Red Butte Garden Newsletter - Fall 2015

Autumn 2015 Volume 7 Issue 3

Fall Plant Sale Garden After Dark Greek Theatre Floral Shows

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Growing Future Garden Lovers

Editors

Bryn Ramjoué Kate Randall

Contributing Writers

Gregory Lee Marita Tewes Tyrolt Chris Madson Catherine Cort Elaine Christensen Kate Randall Sara Sorensen Contributing Photographers

Pierce McConnell Jason Baker Kate Randall Graphic Designer

Pierce McConnell Malinda Tackman Printed by

Litho Flexo Grafics, Inc. Red Butte Botanical Garden, located on the University of Utah, is the largest botanical garden in the Intermountain West, renowned for plant collections, display gardens, 450,000 springtime blooming bulbs, a world-class outdoor summer concert series, and award-winning horticulture-based educational programs.

300 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84108 · 801.585.0556 Copyright © 2015 Red Butte Garden. All rights reserved.

As the Garden marks its 30th Anniversary, I want to celebrate and share with you the recent growth of Red Butte Garden’s School Programs. In the past year, the Garden reached over 20,000 school children from across the state, setting an all-time record. Many of these children visited the Garden for a two-hour, grade-specific guided tour. Utah students and teachers have also participated in our Grow Lab and Botany Bin outreach programs, both of which provide teacher training, resources, and an eight-lesson curriculum. These programs allow us to take the Garden to classrooms across the state. The demand for these programs is so high, that this fall Red Butte Garden will launch its second Botany Bin module, entitled “Conserving Water in the Desert,” and we have started development of a third module.

Our ever-popular Summer Camp program is growing as well. We just completed our busiest schedule to date, with 65 unique summer camp offerings. We have broadened the number and type of organizations we partner with on our camps to include the Natural History Museum of Utah, Clark Planetarium, Utah’s Hogle Zoo, Tanner Dance, Wasatch Community Gardens, and Camp Kostopulos. We also introduced the Lil’ Buds camp program, developed especially to help preschool -aged children develop a healthy curiosity for the natural world.

Additionally, through a partnership with Missouri Botanical Garden and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Garden has created five free-choice “TaleBlazer” mobile games to be played on GPS-enabled smartphones and tablets.

Designed for today’s “plugged-in” generation, each game encourages users to gather information from Garden surroundings and then use their understanding of this information to progress through each new game level. Whether identifying plants to use in a five-star restaurant or applying navigation skills to find buried treasure, each game provides its own virtual adventure.

Our Monday Family Night programs fill the Garden with music and dance from cultural groups found in our own diverse community. From Bollywood and Polynesian dancers, to Scottish bagpipers and Mariachi bands, each Monday Family Night celebrates the rich cultural heritage of our many Garden guests.

The Garden’s programs also include our Garden After Dark and Winter Solstice festivals, summer campouts, floral shows, art exhibits, Poetry in the Garden, birthday parties, Garden Adventures for children, day camps, cooking demonstrations, workshops, lectures, art classes, and guided tours. As a community-supported organization, Red Butte Garden could not be providing this rich assortment of high-quality programing without the support of our many members and donors.

To them and to all who support and make Red Butte Garden possible, thank you.

THREE COINS...

For A FOUNTAIN Thursday SEPTEMBER Featuring ROB

MCFARLAND

24 AT 7:00PM WWW .REDBUTTEGARDEN.ORG/GALA

FALL BULB & NATIVE

PLANT SALE September 25 & 26 Friday, 3:00 - 7:30PM Saturday, 9:00AM - 7:30PM Find a wide selection of flowering bulbs, organic garlic bulbs, ornamental grasses, flowering perennials, native and water-wise plants.

- Gregory Lee, Executive Director 2

Red Butte Garden

www.redbuttegarden.org

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Word-Wise About Water-Wise

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By Marita Tewes Tyrolt, Director of Horticulture

Many people use several “low-water-use” plant terms interchangeably, such as drought tolerant, water-wise, xeric, and native. While the meanings of these terms may overlap, there are some very significant differences. Understanding these differences is important for designing and maintaining successful low-water-use landscapes.

Drought tolerant refers to the ability of an established plant to tolerate periods of drought. The key is that they ‘tolerate’ drought, sometimes by losing foliage and going dormant. These plants require the return of normal moisture levels to resume growth and meet their usual performance expectations. Drought tolerance is only attained once the plant is established, meaning newly planted drought tolerant plants require supplemental water during a drought.

may require water once a week, or only once a month.

Still others require no supplemental water–all only after establishment! Interestingly, some water-wise plants may not be tolerant of drought, and may require supplemental water during a drought.

