MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Monday, October 24th, Memphis Botanic Gardens held a ribbon cutting for their Woodland Garden re-opening.
During the ribbon cutting, guests received remarks from Michael Allen, Executive Director of Memphis Botanic Garden, Kim MacQueen, Board Chair, Mayor Jim Strickland, and Daniel Grose, Director of Horticulture.
The Woodland occupies one acre of the entire four acre space. The area closed down in June to undergo a one million dollar renovation. This renovation was part of a capital campaign named Nourish Greenprint : 2021.
"Today we celebrate the conclusion of that with the twelfth and final project, which is the renovation, the revitalization, the modernization of our woodland," said Allen. Allen said the goal was to modernize and to improve the guest experience for Memphians and tourists. "I think it's fair to say, and safe to say, and true to say, that we have improved the Memphis Botanic Garden, for today, and most especially for tomorrow."
Kim MacQueen, one of the board members for the garden said that Memphis Botanic Garden is one of the most beautiful and valuable things about Memphis. "I've been a volunteer here for thirty years and the culmination of what's happened with Nourish Greenprint, has come after a lot of strategizing and hard work, and you're gonna see the labor of love that has gone into all of this."
"The city owns this property, but we couldn't have made it this nice, on our own," said Mayor Jim Strickland. He thanked all parties involved in The Woodland project and touched on his experiences of seeing the Memphis Botanic Garden over the span of 20 years. "Our current leader, Mike Allen, who has done a fantastic job. That deserves a round of applause."
Daniel Grose, the Director of Horticulture for Memphis Botanic Garden has only been in the role since May. "When I started applying for this job, one of the things that I said often, to make sure I was gonna be a right fit was, I'm passionate about ecologically minded landscaping, I love native plants, I love nature, and if that is the direction you guys wanna go in, I'd love to bring that passion to the botanic garden.
So, when I got here, our first big project that they presented to me was, 'We're redoing our Woodland Garden.' It's a one-acre space, and we really just wanna focus on native plants. I was like wow, talk about a dream job." Grose said it's been a blessing for him to be a part of the project.
The Woodland area consists of a garden, a classroom, a tiny bridge with a stream of water underneath, and a Gabion Wall.
"There's a different demand placed on our landscapes, and how can landscapes do more than just be beautiful? How can they also clean water? How can they provide habitat, and things for host plants, for butterflies, and nectar sources for pollinators? How can we do that? So our goal with this garden was to demonstrate how you can bring those two things together," said Grose.
