UC Davis Arboretum & Public Garden » 75th Anniversary

Second fall plant sale showcases planting plans for DIY landscapers

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 02:25:06 +0000

At the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum's second and final plant sale of the fall season themed "Copy & Paste: Transferring Arboretum Style to Your Landscape," customers were invited to utilize planting plans and ideas from the Arboretum for inspiration! Attendees received print outs with designs created by Director of Horticulture Ellen Zagory with a variety of plant suggestions perfect for any Valley-wise landscape. Download a copy of these planting plans here. Perfect weather, a relaxed atmosphere and recommended shopping lists translated to individual customers purchasing more plants per person than the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum has seen before! Despite the total number of customers decreasing slightly from past plant sale events, their total sales remained steady, no small feat considering the difficult economic times that most nurseries have faced nationwide over the past few years. Thanks go to UC Davis Arboretum volunteers and student groups without whom these fundraisers could not take place! Checkout the photos from the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum Sunday Plant Sale here. Photos by Susie Nishio.

Premiere 2012 fall plant sale inspires admirers and acquirers!

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 02:20:17 +0000

Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum hosted their first plant sale of the fall season on Saturday, September 29. The theme, “Showcasing the Plants of Nature’s Gallery Court,” highlighted the connection between the Nature’s Gallery Court GATEway Garden, the Ruth Risdon Storer Garden and the Arboretum Teaching Nursery. In the nursery, customers were introduced to the wide array of plants featured on the Nature’s Gallery Court mural; at the mural, visitors could see which plants were available for purchase at the nursery; and, in the Storer garden they walked the landscape that inspired the mural and discovered the beauty of the plants in their mature forms. Docents and Arboretum experts were available in each location to answer questions, tell our visitors and customers the story of our latest community-built emblem and assist them in making the right choices for their own landscapes. Great press coverage encouraged another great turnout! Read the articles here: _______________________________________
Link to Davis Enterprise article _______________________________________
Link to Sac Bee article _______________________________________ Link to UC Davis Dateline article _______________________________________ Check out our photos from the event!

Nature’s Gallery Court completed and ribbon cut!

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 13:45:29 +0000

Saturday, June 9 marked the official dedication and ribbon-cutting of Nature’s Gallery Court. Donors, honorees, project supporters and their guests gathered this windy morning to celebrate the completion of a new campus landmark—the Nature’s Gallery Court GATEway Garden. Years-in-the-making, Nature’s Gallery Court would not have been possible without the energy and commitment of hundreds of students, faculty, staff and community members who, in 2007, hand-crafted over 140 tiles showcasing the Ruth Risdon Storer Garden’s drought-tolerant plants and their associated insects. To commemorate the momentous occasion Kathleen Socolofsky, Director of the UC Davis Arboretum, spoke of community involvement in the project and the hundreds of people that participated in its planning, creation and funding; Diane Ullman, Co-founder of the UC Davis Art-Science Fusion Program and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences gave a moving speech about the connection between science and the arts; Donna Billick, world-renown ceramic artist and Co-founder of the UC Davis Art-Science Program, inspired the audience by describing the physical and spiritual connection born during an experiential learning process; Warren Roberts, Superintendent Emeritus of the UC Davis Arboretum, eloquently described the project’s unique historical context and location; while other supporters powerfully relayed their reason for giving to support Nature’s Gallery Court. If all this weren’t enough, the UC Davis Arboretum also received a certificate of special congressional recognition for its work in the creation of Nature’s Gallery Court from Congressman Mike Thompson! If you haven’t already, we hope you’ll visit Nature’s Gallery Court GATEway Garden soon! Learn more about Nature's Gallery Court and its construction here. Check out a slideshow of photos from the event here.