Sphaeralcea ambigua Native & xeric

How much drought a particular plant will tolerate depends on a number of factors: Where did the plant evolve or come from? What is the typical season and duration of drought there? What are the typical temperatures and exposures? What type of soils do these plants typically grow in? And finally, how do these factors contribute to their drought tolerance in your yard?

Native means that a plant originates or is indigenous to a specific area. That area can be variously defined, e.g., it can be a particular canyon, county, state, or a broad geographical region, such as the Southwest. In selecting native plants for your landscape you should consider the elevation, soils, and water typically available in the plants’ natural habitat or micro-niche. Aspen (Populus tremuloides), for example, are native only in the mountain community, typically growing on north-facing slopes where temperatures are cooler and the slower snow melt results in more consistently moist conditions. Aspens often perform poorly in the heat of our valley landscapes.

Water-wise refers to plants that evolved in regions with lower precipitation, thus requiring less water throughout the growing season than most residential landscape plants. But what does that mean? It typically means the length between irrigation or rain is an extended period of time. Some mistakenly think that water-wise means you never have to water. However, water-wise plants as a category have a wide range of water requirements. Some plants may require water twice a week during the growing season, while others

Several different soil types enhance Utah’s unique landscape. Some of our native plants, including some that are threatened or endangered, are endemic to particular soil types. This means they will only grow where certain geologic formations or soils are found. These soils may have unique mineral content, textural drainage, or microbiological characteristics that native plant species have adapted to, some of which may affect how well the plant stays hydrated.

Red Butte Garden

Penstemon palmeri Water-wise & Native

Xeric refers to the extremely dry end of the water-wise spectrum. These are plants that, once established, do not require supplemental water. In fact, some suffer if they receive supplemental water, such as Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis) and Mormon Tea (Ephedra).

Echinacea purpurea Drought tolerant

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Plant diversity in Utah ranges from high-elevation subalpine mountain meadows to desert badlands. So, it’s important to realize that not all natives are water-wise.

While Utah has many water-wise and even xeric plants, we also have many native plants that are mesic, meaning they require consistent moisture, and sometimes a lot of it, such as Alder (Alnus), Willow (Salix), and Mountain Hollyhock (Iliamna rivularis).

Xeriscape is a term that seems to be misunderstood.

Barren landscapes–mainly rock and gravel with a few scattered cactus or other plants is not what is meant

by Xeriscape. The term Xeriscape was defined and trademarked by the Denver Water Board in 1981. It means that your design incorporates low-water-use plants somewhere in the landscape, and that you group plants together that have similar water requirements (hydrozoning). You can still have a lawn and you can still include plants that require more water, but everything is designed, planted, and irrigated within hydrozones.

The seven principles of Xeriscape gardening are summarized as follows: • Create a plan or design (according to site conditions, exposures and use) • Make appropriate soil improvements • Incorporate low-water-use plants • Incorporate small turf areas appropriately • Irrigate effectively, by similar requirements • Use mulch • Exercise proper maintenance These principals are good gardening practices no matter what type of landscape you’re planning. Incorporating low-water-use plants, and irrigating by hydrozone, is something that all of us living in a desert can and should do! Converting even one bed to low-water-use or reducing lawn areas can make a big difference in water consumption.

The planned Water Saver Terrace, in Red Butte Garden’s Water Conservation Garden (currently under construction) is designed to demonstrate this concept of Xeriscaping, and will have five different water-wise hydrozones.

• Zone 4 – will include plants commonly used in home landscapes, but will only be watered twice a week. Our goal is for visitors to see that plants can still perform beautifully when watered less, motivating them to irrigate their own gardens and landscapes less as a result.

The plants in the remaining hydrozones may not be as familiar to everyone, but will show that a well-designed landscape can be densely planted, beautiful, and use less water.

• Zone 3 – watered once a week • Zone 2 – watered every other week • Zone 1 – watered once a month • Zone 0 (Xeric) – After establishment, these beds will not receive supplemental water other than during periods of extreme drought.

With completion expected in the summer of 2016, we are excited that Red Butte Garden’s Water Conservation Garden is becoming a reality. We hope you will enjoy watching it grow and mature–and the beauty it will provide.

Illiamnia rivularis Native & mesic

In the meantime, for more information about water-wise gardening, you can check the Garden’s program offerings and the following websites: www.denverwater.org/Conservation/Xeriscape/XeriscapePlans www.utahpublicgardens.org www.plantselect.org www.conservationgardenpark.org www.extension.usu.edu/htm/publications/publication=6291

www.redbuttegarden.org

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Autumn 2015 CLASSES & WORKSHOPS Registration is required. To register for Red Butte Garden courses, call 801.581.8454 or visit www.redbuttegarden.org To register for University of Utah Lifelong Learning courses ( ), call 801.587.LIFE (5433) or visit www.lifelong.utah.edu

LIVING WREATH WORKSHOP (LLHG 588) SEPTEMBER 5, SATURDAY, 10:00AM - NOON Spend a morning at Red Butte Garden creating a beautiful, living, succulent wreath. These versatile wreaths can grace your garden, become the dramatic centerpiece, or a holiday accent for a door or mantel. We’ll provide a 13-inch wreath frame, moss and succulent plants, as well as cover care and maintenance of your living wreath.

