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Please read and watch this post by The Roosevelt Islander for much more information. We could not have been more excited to host passionate professionals from all around NYC for a visit and seed swap at the gardens on Friday afternoon October 15th: Parks professionals, Landscapers, National Wildlife educators, Native plant enthusiasts, Arborists, Entomologists and more! Thank you so much Christina Delfico @iDig2Learn for organizing this social gathering for nature!  Thanks to our Associate, Annavaleria Guazzieri, RIGC was able to host a group of 20 students from "La Scuola d'Italia G, Marconi" in Manhattan to visit the gardens on the afternoon of the 1st of October. Most 10th and 11th graders, these students were a mix of native speakers of Italian and native speakers of English. They visited several sites on Roosevelt Island: Blackwell House, then the Cornell Tech and Four Freedoms Park, and finally the gardens before heading to the Octagon, where a photo exhibit was on show. They were also lucky enough to get a composting lesson from Anthony Longo during their visit. Thank you to "La Scuola d'Italia G, Marconi" and director Michael Prater for honoring us as part of this Roosevelt Island visit.
 Examples of high quality teak benches in "Les Jardins Suspendus, Le Havre, France" The RIGC Board works with members to upgrade and improve our gardens. One way to do this is to repair and replace aging garden furniture in common areas as well as place additional benches around our perimeter landscape beds. During this 2017 season, we have been the fortunate recipients of some professional grade teak benches. We are working with ADA requirements per Human Rights Commission recommendations as we want our pathways and our garden site to be accessible to all. The plan is to provide a high quality bench at the end of each pathway for visitors and members to relax and enjoy the gardens, without any temptation or need to enter member plots. These are the same benches found in botanical gardens and they are practical, long lasting and enhance the beauty of our gardens. Teak is superior for outdoor purposes and can last for many, many years with no special treatment other than washing it down once or twice a year. This wood will age to a beautiful, silvery gray color. Board members have spent considerable time working with online and community resources that provide very low cost or sometimes even "free for pick up" opportunities for new and used professional grade garden benches and common area tables. The process takes time, and can bring surprises and also disappointments. For example, you may find a new, barely used pair of benches or you may drive out of the city to an estate sale, only to discover that the benches are not in good shape. However, we have acquired six beautiful benches already and are working to find several more. The Landscape Committee is guiding this project and chair, Johan Marfey, prepared the image below that shows the plan and progress as of September 1st. RIGC is a not for profit 501(c)(3) organization that can accept donations. If you are interested in donating any amount towards this project, please contact the secretary at [email protected].  Have you ever met and spoken to our visitors from near and far? We don't have a guest book or any record of people who visit, but this year we have had guests from Norway, England, and many other places who stop in to admire our garden during our open hours. Below is a letter that was sent to the Club this fall. This note expresses very well how many of us feel about this wonderful garden that we enjoy so much.
Date: Friday, October 17, 2014 Subject: Thank you To: [email protected] Dear Roosevelt Island Garden Club – I visited your garden in May and have been meaning to write ever since. I am from Indiana and visited my niece who lives in Manhattan; this was my second visit to NYC. On both trips we did lots and lots of walking and sightseeing and I just wanted to let you know that walking through your gardens was absolutely one of the highlights of either of my visits! It is so lovely and creative, and just a wonderful oasis of nature and peacefulness and beauty in an otherwise hard, noisy and bustling city. We spend quite a bit of time there admiring each spot and how each individual chose to use their space, and took many, many photos which I still look at often. I wanted to say thank you so much for sharing your special space with the public; I can’t wait to visit again! |
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