Who's Who... |
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This garden area is the brain-child of two of our most dedicated volunteers, Chuck and Betty Cruickshank. Since 1984, they have spent many hours working on various projects throughout the Garden. In the early years, a small group of volunteers worked along with the staff on whatever needed to be done. Betty got so involved as a volunteer that she eventually became our first volunteer coordinator. She has also served on the SCBG Board of Advisors since its inception in 1991. As Volunteer Coordinator, Betty started the "Adopt-a-Plot" program, which encourages volunteers to "adopt" a Garden area to maintain on their own. The Cruickshank's original adopted plot is located in a shady corner across the road from the Camellia Collection. The Cruickshanks first became enamored of hostas when they went to the headquarters of the American Hosta Society at the Minnesota Botanical Garden. Then, a little closer to home, they visited Piccadilly Farm in Bishop, Georgia. This nursery specializes in hostas, and the owners have planted a lovely display garden there. After seeing these two gardens, the Cruickshanks envisioned a similar display at the South Carolina Botanical Garden. They provided a major portion of the funds needed to establish a named garden and an anonymous donor gave the remainder in their honor.
Commercial support has been especially generous. Nurseries who donated hostas include Carolina Nurseries of Moncks Corner, SC, Bishop Farms of Chesnee, SC, Green Hill Farms of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Piccadilly Farms of Bishop, Georgia. Shady Grove Nursery of Orangeburg, SC donated several large trees, and the hardscape materials were provided by Metromont Materials Corp. of Spartanburg. Chuck and Betty enjoy sharing their enthusiasm for hostas with others in the area, so they recently became charter members of the Greater Carolina Hosta Society. This group was originally named the Greater Piedmont Hosta Society, since its members generally reside in the Piedmont region of North and South Carolina. |
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