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An E-Newsletter for Selby Gardens Volunteers OCTOBER 2015
Volunteers are encouraged to provide “news tips” and stories for The Inside Dirt.
If you have something to share, please contact Phyllis Kirtley at (941) 366-5731
x 227 or email [email protected]. or contact Diana Schultz at
[email protected]. (please specify subject as “selby.”)
Call for 2015 Lights in Bloom Volunteers Fabrication Team
Our 12th annual holiday light extravaganza needs your help! This year we will feature more than a half million lights that will surround visitors with a spectacle of unique installations.
Volunteers are needed for stringing lights, building metal forms, changing light bulbs, installing art vignettes, and de-installation. We are looking for electricians, creative artists, carpenters, and fabricators.
Interested? Please email
Our Gardens Are Growing!
If you haven’t visited recently, you
may be surprised by all the
construction activity in the Gardens!
Thanks to the wonderful generosity of
Volunteer Newsletter
Inside DirtVolunteer Newsletter
Inside DirtVolunteer Newsletter
Inside Dirt
some 250 donors, we’ve begun rebuilding the Mangrove Walkway! It’s closed
through early December, but we look forward to debuting a greatly-improved
walkway, including a beautiful new Lookout Point.
The latest big news is the reopening of the refurbished Welcome Center and Plant Shop. Stop in to see the changes.
Change in Member Guest Price for Special Events
Selby Gardens is making some wonderful improvements to events like Garden Music Series and adding special events including Selby Spooktacular. Members participate in these events free as a benefit of your support, but for these special daytime events only, we have changed the Member Guest price to $10 (number of member guests that qualify for the reduced price varies by your membership level). Members’ guests will pay only $5 on non-event days as always.
Member Appreciation Day Volunteers Needed
We’re celebrating Selby Gardens’ 40th Anniversary during Member Appreciation Day on Saturday, November 7. We expect between 650 and 1,000 members to attend, and we need your help.
Please contact Phyllis at [email protected] if you are available. We still need a
few people for the 7:30 shift and a couple for the 10:00. No experience
necessary for most of these jobs. It’s a fun day to be in the Gardens.
Selby Gardens Education Department Call for Volunteers We Can Do It … BUT we need your help!
The Education department is in need of 50-60 more front line volunteers to engage with our guests and deepen their Selby experience. Most positions require a once-a-week commitment. There are volunteer openings in the following areas:
ervatory, and Walk n Talk Guides: Staff contact Judi Cox at [email protected]
[email protected] Family Programs and Museum Docents: Staff contact Marilynn
Shelley at [email protected] If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact us so that we can set you up with a training packet. We are offering a comprehensive guide training program this season. We want all of our guides - new & veteran to feel completely comfortable to greet and orient Gardens guest as you are our “front line!”
*If you are currently a Walk n Talk or Conservatory guide and would like to guide gardens-wide tours for either adult or school groups, please let us know - we recruit for those positions from within. Mark your calendars for three training sessions for ALL Education Department Volunteers - in the Great Room by the Bay: Tuesday, November 10 9:00 - 12:00 Wednesday, November 11 12:00 - 3:00 Friday, November 13 10:00 - 2:00
Other Volunteer Opportunities
Survey Volunteers: Fun, easy, flexible! We seek volunteers who are willing to commit to at least two shifts per month conducting surveys in the Gardens. This is an easy job
and offers wonderful flexibility. Call Emily at (941) 366-5731 ext. 267 or email [email protected].
Administration: If you have an open schedule, we are looking for someone who can be a last-minute substitute for our reception volunteers.
Horticulture: Gardening positions are still open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Tracy Calla is looking for someone with expertise in bromeliads and orchids for the greenhouse.
Marketing: There is a position available to help with submitting online forms and updating web calendars.
Contact Phyllis at [email protected] if you can help.
Join us under the banyans Sunday afternoons in October at 1 pm for a different sound each week. The perfect way to relax with family and friends and get the week off to a great start.
October 18: Diego Figueiredo is an extraordinarily fast-rising star described by George Benson as “One of the greatest guitarists I’ve seen in my whole life.”
October 15: The Lauren Mitchell Band, headlined by a blues and soul songstress offering powerful vocals and a dynamic stage presence.
Grilled entrees, delightful treats and beverages will be available for purchase. Coolers, outside food and beverages are not permitted.
Garden Music Series is included with Regular Admission ($19 Adults, $6 Children 4-11) Members: Free (Become a Member and enjoy all ten concerts!) Member Guests: $10 each (number of reduced price member guests based on membership level) Reciprocals: $10
Volunteers Needed for Exciting New Halloween Event
Selby Gardens needs you! We will host a super fun, family friendly Spooktacular on Saturday, October 31, 2015, from 10am-2pm. Each department at Selby Gardens will decorate their own area in the Gardens with fun and interactive activities for children of all ages. We will pass out candy to all visiting children, and there will be a food truck, ice cream truck, face painting, balloon art, and entertainment for all who visit.
Daily admission rates will apply with reciprocal admission and member guests priced at $10 per person (Members enter free).