GARDEN MEMBERS: $68 / GENERAL PUBLIC: $71

RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE DESIGN (LLHG 512) SEPTEMBER 16 - OCTOBER 14, WEDNESDAYS, 6:00 - 9:00PM OCTOBER 3, SATURDAY, 10:00AM - 1:00PM Save time and money by making informed landscaping choices before you plant. Learn how to draw a plan; analyze your site; and use landscape design principles to lay out paths, patios, and garden beds suitable for your site. We’ll use Red Butte Garden to look at plants appropriate for the Utah Landscape and learn about plant characteristics to consider when choosing plants for your garden design.

You’ll have the opportunity to work on your personal landscape plan throughout class with the help of a landscape designer.

GARDEN MEMBERS: $179 / GENERAL PUBLIC: $197

BULB FORCING WORKSHOP (LLHG 473) SEPTEMBER 29, TUESDAY, 6:30 - 8:30PM Brighten the winter blues by planting spring bulbs for winter forcing. We will share the secrets to successful bulb forcing and participants will pot up 6” terra cotta pots to take home for forcing. Participants will be provided with four 6” terra cotta pots, soil, selected bulbs and instructions for forcing. Please meet at the Garden greenhouse.

GARDEN MEMBERS: $52 / GENERAL PUBLIC: $55 FALL GARDEN MAINTENANCE (LLHG 551) OCTOBER 10 - 24, SATURDAYS, 10:00AM - NOON Get a jump on spring gardening this fall. Simple garden clean-up along with dividing, transplanting, pruning, and mulching will leave you ahead of the game come spring.

We’ll discuss which perennials to cut back and which to leave until spring, healthy fall transplanting, dividing irises and bulbs, which trees and shrubs to prune in fall, and how to protect your garden through mulching.

GARDEN MEMBERS: $65 / GENERAL PUBLIC: $72

UNIQUE TREES FOR UTAH LANDSCAPES SEPTEMBER 8 - 15, TUESDAYS, 6:00 - 8:00PM If you’re looking to find the right specimen tree to add beauty and diversity to your home landscape, join us for this informative course covering a host of unique tree species that have proven themselves in Utah’s urban environments.

Because fall is ideal for planting trees, we’ll also cover important planting and care instructions to help ensure the health and longevity of your tree selection.

GARDEN MEMBERS: $20 / GENERAL PUBLIC: $25 6

Red Butte Garden

Save The Dates!

HOLIDAY WREATH MAKING CLASSES DECEMBER 5 & 6

MEMBER BENEFIT ACTIVITIES These activities are FREE for Garden Members and are included with the price of admission for the General Public.

EVENING EXPLORATION: GARDEN TOUR SEPTEMBER 17, THURSDAY, 6:00 - 7:00PM Join us for an exploration of what’s blooming throughout the Garden. Come walk with one of our Garden Guides and take an intimate look at the Garden and see how it changes throughout the season. Wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. Meet in the Visitor Center courtyard.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED. CALL 801.581.8454 OR ONLINE AT WWW.REDBUTTEGARDEN.ORG

FALL BULB & NATIVE PLANT SALE SEPTEMBER 25, FRIDAY, 3:00 - 7:30PM SEPTEMBER 26, SATURDAY, 9:00AM - 7:30PM Fall is the time to plant garlic and flowering bulbs for early spring color. You will find a large selection of flowering bulbs for spring blooms. And we have a wide variety of organic garlic, ornamental grasses, flowering perennials, native and water-wise plants, including trees & shrubs.

Garden staff will be available to answer all your questions.

BONSAI BASICS OCTOBER 3, SATURDAY, 10:00AM - NOON Gain a basic understanding of the art of Bonsai and the skills to get you started. Topics include seasonal care of trees, tools and supply basics, repotting, wiring and styling demonstrations. There will be a Q & A session at the end of class where you are welcome to bring and ask specific questions about your trees. Danny Cowan, Bonsai Club of Utah.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED. CALL 801.581.8454 OR ONLINE AT WWW.REDBUTTEGARDEN.ORG

PHOTOGRAPHING FLOWERS - OUTDOORS (LLART 250) SEPTEMBER 19, SATURDAY, NOON - 5:00PM Our flower safari starts in class discussing tips and tricks to consider when photographing flowers. You’ll learn obstacles to taking a great photo, how to compose the subject, manipulate lighting, and properly set your camera to get the perfect shot. Once prepared, we move into the garden for hands on practice. Please bring camera and owner’s manual, and tripod if you have one. Any camera is acceptable. Prerequisite: Nuts and Bolts (LLART 193), Digital Photography I (LLART 115), or take the quiz at www. lifelong.utah.edu, or call 801.587.5433.

