The Women’s Council of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden announces “Women in the Garden” , the Tenth Anniversary “A Writer’s Garden” Literary Symposium and Luncheon to be held Tuesday, November 8, 2016, 9:30 am to 2:00 pm, at the Arboretum’s Rosine Hall. 

The event is chaired by Alyce Heinrich and co-chaired by Dorothea Meltzer. Melissa Lewis is the Women's Council President. The Honorary Chair is Phyllis McCasland, the 2013-14 Founder's Award recipient with her husband, Tom. Tickets begin at $150 and are available at www.womenscouncildallasarboretum.org/

When did you become interested in gardens?

To answer this I think I have to get back to my childhood in Blackwell, Oklahoma, where my mother always grew enough tomatoes along our driveway to keep her friends supplied all summer and fall.  While she was doing that she also was showing me (as a child) how to plant seeds and cut flowers. 

When I graduated from college Tom and I were married and we went into the Navy.  We were stationed on Guam and then returned to his hometown of Duncan, Oklahoma, and raised our 2 sons, Tommy and Mark.  

I became an Oklahoma Master Gardener and wrote gardening articles for the newspaper.  The newspaper offered me a permanent job, but there never seemed to be time.

How did you become involved with the Arboretum?

When my husband decided to retire to Dallas, I was delighted.  One of the first calls we made was to Mary Brinegar to ask if she had any projects we could help her with.  She did, and we selected the Sunken Garden to help with its renovation.  After that Tom joined the Arboretum Board and we helped where we could until sitting at home one evening I decided that the Arboretum needed a project which would draw people in yearly, preferably at Christmas.

What was your role with the Twelve Days of Christmas?

It seemed to me that family outings were limited at that time of year, and perhaps the Arboretum, with its large spaces could do something spectacular. The Chahuili display had been popular earlier and it pointed the way ---use of different scenes though out the Arboretum that people could visit and see at their leisure. The Twelve Days of Christmas was a prospect.  I thought it would be a good fit because of the Twelve Days of Christmas song and its varied appeal to a wide range of ages. 

When we mentioned this to Mary Brinegar, she whole heartedly agreed, and proceeded to hire the best artisans to produce it. We have been very happy with its widespread success and write-ups in Southern Living and other publications. It will be held again this year beginning November 6.