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April, 1985 To: Neabers of the Rhododendron Garden Resource Committee From: George Jette Subject: Hendricks Park Rhododendron Garden The Rhododendron Garden in Hendricks Parka was dedicated in May of 1954. During the past 31 years the Rhododendron Garden has provided pleasure, enjoyeent and knowledge to a great number of our residents and to visitors from all over the United States and from many foreign countries. Over the years the garden has become a very important part of the Eugene Parks and Recreation Department. It has been a source of pride and interest for growers of rhododendron and for those who are interested in growing many of the various plants found in the garden. Facilities such as the Rhododendron Garden are extremely difficult to evaluate with any degree of certainty, but I feel that the garden is a very special asset to Eugene and its people. It is one of the best rhodo- dendron gardens in the country and it could be developed into a much better one. Without question, the garden is worth considerably sore to our community than the funds spent on its development and maintenance. The Rhododendron Garden was designed with the main entrance being located at the north end of Hendricks Park at the end of Skyline Boulevard, but due to the lack of adequate parking apace for visitors' cars, many visitors enter the garden at its southeast corner. This area was not designed as an entrance, and the approach here is a rather confused one. Now we have an entrance to an open (once dominant) space which extends down through the remainder of the garden via a series of pathways which tend to take one down and out of the garden or to seeming dead ends. The lower entrance to the garden from the parking area in the central part of Hendricks Park is across Summit Avenue or Birch Lane, and being without a path system for direction, it is not the most inviting prospect. Fortunately here in Hendricks Park there is a great potential for extending the existing garden to make it the really outstanding garden that it should be. The Rhododendron Garden is so very much more than a botanical collection for those people wih an interest in rhododendron - -it is a very beautiful place which anyone can enjoy at any tine of the year. While the height of the Rhododendron bloom occurs in May and June, the beauty of the garden changes to provide interat in all seasons. The special flavor provided by the rhododendron plants makes the garden an unusual place - -one different from any other in the park system.