American Public Gardens Association

The American Public Gardens Association (APGA) is accepting proposals from organizations to facilitate APGA’s 2025 Garden Board Member Experience workshop series in Winter 2025. The successful applicant will create and present an engaging four-part webinar series that provides in-depth education for board members and leaders of the public horticulture industry. Application deadline: SEPTEMBER 30, 2024. Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/eSagNZwv APGA’s Garden Board Member Experience is an annual program provided to the board members and executives of our member institutions. The goals and objectives of the Garden Board Member Experience vary year to year, addressing topical and timely themes that highlight the leadership qualities of successful board members and stress the importance of their role in the overall success of an organization. The participants of the Experience expect to learn from professionals in the nonprofit field and to come away with practical knowledge that they can use to best serve in their position as a board member. Board members in the horticultural field serve as trustees and advisors for public gardens, arboreta, historic estates, and more. The organizations they support may be large or small – our member institutions include those with operating budgets ranging from under $150,000 to more than $25M with employees numbering tens to hundreds. Attendees join from across the US and, in some cases, internationally. For clarification, please note that attendees are not Board Members for APGA but board members for our member organizations. The Garden Board Member Experience is a four-part webinar series for 50-60 attendees per session. Sessions take place over the course of two to three months, each focusing on a topic that supports the overarching theme of the Experience.

#FALLforPublicGardens - Fall season at Springs Preserve in Las Vegas, Nevada, is one of its busiest and most spectacular seasons at the Preserve's expansive botanical garden. Activities range from a family-friendly Haunted Harvest event around Halloween to a fall plant sale, where the community can explore and purchase various desert-adapted plants and get expert advice from local horticulturists. The Preserve is always in bloom! Learn more and plan your visit: https://lnkd.in/gr6byNW #GoPublicGardens #PublicGardens #PublicGardens #autumn #autumnleaves #autumnvibes #autumncolors #fall #fallleaves #fallvibes #fall #falltime

#FALLforPublicGardens - Summer may still be around for the next few weeks, but we are kicking off our FALL campaign early so we can include as many member gardens as possible this season. We want to highlight those stunning sunset colors and autumn blooms that turn your public garden and arboretums into living paintings. Send us your photo(s) or film some beautiful shots of your garden's fall colors. Feeling more inspired? We would love to see one of your staff in front of the camera talking about what fall is like at your garden. Send your photo or video along with a few sentences about fall or fall activities to our Communications Assistant, Lisa Comento at [email protected]. #GoPublicGardens #PublicGardens #PublicGardens #autumn #autumnleaves #autumnvibes #autumncolors #fall #fallleaves #fallvibes #fall #falltime

September is Disaster Preparedness month! Being prepared can mitigate any hazards you face and decrease your overall costs of disruptions. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Preparedness Goal is to create “A secure and resilient nation with the capabilities required across the whole community to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.” All organizations should conduct testing and exercises to ensure that their preparedness program is ready in case of an emergency. Testing is essential to ensure employees know what responsibilities they have and to find potential gaps in the plan. It is necessary to determine whether the various parts of the preparedness program will work. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/edWzS4Wc #GoPublicGardens #PublicGardens #PublicGardens #September #DisasterReadinessInitiative

Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens in San Clemente, California, sits on 2.5 acres in the historic home of the founder of the city, Ole Hanson. The property is registered on the National Registry of Historic Places. The Center honors its founder and is a cultural center for the public. The architecture of the home is designed as a Spanish Colonial Revival and dates back to 1927. The property did pass through many hands until the 1980s when forward-thinking individuals had a special vision for Casa Romantica's future. Today, the local community and visitors alike can attend exciting events and art exhibitions. The Center also offers educational opportunities and field trips for local schools. The is also space that can be rented for private events and parties. Read more about its dynamic history here: https://lnkd.in/etgG8XXW #GoPublicGardens #PublicGardens #PublicGardens #CasaRomanticaCulturalCenter #CasaRomantica #California

