Eloise Butler's Garden Log usually has a few notes not related to planting and a curious one on August 21 contained this statement:

“Turtlehead, purple prairie clover, Canadian burnet, double golden glow in bloom! Found large puffball weighing 3 lbs. 4 1/2 oz. by west brookside. Fell into brook!”

The weather in the summer of 1912 provided temperatures in the average range for the time period and frequent summer rains, but not to the extent of the extremely wet prior year of 1911.

Planting work during the summer occupied much of her time. On June 25 Eloise noted finding two Liparis liliifolia (Large Twayblade) in a prickly ash thicket and a month later “discovered Lythrum alatum! [Winged Loosestrife] in east meadow near swamp.”

During the summer months Eloise would obtain her plant material from local sources unlike her 1912 spring plantings which all came from out of state sources. As a result all the summer plantings were species native to the state.

Her Garden Log notes 29 species planted that summer that were not noted prior to 1912. (Complete list link below.) All were from local sources. Only four of the species are present in the Garden today.

A successful struggle with one non-native plant was worthy of being noted in her annual report:

"The greatest triumph of all, because it has been a failure under assiduous cultivation ever since the Garden was started was a vigorous colony of Deer Grass, Rhexia virginica, in bloom for fully a month. It has blossoms of an unusual shade of red, garnished by bright yellow twisted stamens, succeeded by little exquisitely fashioned urn-shaped fruits." (Annual Report to the Board of Park Commissioners, contained in the Park Boards comprehensive report dated Nov. 8, 1912)

She had originally planted it on September 4 1909 with plants shipped in from Winter Pond MA and noted it was in bloom on August 11 this year. The plant is also called Handsome Harry (photo at right).

List of 1912 spring plantings, with photos

The Showy lady’s slipper bloomed on June 17th.
Garden Curator Martha Crone recorded the fledging of five bluebirds on July 2 from their nest west of the office. She noted there was only 15 minutes between the first and last leaving the nest and all flew perfectly. By August 15 she was recording warblers showing up for their migration. For Hummingbirds, she set up 3 bottles on the windows of the office filled with sugar water, 8 parts to 1.

Her sources for plants in the summer were Twin Lake, Cedar Swamp, the North Shore and St. Croix. She planted many species already in the Garden and the following first time plants (First time noted in her garden log):

Rare Club Moss (Lycopodium obscurum) from the North Shore near Knife River

Liver-leaf Wintergreen (Pyrola asarifolia) from the North Shore near Knife River. Eloise Butler had planted this in 1909.

Neither plant is present today, nor had they survived to the time of her 1951 Garden Census.

In her annual Report to the Board of Park Commissioners she tallied the many groups that arrived for tours during the summer, which included school classes, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Scout Leaders, Garden Clubs and various other Clubs.

The summer weather was warmer that the seasonal norms but nothing like the summer of 1936, plus there were rains during the summer months, unlike a year previous when there was no rain for two months and record high temperatures.

In the Garden, Gardener Ken Avery developed a policy of re-introducing species that had once grown in the Garden but over time, had disappeared. In addition he added new native species to the Garden. In 1962 the following made his list, but none are extant.

• Bunchberry or Dwarf Cornel (Cornus canadensis L.) Ken also planted in 1960, Martha Crone planted in 1933 and ’34 and Eloise Butler noted its presence in the Garden in 1910.
• Small Yellow Lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium parviflorum Salisb.). Planted by Martha Crone in 1933, ’34, and ’36 and by Eloise Butler in 1911.
• Wintergreen (Spicy Wintergreen or Eastern Teaberry) (Gaultheria procumbens) Native, but not indigenous to the Garden. Martha Crone planted it in 1934, 1937.
• Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris L.) Native, but only to the northern part of the State.
• Arctic Bramble (Arctic Blackberry) (Rubus arcticus) this one was a stretch as it is native but only found in a small number of northern Minnesota counties, but it has a charming flower - see photo.
• Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus rostrata - now - Corylus cornuta Marsh. ssp. cornuta). Native plant to the area. Eloise Butler had first planted this in the Garden on May 9, 1910. No longer extant.

