Help Us Continue to Grow

What a year 2020 has proven to be. From bringing the Spring Plant Sale and education classes online, to reimagining community events like Urban Homestead Tour, Pumpkins on Parade and Garden of Lights, everyone involved in the organization has made extraordinary adjustments to provide our Members and guests with the world-class visitor experience you have come to know and love—whether in-person or online.

As The Gardens’ non-profit partner, 2020 has also been one of tremendous change for Friends of The Gardens. With your help, we made an initial investment of $25,000 to Gardens for All, developed our own website (friendsgosc.org), hosted more Member Mornings than ever before and created the very popular dinner and music experience called Date Night at The Gardens.

It has required a enormous amount of work and pivoting to meet COVID-19 guidelines. And despite our best efforts, the pandemic has left its mark on our organization, just like everyone else. Between revenue shortfalls and budget cuts, The Gardens is looking at a $150,000 deficit for the year.

We know this is a hard time to be asking for money, but if you are in a position to give this holiday season, we ask that you keep Friends of The Gardens in your end-of-year giving plans. Click here to learn more about your giving options.

Tax Benefits of Giving to The Friends
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act of 2020 created two new tax benefits that could prove beneficial for you and your family.

For taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions, the CARES Act created an above-the-line deduction of up to $300 for individuals and $600 for married couples filing jointly who donate to qualified charitable organizations by December 31, 2020. The deductible amount is applied to Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) without affecting the ability to take the standard deduction.

For those that itemize, the CARES Act allows deductions of up to 100% of AGI (normally 60%) for this year only. If you’re planning to include Friends of The Gardens in your year-end giving, consult a tax professional for further details on how this

While 2020 has been a difficult year, there is plenty to be excited about as we look ahead to 2021. Already we are planning more Date Nights, more concerts, new butterflies, yoga, tai chi, the Spring Plant Sale, exciting community events, a full year of education programming and the continued growth of our stunning gardens. Donor support makes this possible and we want to thank you in advance for helping us bring light and life to this community this holiday season.

Sincerely,
Mary Atchison,
Fundraising Chair Friends of The Gardens

When Plants Fight Back

By Andrew Scott, Horticulturist for The Gardens on Spring Creek This is the second installment of a two-part feature on plant defenses. Read Part I online at North Forty News . Caffeine, nicotine, morphine, cocaine ... sounds like the ingredients label on an old-timey cold medicine, right? These molecules are actually all alkaloids, some of the most common chemical deterrents deployed by plants. As the adage goes, the dose makes the poison. While people can (and do) ingest these alkaloids for their psychoactive effects, they prove to be much more deadly to a small insect that weighs all but a few tenths of a milligram. The sap of opium poppies ( Papaver somniferum ) contains morphine, a potent sedative (via Daniel Prudek , Hodder Education Magazines) Still, alkaloids have a strongly bitter taste, which animals have learned to associate with the toxic effects they can have. Eating green potatoes isn’t likely to kill you, but solanine, the alkaloid that triggers this change...

Monarchs and Marigolds in Día de Muertos Celebrations

By Angie Fuentes The Gardens on Spring Creek Community Engagement Assistant Monarchs Each year, right around Día de Muertos, millions of monarch butterflies arrive like clockwork to the misty mountains of central Mexico. Their appearance during this sacred time holds deep meaning for the communities of Michoacán and the State of Mexico, where the butterflies are seen as the returning souls of ancestors visiting the living. For generations, the Purépecha and Mazahua peoples, two Indigenous groups native to this region, have watched the skies fill with these migrating monarchs, their wings shimmering like a flowing river of orange and gold across the Sierra Madre hills. The butterflies’ arrival has been carefully observed since pre-Hispanic times, marking a spiritual moment when nature and the human spirit move in harmony. According to oral traditions, the spirits of the departed return on the butterflies’ delicate wings, joining their loved ones during Día de Muertos to celebra...

Blooming Blurbs: Fall Edition

Blooming … Berries? By Ben Stickland, Seasonal Gardener By this time of year, many of us gardeners are already mourning the peak of summer when it felt like everything was vibrant and lush. Now, the warm colors of fall are taking over and most of our showiest bloomers are getting ready for winter. But if you peruse the garden on an October day, you will still see pops of color from a quintessential part of fall: fruits! This week, we are going to highlight some fruits that are taking over for the flowers and keeping the garden interesting and beautiful for autumn. Callicarpa dichotoma (beautyberry) The plant that inspired this article with just how beautiful its berries are (turns out they aren’t true berries), was the beautyberry. Callicarpa is a genus of plants native to many parts of the world, but this particular species comes from China, Korea and Japan. It is a compact shrub, typically growing 3-5 feet in height and spread, that has a slight weeping habit. It d...

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