Mission Street Parks Conservancy is excited to announce the kickoff of our next project in Bush’s Pasture Park! The City of Salem has authorized development of a new Woodland Garden in an unused area near the Conservatory (greenhouse) and the Bush Barn parking lot. The new garden, designed by Michael Slater and Gretchen Carnaby, will…
Donna Shepard is one of our dedicated greenhouse Tuesday Gardeners.. She’s been volunteering with our group for over 20 years, starting back in the days of the Friends of Bush Gardens. I’m always curious to know what brought someone to the Tuesday Gardener group to begin with. For Donna, it was a lecture on winter…
We are excited to announce the return of our annual Spring plant sale to benefit Bush’s Pasture Park. Friday, April 15, 10 AM to 6 PM Saturday, April 16, 10 AM to 3 PM Soapbox Derby Track, Bush’s Pasture Park Annuals & Perennials • Vegetable Starts • Herbs • Garden Art • Pollinator Plants Free…
The park’s tree collection suffered some significant damage from the ice storm of February 13. While City staff focused on making the upper and lower oak groves safe and accessible, a team from MSPC surveyed the damage to historical flowering tree collection in the Orchard. We identified 25 trees that had suffered some sort of…
The focal point of the Tarter Old Rose Collection is a mortared brick circle with roses planted around a sundial pad in the center. Over the years, the brickwork has deteriorated and needs to be restored and stabilized so that it will last. MSPC, working in concert with the City of Salem, has found a…
Jim Schomaker gives us a visual tour of Bush’s Pasture Park at its spring peak in this special photo album. He captures lush scenics from the Rhododendron Hillside and around the Bush House Museum and Conservatory. While there’s always something in bloom throughout the year, spring is the park’s standout season. Jim’s photographs show you…
We celebrated the Ravine public opening today when MSPC volunteers, members, and guests gathered to cut the ribbon and take down the orange fencing that surrounded the project. MSPC’s events committee provided cake and lemonade to participants and passers-by under a canopy strategically placed across from the children’s playground. The Ravine public opening marks the…
There are a lot of tasks that go into managing a public gardening, including monitoring for pests. Here, City Horticulturist Brian Smith finds azalea sawfly larvae on one of the park’s Exbury deciduous azaleas. These hungry critters have defoliated entire groups of deciduous azaleas in past years. Here’s what OSU says about the critter: “It…
The camas fields at Bush’s Pasture Park are now in bloom in the lower oak grove. These fields were managed before 1850 by the Kalapuya people who harvested the bulbs. The Camas have remerged after the park changed its maintenance procedures. You can learn more about the park’s camas and wildflowers here. Come and enjoy…
Four arborist from Elwood’s Tree Service spent the day at the park cleaning mistletoe and deadwood out of two of the park’s many oak trees.