A combined educational event with Ramsey and Washington County Master Gardener volunteers that Como Park's McNeely Conservatory
8/21/2024
The August monthly meeting was held at the Como Conservatory with a Zoom option from from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. Watching the recording of this meeting can be counted as 2 hours of Continuing Education. (Find the recording in the Archives of the Monthly Meeting page.)
THANK YOU!
Many thanks to the RCMG volunteers involved with this Monthly Meeting!
Education Committee: Simba Blood & Gene Ranieri
Journalist: Laura Logsdon
Presenters: Ariel Dressler and Bekah Hanes from Como Zoo/McNeely Conservatory
Set-Up: Sandy McDonald
Greeters: Liz Colwell, Debbie Lee, Esther Schwartz, Sarah Hilger
AV Team: Christopher Skelly, Britta Greene
Zoom Aide: Sue VonBank
Clean Up: Katherine Tane
Introduction
Darren Lochner opened the joint meeting and welcomed members of the Ramsey County and Washington County Master Gardeners
Alex Meyer from RCMG introduced a new project, managing the Ramsey County Correctional Facility orchard. Two harvest days are scheduled and open to all RCMG and WCMG members. Next year plan to host pruning workshops at the orchard
Guest Lecture - Como Conservatory Program
Simba Blood, RCMG, introduced our two presenters from the Como Conservatory, Bekah Hanes (Education and Conservation Coordinator) and Ariel Dressler (Horticulture Supervisor)
Guest Speakers: Ariel Dressler and Bekah Hanes from the Como Zoo/McNeely Conservatory
Como Conservatory History (Bekah Hanes)
1872: State of MN asked Ramsey County to appoint 5 commissioners to purchase land for a public park. A year later, they selected land off the shores of Como Lake. 15 years later funds were designated for a landscape park for "physical and moral satisfaction." Horace William Shaler Cleveland was the landscape architect. He recruited Frederick Nussbaumer to be the first Parks Superintendent. He dreamed of building a glass greenhouse like he had worked with in London. Would take 20 years to build.
Key early attractions in the park included topiaries and Gates Ajar, which is still planted today. There were Victorian water-platters in the lily pond, and the hot water needed for their growth came from the Superintendent's boiler. The Japanese Garden was another early attraction, including lanterns from the 1904 World's Fair (three of which are in the current garden).
By 1913, the tropical plants were so large they couldn't fit in the hot houses, and the park board approved $50 to fund design plans for a conservatory. It cost $58,000 to build the conservatory which was completed in 1915.
In June 1962 a hail storm severely damaged much of the glass, so it was replaced with fiberglass and was closed for 4 months for repairs.
1974: placed on the National Registry of Historic Places
1980: major renovations needed to address safety issues and the darkened fiberglass panels that impacted light for the plants.
1984: Master Plan created, included 12 full time staff working to renovation the conservatory for years, for a total cost of $12 million.
2002: renamed the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory
2005: Opened the visitor center and combined operations with the Zoo
Sunken Garden (Ariel Dressler)
Overview: How the Como team designs, schedules crop production, and installs a year's worth of shows in the Sunken Garden. Team includes 11 full time staff, 5 seasonal staff, 3 Right Track interns, many volunteers for daily/weekly/seasonal needs. Produce 7 shows per year, for each season (sometimes two per season) and a holiday show
Plan: each show starts with a solid plan. Because they plant into the flower beds, they can select the soil mix, control the water, heating, air, and beneficial insects. The room's average temperature ranges during the different seasons. Knowledge of what they can control and provide a plant is key for flower shows.
Design: staff brainstorm ideas for shows, often based on colors or taking inspiration from art or seasonal themes. They collaborate with other groups, like the Saint Paul Garden Club, on themes as well. Depending on the show, need 9-12 months to order plugs to arrive on time for growing. They also produce plants from seeds, which need 26 weeks.
Grow: Once seeded, plants are assigned to a grower and space in the 8 green houses. They use a bulb cooler and propagation chamber to assist in their crop production, and growers finalize plans with the designers. For the spring show, average 8,000-10,000 bulbs needed because they replant three times during the show, ensuring the flowers are always peaking.
Pivot: sometimes they need to pivot and change shows. For example, there could be poor germination, a cancelled order, crop failure, viruses, insect damage, bad timing for the crop, a global pandemic, or new ideas that make them want to try something different.
Install: It takes 4 days to install a show. Day 1: remove previous show and do maintenance on the space, like fixing cracked steps, cleaning the pool, and replacing lights. Days 2-3: hauling in plants and laying out, planting, using a hand drawn map to ensure planting matches design. Day 4: finishing touches, cleaning, hosing down the space, skimming the pool.
Questions from the Audience
How is the Conservatory funded? A mix of funding from the City of Saint Paul, and the Como Friends Foundation. They also sell plants from finished shows in the gift shop which helps recoup costs of purchasing the plants.
Is there special lighting in the garden? The pathways are lit and there are hanging lights, sometimes they install twinkle lights. But they are interested in improving lighting and having different colored lights for special occasions.
Do they avoid certain plants? Try to grow crops that require minimal to no chemicals to manage, but otherwise they're very flexible.
Do they have programming to encourage folks to visit Como who experience Seasonal Affective Disorder? There are unique opportunities for different groups like Senior Stroll and Sensory Friendly times. They are open 365 days a year and it is free to attend, so it is very accessible. Like the idea of more programming specifically focused on promoting the healing power of being in nature.
Are there lists of cultivars used in the garden? Yes, guides keep copies of the flower show plants and one side of the sunken garden is labeled. People can also reach out and staff will e-mail names of plants.
What happens with plants after a show is completed? Some are sold in the gift shop and some are reused around the conservatory and zoo. Others are composted - the tops are composted and the root balls are ground up to use in soil. They reuse topiaries for multiple shows.
How do we volunteer? People can submit a volunteer application online, and the two volunteer coordinators will work to find the right opportunities.
What are you other favorite gardens? MN Landscape Arboretum, Normandale Japanese Garden, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary.
Recap provided by Laura Logsdon
RCMG Volunteer