Horticulture Volunteer Spotlight
Arden Fisher & Joan Murphy
An existing friendship, a mutual interest in gardening and the need to fill some spare time began Joan and Arden's volunteer days at Missouri Botanical Garden in 1982. Earl Schreckengast, Director of Development at that time, took them on to develop a living tribute program to fill a changing, growing public need for memorial contributions. Joan and Arden quickly aligned themselves with Horticulture and Alan Godlewski, then Director of Horticulture, who patiently took the two new fledgling volunteers under his wing.
The first day on the job was a memorable one for Joan and Arden. Alan took them through the Garden at a fast trot, stopping briefly at trees and giving them the botanical names, of which neither Joan nor Arden had good knowledge. Joan grabbed the tag, spelled it for Arden to record and they were on to the next. How much of a contribution do we ask for, they wanted to know. Oh well, they'd have to work out some sort of a size, location, species scale. And on they trotted. He left them breathless and befuddled by the day's end, but certainly determined.
Their admiration and friendship with the Horticulture Division grew and soon they developed a real working relationship. Each new client they assisted would get their full-service treatment; a walk around the Garden, information on the selected plant material, a personalized tag for their tree and a special donation card. They studied and learned as they went, leaning heavily upon the Director of Development and the Horticulture staff for advice and direction. Michael Dirr's Manual of Woody Landscape Plants became their bible and the tag machines both their helpmate and their nemesis. Since they weren't clairvoyant they found themselves snooping around for newly planted trees and making sure a dedicated tree had not been moved or removed.
Joan and Arden still get great pleasure from their commitment to help a donor find an appropriate tribute and they continue to make every effort to fit a living tribute to a donor's request and special need. For instance, a fitting way to honor an Anheuser Busch executive was with a Hoptree, Ptelea trifoliata or visiting dignitaries from China with an Oriental Hornbeam, Carpinus orientalis. And then there was the Halesia tetraptera, the Silverbell tree on the wedding hill, to honor a 25th wedding anniversary and a Scotch Pine tree, Pinus sylvestris, for a Scotsman.
Joan and Arden frequently get involved in projects generated by either the Development or Horticulture Divisions. For example, in 1989 they obtained funding for and assisted Dr. George Rogers, then horticulture taxonomist, in the production of the MBG publication of Know Our Trees. More recently, they have worked with Jack Jennings and Leslie Miller to help develop the Garden's photo library for the website. Every month they make like Sherlock Holmes and go looking for various staff members to help them identify a new batch of Jenning's slides. Now that staff know what Joan and Arden are up to, it becomes a game, quite an enjoyable one for the volunteers and a kind of pop-quiz challenge for horticulture staff. The Plant Records staff enters all of Joan and Arden's dedications into the computer system. They find the tree and replace the tag. Cooperation for programs like the living tribute is a joint effort and privilege across the Garden grounds.
As they complete their 24th year in volunteer service at Missouri Botanical Garden, Joan Murphy and Arden Fisher say the moss is gathering a bit on the north side and the sap is running a bit slower, but they look forward to many more happy years offering their special brand of volunteer service...