City Gardener

The title of the dance performance was Plantulary. The theme, botanical. On a whim, my partner suggested we attend a performance of a new dance work by a small immersive arts collaborative, Aniccha Arts. Through the arc of a single year—from growth through to dormancy—the dancers describe the story of plant life using percussive dance rhythms, music, literary, and various vegetable props. For me, this dance performance was a challenge to appreciate; it was no Swan Lake. I didn’t fully understand the connection between many of the sound and dance elements. But, curiously, the memory of it has stuck with me for the past few days. To set the scene, the stage consisted of a simple dark room lit by spotlights and early evening sunlight coming in through large windows. Along the baseboard of the stage were narrow trays of green seedlings lit by fluorescent grow-lights, forming the outer limit of the performance space. To further imbue the stage with plant life, several moss balls (kokedama-l...

One of the many delights of being a volunteer at the U of M's Conservatory Greenhouse has been the constantly changing display of plants and projects. My shift this week included work on a new display of plants considered highly invasive in Minnesota. The staff at the Conservatory Greenhouse have recently collaborated with another department called the Minnesota Invasive Terrestrial Plant and Pest Center (MITPPC). The partnership will introduce the subject of invasive plant species to the students and public guests at the Conservatory Greenhouse. The purpose of the MITPPC, established in 2014, is to research the prevention, detection, and control of terrestrial invasive species in Minnesota. The Center has an informative and interesting website . Recently added display of non-native plants highly invasive in Minnesota Several examples of highly invasive plants were sent to the Conservatory Greenhouse for display from the MITPPC. My specific task this week was to re-pot some of the ...