GARDEN MEMBERS: $62 / GENERAL PUBLIC: $69 CONTAINERS FOR FALL GARDENS (LLHG 550) SEPTEMBER 26, SATURDAY, 10:00AM - NOON OR OCTOBER 1, THURSDAY, 6:30 - 8:30PM Spend some time at the Garden creating a striking fall planting. After reviewing plants suitable for fall container gardening, including cool-season annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees, we will each create a masterpiece that will hold up through Thanksgiving—and potentially through winter. You’ll receive a 16-inch terra cotta container, soil, plants, and design suggestions. Please meet at the Garden greenhouse.

GARDEN MEMBERS: $57 / GENERAL PUBLIC: $70

HOLIDAY FLORAL ARRANGING WORKSHOP NOVEMBER 21, SATURDAY, 10:00AM - NOON Join us for a fun and engaging workshop to create a seasonal floral arrangement for your holiday table. After learning some basic floral design principles, you’ll put together your own unique holiday centerpiece to take home. Fee includes all materials. Workshop will be held in the Red Butte Garden greenhouses.

GARDEN MEMBERS: $44 / GENERAL PUBLIC: $55

BONSAI SHOW OCTOBER 10, SATURDAY, 9:00AM - 5:00PM OCTOBER 11, SUNDAY, 9:00AM - 3:30PM Explore the millennia-old art form of Bonsai and learn how to take care of your own tree. Members of the Bonsai Club of Utah will display trees from their collections, answer questions, and demonstrate different Bonsai techniques.

Trees and supplies will be available for purchase.

FREE HORTICULTURE SPOTLIGHT LECTURE SEPTEMBER 21, MONDAY, 6:30 - 7:30PM BioChar: A New Idea for Sustainable Soil Fertility Presenter: Britney Hunter, Extension Assistant Professor of Horticulture, USU Extension REGISTRATION REQUIRED. CALL 385.468.4824 OR ONLINE AT WWW.EXTENSION.USU.EDU/SALTLAKE

ORCHID SHOW NOVEMBER 7, SATURDAY, 9:00AM - 5:00PM NOVEMBER 8, SUNDAY, 9:00AM - 4:00PM Fascinating and exotic orchids will be on display in the Orangerie. Members of the Utah Orchid Society will offer advice about growing and caring for orchids. There will also be a large selection of beautiful orchids for sale at prices to fit any budget. www.redbuttegarden.org

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GARDEN ADVENTURES Garden Adventures are classes for children ages 4-12. Each class focuses on a different topic and seeks to help kids connect

with plants while encouraging them to explore the wonders of the natural world. Classes are designed for caregivers to attend and participate with their child. Limit one caregiver per student. No infants please. Registration required. Please register online at www.redbuttegarden.org. GARDEN MEMBERS: $5 / GENERAL PUBLIC: $7

ART EXHIBITS

FLORAL EXHIBITS

INCREDIBLE INSECTS SEPTEMBER 12 From tiny ants to mammoth moths, Red Butte Garden is full of insects! Learn about these little critters and discover the special characteristics that make bugs unique. Then venture outside on an insect hunt to find different bugs that call the Garden home.

AWESOME APPLES SEPTEMBER 26 There’s nothing like a sweet, crunchy apple on a crisp fall day. Join us as we investigate this amazing fruit and discover a few of the varieties grown here in the Garden. Later, we’ll create apple-inspired art and conduct a tasty experiment.

SPOOKTACULAR PLANTS OCTOBER 3 Kick off the Garden’s Halloween celebrations by studying carnivorous plants, the “scariest” members of the plant family. We’ll examine live Venus flytraps, sundews, and more before creating spooky crafts and conducting bone-chilling experiments. You won’t want to miss this frightfully fun class!

GOURD-TASTIC NOVEMBER 7 From acorn squash to pumpkins, Fall is full of gourds! Learn about these special plants and discover wild and crazy gourd varieties. After, we’ll create works of art using pumpkins, squash, and other gourds as our inspiration.

FANTASTIC FALL FOLIAGE NOVEMBER 21 Red, yellow, orange, brown, why do autumn leaves fall down? Through explorations in the Garden and leaf-inspired projects, we’ll discover the answer to this question and more as we investigate the world of autumn leaves.

