Growth at the Garden: New geocaching, new tours, new pavilion

By Brenna Wiegand

It’s time for a quick quiz. When is the last time you have visited The Oregon Garden? Do you know what’s been added to the Children’s Garden? Seen what’s growing in the Market Garden and used for meals in the cafe? Know where the new pavilion is? Can you name at least three events happening there this month? If you haven’t been to The Oregon Garden recently, it’s time to see what’s new.

From the ground up, The Oregon Garden is coming into its own this year, enthusiastically preparing for what they believe will be a blockbuster season.

“Our visitation numbers increased dramatically from 2012 to 2013 and we’ve seen another great increase over the past few months,” said Brittney Hatteberg, Regional Marketing Manager. “We are also seeing a lot of guests who haven’t visited the Garden since its opening in 2001. People are blown away by its growth and beauty.”

Seasonal volunteers are descending upon the Garden en masse – and more are needed. Volunteer Coordinator Beth Maurer said new software allows volunteers to apply and schedule shifts online. Some are conducting new plant tours including “Plants of the Bible” and “Shakespeare’s Flowers.”

“Our volunteers all come in with their own aesthetic and their own style and interests and Beth’s doing a great job talking with people about what they’re into; what they want to do and their ideas about how they could improve the Garden,” said Ty Boland, manager of Horticulture and Botanical Curator.  “That in itself has been of significant assistance because you’re allowing other people to be creative and let their passions shine out while making this a better place.”

Something near and dear to Maurer’s heart is the Garden’s new geocaching program. Visitors can rent a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver for $20 or use an app on their phone for family friendly hunts for “caches” around the Garden.

“Geocaching is all about being outside, which is a pretty cool message,” Maurer said. “Geocachers have a slogan: ‘Cache in, Trash out.’”

The Garden recently partnered with Chemeketa Community College to purchase a Trimble GPS, accurate to within a foot, making possible a mapping project of all the plants. It will enable visitors to access plant information using their smart phones. Volunteer techies, photographers and plant identifiers are welcome.

And, they’re coming up with better ways to mark the plants as the current ones tend to “walk away.”

The Garden’s greenhouses produced 60,000-70,000 annuals this year; look for new displays throughout the Garden.

“The average stay here is about an hour and a half and we’ve been spending a whole lot of time trying to create little pocket gardens, have more benches and other things that are inexpensive and easy to do but increase the duration of people’s stay,” Boland said. Leashed pets are also welcome.

He’s also taken a new tack in pruning  to “give a more sculptural appearance and allow some depth of view.”

“It has dramatically increased the aesthetic here,” Boland said. “Just some specific cuts here and there can turn a specimen plant into almost a work of art.”

So bedecked, it’s no wonder the Oregon Garden just won Best Place to Propose and Best Place to Get Married in the Best of the Mid-Valley People’s Choice Awards.

The Garden is host to about 60 weddings throughout the year, with several booked every summer weekend. The resort offers special packages to sweeten the deal.

An open-air pavilion was constructed in Rediscovery Forest for education programs, private family parties and Christmas in the Garden. About 55 Stayton and Silverton high schoolers recently took part in a work party.

June 21 kicked off a Summer Photo Contest through the Garden’s Facebook page. The public can vote online; top photos will be featured in a book and the winning photographer treated to a complimentary overnight stay at the Oregon Garden Resort or Village Green Resort in Cottage Grove.

This year’s July 3 Fireworks follows last year’s format but will include two live music acts: Dead Wood Standing and the J. Swift Band. As always, Silverton residents get in free all day; all others are free after 6 pm.

It’s been great this year,” said Visitors Center employee Jake Rash. “We’ve got higher sales and more people are coming.”

Rash said about 60-70 percent of visitors are new to The Oregon Garden. “After they see the Garden they’re amazed,” Rash said.

Thanks to a recent kitchen upgrade that includes a stove and oven, the Garden Cafe has a new menu.

“Matt Stageman took over as cafe manager two years ago and put us in a new direction using more locally produced food,” Rash said. “We hand-make most items, including chicken rice bowls, pizzas, hummus and desserts.”