In the Friends of the Wild Flower Garden’s newsletter, The Fringed Gentian™, editor Martha Crone wrote:

“August has a look all its own, field and meadows are turning from green to yellow. Meadows waysides are aglow with golden-rods mingling with the blue and purple of asters. Birds songs are no longer heard to any extent, yet the air is full of insect music, outstanding of which is the whirring crescendo of the big cicada, as well as the chirps of crickets, katydids and grasshoppers.”

She discussed the scarcity of Bluebirds and the destruction of their nests, but noted the movement to erect boxes for them in the proper habitat. An endeavor that would expand greatly in future decades. She also wrote about the Hermit Thrush, Kalanchoe carnea for indoor planting, Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), the skies of August, and following the flowers north with the spring.

The Fringed Gentian™, Summer 1962 (pdf file)

The 80th Anniversary of the Garden was held on June 13th, with Garden tours conducted and a volunteer reception hosted by the Friends at the Martha Crone Shelter. WCCO Radio and Mpls-St.Paul Magazine chose the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden as one of their "Summer Pleasures" days and the date was set to be August 17th.

After the dry weather of April rains had returned by mid-May, but not any large amounts; June was light also but from mid-July to mid-August there was a deluge. July 1987 was the wettest calendar month in local history with 17.90” of rain, which included one storm that dropped over 8”on the Garden and knocked out the phone service.

Gardener Cary George added plants to the Garden that included
Wild Blue Phlox, Butterfly Milkweed, Blue Flag, Large flowered Penstemon, Sweet Flag, Bottlebrush Grass, Pagoda Dogwood, Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum L.)

The following were noted as new to the Garden:

• Alumroot - (Heuchera americana L.) - However, Eloise Butler recorded planting this in 1913.
• Long-fruited Thimbleweed (Anemone cylindrica L.)
• Sedge (Carex pedunculata
• Shadblow (Allegheny Serviceberry) (Amelanchier laevis Wiegand)

In the Friend’s Newsletter, The Fringed Gentian™, former Gardener Ken Avery, wrote a letter of goodbye - his last letter to the membership of The Friends. He gave his reasons for leaving the Garden:

“When I first came into the Garden under Mrs. Crone, I fell in love with what I found there and have never intentionally changed it in any way. Oh, it has changed, nature and society have changed and in so doing have forced some changes, but most of these were just cosmetic. In most ways, it has remained much as it was when I first walked through its front gate. Another reason for leaving at this time is that I can now do so with a clear conscience. Until recently there was no one in the Park system who I felt could take over the Garden. Those of you who have met my replacement, Cary George, know that he is an intelligent person who is interested the Garden and who will husband it very well. I have to admit that my one apprehension in leaving is that he will do such a good job, that this spring might be marked as the end of the dark ages for the Garden.”

The summer 1987 issue of The Fringed Gentian™ can be viewed in this pdf file.

On June 12th, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board passed a resolution to formally recognize and thank the Friends for their half-century of support of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden. You can read the entire proclamation in the Summer 2002 issue of The Fringed Gentian™ or HERE.

In the Friends Newsletter, The Fringed Gentian™, volunteer and Board member Launa Ellison writes about the many benefits of children visiting the Garden in an article titled “It’s About the Children.” Gardener Cary George writes about “The Pea Family Thrives in Hot Prairie Sun”, an article you can read in our archive. The book - Weeds of the Northern U.S. & Canada is reviewed; “Meet the Volunteers” spotlights Debbie Norgaard and Joe Schwartz. Garden Naturalists provide excerpts from their log - summer highlights.

Connie Pepin writes “Mosquito Memories”, a tale of Theodore Wirth’s 1933 Garden visits for the memorials to Eloise Butler and his encounter with the swarms of mosquitos the frequently encountered in the Garden. Martha Crone’s reply to him is classic Crone: “I wish to offer my apologies for the ill manners of my mosquitoes, they are rather difficult to train as each one lives only a short time.” Parks Superintendent Charles Dowll’s concerns about the use of DDT by the Park Board is also reported in this article also. The entire issue is accessed via the file link below.

Attendance at the Garden was good over the summer. There was a controversy about the Park Board’s proposal to instigate a parking pass fee for park car lots. It eventually was resolved that there would be both meters and spaces for cars with parking passes.

There was a two week power outage in the Garden due to a lightning strike on a nearby power transformer. There were significant storms during a very wet June, July and August.

Summer 2002 issue of The Fringed Gentian™ (pdf)