UTAH WATERCOLOR SOCIETY SIGNATURE SHOW

AUGUST 21 - SEPTEMBER 13

BONSAI SHOW OCTOBER 10 & 11

GLASS ART SHOW

NOVEMBER 6 - DECEMBER 20

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September 26 –27 | 9:00 AM Red Butte Garden

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE DECEMBER 5 & 6

ORCHID SHOW

NOVEMBERwww.redbuttegarden.org 7&8

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ITH W E V O L FALL IN HIP S R E B M E YOUR M S! T I F E N E B

A SPLENDID SEASON FOR SEEDS IN THE GREAT BASIN

Gooseberry Leaf globemallow (Sphaeralcea grossularifolia), Wah Wah Valley, Utah

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By Catherine Cort, Conservation Research Assistant

What do you picture when you think of the Great Basin, the largest desert in the United States? An endless sea of sagebrush or the salt flats probably first come to mind.

Perhaps you also see rolling cloudscapes, mountains built from colorful layers of ancient rock, and valleys filled with grasses and wildflowers. The Red Butte Garden Plant Conservation team witnessed such scenes during three months of fieldwork this summer, covering more than 5,000 miles of roads and trails within this unique and beautiful region of western Utah.

globemallow (Sphaeralcea parvifolia) in full bloom. We treasure such fields of color not only for their seed producing potential, but also for their importance to native pollinators such as bumblebees and butterflies. Another highlight of our season was traveling along the old Pony Express Route to Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, where we discovered a lush oasis of wetlands in the midst of arid mountains and salt desert shrublands. We found the Great Basin to be filled with surprising gems such as this, once we knew where to look!

Though many traverse the Great Salt Lake on Interstate 80, very few have the time or inclination to stop and examine the plants that surround this typically hot and windy landscape. Red Butte Garden’s Seeds of Success collecting team was tasked with just that by the Bureau of Land Management this year, and spent the spring and summer months identifying and mapping healthy populations of native forbs and grasses throughout the Great Basin. Such populations could supply large amounts of seed ultimately used to restore sites damaged by overgrazing, fire, or development.

The Conservation Department at Red Butte Garden has been an active participant in the BLM Seeds Of Success program for 13 years, collecting mostly from the Colorado Plateau, and now expanding our efforts to cover the Great Basin. The seeds that we collect are used to develop regionand habitat-specific seed mixes comprised of plant species that are adapted to local conditions. Such seeds can better withstand environmental stressors such as drought, and can therefore better establish essential plant resources for native fauna and pollinators.

After an unpredictable and fairly dry winter, we had low expectations for our spring scouting trips throughout western Utah. Fortunately for us, the month of May was filled with impressive amounts of precipitation and belowaverage temperatures, which led to ideal growing conditions for the 42 target species on our list. Across the Great Basin, rainfall in the mountains collects in the valley bottoms, filling washes and basins with ever-variable amounts of water. Our native plants took full advantage of these springtime boosts of moisture to produce some stunning wildflower displays.

One of our best moments in the field this year was coming across a vast, brightly colored orange hillside near Enterprise, Utah entirely covered by small-leaf 10

Red Butte Garden

The goal of our seed collecting efforts is to aid in the restoration of Utah’s native ecosystems, and we hope that through our work we will help to preserve the botanical legacy of one of the most remarkable portions of our state.

For more information about the BLM Seeds of Success Program, please visit:

• 50% off Garden After Dark tickets • Discounts on workshops and classes • Discounts at over 20 local boutiques, restaurants, and nurseries • Reciprocal admission and/or additional benefits at nearly 300 botanical gardens throughout North America

TO FIND OUT MORE, CALL 801.585.7172 OR GO TO: WWW.REDBUTTEGARDEN.ORG/BENEFITS-OF-MEMBERSHIP

In Memory Of

h s i r u lo F for Generations to Come!

Donald P. Hartmann Paul Engh Peggy Hansen Robert J. Epperson

www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/fish__wildlife_and/plants/ seeds_of_success.html For further information about the projects of the Red Butte Garden Conservation Department, please visit: www.redbuttegarden.org/conservation-research

Help Red Butte Garden

For tribute & memorial information call 801.587.9658

Join us in our efforts to educate children and preserve nature. Provide a beautiful, peaceful respite in a busy world by making a planned gift to Red Butte Garden.

When you make or update your will, please consider including the Garden in your plans.

For more information, Contact Kathryn Atwood, Development Director, at 801.585.5658 or kathryn.atwood@redbutte.utah.edu

www.redbuttegarden.org

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RED BUTTE GARDEN SCHOOL PROGRAMS SPOTLIGHT: BOTANY BINS

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By Kate Randall, Marketing & PR Associate, Sara Sorensen, School Programs Manager, and Elaine Christensen, Outreach Education Specialist

Red Butte Garden is pleased to announce the continued development of the Botany Bin Program. This state-wide program is provided for free to Utah public school teachers and gives them the opportunity to reserve and check out resource kits that are equipped with lessons, touchable specimens, posters, magnifying lenses, flower presses, and reproducible materials to be used in classrooms.