National Public Gardens Day celebration

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 13:40:59 +0000

On Friday May 11, in honor of the UC Davis Arboretum's 75th anniversary and National Public Gardens Day, John and Lois Crowe hosted a "Spring Garden Party" to honor long-term Arboretum supporters as well as celebrate the wonderful transformations occurring throughout the Arboretum and campus via the UC Davis GATEways Project. Guests were treated to a cornucopia of hors d’oeuvres and refreshments while enjoying a perfect Davis spring evening set to the stylings of bluegrass band Mountain Laurel. Speakers John and Lois Crowe, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph Hexter (See photo above.), Vice Chancellor John Meyer (Administrative and Resource Management), Assistant Vice Chancellor Bob Segar (Campus Planning and Community Resources), Kathleen Socolofsky (Assistant Vice Chancellor and Arboretum Director) all expressed their gratitude to Arboretum supporters for their dedication and spoke of the progress and potential of the UC Davis GATEways Project. Link to a photo slideshow of the Spring Garden Party

New merchandise to help support outreach and education programs

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:00:50 +0000

Plant sales and excellent press!

Katie Hetrick — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:35:09 +0000

The UC Davis Arboretum Nursery is bustling to get ready for two plant sales. The sales received some really great press so members of the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum have their fingers crossed for an excellent spring fundraising season! Below is the rundown of the week's upcoming sales events as well as the review of where the sales were featured.

TODAY! UC Davis Private Plant Sale, Friday, April 13 from 11 am - 6 pm: In honor of the Arboretum's 75th anniversary, members of the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum is opening the doors to the Arboretum Teaching Nursery for the first time exclusively to our UC Davis community of students, faculty, staff, volunteers, retirees and members of the California Aggie Alumni Association. GO TO THE EVENT PAGE
The 3B's: Birds, Bees & Beneficials, Saturday, April 14 from 9 am-1 pm: It's the first public plant sale of the spring season. This sales event will highlight plants that attract pollinators (birds, bees & beneficials) to your home landscape. And, as always, you’ll also find a great selection of plants that thrive in the Central Valley like Arboretum All-Stars! GO TO THE EVENT PAGE

IN THE NEWS

The UC Davis Arboretum Plant Sales have once again received excellent coverage in our local newspapers thanks to Ellen Zagory, Director of Horticulture and Diane Cary, Director of Communications. Sacramento Bee: Seeds: We need bees, and now bees need our help Davis Enterprise: Sustainable garden highlights pollinators On campus press: Dateline: A plant sale just for us, a plant sale for everyone

Friend Us! Member Appreciation Plant Sale Recap

Katie Hetrick — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 04:10:34 +0000

The March 10, 2012, kickoff event for the spring plant sale season broke all records for this annual member event. This fundraiser for the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum garnered more customers, more income, more memberships! SEE PHOTOS from the event. For the best slide show click the play arrow, then the four arrows icon in the lower right corner to expand the photo size. If you like to read our captions, click on 'Show Info' link in the upper right hand corner.

Spring Plant Sale season begins March 10

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:12:40 +0000

If you didn't already know, the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum is kicking off its spring plant sale season this Saturday, March 10 at the Friend Us! Member Appreciation Sale. Visit the event page. This sale is for members of the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum and the Davis Botanical Society. Our teams have been working hard to make this a successful fundraiser. We have gotten great press and are hoping for big crowds. We hope to see you all there! Can't make this date? Come to our public sales on April 14 or May 19! Plant Sale in the News: UC Davis Dateline Davis Enterprise

Arboretum 75th Anniversary website launched

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:12:15 +0000

The last week of February the Arboretum launched its new 75th Anniversary website. This site will host the 75 Stories project and 75 Community Favorite Plants project, as well as be a place to publicize all the 75th anniversary events. You can get to this site from the Arboretum's main website by clicking on the 75th Anniversary logo or directly here: arboretum75th.ucdavis.edu.

Renowned conservationist Dr. Peter Raven lauds Public Garden plan

Katie Hetrick — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:59:26 +0000

Peter Raven, the internationally respected botanist, president emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden and a recipient of the National Medal of Science, attended a planning meeting with Arboretum staff and campus partners last month focusing on the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden initiative, a plan to transform campus plantings into sustainable teaching landscapes. Dr. Raven spoke enthusiastically about the project’s potential for educating students and visitors about the university, environmental science and global climate change:

“This is really an exciting moment. The campus is on the verge of dedicating itself to sustainability and environmental issues, with the Arboretum as the center of campus renewal. Building a Central Valley aesthetic is important. With human pressures all over the world, people are wondering how to reform land management. [The public garden initiative] is a great local experiment. This can be a model for the world—a pleasant, interactive campus, with a sense of community and place, a model for how to use land and form cities. I urge you to continue as intensely and rapidly as possible.” --Dr. Peter Raven

The opportunity to include both Drs. Peter and Pat Raven in our planning for this unique initiative was instrumental in meeting a variety of internal goals as well.

