The gardener’s Garden: Garden resort owner dirk Winter cultivates partnerships to grow The Oregon Garden

By Brenna Wiegand

“To me, gardeners are people who care enough not to let plants die or put a garden in stress,” Dirk Winter said, “and who don’t go on vacation until they know their plants will be OK.”

The Oregon Garden was in stress, to put it mildly, when Winter, proprietor of Moonstone Hotel Properties but a gardener first and foremost, stepped in to save the day; not with water or spade, but with money – lots of it.

It was a most unusual rescue for the non-profit, which at the time was drowning under millions in debt.

“I saw it as an opportunity to be involved in what I felt could be a world-class garden,” Winter said.

It already had the essential component of each Moonstone hotel – grand gardens.

“We tried to devise a solution to create streams of revenue needed to pay the county bonds,” he said.

That was April 2006 and the time was ripe for some judicious pruning of staff and streamlining of the Garden’s financial processes.

“It was all just housekeeping stuff; a way to manage the Garden in a more businesslike fashion,” Winter said.

Moonstone entered into a contract with The Oregon Garden Foundation Board to take over the garden’s day-to-day management and care, and purchased 11 acres overlooking the 80-acre public garden on which to build another signature hotel.

Since Oregon Garden Resort opened in October 2008, Winter said, the number of Garden visitors has nearly doubled.

Marion County Commissioner Patti Milne first learned of the idea for the Garden back in the 1990s when she was a state legislator. Jack Bigej, owner of Al’s Garden Centers, showed her the Oregon Nursery Association’s vision.

“I thought it was just great and have been a strong proponent of the Garden ever since,” she said. Milne has been a board member for the past several years.

“The resort and the Garden now are like family,” Milne said. “It’s a very interesting partnership.”
It’s a partnership the brings together Moonstone, Marion County, the City of Silverton, the Oregon Garden Foundation Board and Chemeketa Community College – all represented on a lean, five-member board, contrasted to a bulging 30-member entity that existed six years ago.

Dr. Patrick Lanning, Chief Academic Officer of Chemeketa Community College, Silverton resident and OGF member says the college’s partnership with the Garden breathes new life into both bodies.

Through its SPROut program (Sustainable Plant Research and Outreach) based at The Oregon Garden, Chemeketa helps support management of its wetlands – another amazing relationship wherein wetlands recycle Silverton’s treated wastewater – thereby providing a unique research laboratory and venue for SPROut classes, workshops, volunteer programs and events. SPROut provides interpretive literature, signage and wetland tours.

“The Garden site, with several distinct ecosystems, including wastewater wetlands, oak woodland, mixed conifer/deciduous forest, and upland prairie, along with numerous themed ornamental gardens is well poised to be the region’s outdoor laboratory for ‘putting plants to work’ in environmental contexts,” Lanning said. “SPROut writes curriculum and teaches courses and workshops for Chemeketa’s two-year horticulture degree … unique among Oregon community colleges in its focus on sustainability for nursery and greenhouse production.”

Chemeketa manages and maintains the Education Building at the Garden and administers the programs housed there, while using the Garden as an outdoor lab.

But it’s hard for Winter to keep a lid on the numerous ideas he and others have brainstormed on the Garden’s behalf. Most, however, are mired in a sour economy.

“I think we’ve brought stability, but that’s about it,” Winter said. “Unfortunately, the economy has not been a major help.”

Although Moonstone Properties subsidized the Garden to the tune of $250,000 over the past two years, Winter said it’s a good sign that it was $150,000 the first year and $100,000 the second.

Meanwhile, Marion County is paying down the original bonds used to create the Garden to the tune of $550,000 annually.

“The county has close to $7 million invested,” Milne said. “We’re very committed to making certain the Oregon Garden is well-maintained, progressing and becoming well known.”

Carson Lord of Tree Frog Nursery in Silverton sits on the board on behalf of the Oregon Association of Nurseries.

“Serving as the treasurer for the OAN made me keenly aware of the financial investment the association had made in the Garden, not to mention the massive investment made by individuals and nurseries in the area,” Lord said. “I felt that if I could play a part in protecting or honoring their investments, it was worth my time.”

Winter agrees that the relationship with these original Garden visionaries suffered through its time of upheaval and said they’ve been paying it careful attention over the last couple of years.

“When it went into receivership, there were a lot of people who got hurt or shut out,” Winter said. “We’ve been meeting with the OAN board and doing much more.”

“The transition from receivership to the new management agreement with Moonstone Garden Management, the City of Silverton and Marion County has been complicated,” Lord said. “It has taken a lot of work to get the details sorted out and to redefine The Oregon Garden Foundation.”

Lord said they’ve relied on the generosity of individuals and forward-looking businesses to see the Garden through its work getting to a place where it can again approach large foundations for support.

It’s happening, Lord said. Citizens Bank, Wave Broadband, Silverton Hospital and the City of Silverton have stepped up to sponsor the fireworks at the July 3 event this year at The Oregon Garden.

Though small in number, Winter is impressed with the hard-working, dedicated foundation board; ready to ably oversee the 501(c) 3, something he says is crucial in getting the Garden into the black.

Through it all, for a gardener, hope springs eternal – and the last thing on Winter’s mind is letting The Oregon Garden suffer.

Fortunately, the Resort at The Oregon Garden is “hitting all its marks and should be breaking into the black this year,” he said.

Royalties from the resort go to the foundation and ultimately the county. It’s a complicated relationship and one that depends on The Oregon Garden’s survival.

An avid gardener who tries to spend at least an hour in his garden before going into the office, Winter thinks that creating more true gardeners is a worthy goal for The Oregon Garden. However, he said, for it to get into the black, it is going to have to be able to draw folks who would not normally visit such an attraction. It’s not so much the number of visitors as it is the number of hours they’re inclined to spend.

“Now, in about two hours you can do pretty much all you want to do there,” he said. “Most people who come from Bend or Portland would like to fill up their day. We’ve got to make it more of a robust outing.

“We’ve got hundreds of visions – new gardens; expansion of the various gardens; expansion of the retail store and nursery; various demonstrations on site… We’ve got a list of over 50 ideas so if we ever get in the position we’ll know what to do…

“We’d like it to be more-better-faster!”

“I’m excited about what’s happening there, and there are a lot of people with plans to make it even better, and we respect them all, but have to be very careful to maintain what we have and to create gardens according to what people expected when they donated or joined,” Milne said. “There are exciting opportunities afoot for the Garden. I love the Garden – and the resort is fabulous.”