Red Butte Garden Magazine Winter 2023/24

Red Butte Garden Winter 2023

U T A H ' S

B O T A N I C A L

G A R D E N

OUTDOOR CONCERT SERIES 2023 PRESENTING SPONSOR

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

HOUSE SPONSOR

RECYCLING SPONSOR

BACKSTAGE SPONSOR

Willard L. Eccles Foundation Christopher & Summer Gibson

Thank you for another great concert season!

A very special thanks to our generous sponsors.

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Red Butte Garden

This winter Red Butte Garden is launching an exciting new initiative, The Cottam Club, to help drive our next era of growth. This new major gifts society is named for Walter P. “Doc” Cottam, a Utah botanist who, in the 1930s, created hardy new oak tree hybrids and planted them across the University of Utah campus. His work helped inspire the establishment of the state arboretum on campus and, later—thanks to other visionary leaders—the creation of Red Butte Garden. Dr. Cottam was an ecologist far ahead of his time. He urged Utahns to conserve water, soil, and plant resources, at a time when that kind of talk ruffled plenty of feathers.

In this issue you’ll meet our Plant Records Team, two longtime horticulture staff who have dedicated decades to building on Cottam’s legacy and advancing the Garden’s mission. You’ll also get to know our new Director of Conservation and Research, whose work will strengthen our focus on urban ecology and improving the quality of life in our city. These are a few of the staff members whose shared love for living landscapes and intriguing new ideas are helping to grow the Garden’s horticulture, conservation, research, education, and guest experience.

Thanks to your love and support of the Garden, exciting things are ahead, and we’re incredibly grateful. Come see us soon and enjoy the special beauty and peace of the winter Garden.

Derrek Hanson, Executive Director

redbuttegarden.org

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IN THIS ISSUE VOLUME 15 ISSUE 4 ON THE COVER

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) Photo by Glenn Eurick EDITORS

Kate Randall Mindy Wilson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

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10 RED BIRD GARDEN: WINTER WATCHING

By Melissa Halvorsen

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NEW DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH: A Q&A

By Mindy Wilson

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WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? MEET THE PLANT RECORDS TEAM

Melissa Halvorsen Kate Randall Mindy Wilson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jason Baker Sam Crump Glenn Eurick Janine Hutchinson Kristan Jacobsen Kate Randall Heidi Simper GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Leslie Hanna

By Jason Baker, Heidi Simper, and Mindy Wilson PRINTED BY

IC Group

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‘TIS THE SEASON FOR LOCAL HOLIDAY MARKETS

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LOOK WHO'S JOINED OUR TEAM

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CALENDAR

We acknowledge that this land, which is named for the Ute Tribe, is the traditional and ancestral homeland of the Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute, and Ute Tribes. The University of Utah recognizes and respects the enduring relationship that exists between many Indigenous peoples and their traditional homelands. We respect the sovereign relationship between tribes, states, and the federal government, and we affirm the University of Utah’s commitment to a partnership with Native Nations and Urban Indian communities through research, education, and community outreach activities.

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Red Butte Garden

Red Butte Garden is one of the largest botanical gardens in the Intermountain West and, together with the University of Utah, a state arboretum.

The Garden is renowned for its plant collections, themed gardens, more than 600,000 springtime blooming bulbs, award-winning horticulturebased educational programs, and a world-class outdoor summer concert series.

300 Wakara Way Salt Lake City, Utah, 84108 801.585.0556 Copyright © 2023 Red Butte Garden. All rights reserved.

RED BIRD GARDEN Winter Watching

While you may think of Red Butte Garden as a warm-weather attraction, winter holds its own appeal, especially for birders. The Garden is home to more than fifty species of birds in winter, including some you can see here only during the colder months.

Lucky birders that are patient may see mountain chickadees, evening grosbeaks, or an occasional glimpse of a soaring bald eagle.

The winter Garden offers a lot for birds and birders alike. It’s brimming with food for birds in the form of berries, nuts, and seedheads. Sparse vegetation makes spotting feathered visitors much easier in winter. What’s more, the Garden packs a lot of habitat types into a relatively small area. It’s possible to see birds that prefer open spaces, dense trees, and wetlands all within an afternoon ramble.

Winter is also a time when bird behavior changes. Birds that are normally more solitary will form large flocks, like cedar waxwings that gather in the Garden by the dozens to feast on juniper, hawthorn, and serviceberries. Often these types of behaviors are observed only in winter.

If you’re interested in learning more about the birds that make Red Butte Garden home, consider joining an educator from HawkWatch International for one of our winter bird walks. You’ll explore the Garden with other enthusiasts, looking for birds while learning more about how to identify and attract them. See the events calendar in this issue or visit redbuttegarden.org for details.

