2024 Art Fair Plant Sale
Mission Street Parks Conservancy is excited to announce our annual Art Fair Plant Sale in conjunction with the Salem Art Fair at Bush’s Pasture Park! Friday, September 13, 2024: 10am…
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Woodland Garden Project Moves Forward
The woodland garden project at Bush’s Pasture Park took another step towards reality today when volunteers cut an opening through the hedge into the new garden space. Over the next…
Volunteer Profile: Anita Engberg
The Tuesday Gardeners wasn’t the first volunteer group Anita Engberg joined when she moved to Salem in 2013. That was the Willamette Humane Society which she joined just days after…
Oregon’s State Fossil is Alive and Well in Bush’s Pasture Park
In 2005, the Oregon Legislature adopted the Dawn Redwood Tree (Metasequoia) as Oregon’s state fossil. The story of how this came to happen and how a “living fossil” came to…
The Garden’s Unsung Hero
If you follow our Facebook page, you know we spend a lot of our time mulching landscape beds and tree circles. It’s a task that is both never-ending and strangely…
City Approves Plan for Woodland Garden
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…
Volunteer Profile: Donna Shepard
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…
The Orchard
This week, the Tuesday Gardeners moved into the historic Orchard area of the park, which holds the majority of the Lord & Schryver flowering tree collection. The area also holds…
Art Fair Plant Sale Returns in July 2022!
Mission Street Parks Conservancy is once again holding the annual Summer Plant Sale in conjunction with the Salem Art Fair at Bush’s Pasture Park! • Friday, July 15th: 10am –…
Volunteer Profile: Gary Pullman
If you’ve ever asked Gary a question, chances are you know it’s not easy to get a direct answer from him. His life story is no different…circuitous, often looping back…
Maureen McGee Joins MSPC Board of Directors
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…
Tree Root Invigoration
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…
It’s a Jungle Out There
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…
Tree Props
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…
The Rose Committee is Back in Action
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…
New Plants for the Park
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…
Volunteer Profile: Debbie Alexander
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…
Jim Schomaker: Volunteer Profile
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…
Rose Garden Brickwork Rehabilitation Starts Mid-September
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…
Conservancy’s Work Helps Shift Park Agenda
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…
A New Blast of Color for the Park
WOW! If you missed this garden extravaganza, there is always next year. The addition of the new ‘Hot Border’, so named for its vivid color palette, came into its glory…
The Summer Plant Sale is Back!
After a COVID-enforced hiatus, MSPC will again host our annual summer plant sale on Friday, July 16, and Saturday, July 17, from 10 am – 3pm both days. The sale…
MSPC Hires Garden Manager
After an unsuccessful recruitment effort to fill the new Garden Manager position, the Board invited former MSPC president Michael Slater to step into the 1-day a week role. Michael led…
Ice Storm Assessment
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,…
Looking for a Capable Garden Manager
Mission Street Parks Conservancy wants to contract with a Garden Manager who will support and lead our regular Tuesday Gardeners volunteer group, among other duties. The ideal contractor will have…
Tarter Rose Focal Point to be Restored
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…
Tarter Rose Collection Focal Point Restoration
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…
City’s Cultural Landscape Moves Ahead
The City of Salem began with ambitious plans to engage the public in development of a Cultural Landscape Management Plan for Bush, Deepwood, and Yew Parks. Then COVID-19 intervened. Meetings…
Anne Teeling: Volunteer Profile
Tuesday Gardener Anne Teeling – better known as Anya or Annie – moved to Salem in 2009 from Illinois. Anya grew up in Chicago and its suburbs. She worked as…
Volunteers Help City Improve Oak Management
Park visitors have probably noticed some changes in the oak grove in the southwest corner of Bush’s Pasture Park over the past year. More leaves have been allowed to remain…
Do Trees Talk?
Do trees talk? Trees do not seem to “talk” as we know it, by sending specific sound waves into the air. But scientists are convinced that trees communicate through a…
What a Year!