Volunteer positions include:
Assistance with set-up and decor-making leading up to October 31
Line management & crowd directing
Assisting departments with their stations & passing out candy (this includes setting up their stations)
Marie Selby Gardens Associates
How time flies! Not only is it the 40th anniversary of Selby Gardens, it is the 35th
anniversary of the Selby Associates. Looking back we should be pleased with
the ongoing events that we started, such as the Orchid Ball and Selby by
Candlelight (now Lights in Bloom), which continue to enchant guests at the
Gardens; our thousands of volunteer hours over the years; and our varied
fundraising efforts to support the Gardens.
Associates, their guests, and volunteers please remember to send in your
reservation form for the cocktail party in the Children’s Rainforest Garden on
October 20th from 6 – 8pm. The deadline for reservations is October 16.
A special thanks to those who helped to welcome the Garden’s guests from
Belize. The grocery shopping, organizing the guest quarters and food
preparation was greatly appreciated.
Mark November 16 at 11:30 am in your date book for our first luncheon program.
Jennifer Rominiecki will be discussing the future “Vision for the Gardens”. So
many exciting things have already happened, I for one can’t wait to hear about
future plans. Watch your email the first of the month for the invitation.
See you soon in our special piece of paradise.
Walk n Talk: Back to Our Roots October 21 2015 · 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Join Selby Gardens’ horticulturists on a guided tour of “Back to Our Roots,” a conservatory display highlighting the plant collections for which Selby Gardens is most famous—orchids, bromeliads, ferns, and other epiphytes (plants that grow in the tree canopy). Back to Our Roots will feature an abundant, colorful array of beautiful tropical plants and will spotlight iconic specimens from our Living Collection, a result of more than 40 years of field botany in tropical America. On display, Oct 16 – Nov 15. Go to our website to complete the form to RSVP (required); limited to 20 participants
Living Sculpture: The Art of Air Plants
On September 25 we opened a 2 month long Garden installation entitled Living
Sculptures: The Art of Airplants http://selby.org/events/event/living-sculpture/. We
hope each of you will take a walk through the Gardens to see them in person. There will
be signage explaining each piece's significance as well as a handout at the Welcome
Center indicating where they can be found. Our fabulous horticulture team has worked
hard to make these pieces attractive and interesting - thanks for helping us share their
enthusiasm and talents with our guests!
Free Noon Lecture: Blazing Bladen’s Blue River in Search of Epiphytes
November 11, 2015 · 12:00pm – 1:00pm In May 2015, another Selby Gardens
team returned to Belize as part of an ongoing collaboration with Belize’s Caves
Branch Botanical Garden. The purpose was to conduct a botanical inventory
focused on epiphytes in a remote area that was last inhabited some 1,500 years
ago by the Mayan. The crew hiked more than 100 miles through rugged terrain
saddled with the gear, equipment, food and water they would need for the two
week expedition. If you plan to attend, please go to www.selby.org to complete
the RSVP form.
Little Sprouts
“Garden Treasure” series began in October and continues through May, 2016 in the Children’s Rainforest Garden from 10:30am-11:30 on the first Thursday of each month, and the subsequent Friday and Saturday that follow. November dates are the 5th, 6th and 7th, following the theme of “Scrumptious Seeds/Flop Float Fly. Bring your little sprout and join us for family fun! http://selby.org/events/event/little-sprouts-club-2/ Little Sprouts is sponsored by First Watch.
Gardens of the Mind Exhibition
Gardens of the Mind - Dr. Joel Elkes at 102: A Retrospective features the artist’s career-spanning works, including some created just this year. At nearly 102 years of age, Dr. Elkes is not ready to throw in the brushes. His paintings reflect a love affair with nature and a curiosity about the relation of light to objects that began during his childhood in Lithuania and endures today.
He continues to be inspired by “conversations” with nature, and is even more focused and determined to create his unique brand of art. This exhibit runs in the Museum of Botany and the Arts from September 18 to November 15, 10:00 am - 4:30 pm daily. http://selby.org/events/event/gardens-of-the-mind/
Free and Discounted Classes Please note: To secure the special prices listed below; active volunteers must register and pay in advance of class at the Welcome Center or on our website. http://www.selby.org/learning/classes
Potting & Mounting Orchids Wednesday, October 28, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Instructor: Angel Lara Special Volunteer Price: $30
Florida Fern Safari Wednesday, November 4th, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Instructor: Bill Coblentz Special Volunteer Price: $30
Bromeliads for Beginners Saturday, November 14th, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Instructor: Maureen McCraken Special Volunteer Price: $30
Growing Orchids in SW Florida Friday, November 20th, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Instructor: Monroe Kokin Special Volunteer Price: $30
What’s in Bloom – by Terri Tumlin
This month I toured the southern end of the gardens.
1. Heading south on the main walkway from the entrance, look to your left to see the lovely unusual reddish bloom of Costus scaber.
2. Continue on past the banyan tree and on your right is the Fringed Hibiscus (Hibiscus schizopetalus).
3. At the fork, take the left hand walkway to find the Java Glorybower (Clerodendrum speciosissimum
4. As you reach the desert display, look for a lovely specimen of Crown of Thorns (Euphoribia milii) covered with bright red flowers.
5. Go down to the point and start back north on the bay side path to find Aechmea pabstiion your right with startling red bracts, the flowers have yet to emerge.
Enjoy.
