Hummingbird Reception Recipes and Information
A special thanks to all who attended the Hummingbird Walk Reception on September 16th. There was a great turnout and a request for the delicious hummingbird cake and red nectar punch recipe, so we are placing it on our website! Again, thank you all for coming and come see us soon!
Hummingbird Cake
Cream Cheese Frosting
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together into mixing bowl several times. Add eggs and oil to the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are moistened. Stir in Vanilla, pineapple and 1-cup pecans. Stir in bananas. Spoon the batter into 3 well greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting. Cream Cheese Frosting: Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla. Frost the tops of all 3 layers, stack and then frost sides. Sprinkle top evenly with the ½ to 1 cup chopped pecans.
Red Nectar Punch
Ingredients: Raspberry lemonade, Fruit punch, Sprite, and Strawberries.
Please check on our What's in Bloom/Budding Topics page within the next day or so for a full listing of the questions and answers from the Peterson Field Guide for Hummingbirds of North America.
Current Volunteer Opportunities
Welcome Center Retail Garden
Welcome Center
Admissions/Front Door Cash Register - Work in the Welcome Center greeting visitors and taking admission fees.
Selling Memberships - Help visitors and the Gardens by explaining the benefits of becoming a Garvan Woodland Garden member.
Gift Shop Assistant - Assist the staff in the Gift Shop by straightening merchandise, dusting shelves, and helping customers.
Customer Service/Outdoor Retail Garden - Volunteers in the retail garden make sure that the plants stay watered and well cared for and assist customers in find the perfect plant or flower pot.
Greeter (Tour and Map Assistant at Door from Welcome Center to Gardens) - Greet visitors who come to visit the Gardens. Interpret the Gardens' map for self-guided tours.
This dedicated group of volunteers started meeting in August to prepare for the 2005 Holiday Lights season. These are just a few of the faithful and talented volunteers who donate their time to the Gardens. Photo Credit: Tem Carrithers
Gardens
Planting - Volunteers help plant new flowers, trees, and shrubs as they are acquired by the gardens. There are day-to-day plantings, as well as occasional large projects, such as planting tulips.
Weeding - Like every garden Garvan Woodland Gardens has weeding that has to be done. Volunteers are always welcome.
General Garden Labor - Volunteers also can help with such things as watering plants during the dry season, deadheading flowers, and picking sticks up off of the trails after storms.
Golf Cart Tour Guide - Volunteers who choose to be golf cart guides are trained to drive visitors around the Gardens and to share interesting information with them about the Gardens, both its history and the plants it contains. Requirements: All golf cart tour guides must have a driver's license and attend the proper training.
Special Events - The Gardens hosts a variety of special events throughout the year. Volunteers are needed to help staff with set up, hosting, serving, and break down.
Bird Feeding - The Gardens are fortunate enough to have 71 acres devoted to nature preservation and bird habitats. Volunteers are needed to assist with cleaning and filling the many feeders on the property.
Anthony Chapel Docent - Home to Arkansas's newest architectural feature, the Anthony Chapel, we are in need of volunteers to greet guests and provide information about the Chapel.
Petal Pushers - We rely on our talented "Petal Pusher" volunteers to help us gather and arrange flowers for the many special events and functions at the Gardens.
Model Train Garden Volunteers - One of the most fun and unique features of the Gardens is our model train garden. Volunteers are needed to provide supervision of the model train garden and its trains as well as interact with our guests.
Docent Guide for Group Tours - Docents lead group tours. They are expected to be friendly and have above average knowledge of the Gardens and of plants in general.
Holiday Lights Display One of the biggest events of the year is our annual holiday lights season. In order to make it a memorable experience year after year, requires preparation that begins in August with sorting lights and culminates with serving hot chocolate, roasting marshmallows and giving golf cart tours.
Community
Occasionally there is a need for a volunteer to help by public speaking or by staffing a booth at a convention or home & garden show. If a volunteer has a particular area in which he or she is especially knowledgeable then he or she might be asked to teach a workshop.
Administrative
In the administration offices volunteers are needed to prepare large mailings, contact members, schedule volunteers, perform data entry and do general clerical work.