May - UT Gardens - The University of Tennessee

answered lots of good questions at the Universityof Tennessee Gardens booth. Also at the GardenHeritage Festival, Terumi Watson spoke about herresearch and documentation of the historical andnotable Van Deventer garden in Knoxville.Ian AndersonWelcome a new sprout to the Friends! Born toFriends board member Nick Anderson andElizabeth Anderson, their first child, a baby boyIan Anderson March 30. Reports Nick: “Sevenpounds thirteen ounces. Twenty-one inches. Momand baby are doing great.”Theresa Pepinspoke to the RotaryClub of WestKnoxville aboutthe University ofTennessee GardensMarch 16 at theinvitation of RotaryClub member andFriends boardmember LucyGibson. Theresadescribed thesteady growth ofthe Gardens since their establishment in 1983on 10 acres of the Agriculture campus and futureplans to build and improve facilities as the Gardensapproach their 25th anniversary in 2008. A roomfull of business people asked some very goodquestions and made suggestions for encouragingsupport from the business community and sustainablebusiness planning for the Gardens. Please letTheresa know if you would like her to speak at yourclub or community event, and she will be delightedto do so. Call her at 865-573-0445.In AppreciationYou’ll note a newBenefactor to theUniversity Gardenslisted as a donor inthis issue:Amy I. Yancey.Amy is assistantdevelopment directorfor the Institute ofAgriculture. She alsoserves as an advisingmember on theboard of the Friends.As far as we know,she is the first UT employee ever to sign up for payrolldeduction through the university for the benefit ofthe University Gardens. Her gift is specifically directedto the Williams Chair endowment and amounts to$3,000. Please thank Amy for her passionate workon behalf of the Gardens and for this very generousinvestment in the future of the Gardens. What aterrific example this young lady sets for all of us!Dr. Sue Hamilton, Gardens director, offers a special“thank you” to the Smoky Mountain Herb Societythat dissolved at the end of 2006 for a $4,000 giftto purchase a new garden shed. “We had outgrownour old shed and desperately needed one that wasbigger,” Sue says. “The old shed will be removedto make way for the Children’s Touchstone Gardenbeing developed. Our new shed is 12’ x 20’ andallows us to organize and store a variety of large andsmall garden tools and supplies more efficiently. Thenew shed is located at the east end of the ‘Nellie R.Stevens’ holly hedge out of public view.”Delivery of new garden shed14