Melissa Halvorsen is education and outreach director at HawkWatch International. She has a BA in English from Weber State University and certifications in environmental education from Utah State University and instructional design from the University of Utah.

Top L: Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma woodhouseii) Top R: Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) Center: Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) Bottom: Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

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NEW DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION AND RESEARCH: A Q&A "My focus in this role is to deploy the power of research to remove some of the barriers that keep people and plants from thriving together."

Sarah Hinners’ love for the natural world took root early, in a childhood spent living off the land in Nova Scotia, three and a half miles from the nearest pavement. When adult life landed her in Salt Lake City, she refocused her work as an ecologist on connecting city dwellers with the land around them.

Now, as Red Butte Garden’s new director of conservation and research, Hinners is using her expertise as an urban ecologist to discover new ways to integrate natural and urban life, using the Garden’s unique setting, where city streets give way to sagebrush, juniper, and gambel oaks.

Hinners, a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology, was on faculty at the University of Utah from 2012 until joining the Garden leadership team this summer. She’s just getting started, but her responses below point to exciting directions and discoveries to come: What does an urban and landscape ecologist do, and why did you want to be one?

I became an ecologist because I am fascinated by the complexities of how living things interact all around us to weave together the world we know. I studied landscapes first, because I wanted to understand what processes underlie the patterns we see, like the strong differences in vegetation between north- and south-facing slopes across the West.

Once we start to look at urban landscapes, we see all sorts of extra forces shaping them, namely the activities and presence of humans. Since I have lived in cities for most of my professional life, I moved into urban ecology, because those are the places I observe every day. They are also the places that I want to work in because I want daily access to nature that is thriving and beautiful, not just for myself but for everyone.

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Red Butte Garden

Urban ecology is a new focus for Red Butte Garden’s conservation and research department. What do you envision?

Red Butte Garden’s mission is connecting people with plants. And the majority of humanity (and an even bigger majority of Utahns) live in urban areas. It’s harder to have a strong connection with plants when you live in a city, and yet we know that having that connection can offer significant improvements to our health and quality of life. So my focus in this role is to deploy the power of research to remove some of the barriers that keep people and plants from thriving together. That can look like more traditional conservation actions, like collecting native seeds to restore degraded areas and to conserve threatened species, or it can look like what we might call “ecological design,” like how we can incorporate plants into our built environments to help cool us, purify our water, maintain beautiful green yards with less irrigation, and feed and heal us.

What projects are you most excited about starting here?

I’m super focused on the need to reimagine our yards, parks, and other landscapes to adapt to a hotter, drier, more populated future without just trading lawn for gravel. I want to see how we can bring more native plants into the commercial nursery trade and study how plants and landscapes can thrive on less water. For example, I’ve been working for many years on urban stormwater and how we can redesign urban land- and streetscapes to capture and filter runoff while sustaining diverse plant communities, as the land would have done prior to development. I’d like to explore a wider array of plants to use in this “green stormwater infrastructure” that can do an even better job of removing pollutants and providing habitat for wildlife and pollinators. I’ve been learning about Walter Cottam’s hybrid oaks, and I’m excited to carry out an assessment of the different hybrids and maybe find ways to make those more available as well. I’d like to do a ten-year follow-up of the pollinator survey conducted at the Garden in 2015. And, finally, I’ve been working for many years to enhance the University’s stewardship of Red Butte Creek on campus, and I look forward to continuing to collect data to support good management of this wonderful ecological asset.

NEXT VISIT: CHARGE YOUR EV You benefit in so many ways when you visit the Garden: you move your body, clear your mind, get in touch with yourself or your favorite people. Now while you’re soaking up the beauty of our natural landscape, you can power up the electric vehicle that’s helping to protect it.

Two dual-port EV charging stations are now available, one each on our first and second parking tiers—that’s four ports total. We’re excited about these new chargers, one more step forward in our ongoing efforts to be responsible stewards of the land and to help our community live more sustainably.

A big thank you to Rocky Mountain Power and its Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, and to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and its EVSE Funding Assistance Program, for support.

redbuttegarden.org

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WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? Meet the Plant Records Team

You see them everywhere in the Garden, those little green signs with white letters spelling out the vital statistics of the plants and trees we’re growing. What you don’t see are the people behind the signs, two longtime Garden experts who love learning about new plants and sharing all they know.

