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Name: Mary Kirkwyland |
| I've had the pleasure of getting to know Mary through The Plantsmen Nursery, as she's a customer who also helps friends and clients with design and landscape work. Mary is one of those special people who brighten the day of everyone they talk to, work with and bump into, with her totally positive attitude, sense of humor, boundless energy, genuinely thoughtful nature, and her honesty. Mary also started (and has been singularly instrumental in developing and maintaining) the Dryden Beautification Brigade. This group has taken on the task of aesthetically enhancing public spaces in downtown Dryden using plants. This includes small park spaces, memorial features, window boxes and more. Mary also started, with this group, an Open Garden Day where several Dryden residents invite the public to visit their gardens. This brings energy, positive community spirit and awareness of the value of gardens in people's lives to Dryden specifically, and broadens the reach and existing enthusiasm for public beautification in Tompkins County. An anecdote: Mary invited two speakers to address the Dryden Garden Club (another group Mary drives with her power of positive energy!) last winter. I was fortunate to be one of them and was amazed at the ambience in the room. Often garden club talks take place in fairly dreary settings; cooperative extension facilities, or classrooms. This meeting was in the old Dryden Town Hall and Mary and her club had spent hours warming up the big empty room with plant-based decorations, about 250 candles, 20 or more home-made desserts, all as her daughter played piano casually in the backgroun and”the feeling was more like a Dickensian Christmas Eve gathering in a small rural village, warm, cozy, nostalgic. I am sure there are many other things about Mary that I don' know, but I do know she has been an inspiration to many people with her character, charm, personality, determination and energy, and I see her as someone who will influence and drive the Dryden gardening community, and culture in Tompkins County overall, for many many years to come. Nominated by Daniel Segal Bio: After high school, Mary worked at Metzler’s plant nursery and started a vegetable garden for the nursing home nearby. She served as a student organic farm manager while attending Evergreen State College. During her undergraduate career, she worked at Bark and Garden plant nursery in Washington, becoming an assistant grower after graduation. She received a Masters Degree from UC Davis in integrated pest management, managing greenhouses and field trials during graduate school. After completing her graduate degree, Mary started Winter Sun Nursery, an organic herb and flower business. Since 2006, Mary has also owned and operated a garden design and installation business. She established the Dryden Beautification Brigade in 2007, which sponsored the first annual Dryden Open Gate Garden Tour in 2009. She has home schooled her three children. |
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