A pick-me-up for a picnic area

Right outside the BioWorks Butterfly Garden and on the sidewalk to the front doors of MOSI there is a grand old double-trunked oak tree dripping with graceful Spanish moss. This tree and the grove behind it were named in honor of Dr . Richard T. Bowers

Dr. Bowers was director of athletics at USF for 19 years, and a friend and fundraiser for the Gold Shield foundation that raises money for the families of fallen police officers. In his last years Dr. Bowers helped to raise money at MOSI for the whole museum but especially for the BioWorks Butterfly Garden and also the Historic Tree Grove. When he passed away in 2007, the Historic Tree Grove was renamed as the Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove. Dr. Bowers was a fantastic gentleman who has been sorely missed at MOSI and in the Tampa community since his passing.

Over the last few weeks a large amount of work has been done on the landscaping around the grand old oak that was dedicated to this true Southern gentleman. Flax lilies and African irises were used as foundation material to enclose the picnic space and bromeliads, fern, coontie were added for their various textures. The front corner of the space was edged in spiderwort plants that

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bloom with pretty purple flowers in the dapple sunlight. Inside the ring of new plants, colorful impatiens in orange and pink were added to brighten the picnic space.

These additions have helped to create a beautiful picnic space that is welcoming to museum guests and staff alike. Next time you are by the museum and get lunch in the cafe, bring that lunch outside and enjoy a meal out-of-doors is a fantastic little garden space. The flowers, plants, birds and butterflies will be waiting.

As Dr Bowers used to say: 'You can do an awful lot of good in the world if you don't care who gets the credit,' and that is a lesson I plan to keep with me for years to come.