Meet Jason Baker and Heidi Simper, the Garden’s curators of plant records. They’re our go-to duo for plant identifications (and much more). Plant librarians and historians as much as botanists, they document in words and pictures the Garden’s vast collection of more than 70,000 plants and trees. What’s also cool: they make it available to the public through a searchable online database, plant map, and blog.

Jason Baker has been curator of plant records for seventeen years. He’s almost always found with camera in hand, documenting whatever’s new or interesting, not just in the Garden but everywhere he travels in the world. With Heidi’s help, he records every new plant acquired, from plant type and source to bloom time and exact garden location.

When someone—Garden guest, international researcher, even a fellow staff member— needs to identify a plant, we don’t open an app or consult AI . . . we call Jason.

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Red Butte Garden

Heidi Simper has been with the Garden since 2010, working in plant records since 2015. She has a special passion for, and a master’s degree in, ethnobotany, the study of people and plants past, present, and across cultures. Along with assisting Jason document and map plants, she does research aimed at keeping traditional plant knowledge alive. She’s also working on initiatives to highlight more ethnobotanical stories in the Garden.

Grow Your Garden Knowledge •

Search our plant collections at: redbuttegarden.org/plants search by plant name, type, color, water needs, bloom months, and more.

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Explore our interactive plant map at: redbuttegarden.org/plants/plant-map to locate all trees, most shrubs, and many perennials in their Garden beds.

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Read the “What’s Blooming Now” blog at: redbuttegarden.org/whatsblooming-now to plan your visits—or to enjoy a little Red Butte Garden color whenever you like.

What Those Little Symbols Mean

The Symbols Water Requirements

Sun Requirements

Other Symbols

Utah Native

Plant Select®

Bee Friendly

Visit plantselect.org to learn about plants designed to thrive in our region.

Jason Baker and Heidi Simper have BS degrees in botany from Weber State University. Heidi also has a master’s in ethnobotany from the University of Kent in the UK. Mindy Wilson is the Garden’s marketing and PR director.

redbuttegarden.org

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NHMU Museum Store

Red Butte Garden Gift Shop

‘TIS THE SEASON FOR LOCAL HOLIDAY MARKETS Red Butte Garden Holiday Open House & Art Fair Dec 2 & 3 | 10am-5pm Nineteen local artists bring a delightful array of handmade gifts for sale in the lovely Richard K. Hemingway Orangerie, including jewelry, glass art, ceramics, wearable art, natural soaps, and more.

UMFA Museum Store

Don’t forget to shop our Garden Gift Shop annual holiday sale and Glass Art Show.

Free admission thanks to Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP). redbuttegarden.org/free-garden-events/holiday-open-house-art-fair Natural History Museum of Utah Museum Store December 1-24 Holiday Shopping Hot Spot Offering one-of-a-kind souvenirs and keepsakes, from hand-crafted jewelry and fine indigenous artwork to the latest dinosaur toys and a selection of books for all ages.

Red Butte Garden and NHMU members, show your member card at the NHMU Museum Store and receive 10% off purchases. NHMU members also save 10% at the Garden’s Gift Shop. www.nhmu.utah.edu/store Utah Museum of Fine Arts Holiday Market Dec 2 & 3 | 9am-5pm Find handmade creations by local artists, including ceramics, paintings, jewelry, candles, artisan chocolates–enjoy live music and so much more. Free market admission and parking. umfa.utah.edu/holiday-market This Is The Place Heritage Park Christkindlmarkt SLC Nov 29-Dec 2 | 11am-8pm Inspired by the world-famous German Christmas markets, Christkindlmarkt SLC offers a seasonally unique shopping and cultural experience with local artist booths, food vendors, and festive holiday entertainment. Free admission. christkindlmarkt-slc.com

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Red Butte Garden

Welcome to The Cottam Club Become a founding member of the Garden’s new Cottam Club and help manifest the visionary spirit of Utah botanist and conservationist Walter P. Cottam (1894-1988). Cottam’s pioneering oak research in the 1930s helped inspire the creation of Red Butte Garden and Arboretum.

Each giving level also provides generous Garden benefits for Cottam Club members: Acorn: $1,000-$2,499 Sprout: $2,500-$4,999 Sapling: $5,000-$9,999 Oak: $10,000+ Red Butte Garden is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and your contributions, large or small, allow us to create programming that serves thousands of Utahns each year.

More information at www.redbuttegarden.org/cottam-club

The Four Seasons Garden

COTTAM’S OAKS Created in honor of Walter P. Cottam

by William “Willy” R. Littig

Water Pavilion path

WHAT WILL BE YOUR LEGACY? Help keep the Garden growing with a legacy gift through your will.

