Link to Gifford Garden
http://www.ecostudies.org/gardens.html
The CIES mission and all of its components call out for a garden.
Excerpts from the CIES Site:
Mission
“The Institute’s Purpose:
The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is …dedicated to the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge about ecological systems.
The Institute’s Goals
The goals of the programs … are:
To enhance the general understanding of ecology by students, policy makers, and the general public.
Implementation of Goals
The work of the Institute contributes to an understanding and resolution of pressing environmental problems in two fundamental ways:
Basic science is the foundation for environmental problem solving. … Basic ecological understanding, derived largely through investigator-initiated research, represents the heart of the program of CIES .
Second, CIES staff has assumed a mandate to make scientific information available to the public, managers, and decision-makers. …
Gifford Garden
…the Gifford Garden is a perennial garden that is both educational and beautiful…. The garden’s plant collections are grouped to convey themes or design concepts. …visitors can expect to see plants that are preferred by pollinators, such as butterflies and hummingbirds, plants known to have poisonous qualities, and hardy plants that are resistant to deer browse. Many beds feature educational brochures that enable visitors to take information home and apply it in their own yards and gardens…. there is always something new to learn and experience.
Gifford Garden History
On her death in 1967, Mary Flagler Cary willed her property to a charitable trust. The trust was tasked with ensuring that her land was both preserved and used in a way the (sic) benefited the public….
The Gifford Garden is an integral part of the Institute’s education mission. It is home to over 850 different species of plants, presented in display beds that offer ecological as well as horticultural insights for visitors. It is a place to study and evaluate plant growth patterns, cultural requirements, and ecological relationships. The overwhelming majority of plants are labeled, so that precise identification is possible.”
Find the CIES Board Members Below
Please contact, and get friends and associates to contact the Trustees , if you feel that removing The Gifford Garden deserves further review.
15 responses so far ↓
1 Dency Kane, Garden Photographer // Nov 11, 2007 at 12:22 am
Yes, please add my name to the Save the Gifford Garden if you think it would help. Thank You.
2 Gail Bishop, Landscape Architect, Redding, CT // Nov 12, 2007 at 10:12 am
Hello Duncan,
Wow - how wonderful to be involved in such a cause!
It is thoroughly incredulous the mere notion of removing these invaluable gardens which further the story of the lifestyle within the house…
Many communities are now realizing the value and ADDING such enrichments…strange to hear of a famous one going AGAINST the tide.
Perhaps Endowements, and Named Gifts (of Benches, or original plant material needing replacement…) in Memory of loved ones is already being done??
Have you sent this plea to all Garden Conservancy members, NYBG, and UConn, etc??
Please add my name to the list; I will forward this on to my contacts!
Best regards,
Gail
Thunder Hill Designs
3 Jennifer Benner // Nov 13, 2007 at 11:15 am
Dear Duncan,
Thank you for building awareness. Gardens are truly invaluable living laboratories and educational tools. I hope IES comes to realize this as well. Please add my name to your cause if you feel it will help.
Best regards,
Jennifer Benner
Associate Editor, Fine Gardening
4 Duncan Brine // Nov 13, 2007 at 11:22 am
Dency, Gail and Jennifer–Thanks for joining the Gifford Garden advocates.
We’re a group of designers, photographers, writers, and others concerned about the garden’s fate.
5 Caroline Burgess // Nov 13, 2007 at 5:02 pm
The Gifford Garden has been an important study destination for all of us at Stonecrop Gardens, and we visit several times each year with our interns. The garden is educational; it is well designed and labeled, and the plant collection is diverse. The demise of the Gifford Garden will be a great loss for Hudson Valley horticulture.
6 Duncan Brine // Nov 13, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Caroline–
Your words will be memorable for the many gardeners at Gifford Garden, both staff and volunteer, especially because Stonecrop is widely regarded as one of the most exemplary gardens in the country.
7 constance duhamel // Nov 29, 2007 at 6:21 pm
visiting the gardens, attending classes, finding the perfect gift and anticipating the plant sales were wonderful experiences for us and our friends. the welcoming grounds were a way to let the communities in dutchess, putnam and columbia counties know of your work. i hope the new board finds some way to keep them open to us.
8 Joan Lee Faust // Dec 24, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Although it has been a few years since visitng the
IES….I’m appalled that it would even think of eliminating such a beautiful, educational part of this prestigious Institute. For the modest savings the garden’s destruction would provide, don’t the powers that be realize there are some facets to our our humanity that should be nurtured?
Former Garden Editor, The New York Times
9 Duncan Brine // Dec 25, 2007 at 5:18 am
Joan Lee Faust, your eloquence honors Gifford Garden. Unless actions are swiftly taken to Save Gifford Garden, your comment will be its obituary.
10 judy rife // Jan 13, 2008 at 9:09 am
i consider the plant sale an obligation and a pilgrimage - and i drag other gardeners with me from orange county - to see and support the place where i began my journey as a gardener - with a seminar taught by mary ann mcgourty many years ago. i can’t imagine the trustees severing ties to the public at a time when environmental awareness is growing by leaps and bounds. please add my name to the petition and thank you for leading the good fight.
11 Heronswood Voice » Garden, What Garden? // Jan 22, 2008 at 3:08 pm
There is a post to read about the controversy over Gifford Garden on Heronswood Voice, written by the man who bought Heronswood Nursery.
12 Sandra Reilly // Feb 24, 2008 at 9:03 am
Although it’s been many years since I lived in Dutchess County, the Gifford Gardens were a very important part of my gardening education. I worked at the Gifford House both as a volunteer and paid employee when they were selling plants on the porch. The gardens are truly a unique part of Millbrook and should be saved. Please keep me informed of any progress made in saving them. Sandra Reilly in Vermont
13 Gillian Creelman // May 11, 2008 at 7:20 pm
My memories of the Gifford House and Garden go back a long way and although I live in Maine now, I look forward to a walk through it whenever I return.
I can not believe that a man of science could be so soulless as to destroy the thing that his work is trying to preserve: the beauty and very existence of this planet. This beautiful and inspiring garden gives us the kind of education we need to garden in the right way in our own spaces.
14 Duncan Brine // May 12, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Public Gardens, what public gardens?
This spring, before it is warm, before blossoms issue their fragrance, before objections can be voiced or heard, long-appreciated gardens are going or gone. Gifford Garden, Duke Gardens, and The Mount are at risk or have succumbed. How much more will we and our children lose of the greatness and fineness of our heritage before the damage is realized and regretted?
15 Eve Howard // Jul 4, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Living on the west coast with the amazing natural beauty has been a treasure but the northeast along the Hudson is equally splendid particularly for its gardens, houses and history. Can’t imagine
not supporting care and keep of a garden due to the small amount of money it would save in this case. Please reconsider the decision and let the public know how we can help provide ideas for another solution to support the financial need.
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