perhaps not warm
enough to defend itself very well.
The next day, I turned on my computer and
noticed that Garden Development staff and reptile
enthusiast Paula Crawford had posted photos on her
Facebook page of a rock squirrel attacking a gopher
snake in the same area of the Garden the day after
my observations. The snake was still alive! Perhaps
it had been in shock or had feigned being dead
the previous day. Paula retrieved the poor snake
and tried to treat its wounds but, unfortunately, it
died soon afterward. Paula suggested another
possible explanation for the appearance of a coldblooded snake on a winter day – could the nearby
construction activity for the new butterfly house
have driven it from its subsurface winter retreat in a
semi-torpid and vulnerable state?
I checked the internet and was surprised to find
other documentation and videos of rock squirrels
killing and even eating snakes (viewer discretion
advised). To learn more about rock squirrels and
their relatively recent arrival at the Garden as well
as their interesting interactions with rattlesnakes,
see the May 2010 issue of The Gatherings available
in the Garden library or find the article under
‘mammals’ in The Garden Corner binder in the
docent volunteer room.
TOM GATZ
VOLUNTEER
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BUTTERFLY
PAVILION
2002-PRESENT
Top Left: The Desert Botanical
Garden opened our first pavilion
in the spring of 2002 with an
expected run of three to five years.
Top RIght: Old Pavilion closed
13 years later in 2015. We
learned people enjoyed seeing
butterflies, caterpillars and
chrysalises. Bottom Left: Present location
where Butterfly Pavilion is to be
built.
Bottom Right: Artist rendering of
new DBG Butterfly Pavilion.
SOPHIA ROGERS
DBG BUTTERFLY PAVILION MANAGER
COMMUNITY
GARDENERS ROCK!
The DBG Community Garden had a fruitful 2016. The
total harvest recorded for the year is ONE TON! The
total amount donated to the St. Stephens food bank
was 1318 pounds, 66% of the overall total. Way to go
CGers!
Here’s why our donation to a food bank is so significant:
There are an alarming number of Arizonans who daily
are deemed “food insecure." That means people who
wake daily and don’t know where their food for the day
will come from.
In Maricopa County, it is estimated that 600,000 people
meet this definition and perhaps as high as one million
in AZ. In the county, it breaks down into 1 in 4 children,
1 in 5 adults, and 1 in 7 seniors. Those chronically food
insecure may reach as high as 225,000 in Maricopa
County.
So, if you want to help others, feed your family,
and have fun, think about becoming a Community
Gardener volunteer.
DAVID HILL
COMMUNITY GARDEN ONSITE COORDINATOR
14
Top Photo: Fresh salad greens growing in the Community Garden.
Bottom Photo: Community Garden tour.
VIG DATELINE
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Tuesday, April 11
Garden Free Day, 8am-8pm
MARCH
Friday, March 3
Music in the Garden
Jazz Con Alma (Latin-influenced Jazz & Contemporary)
7-9pm; doors open at 5:30pm
Friday, April 14
Music in the Garden
Big Nick and the Gila Monsters (Blues)
7-9pm; doors open at 5:30pm
Saturday & Sunday, March 4 & 5
Public Butterfly Pavilion & Horticulture Center
Celebration
Friday, April 28
Music in the Garden
JWhite and the Collective (Smooth Jazz)
7-9pm; doors open at 5:30pm
Monday, March 6
Full Board Meeting
Volunteer HQ, 9am
Sunday, April 30
VIG Annual Recognition and Reception
Dorrance Hall 3-6pm
Friday, March 10
Music in the Garden
The Brazen Heads (Celtic, Celtic Rock)
7-9pm; doors open at 5:30pm
MAY
Monday, March 13
VIG Meeting, Speakers: Wendy Hodgson and
Ray Leimkuhler: “Cultural Plants and Cultural
Landscapes: Pre-Columbian Agaves in Arizona”
Dorrance Hall
Social Period, 9:30am; Meeting, 10am
Hospitality: Children’s, IAs, Research
Monday, May 1
Full New Board Meeting
Volunteer HQ, 9am
Tuesday, March 14
Garden Free Day, 8am-8pm
Tuesday, May 9
Garden Free Day, 8am-8pm
Friday-Sunday, March 17-19
Spring Plant Sale, Event Plaza
Member Preview: Friday, 7am-5pm
Open to General Public:
Saturday, 7am-5pm
Sunday, 7am-3pm
Friday, May 12
Music in the Garden
Grupo Liberdade (Brazilian, World, Batucada)
7:30-9:30pm; doors open at 6:30pm
Friday, May 5
Music in the Garden
Carmela y Mas (Latin Jazz)
7:30-9:30pm; doors open at 6:30pm
Friday, May 19
Music in the Garden
Bluesman Mike and the Blues Review Band (Blues)
7:30-9:30pm; doors open at 6:30pm
Friday, March 17
Music in the Garden
Sherry Roberson with Joel Robin & Friends
(Jazz, Blues)
7-9pm; doors open at 5:30pm
Thursday, May 25
Annual Members Meeting
Friday, May 26
Music in the Garden
Domingo DeGrazia Spanish Guitar Band
(Spanish Guitar)
7:30-9:30pm; doors open at 6:30pm
Friday, March 24
Music in the Garden
Mike Eldred Trio with Big Nick and Jerry Donato (Jazz,
Blues)
7-9pm; doors open at 5:30pm
May 27 through September 2
Flashlight Tours every Thursday and Saturday Night
7-9:30pm
APRIL
Friday, April 7
Music in the Garden
Trialogue: Sherry Finzer, Darin Mahoney &
Will Clipman (Flute, Guitar and Percussion)
7-9pm; doors open at 5:30pm
June 5 through June 30
Summer Camp
Sunday, April 9
Phoenix Home and Garden’s Grand Tour of Gardens
10am-4pm
15