I apologize for the length of time it has taken to get this together but between a busy life and the strange nature of the request setting things up for the memorial for Andreas has moved unfortunately slow-
With that out of the way I finally have some information about the forms that this can take-
First of all they are willing to accept donation of plants to the garden in Andreas memory, I do not have specific numbers yet on how many they would be willing to receive but so far they have agreed to accept the following from me
- Inga spp. - Ice cream Bean
- Psidium longipetiolatum - Mountain Guava
- Dimocarpus Longan "White" - Longan
If you want to donate plant material in Andreas honor we are asking that you please consider the following
- Please select a plant that can survive in the Houston climate - close zone pushers are okay but nothing tropical or ultratropical
- Please donate a plant that is at or close to a stage where it can be planted out in the ground, sprouted seeds cannot be accomodated
- The rarer the better- this doesnt mean common plants wont be considered but something that stands out would be nice
The two lead horticulturalists there Francisco Javier de la Mota Daniel and Brent Moon will make the ultimate decision about what is allowed into the garden based on several factors including space and maintenance so please do not be offended if they cannot plant out your specimen
Second- There are a couple levels of monetary donation that will allow the garden to purchase items in memorial of Andreas which I am outlining below (the italics are directly from the garden)
Culinary garden plantings (see attached pdf for location in the garden): the areas in this garden that are currently more bare {from winter storm Uri} are European and Mediterranean. Here, there is a rotation of several crops. Coming up this fall, we would like to have the plants added below:
1. European bed
Upper tier: snap peas / pole beans (winter / spring) and different lettuce varieties.
Lower tier: docks (Rumex), tarragon, bunching onions and different types of cabbage.
2. Mediterranean bed
Rows of different Brassica types: broccoli, cauliflower and romanesco. Also several cabbage types.
3. Bigger Mediterranean bed
Upper tier: 6 varieties of kale.
Lower tier: garlic, onions, mustard greens and cilantro.
As we discussed previously, the separate Gardens take anywhere from $500 to $5,000 to add or replenish the plants that the horticulture team needs for each designed Garden collection.Basically a donation anywhere in the $500-$5,000 dollar range will allow for the planting of the donated trees from us and restoration of any/all of the edible beds above that provide education for children's groups and food for those who attend the park.
If we somehow manage to raise $8,300 they can plant a close to mature date palm in the garden that will produce fruit for decades, but this is obviously a very high bar-
Finally there is a The Medjool date palm (Phoenix dactylifera ‘Medjool’) with a 12’ clear trunk is $5,800. Delivery and planting is about $2,500, including the removal of the stump and rootball of the dead palm currently in the Culinary Garden. This would be both a fruit “tree” and a somewhat permanent feature of the garden (probably many decades, but it is a living organism, and life is never guaranteed).Finally- for any locals who donate we will have a memorial event at some point down the road at the garden with Andreas' family- the details of this are also nowhere near finalized but more info should develop shortly.
I am working on getting a direct donation link for this cause at the hbg so that we can track exactly how much has been donated but if anyone absolutely cannot wait they have a generic donation link that can be found here
https://secure.hbg.org/donate/q/annual/ and
please send and email to info@hbg.org stating that it is for Andreas or
a pm to me this is to avoid giving a percent to some intermediate like GoFundMe
I think I may be able to cover the baseline $500 for planting our trees and doing one bed but it would be something really special if we could get to the 5k mark or even buy that date palm!