It may be snowing outside, but plans are already under way for a summer celebration of Garden-inspired creativity.  Art in the Garden, a day filled with activities for artists and art lovers of all ages, is scheduled for Saturday, June 26th. If the weather turns frightful, though, a rain date is set for the next day.
 
This newest Garden fund-raiser was so popular last summer with area artists and our own supporters that we agreed to host it again. So, in January, organizers began working on next summer’s activities. Over the next few months, they’ll round up participant artists, financial sponsors and additional volunteers to help make this year’s fusion of art and nature even more successful.
 
Area artists will be invited to find inspiration in Lincoln Memorial Garden and submit their creations in paint, film, ceramic, wood or fabric, for a juried exhibition and/or create it along the Garden’s lanes and trails during the celebration.  Watch the Garden’s website (www.lmgnc.org) beginning in February for our Call to Artists, which will include entry forms and rules for participation.
 
Children and their families also will be invited to create their own art outdoors in the Garden during the celebration. And everyone will be invited to stroll through the Garden and watch inspiration at work. A reception for the public and art auctions to benefit the Garden will be held in the Nature Center that evening.
 
The event was designed to highlight the diversity of artistic talent in the Springfield area while raising funds for the operation of the Garden, a non-profit organization that preserves and manages 110 acres of Jens Jensen designed woodland, wetland, and prairie.
 
For information, call 217-529-1111 or e-mail lmg2301@comcast.net.

Eventually the weather will turnt warmer, the sap will rise in the trees anchoring the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Garden, and along with returning migrant birds will come Maple Syrup Time and its flavor-filled finale, the Sausage and Pancake breakfast weekends with the associated silent auction fund-raiser.
 
Demonstrations of collecting maple sap and boiling it down to sticky syrup will be held on four weekends starting February 20th and ending on March 14th.  The breakfasts will be served from 8 a.m. to noon on March 20th and 21st and on March 27th and 28th.
 
Since the tapping and syrup making are such great family participation events, three sessions are scheduled each day of the demonstrations, at 1, 2 and 3 p.m.  At each session, experienced tappers will begin inside the Nature Center where they will provide a short outline of the process. Participants will then move out to one of the sugar groves at the Garden where they’ll be shown how to identify a still-leafless maple tree, and the simple process used to tap it, a step so simple a child can do it (and we do ask them to help).  As a reward, they’ll get to taste the somewhat sweet but watery sap.
 
The new experts will then collect sap from previously tapped trees, be shown how to condense the sap into syrup in the cooker and conduct personal “quality control” taste monitoring during the process.
 
All that’s required is to be there, suitably clad in warm clothing and footwear able to cope with ground that may be muddy, soft or slippery.  Enthusiasm and an appreciation of some quality outdoor time on a late winter day are highly recommended as well.   
 
Once collected and cooked, the syrup moves on to stardom, along with sausage patties, pancakes, juice and coffee, during the limited run of the annual Sausage and Pancake breakfasts at the Garden.   
  
Cost of the breakfast is $8 for adults and $4 for youngsters under 12, with children under 3 admitted free.  Reservations are required so serving can be managed without long waits, and can be obtained by calling the Garden at 529-1111.  Additional information about the events, and how to sign up as one of the volunteers that make it all work, can also be obtained at that number.

The Garden’s Silent Auction will be held in conjunction with the pancake and sausage breakfasts served March 20th and 21st and the 27th and 28th at the Garden again this year.  And once more, the Garden is asking for donations of items to be sold.
 
Donations are limited only by the ingenuity and generosity of the donors.  Ranging from fine art to clever craft work, from antiques to the latest trends, as well as items unique, exotic, and “Wow, I’ve gotta bid on that!”,  there is room for them inside the Nature Center where browsers can surf to see what tempts them most.
 
Bidding is both silent and easy, the cause is obviously worthwhile and whether you shop before or after the breakfast, you can enjoy the healthy and heady satisfaction of knowing you’ve helped the Garden support its valuable work for another year.  What more could you want?
 
Potential donors are being sought. Look around your home, the office or the workshop and identify a few new or gently used items to give for the sale.  If you were moved to acquire it, somebody someplace would probably love to own it, too, so why not share the pleasure?  You can always bid on something yourself to fill the space your donation will create on your shelf.  Information on donations can be obtained by calling 529-1111.

The generosity of the Garden's many friends helps maintain Jens Jensen’s design for the Garden and keep the trails cleared and mulched for the many hikers, joggers, bird-watchers, artists, and nature lovers who use the Garden. Funds raised also ensure that programs are available to children so they can discover the wonders of nature, and keep the Nature Center open for visitor orientation, refreshment and education - and as a place to warm up in the winter or cool off in the summer.  

The Garden receives no direct tax assistance.  Support comes through the generosity of individuals, organizations and businesses who believe the 100 plus acres of woodlands, wetlands, and prairies are important not only as a memorial to a great president, but also as a center for environmental education and a sanctuary for connecting (or reconnecting) with nature. The Garden is open year round free of charge to the community and to visitors from around the state, nation, and other countries. 

The Annual Fund is the single most important source of operating funds for the Garden each year.   Our gratitude to the many people who have already contributed to our annual fund.  If you haven't found the time yet to send in your contribution, please do it now.

Please help keep Lincoln Memorial Garden a vital community resource - a place where young and old alike can enjoy nature in all seasons, learn to be better stewards of the environment, and discover the relationship among native plants, wildlife, water, soil and sunlight in an atmosphere of peace and beauty.