Tonkon Torp attorney Maureen McGee has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Mission Street Parks Conservancy (MSPC). MSPC helps the City of Salem preserve and celebrate the iconic public landscapes on and near Mission Street, with a current focus on Bush Pasture Park. “I’m an avid gardener and have a deep appreciation…
The arboriculture company Bartlett’s Tree Experts was in Bush’s Pasture Park on Tuesday, May 10th, on several projects to help extend the life park’s trees. One of those projects was reinvigorating the root system around an historic flowering cherry tree. Root invigoration is a well-studied treatment that uses an air spade to blow soil away…
Salem’s cool wet spring has led to show-stopping blooms and verdant growth, including the weeds. This Tuesday, MSPC’s Tuesday Gardeners tackled the weeds that were challenging the roses in the Tarter Rose Collection for supremacy.
If you look carefully, you may notice some subtle changes to a few of the park’s trees. These are tree props, which as you may guess prop up trees, that are at risk of falling over. MSPC, with the encouragement of the City of Salem, hired Bartlett’s Tree Experts to assess, manufacture and install these…
The MSPC Rose Committee (Debbie Alexander, Gretchen Carnaby, Bill Meltzer, and Brian Smith) was called into action this past spring under the guidance of rose expert Elaine Sedlack. Elaine has been a godsend to our committee. We have not had expert guidance since Leonie Bell, nationally known old rose expert, visited the Tartar Old Rose…
Fall marks planting season in the Willamette Valley. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, MSPC was able to purchase and contribute 5 young Oregon white oaks (Quercus garryana) to the park. Two will go on the north side of the Bush House to help restore the historical appearance of the house while three will…
Debbie Alexander loves plants. She loves growing plants, learning about plants, and writing about plants. Debbie began thinking about plants after moving into a new house in Salem that lacked landscaping. Knowing nothing about landscaping and gardening, Debbie began to educate herself by reading gardening books and visiting public and private gardens throughout the Willamette…
Perhaps you have noticed the gorgeous photographs on the Conservancy’s Facebook page or at the kiosk near the Bush House Museum. Many of these photographs are the work of Jim Schomaker, who loves both gardening and photographing landscapes and flowers. His two passions come together in his volunteer work for The Conservancy. His contribution to…
The Conservancy and the City of Salem are working together to rehabilitate the center focal point in the Tarter Old Rose Collection. The focal point consists of a brick circle divided by four brick pathways. The area between each of the pathways is currently planted with red roses. Both the brickwork and the roses need restoration.…
MSPC was formed, in part, to respond to threats to the Oregon White Oaks in Bush’s Pasture Park. Among MSPC’s first actions was to commission a professional scientific study of the oaks and, based on that study, recommend significant changes in how the City manages them. Since the study, the City has changed how it…