"Getting a vote of confidence from a world-renown botanist that our endeavor will succeed is huge. I am inspired to do everything I can to assemble a master plan for this campus that reinforces the connections between global biodiversity, sustainable agricultural systems and climate change." --Bob Segar

"Informing the Ravens about our initiative and garnering their support has not only taken our initiative to the next level for our teams, it has worked to build further support from our academic partners, development partners, and the public garden community." --Kathleen Socolofsky

The Ravens are so confident in the future success of our project, they donated artwork for our future 'Discovery Center.' The piece you see above was purchased at a recent California Native Plant Society auction and slated for a position in their home. Upon learning more about our initiative, they generously donated the piece in support of our mission. For them the piece represents the importance of biodiversity and the support of life in its many forms. We cannot thank them enough! Read about the initiative and this event in the news:

Arboretum 75th Anniversary kick-off celebration & endowment launch

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:59:31 +0000

On October 19^th, Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum Board President Nancy Shapiro along with her husband Howard, hosted a kick-off celebration in honor of the Arboretum’s 75^th anniversary. The evening was a wonderful way to look back at the history of the Arboretum with many of the people integral to its growth and look forward to a strong future as we embark on a campus-wide public garden project. We are so grateful for their generosity and leadership! During the program portion of the event, UC Davis Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph Hexter expressed his feelings about the important role that the Arboretum plays on campus, highlighting the restorative nature of the gardens, as a place for both reflection and recreation. Arboretum Director Kathleen Socolofsky ended the evening with a thank you to our long-time supporters, with a very special thank you to Superintendent Emeritus, Warren Roberts. Through his tireless love and devotion to the Arboretum, Warren was the inspiration for our new planned giving society, the Warren G. Roberts Arboretum Legacy Society, established to honor endowment and planned giving donors. The establishment of this society is an important first step to building a $50M endowment that will support the Arboretum for future generations. Thank you to everybody who helped make this very special night so wonderful!

Fall Plant Sales Recap

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:24:33 +0000

The Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum hosted its final plant sale for the fall season on Sunday, October 9. The theme of this sale, Growing a Green Future, celebrated the UC Davis Arboretum's 75 years of sustainable gardening by showcasing landscape plantings that save water, reduce pollution, support native pollinators and still manage to provide jaw-dropping beauty! Attendees learned that by making smart planting choices means they really can have it all! Despite a challenging economy, revenues were almost as high as last year's record-breaking totals, not to mention the fact that our audience grew by over 400 visitors! Thank you to all our volunteers and staff whose efforts continue to make this fund raiser better with each and every sale!

First fall plant sale a huge success

Katie Hetrick — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:11:46 +0000

Last Saturday’s Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum Plant Faire & Sale attracted over 1,300 people--one of the best attended ever--with gross sales estimated to be well above $56,000; a remarkable feat considering fewer people are landscaping during this economic downturn. Designed as the launch for the 75^th Anniversary for the Arboretum, this plant sale singled out 75 favorites of the nursery’s 500 plus plant species as selected by volunteers, staff and community members. When the gates opened, customers were greeted with an inventory of over 17,000 plants, knowledgeable plant advisers, commemorative 75^th anniversary pins, live music, and children’s activities. Mark your calendars! The second and last sale of the Fall 2011 season occurs on Sunday, October 9 from 9 AM—1 PM at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive.

Arboretum 75th Anniversary featured in Sac Bee

Katie Hetrick — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:26:33 +0000

The Sac Bee featured the UC Davis Arboretum's 75th Anniversary and also included news about about our public garden initiative. To read the full article, click here or on the image below.

Plant Sale This Weekend!

Katie Hetrick — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:59:19 +0000

If you didn't already know, the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum is hosting its first Fall Plant Sale at the Teaching Nursery on Saturday. The 75th Anniversary and Plant Sales work teams have been working hard to make this a grand celebration. We have gotten great press and are hoping for big crowds. Thanks to Civil and Industrial Services for advertising the plant sale on their electric freeway signs. We hope to see you all there!