What a crazy year! Now I know 2020 is not over yet, but for me, I began my first year as Volunteer Coordinator for Mission Streets Parks Conservancy (MSPC) in…
Meet Tuesday Gardener Chet Zenone
You may have seen Chet Zenone if you have been in Bush’s Pasture Park on a Tuesday morning. Chet’s the guy with the glasses, making jokes, and chatting with his…
A Spring Photo Tour of Bush’s Pasture Park by Jim Schomaker
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…
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…
Salem Art Fair Makes Changes to Better Protect White Oaks
The Statesmen-Journal reported today that the Salem Art Fair has made changes to better protect the Oregon white oaks during the event. Reporter Stacy Loew writes: “The Salem Art Association…
Leadership Change at MSPC
Michael Slater stepped down as MSPC president on March 31st. The board elected Christine Chute as the new president. Michael served as MSPC’s first president and managed the Conservancy’s day-to-day…
Installation of New Park Trees Complete
Thanks to the generosity of MSPC members, we were able to contribute 17 new and carefully selected ornamental trees to Bush’s Pasture Park, including: Acer palmatum ‘Green Cascade’ Acer palmatum…
Marion Cultural Development Corporation Awards Grant to MSPC
The Marion Cultural Development Corporation provided $1,100 to the Conservancy for a project to label the landscape beds in the park’s northwest corner. That area of the park has 50…
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…
Tuesday Gardeners Rehabilitate Corner of Church & Bellevue
The volunteer gardeners with the Mission Street Parks Conservancy returned today to the corner of Church and Bellevue, where we’ve been working to improve the landscape. Last year, the team…
2019 Proposed Tree Removals
Mission Street Parks Conservancy and the City of Salem reviewed the Bush Pasture Park tree collection this summer. We identified 12 trees for removal. These trees fit one of several…
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…
Jim Schomaker Gives Us a Tour of Fall at Bush’s Pasture Park
It’s fall at Bush’s Pasture Park and photographer Jim Schomaker gives us a tour of the exciting fall color. View the photo album.
The Tuesday Gardeners are Hard at Work
The Tuesday Gardeners are in the seventh month of their nine month season and are still going strong. In September, we’ll be working in the garden beds east of the…
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).…
Conservancy Readies Terrace Proposal
MSPC is preparing a proposal to submit to the City’s Bush Pasture Park master plan process that would make several improvements to an area immediately east and south of the Bush…
Children’s Rock Scramble Proposal is Withdrawn
MSPC has withdrawn its proposal to install a small rock scramble in the Ravine area of Bush’s Pasture Park, immediately downhill from the Crooked House playground. In our meeting with…
MSPC Responds to SJ article on Oregon White Oaks in Park
On July 25, the Statesman-Journal published a news story on the Oregon white oaks in Bush’s Pasture Park that drew heavily on a report commissioned by Mission Street Parks Conservancy…
Statesman-Journal Reports on Park’s Oregon White oaks
The Statesman-Journal has asserted their copyright on their story and asked that we remove it from our website, which we’ve done. Interested readers can find it on the SJ’s site…
Ravine Public Opening
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…
Salem Reporter Profiles Mission Street Parks Conservancy
After overhauling ravine, Mission Street Parks Conservancy has ambitious plans for Salem parks A longtime group of volunteer gardeners in Bush’s Pasture Park has formed a new nonprofit organization that…
Azalea Sawfly Makes Its Appearance
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…
Camas in Bloom
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.…
Elwood’s Tree Service Lends a Hand
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.
