October 3, 2019
Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,
We have been gratified to see some personnel changes at the Conservancy. Jessica Norman, our longtime multitalented gardener/photographer/social media maven/historian, has moved inside -- at least part of the time -- to expand our educational program. She is now our Education and Outreach Officer.
Yonkers native Liz Dreeben has been working as a seasonal gardener here since 2016. She has recently been designated a full-time Horticulturist at Untermyer Gardens. This summer Liz led our first summer intern program, which was a great success.
Dear Friends of Untermyer Gardens,
We have been gratified to see some personnel changes at the Conservancy. Jessica Norman, our longtime multitalented gardener/photographer/social media maven/historian, has moved inside -- at least part of the time -- to expand our educational program. She is now our Education and Outreach Officer.
Yonkers native Liz Dreeben has been working as a seasonal gardener here since 2016. She has recently been designated a full-time Horticulturist at Untermyer Gardens. This summer Liz led our first summer intern program, which was a great success.
Last spring, I said that we hoped to kill a swath of Japanese knotweed for a future wildflower meadow by mowing, not with goats. So far this strategy seems to be working. Those little stubs are getting weaker and weaker.
Our second major fund-raiser of the year is Mehregan, the ancient Persian festival for the harvest. This year was our most successful ever and helped raise significant funds for the restoration of the Persian Pool. These events always generate a surprise or two, but imagine ours when we discovered, just before the fire ceremony, that a skunk had gotten into the pool! Would it spray everyone and scare us away? Happily not, as only a few people were aware of the problem, thank heavens!
Last week, the Police and Fire Memorial near the gardens' entrance was rededicated, after a fine restoration by the Police Fire Memorial Foundation of Yonkers that added a stone ramp, new stone steps and stone pavers. Timothy and his crew put in hundreds of plants, and it really looks quite fine.
Finally, our second annual fall symposium will take place on Saturday, October 19. Shobha Vanchiswar will moderate a discussion with the executive directors of Lyndhurst and the Jay Heritage Center, along with our own Timothy Tilghman. They will explore three contrasting approaches to garden restoration currently taking place at these significant Westchester landscapes.
Thank you for your continued support.
Kind regards,
Stephen F. Byrns
Kind regards,
Stephen F. Byrns
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