Manager's Message
by Nicole Conners, Green Spring Gardens Manager
Nicole Conners (Photo credit: Fred Blott)
Welcome to your golden issue of Gardenline! The editors worked hard on researching and selecting the very best of Gardenline’s past to celebrate Green Spring’s 50th Anniversary! I hope you’ve had a chance to enjoy this special milestone with us by attending a tea related to the last 50 years, reading social media posts about what to love at Green Spring each week, or finding all 50 frogs with the garden scavenger hunt. And be sure to check out a special video on Green Spring’s 50th Anniversary, filmed and produced by Channel 16.
We have much to be thankful for and it started with the Straights’ gift to the Park Authority 50 years ago on October 26, 2020. I believe the Park Authority has done a fabulous job creating a public park for all to enjoy. Staff and volunteers continue to build on the shoulders of those who came before us to keep Green Spring growing.
There are many exciting things planned for the next 50 years. We look forward to furthering Green Spring’s mission to connect with the community; we need to constantly improve the ways in which the gardens bring people to natural and cultural resources. It is important that Green Spring grow alongside the community we serve; it is vital that we continue to grow as a public garden for a wider audience as well.
The flagship activity for the 50th celebration is the Moon Gate Garden Project. The vision for the moon gate is that it will permanently commemorate our first half-century and look ahead to the next 50 glorious years at Green Spring. Moon gates were first conceived in Chinese gardens and today may be found throughout the world at public and private gardens. Moon gates draw people from one garden space to another, and this was an important design consideration for Beatrix Farrand. Our new moon gate will tie into the existing elements of the historic Beatrix Farrand landscape at Green Spring. The structure will eventually be part of an Asian Garden to help diversify the horticulture practices we demonstrate at the park. It will be a beautiful backdrop for ceremonies and photography and will add to our revenue-generating opportunities (this is increasingly important due to the undetermined fiscal impacts of COVID-19). Green Spring is partnering with the Fairfax County Park Foundation to raise funds for the Moon Gate Garden Project. We are excited to announce Our Giving Tree as the fundraising campaign; help fill the leaves on our giving tree by donating $50 (or more!) in honor of someone special. To learn more more about this partnership and to donate, please visit the Moon Gate Garden Project on the Fairfax County Park Foundation’s website.
Left to right, Ivy Sinaiko, Nicole Conners, Frank JankauskasIn September, we celebrated Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Frank Jankauskas, who retired after serving the Park Authority for 27 years. He was our renaissance man; Frank did it all. As the new manager for Green Spring in 2017, I depended on Frank for everything. He was reliable, provided excellent counsel, and had many creative ideas to take Green Spring forward. Frank always knew what projects were top priority and what projects needed funding. He most recently left his artistic touch with the entrance project to the Garden Gate Plant Shop. In one of my last conversations with Frank at Green Spring, he talked about the fun—the fun of working hard, developing gardens, renovating buildings, building shops, upkeeping historic structures, fixing the glasshouse, maintaining the polyhouses, mowing lawns, removing snow, keeping us safe and so much more. There wouldn’t be a Gardenline issue big enough to highlight the many things Frank did. I am glad he will remember the fun of his successful career at Green Spring. Frank will forever be missed and talked about for all the ways he contributed to the team.
May we all remember the fun at work, at home, and in our gardens. Enjoy this special issue and join us in 2021 as we continue the celebration and continue to build Green Spring’s legacy together.