According to Elaine Christensen, OE Specialist, each Botany Bin module is designed to make science fun and engaging. They also align with the current Utah State Core Curriculum. We had such great success with the first module that teachers and students are asking for more–Red Butte Garden estimates that each new module will reach over 3,500 students statewide.

Garden Inspired Gifts

Our gift shop has books, jewelry, wind chimes, local honey, lotions, fairy gardening supplies, home and holiday decor, a special section for kids, gift certificates and more!

Holiday Open House & Art Fair December 5 & 6

December 5 & 6 Holiday Sale

save 10% on all Gift Shop items

Garden members receive an additional 10% off

Artist Call For Entry Deadline October 10

If you are interested in vending your original, locally made, handcrafted art at the Holiday Open House please contact Dianne Crosby at: dianne.crosby@redbutte.utah.edu

Teachers can reserve and pick up a Botany Bin at Red Butte Garden or at one of eight other locations throughout the state.

Optional teacher trainings are also offered.

BOTANY BIN MODULES – ONE THEME, 16 BINS The first module, Ethnobotany: People and Plants was successfully developed, implemented, and used by over 3,000 students in the 2013/14 school year.

Ethnobotany Botany Bin lessons teach students about plants found in the three main Utah biomes–wetlands, forests, and deserts. Students learn about the adaptations plants have made in each Utah biome, and how the uses of different plants have changed over time.

The second Botany Bin module, Conserving Water in the Desert, provides lessons and activities for students to comprehend how limited water resources are in Utah and the Western United States. Ten different lesson plans focus on the role that plants play in water sources and availability, collection and uses of water, water quality, and water conservation. This module will be available for the 2015/16 school year.

Lesson plans for a third module, Patterns & Partnerships: An Introduction to Botany, are in the beginning stages of development.

(Continued)

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Red Butte Garden

OTHER RED BUTTE GARDEN SCHOOL PROGRAMS School Field Trips are designed to meet the standards and objectives of the Utah State Core Curriculum at each grade level, focusing on hands-on activities that thrill students of all ages. Last year, over 12,000 students participated in field trips to Red Butte Garden.

Grow Lab was created in 2001 and is provided for free to Utah’s 1st grade teachers in public and charter schools. Students grow their own plant and learn about the entire lifecycle of their plant. It includes a teacher workshop, a grow lab light frame kit, planting materials, seeds, an eight-lesson curriculum, materials for hands-on activities, and ongoing support. During the 2014/2015 school years, 4,700 students and 188 teachers participated in Grow Lab.

Calling all princesses, knights, and wizards!

For more information, or to participate in our School Programs, please visit: www.redbuttegarden.org/teachers-and-students

Journey to a realm of myth and magic as you visit the land of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Although you may have heard of Guinevere, Lancelot, and Merlin, you may not realize the large part the natural world plays in their stories.

THANK YOU! A special thank you to the donors and sponsors whose support makes the Botany Bins and other Red Butte Garden school programs possible. Thanks also to our partners: Utah Water Watch-Utah State University Extension, TreeUtah, Utah Society for Environmental Education, and Project Wet for assisting us in the enhancement of our Botany Bin lesson plans.

To donate to or become a sponsor of the Botany Bins Program or other Garden educational programs, please contact Kathryn Atwood at: 801.585.5658, or email: kathryn.atwood@redbutte.utah.edu

In addition to kid-friendly crafts, activities, and light displays, guests will also experience the story of Camelot through a special immersive dance-theater performance happening around the Garden. Become a part of the legend and join us to celebrate Halloween!

Tickets on Sale Monday, September 21

Elevate Your Event!

Surround your conference, luncheon, fundraiser, meeting, or wedding with the beauty of the one and only Red Butte Garden.

Members: $6 | Non-Members: $12 Classroom

Five nights of fun!

October 22, 23, 24 & 29, 6:00 - 9:00PM October 30, 6:00 - 10:00PM

Seats: 36 | Theatre-style: 60

• Gorgeous panoramic views • Just minutes from downtown SLC

Eccles Terrace Seats: 180

Orangerie

Fragrance Garden Capacity: 150

Culinary Crafts

Lecture: 200 | Dinner: 150

Rose House Seats: 80

300 WAKARA WAY | 801.585.9563 | WWW.REDBUTTEGARDEN.ORG 14 Red Butte Garden

Photo: Peter Vordenberg

www.redbuttegarden.org

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TIPS FOR SAVING WATER IN THE LANDSCAPE

By Chris Madson, Irrigation Crew Leader

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As the second driest state in the nation, conserving water in Utah is a high priority. As our population continues to increase, so too does the demand for water and the need for conservation.