#FridayFlora - This signature collection of Hamamelis at Madison Square Park Conservancy in New York City grows in its 6.2-acre free public park in midtown Manhattan, which welcomes 60,000 visitors a day. The Hamamelis collection is extensive for the garden’s size, comprising five species and 70 cultivars. The bright colors and scented blooms attract people into the park from autumn into late winter, even during the coldest months of the year. The Conservancy hosts interpretive public programming and offers garden walks to connect park goers with this collection. The goal of the collection was to develop an urban reference garden for Hamamelis with a focus on hybrid cultivars. Witch-hazels shrubby habit screens traffic and provides shelter for birds. They are shade tolerant, allowing specimens to thrive in an urban jungle of buildings and dense tree canopies. Hamamelis virginiana, native to New York City, is the earliest to flower and of far-reaching ecological importance to many varieties of caterpillars and birds who use Hamamelis for shelter and food in urban areas. Late-season flowers provide a vital source of nectar for pollinators. #GoPublicGardens #PublicGardens #PublicGardens #MadisonSquareParkConservancy #MadisonSquarePark #NewYork #NewYorkCity #Manhattan #flora #florafriday

Congratulations to Scott Ferguson of the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden and Matthew Ross of The Chanticleer Foundation Board of Directors announces the latest recipients of the Chanticleer Scholarship in Professional Development! Scott Ferguson, Trades 2 Horticulturist at the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden (Vancouver, British Columbia) will travel to learn from, and explore perennial gardens throughout northern Japan in September 2024. Afterwards, Scott will guest garden at Chanticleer. Learning techniques from both Japanese and Chanticleer staff, this trip will inform how Scott manages the Entrance & Reception Garden’s perennial displays. Matthew Ross, Executive Director of The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park will travel to Japan in November 2024 with the North American Japanese Garden Association. Following this tour, he will visit gardens, natural areas, and meet with members of the Sister Cities Program that is shared between Shiga, Japan, and Traverse City, Michigan. This trip will enhance Matthew’s plans for developing the Healing Garden at The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eGWFkBpJ #GoPublicGardens #PublicGardens #PublicGardens #Chanticleer

The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, has some great tips for helping to keep trees and plants safe during these hot summer days (see below). The Arboretum offers a FREE Plant Clinic for the public to consult with experts about various gardening questions and issues. Visit their website here: https://lnkd.in/ejJ2XSQv Morton Arboretum's experts' advice for keeping trees and plants safe are listed below: 1. Be sure plants have enough water. 2. Check the soil for moisture which helps to conserve water. 3. Use proper watering techniques such as water slowly so the trees and plants have time to absorb the water. 4. Educate yourself about your trees and plants to learn which require more water than others. 5. For younger trees, let the hose dribble slowly into the soil to moisten around the trunk and soil 6. Mature trees need water too. 7. By adding a layer of mulch, you are protecting the roots of plants from the extreme heat and prevents the moisture from evaporating. #GoPublicGardens #PublicGardens #PublicGardens #MortonArboretum #PlantClinic #gardentip #gardentips #gardener #gardeners #gardeningtip #gardeningtips #homegarden #homegardner

Join us on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET for a webinar titled, Exploring the Mentor Mentee Relationship. You will learn more about this dynamic opportunity APGA offers its members to be mentors or mentees. Register: https://lnkd.in/dwQJq5vp The webinar will be presented by the Emerging Professionals Community and will be recorded. The recording will be available to our members roughly one week after the webinar and saved in our Library/Media section on our website. Please send any questions to [email protected]. #GoPublicGardens #PublicGardens #PublicGardens #mentor #mentors #mentorprogram #gardenmentor #gardenmentors #APGA

At APGA we take professional development and education seriously, not only the importance of our members educating one another but educating visitors who support their local public gardens and educating the next generation. During last week's 2024 Education Community Symposium: Education Elevated at Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City, Utah, a few garden educators had some fun talking about what it means to be a garden educator. So "of course", we had to share this sweet video with you! This video was filmed during the You Are Not Alone: Youth Program Challenges in a Post-COVID World session. The world has changed over the past few years, and garden educators have challenged themselves to adapt to the changes. During the session, educators learned from staff at four public gardens who shared their experiences transitioning field trip programs, camps, and other youth programs from 2020 to present day. They shared challenges such as changes in school district curriculum, bus shortages, finding good instructors, new health requirements, rising prices, and other circumstances beyond their control. Featured in the video from start to finish: Kensey Amerson, Lockerly Arboretum Irmarie Alvira, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Malia Brandt, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Heather Paulsen, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens Andrew Cipriano, Desert Botanical Garden Katelin Gaeth, Denver Botanic Garden Selena Wilson, Dallas Arboretum and Botanic Garden Annie Labus, Chicago Botanic Garden #GoPublicGardens #PublicGardens #PublicGardens #RedButteGarden #Utah #SaltLakeCity #UT #educationsymposium