Johannes Olwage and Jonah Neufeld are the two head horticulturalists working directly with the cacti and succulent collection at the International Peace Garden, and it has certainly taken a team effort from the staff to transplant and move the collection into its new home in the recently expanded Conservatory, but that task is still in the works.
In early December, the Peace Garden opened its doors to the public for its first Santa Day celebration, but also to offer tours through the Conservatory at this stage of the planting process.
'We're so fortunate to have Johannes and Jonah back there in the Conservatory, not just because of their skill level, and what they're able to do to take care of those plants, but they're also so knowledgeable," shares CEO Tim Chapman.
"We hear it all the time when folks speak with them, they just feel like they're getting that 'behind the scenes' special treatment because of how knowledgeable they are, and how willing they are to share all of that with any visitor," he says.
Many plants were already in their new beds in the Conservatory, but with over 5,000 plants in total, we see there is much work to be done to complete the transplanting task.
"We're pretty excited about being in our slower season now, because it will allow us a lot more time to focus more wholly on what all needs to be planted. The guys feel good about the timeline now when it leads into spring bloom season for a lot of the cacti. If we're not 100% planted by then, then we're going to be pretty close," he adds.
Learn more about the Conservatory with Johannes Olwaga by clicking HERE!
Grand Opening for the Conservatory has now been set for August 10th, to formalize that second weekend in August to be the summer celebration weekend with vendors, kids' activities, and the flower gardens will be in full bloom.
"We think that's a great time to do the Grand Opening then when we'll see a lot of our visitors!" shares Chapman.
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