A legacy gift honors the donor’s life with a charitable gift to a chosen party, cause, or organization. Legacy giving is a lasting investment in Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, advancing our mission to connect people with plants and the beauty of living landscapes. When you include Red Butte Garden in your estate plan, you ensure the continued growth of the garden for future generations.

For more information, please contact Natalie Cope, director of philanthropy, at 801.585.5658 or natalie.cope@redbutte.utah.edu. redbuttegarden.org

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LOOK WHO'S JOINED OUR TEAM Join us in welcoming these talented people to the Garden’s full-time staff.

Lauren Bell

Pronouns: she/her Programs Administrative Assistant / Registrar Undergrad certificate in web development, pursuing BS in computer science at Colorado State University’s global campus.

Lauren has worked in museum and hospitality leadership roles since 2018 at Loveland Living Planet Aquarium and Clark Planetarium, where she contributed to the creation of educational experiences and initiatives. She is excited to contribute to Red Butte Garden programs, which inspire our community to be curious and excited about nature.

Heather Paulsen

Pronouns: she/her Teacher Resource Coordinator BS in Education Heather has more than twenty years of experience in both formal and informal K-12 education, much of it working with statewide programs that include outreach, teacher resources, professional development, and writing curriculum to support state standards. She is particularly interested in providing meaningful access to science education and practices to underserved and underrepresented audiences.

Becca Speechley

Pronouns: she/her Garden Experience Coordinator BFA in modern dance, University of Utah Becca has been working with school programs part-time since 2021 and helped pilot our new field class program. She is excited to have the full-time opportunity to showcase for Utah students the fantastic learning environment that is Red Butte Garden. Becca also teaches and choreographs dance to adults and children throughout Salt Lake City.

Anne Carson Thompson “Anne Carson”

Pronouns: she/her Concert Donor Club Assistant Manager JD Degree, University of Georgia School of Law, and BA in english and southern studies, University of Mississippi After twenty-plus years of practicing law, Anne Carson is thrilled to switch gears and work with Red Butte Garden’s development team and our community of music lovers.

Thank you to our supporting sponsors for a bewitching year of BOOtanical!

The Peggy L. Bergmann Trust 12

Red Butte Garden

WINTER 2023/2024 CALENDAR DEC 16 Winter Solstice Celebration Sat at 9am-12pm Celebrate the morning exploring the winter Garden, learning about the solstice, and crafting special decorations.

Garden members: $12 General public: $15 Tickets at: redbuttegarden. org/winter-solstice

EXHIBIT ARTISTS

Above: Glass Art Guild of Utah

Please visit our website and social media for more Garden event information.

ART EXHIBITS

Featuring a range of naturethemed media by Utah artists including photography, watercolor, oil, pastel, mixed media, and more. Admission not required to shop.

NOV 3-DEC 18 Glass at the Garden Presented by the Glass Art Guild of Utah Artist reception Nov 4 from 2-5pm

HOLIDAY SHOPPING HOT SPOT

DEC 1- 24 Natural History Museum of Utah Garden members receive 10% off purchases made next door at the NHMU Museum Store. NHMU members save 10% on purchases at the Garden Gift Shop.

DEC 2 & 3 Holiday Open House & Art Fair Sat & Sun from 10am-5pm Find delightful handmade gifts for the holidays including jewelry, wearable art, pottery, natural beauty products, and more. redbuttegarden.org/freegarden-events/holiday-openhouse-art-fair

DEC 2 & 3 Annual Gift Shop Holiday Sale Garden members receive an additional 10% off Red Butte Garden Gift Shop purchases.

Dec 2 & 3 are free admission days thanks to ZAP.

JAN 3-FEB 14 Spring Poetry Contest Calling all poets! Enter your original, spring-inspired poem.

Eleven winning poems will be displayed throughout the Garden this April to celebrate National Poetry Month.

Apply online at: redbuttegarden.org/call-forpoetry

MAR 9 Volunteer Fair Sat from 11am-1pm Meet Garden staff members and current volunteers to learn about our many opportunities. redbuttegarden.org/volunteerat-red-butte-garden

GUIDED GARDEN TOURS

Complimentary Tram Tours & Private Garden Tours Please check our website for more information or to make your reservation.

GARDEN EVENTS

NOV 1-DEC 31 Rock Your Membership Upgrade your concert experience by making an additional donation when you renew or purchase a Garden membership during our contest. More info at: redbuttegarden.org/events/ rock-your-membership DEC 9 Cocoa and Cookies with Mrs. Claus Sat from 1-2:30pm Enjoy seasonal stories from the first lady of Christmas herself, decorate a one-of-akind ornament, write a letter to Santa, and more!