With the largest portion of water in Utah being applied to the landscape by homeowners, business owners, and farmers–taking steps to reduce residential water use could collectively make a big difference.

Water-wise Plantings •

When planning a new landscape, or renovating an older one, consider the wide variety of low-water-use plants that are available.

Hydrozoning •

Group plants in the landscape with similar water needs, and water each zone separately according to the requirements of each hydrozone. This will avoid over-watering entire areas to meet the needs of a few plants that need more water.

Cultural Practices •

Use a generous layer of mulch in garden beds to reduce evaporation and weeds, which also reduces competition for water.

•

Sweep driveways and sidewalks with a broom instead of hosing them off with water.

•

Mow grass at 3” to 4” in height, rather than 2” or 2.5.” This reduces stress and water use because it allows the grass to shade its roots.

•

Reduce lawn fertilizer applications to less than the typical recommendation of 1 lb. of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft., 3-5 times/ year. Fertilizer increases growth, which increases water consumption.

When fertilizing, use a low-nitrogen fertilizer with micronutrients, including iron, which helps green up lawns in Utah’s high pH soils.

•

Regularly check drip lines for breaks and repairs as necessary.

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Check hoses and faucets for leaks and add a shut-off valve to the end of hoses to turn off flow when not needed.

Scheduling Irrigation •

Avoid watering during the hottest time of day (10AM – 6PM).

•

Water in cycles, reducing the minutes on the timer and using multiple start times, spaced an hour apart, to allow water to soak into soil, especially on slopes.

•

Water fewer days per week, but water for longer periods of time. This will encourage deeper root development, enabling plants to withstand hot summer temperatures and the intervals in between each watering.

•

Consider installing a rain shut-off gauge on the irrigation system and turn off the system when conditions are very windy.

•

Always adjust your irrigation scheduling times to meet the changing needs of each season, less water in spring and fall, more during the heat of summer.

Awareness of how our watering practices affect plant growth and performance is the cornerstone of saving water in residential landscapes. Water applied daily leads to shallow-rooted systems that are more susceptible to the scorching heat of summer. Water applied less often but for longer, including cycle soak programs, encourages deeper rooting that better tolerate less water and the summer heat. Avoiding water application during the hot day-time hours reduces water loss to evaporation.

Red Butte Garden offers landscape design, irrigation, garden maintenance, and many other gardening classes. Please check our website for more information.

Design the Irrigation System to Meet the Site/Design Needs •

When using spray heads, choose one that delivers larger water droplets. They reduce water loss because they are less susceptible to drift and evaporation.

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In dense plantings, a grid of drip tubing works well, or in less dense plantings, single drip emitters can be ran to the base of a plant.

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Drip systems are also used to establish new landscapes that will ultimately be kept as a dry or xeric planting, which requires no supplemental water after establishment.

Thank you to our fans and concert sponsors for another great season!

Inspect Sprinkler Systems •

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Red Butte Garden

Regularly check the performance of sprinklers to ensure that there is proper alignment and coverage, and that there are no leaky pipes or heads. Adequate pressure is also essential, as too much or too little can affect the performance of the system and wastes water, either by overwatering or by evaporation.

Willard L. Eccles Foundation

www.redbuttegarden.org

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06

Red Butte Garden Greek Theatre 9:00AM

CAKE Concert

15

Orchid Show 9:00AM-4:00PM

08

Daylight Savings

Sunday

OCTOBER 01

Monday

Labor Day (ZAP Free Day)

Full Moon

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23

30

29

www.redbuttegarden.org

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16

09

02

Monday

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25

25

18

11

04

Full Moon

Veteran’s Day

Wednesday

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12

27

20

13

06

26

19

12

05

Friday

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21

Garden After Dark 6:00-9:00PM

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Garden After Dark 6:00-9:00PM

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15

08

Save the Date!