Camellia Japonica in Bloom
The park’s extensive collection of Camellia japonica cultivars are in full bloom. These shrubs were likely planted by the landscape architect team of Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver. Edith was…
Searching for Signs of Spring
A hardy group of eight souls braved a clear but cold day to tour Bush’s Pasture Parks searching for signs of Spring. Fortunately, there was plenty to see. The winter…
Tom Beatty Retires as City Horticulturist
Tom Beatty retired as the City’s horticulturist on February 28th. His departure closes an 18-year tenure during which, among other duties, he served as the head gardener of Bush’s Pasture Park.…
Shogetsu Cherry Tree Removal & Replacement
The City and MSPC are working together to remove a damaged and failing ‘Shogetsu’ flowering cherry tree near the Conservatory. We have already purchased a replacement ‘Shogetsu’ cherry tree that…
Conservancy Starts Rehabilitating Crabapple Collection
The Conservancy has started the much-needed rehabilitation of the park’s historic crabapple collection, which likely dates back to the 1940’s. The collection was first inventoried and mapped in 2003 by…
Winter Jasmine Adds Color to the Garden
Winter Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is a cascading deciduous shrub with tiny non-fragrant bright yellow flowers that bloom on bare bright green stems in late winter before its leaves appear in…
MSPC Replaces Dead Flowering Plum Tree
Last month, we removed a dead Thundercloud flowering plum, likely planted by the landscape architects Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver. This month, we planted its replacement. This was one of…
The Ravine Project Continues with Boulder Placement
The Ravine Enhancement Project is continuing this week with the modest widening of the existing seasonal (seep) stream bed and placement of native erratic boulders at the channel’s edges. The…
Tying Climbing Roses
We have several dozen odd, helical iron posts at Bush’s Pasture Park that hold climbing roses. The posts date from the early 1960’s. Each year, each rose has to be…
The Ravine Landscape Project Moves Forward
The Ravine enhancement project is moving towards its installation phase, thanks to a supply of local boulders gifted to us by Betty O’Brien of Elton Vineyards and the folks at…
Featured Plant for October: Chinese Hawthorn Tree
Bush Park’s Chinese Hawthorn tree (aka Crataegus pinnatifida) is at its peak fall color now. The Chinese use the fruit in candy, jam, jelly, and desserts. It’s common to see…
The Diversity Tree
Recently, one of our Facebook Friends asked “Why is an apple tree at Bush Park called the Diversity Tree?” Turns out there are two Diversity Trees— planted in 1981 and…
Conservancy Volunteer Gardener is Salem Art Association’s “Featured Artist”
Jim Schomaker, a long-time volunteer with Mission Street parks Conservancy (previously Friends of Bush Gardens) is currently Salem Art Association’s Featured Artist. His exhibit focuses on capturing Bush’s Pasture Park’s…
An RFP for Rehabilitation of Rose Garden Brickwork
Mission Street Parks Conservancy has issued a Request-for-Proposal to restore the brickwork that serves as the focal point for the Mae Tarter Old Rose Collection, one of three collections in the City’s municipal Rose…
Summer Plant Sale Success
The MSPC Art Fair Plant Sale, “Cool Plants in the Heat of Summer,” was once again held in the shade of the eastern white oaks south of Bush House Museum.…
Salem Weekly Features Mission Street Parks
The formation of Mission Street Parks Conservancy made the cover of the July 19thedition of Salem Weekly. The story reported on the impetus for MSPC’s formation, the response by City…
City Council Approves MOU with Mission Street Parks Conservancy
The Salem City Council unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Mission Street Parks Conservancy on Monday, July 12. The MOU provides the Conservancy with its “operating license”…
A Cool Plant Sale To Beat the Heat of Summer
Mission Street Parks Conservancy is holding the 35th Annual Art Fair Plant Sale in Bush’s Pasture Park here in Salem. Friday, July 20th: 10am – 7pm Saturday, July 21st: 10am – 7pm Sunday,…
35th Annual Spring Plant Sale
The sale includes a wide selection of choice plants, including organically grown vegetable starts and unusual perennials. Coffee and pastries available, too! Salem’s Riverfront Pavilion and North Meadow Friday, April…
March Field Trip
Several Tuesday Gardeners visited Northwest Garden Nursery, west of Eugene, to see their beautiful display gardens and to purchase their hellebores, which are prized worldwide. We wandered the paths through…
Time to trim the Epimediums!
Late winter is the time when the bugle call goes out to our Tuesday Gardeners to trim away last year’s weathered foliage to make way for the slender young shoots…
Cornelian Cherry Dogwood
Cornelian Cherry Dogwood (Cornus mas), a small deciduous tree native to Europe and Asia, is one of the first to bloom in January with bright yellow pom-pom flowers lasting into…
Tom Beatty’s Birthday
The FOBG volunteers celebrated Tom Beatty’s birthday at the Conservatory with carrot cake and brownies, and a stack of birthday cards. Tom has been Bush Park’s Horticulturist for 18 years,…