Garden members: $16 General public: $20 Tickets at: redbuttegarden. org/cocoa-with-mrs-claus

BOOtanical sponsors thank you ad to include Bank of America The Peggy L. Bergmann Trust

Cupressus arizonica 'Chaparral'

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WINTER 2023/2024 CALENDAR

Iris reticulata

CLASSES & WORKSHOPS

Find class descriptions and register online at: redbuttegarden.org/ adult-education or call 801.581.8454.

HORTICULTURE DEC 5 Winter Bird Walk with HawkWatch International Tue, 4:30-5:30pm Garden members $12 General public $15

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Red Butte Garden

JAN 13 Never Too Early (or Too Cold) to Start Thinking About Green Lawns & Water Conservation Sat, 10am-12pm Garden members $32 General public $39 JAN 24, 27 & 31 Fruit Tree Pruning Wed, 5:30-7:30pm Sat, 10am-12pm Garden members $79 General public $98

FEB 13 & 20 Growing Your Own Food Garden: Soil Preparation to Harvest (online) Tue, 6:30-8:30pm Garden members $44 General public $55

DEC 16, JAN 20, FEB 3 Designing with Fresh Flowers Sat, 12-2pm Garden members $90 General public $100 Includes materials

ART & DESIGN DEC 1, 2 & 3 Wreath Making Workshops Fri, 6-8pm Sat, 9:30am-12pm, 1-3:30pm & 4:30-7pm Sun, 9:30am-12pm & 1-3:30pm Garden members $76 General public $95

JAN 6, FEB 17, MAR 9 Botanical Painting for All Sat, 10am-12pm Garden members $48 General public $60 Includes materials

Details and registration at redbuttegarden.org/adult-education

JAN 27, FEB 10 Botanical Beauty: Crafting Natural Skincare Sat, 10am-12pm Garden members $52 General public $65 Includes materials HEALTHY LIVING DEC 20, JAN 17, FEB 21 Indian Cooking with Purnima Gandhi (online) Wed, 6-8pm Garden members $44 General public $55

DEC, JAN, FEB Mindfulness Meditation with Maurena Grossman Sun 12-1pm Garden members $12 General public $15 DEC, JAN, FEB Yoga & Sound Bath in the Garden with Kristin Vance Sun 10:30-11:30am Garden members $18 General public $20

DEC, JAN, FEB Forest Bathing with Chris Newton Sat 11am-12:30pm Sun 11am-12:30pm Garden members $25 General public $30

ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS Boredom Busters Fun, free, nature-inspired activities for families to do at home. redbuttegarden.org/freegarden-events/boredombusters

ROCK YOUR MEMBERSHIP! Enter to win a chance to upgrade your concert experience by making an additional $25 donation when you renew or purchase a Garden membership between Nov 1-Dec 31. One winner will receive an exclusive Headliner for Two Concert Donor Club ticket package for the 2024 Outdoor Concert Series.

More info: redbuttegarden.org/events/rock-your-membership Alternate entry method via USPS. Details on the Rock Your Membership webpage.

redbuttegarden.org

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Non Profit org.

US Postage PAID Salt Lake City Permit #1529

300 WAKARA WAY SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84108

2023 ADVISORY BOARD OUR MISSION

David Classen, Chair Kym Buttschardt, Vice Chair Curt Crowther, Secretary Lisa Andrues Troy Aramburu Erin Armstrong Steve Barth Brandi Bosworth Shaleane Gee Greg Graham Jeff Herring Lindee Nance David Reymann Jamie Rubin Laura Snow JoLynda Stillman Vicki Varela Beverly Vargo Kamrin Wilson Emeritus Board Members Sandi Behnken

To connect people with plants and the beauty of living landscapes.

Hours

January 2 - March 31 Daily 9am - 5pm April 1 - 30 Daily 9am - 7:30pm May 1 - August 31** Daily 9am - 9pm September 1 - 30** Daily 9am - 7:30pm October 1 - December 23* Daily 9am - 5pm

Contact Us

Visitor Center Private Event Rental Volunteer Membership Donations Class Registration

801.585.0556 801.585.9563 801.585.0899 801.585.7172 801.585.5658 801.581.8454

Website: www.redbuttegarden.org Comments: 801.581.5754 or email pr@redbutte.utah.edu

*Closed Thanksgiving Day and December 24 - January 1 **Days when outdoor concerts are scheduled, hours are 9am - 5pm.

Go Green!

Opt out of printed newsletters. Email membership@redbutte.utah.edu with "NEWSLETTER OPT OUT” in the subject line. We’ll take care of the rest.