14th Annual Holiday Open House Friday & Saturday, December 5 & 6 Free Admission

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31

Halloween

Garden After Dark 6:00-9:00PM

Maintenance 10:00AM-Noon (3/3)

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Fall Garden Maintenance 10:00AM-Noon (2/3)

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Deadline for Holiday Open House

Fall Garden Maintenance 10:00AM-Noon (1/3)

Bonsai Show 109:00AM-5:00PM

Bonsai Basics 10:00AM-Noon

Landscape Design 10:00AM-1:00PM (4/6)

03 Residential

ART EXHIBITS 11/6 - 12/20 Glass Art Show

GARDEN ADVENTURES 10:00-11:30AM 11/7 Gourdtastic 11/21 Fantastic Fall Foliage

Garden After Dark 6:00-10:00PM

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Garden After Dark 6:00-9:00PM

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Saturday

ART EXHIBITS 8/21 - 9/13 Utah Watercolor Society Signature Show

CLASSICAL GREEK THEATRE FESTIVAL Sophocles’ Electra 9/26 & 27 Pre-Show Lecture at 8:30AM Performance at 9:00AM

YOGA IN THE GARDEN 8/4 - 9/10 Tuesdays & Thursdays 7:30 - 8:30AM Registration Required

GARDEN ADVENTURES 10:00-11:30AM 9/12 Incredible Insects 9/26 Awesome Apples

Friday

NOVEMBER Holiday Floral Arranging Workshop 10:00AM-Noon

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Orchid Show 9:00AM-5:00PM

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Saturday

Residential Landscape Design 6:00-9:00PM (6/6)

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Residential Landscape Design 6:00-9:00PM (5/6)

07

Thanksgiving Garden Closed

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20

13

06

Full Moon

Thursday

Zeke Dumke Day (ZAP Free Day)

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Containers for Fall Gardens 6:30-8:30PM

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Thursday

9:00AM-7:30PM Greek Theatre 9:00AM Containers for Fall Gardens 10:00AM-Noon

26 Fall Plant Sale

Photographing Flowers Noon - 5:00PM

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Living Wreath Workshop 10:00AM - Noon

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Wednesday

Fall Plant Sale 3:00-7:30PM

Plan your holiday party at Red Butte Garden!

801.585.9563

Garden Hours: 9:00AM - 5:00PM

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Tuesday

Gala 7:00PM

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Saturday

Events at Red Butte Garden Friday

Garden Hours: 9:00AM - 5:00PM

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Bonsai Show 9:00AM-3:30PM

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Tuesday

GARDEN AFTER DARK Legends of Camelot 10/22 - 24 6:00-9:00PM 10/29 6:00-9:00PM 10/30 6:00-10:00PM

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Evening Exploration 6:00-7:00PM

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Thursday

Monday

Residential Landscape Design 6:00-9:00PM (3/6)

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Residential Landscape Design 6:00-9:00PM (2/6)

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Ben Harper Concert

Residential Landscape Design 6:00-9:00PM (1/6)

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Wednesday

Sunday

Bulb Forcing Workshop 6:30-8:30PM

Mark Knopfler Concert

Unique Trees for Utah Landscapes 6:00-8:00PM (2/2)

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Unique Trees for Utah Landscapes 6:00-8:00PM (1/2)

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Tuesday

GARDEN ADVENTURES 10:00-11:30AM 10/3 Spooktacular Plants

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Free Horticulture Spotlight Lecture 6:30PM

Garden After Dark Tickets on sale

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TGR Film “Paradise Waits” 6:00PM

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Garden Hours: 9:00AM - 7:30PM

Sunday

Autumn 2015

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SEPTEMBER

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Non ProďŹ t org.

US Postage PAID Salt Lake City Permit #1529

300 WAKARA WAY SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84108

2015 ADVISORY BOARD:

GARDEN INFORMATION

David Gee, Chair Tom Ramsey, Vice Chair Cathy Foote Angstman Byron Barkley Sandi Behnken Thomas Brickey David Classen Fred Esplin Gayle Everest Chuck Horman Gregory Lee Tory Magleby Nancy Martin Michele Mattsson Kevin Murphy Michael Perez Chris Satovick Susan Speer Julie Thomas Stephen Urquhart Angie Welling Tim Welsh Henry Wurts Emeritus members E.R. Dumke, Jr. Sandy McOmber

Hours:

January 2 - March 31* Daily 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM April 1 - 30* Daily 9:00AM - 7:30PM May 1 - August 31* Daily 9:00AM - 9:00PM September 1 - 30 Daily 9:00AM - 7:30PM October 1 - December 23 Daily 9:00AM - 5:00PM *Days when outdoor concerts are scheduled, hours are 9:00AM - 5:00PM. *Closed Thanksgiving Day and December 24 - January 1

Call us!

Visitor Center 801.585.0556 Private Event Rental 801.585.9563 Volunteer 801.585.5688 Membership 801.585.7172 Donations 801.585.5658 Class Registration 801.581.8454

Visit Us! Visitor Center, Gift Shop, & Mailing Address: 300 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108 Web site: www.redbuttegarden.org Comments: 801.581.4938 or e-mail bryn.ramjoue@redbutte.utah.edu

Groups of 12 or more receive $1 off regular admission price for each person.

Full group payment is due at time of Garden entry.

Look for us on KUTV

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