New Law Increases Deductions for Charitable Contributions

The recent CARES Act, passed to provide relief during the coronavirus outbreak, changes the way charitable deductions will work during the 2020 tax year: Taxpayers who do not itemize deductions when filing will be able to deduct charitable contributions of up to $300 when calculating their adjusted gross income. Taxpayers who do itemize deductions will be…

A Farewell to the 2019 Gardening Season

Today brings to a close the 2019 gardening season for Mission Street Parks Conservancy. Our hardy, talented and good looking band of volunteer gardeners contributed 1,545 hours to the care of the park’s 50 plus landscape beds and greenhouse plants. Over the course of this year, they planted over 100 trees and shrubs, hundred of…

Bed 700 – Church ST Bridge North

The plants in this bed include: Camellia sasanqua cv. (Winter Camellia) Enkianthus campanulatus Forsythia cv. Camellia sasanqua ‘Apple Blossom’ Hamamelis vernalis ‘Lombart’s Weeping’ (‘Lombart’s Weeping’ Witch Hazel Vaccinium parvifolium (Red Huckleberry) Fragaria vesca (Woodland Strawberry) Tiarella trifoliata (Foamflower) Polytstichum munitum (Sword Fern) Maianthemum stellatum (Starry False Solomon Seal) Cyclamen coum (Persian Violet)

Fall Rain Ushers in Tree Planting Season

The start of the raining season in the Willamette Valley means that it’s time to start planting trees and shrubs. The cool, wet weather allows plants to get established before they face the stress of our hot and dry summers. The first trees to arrive for fall 2019 include ‘Golden Glory‘ Cornus mas, ‘Prairifire‘ crabapple,…

The Tuesday Gardeners at Work

Kathy and Jenna work to close out an unneeded landscape bed. Gabrielle carries an armful of Spirea clippings to the debris bin. Jaylene pauses from her work of pruning an overgrown Spirea thunbergii. Debbie, too, is tackling overgrown spirea in the beds east of the Bush House Museum. Janet shows off her new hat. Gary…

Keeping Up with the Conservancy

At little over a year ago, MSPC signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Salem to help maintain the northwest corner of Bush’s Pasture Park (among other things). We’ve been busy since then. Here’s a short guide to what we’ve been up to: Landscape Bed Rehabilitation Project. The park’s northwest corner contains more…