Friends of the Arboretum February 2022 Newsletter

 

Chair’s Corner

Dear Friends, It’s a cold and snowy day as I pen my February Chair’s Corner message—makes for a nice break from shoveling the driveway. Last fall, with the goal of enjoying some early spring color, I started the process of forcing bulbs to bloom in the house. To start, I placed a couple of pots in the basement refrigerator—this was certain news to my lovely wife. Settled in amongst the Christmas dessert and a holiday roast, you can imagine my wife’s intrigue driving her to ask “what’s up with garden pots in the ‘fridge?”. In mid-January I removed the pots for a sunnier and warmer home. Since this project is a first for me, I have to say that I am rather excited with the progress and the opportunity to enjoy some spring color in the house while I wait for the last few weeks of winter to pass before ‘playing’ in the yard can begin again!

Membership has its privilege. Referencing the American Express slogan from the 90’s, there are clear benefits to your membership. Before I remind you of those, I want to thank each of our “Friends” members for your gift of time, talent and financial commitment. Since the early days of the organization, the FOTA membership roster has grown 5-fold to over 2,000 registered members. And since 2019, our budget has enjoyed a 30% increase in membership dollars during the early months of the pandemic—perhaps people in the community needed a place to enjoy free of covid requirements. Regardless the driver, our membership remains strong. Our Friends of the Arboretum is a vibrant organization comprised of people who enjoy being outdoors, appreciate the beauty of the Arboretum, love visiting the gardens and hiking the trails, and want to support this outstanding community amenity. Your membership in FOTA provides important funding for programs, capital improvements and many special events that draw visitors to the Arboretum. As a reminder, your benefits include:

  • Daily free admission to the Arboretum (excluding ticketed events)
  • Discounted admission to events including Wine and Beer Tastings on the Terrace, Terra Luna and our popular Luminary Walk
  • Early access to the Spring Plant Sale – you get first dibs!
  • Exclusive members-only events and activities
  • Monthly e-Newsletter
  • Free or discounted admission to 300+ botanical gardens throughout the US Reciprocal Admissions Program, and some of these are an easy drive from Kansas City!

The Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is a wonderful community asset and the benefits of membership should be experienced by all. Please invite your friends and family to join, or even consider a “Gift of Membership”.  And don’t forget to renew your membership when the time comes so that your benefits continue without interruption. Again, thank you for your gift of membership! As I have shared in the past, there are many ways for you to be involved and to stay up to date on happenings at the Arboretum. They include:

Events and Programing 

Check out our events page on our website and start filing in your calendar. Our annual Plant Sale is slated to begin April 28 and the planning team is hard at work making final plant selections that you are sure to enjoy in your garden. Join us for our first Wine Tasting of the year on May 12—and for the beer enthusiast among you, have you seen we have added Beer Tastings to the calendar, our first event is May 19. Check out the events page for many more fun activities!  

News From the Gardens

Stay current on the latest Arboretum news by following us on our social spaces. And don’t forget to share our content so your friends, family and neighbors can hear about ways to enjoy the many aspects of the Arboretum.  

Volunteer

There are so numerous ways to share your time and talents at the Arboretum. If volunteering is on your New Year’s list of resolutions, please contact volunteercoordinator@opkansas.org.  

Let Me Know What’s On Your Mind

Lastly, I want to hear from you. Please send me an email at fotachair@artsandrec-op.org with your thoughts and ideas about our events and programing and let me know how we are doing.

See you in the gardens,

Carlos E. Corredor, Chair of the FOTA Advisory Board