Karen Hoover’s commitment to Tyler Arboretum over the past 15 years shows no signs of slowing down. She has been a dedicated member of the “Hort Crew” — and, in fact, was the only female in the crew when she first started. Her husband is also a fixture of the crew and Karen says that it is the best group of people with whom to volunteer. So much so, that volunteering with them has become a social life, the people are like family. Throughout the years, she has also helped out at all of Tyler’s events, and she and her husband even plan vacations around Tyler festivities!
Karen’s involvement at Tyler is due in no small part to the fact that she went to college with two former staff members here, one of whom is currently a Hort Crew volunteer. Though she went to college at the University of Delaware, majoring in Ornamental Horticulture, she lived all over the place after graduation until she and her husband decided to move back to the area for retirement. Upon moving back, Karen looked up her two college friends and they told her about volunteering at Tyler. Since her good friends were here, she thought, “Well, it must be a pretty good place,” and the rest is history.
Karen Hoover with the snowmen she created for the arboretum.
She loves the Hort Crew because they are just a “warm, welcoming group of people.” Most of the crew consists of retirees and they share similar interests. And they grow close because they are all at Tyler two days a week all year long — in the real heat of the summer and in the dead of winter. There is just something to being at Tyler all year with your cohorts, she says. Being with this type of group makes it hard to leave.
Apart from the company, Karen enjoys being up close and personal with the plants. It is good exercise with all the weeding and raking that the Hort Crew does. Though she was an Ornamental Horticulture major in college, she never did much with that degree (she was a Mainframe Systems Programmer). Now she gets to be in nature, exploring all that Tyler has to offer. As part of the Hort Crew, their purpose is to help maintain the beauty of the “fabulous property.” So that’s what she does. She says her major was “great training for a hobby.”
In addition to working with the Hort Crew, Karen also makes the snowmen and owls that you will see sprinkled around the property throughout the year. She is quite crafty and loves making art out of nature. As she puts it, “never throw out what’s under your feet.” When she is not at Tyler, she is busy diving into fiber arts; and she is a Master Crocheter and Master Machine Knitter. She has even had some patterns published in a couple of magazines!
Karen Hoover created this cute owl from materials found at Tyler, too.
She describes Tyler as being “like your favorite pair of jeans.” It is so accessible and when she is finished her mornings at Tyler, she is always sad to leave. Tyler just keeps you wanting to come back. Karen frequently likes to wonder about the history of the property because, on a personal level, Karen’s g10-grandfather came over to the United States on a boat with Thomas Minshall (the first owner of the Tyler property) in 1682. So there is an ancestral connection and a touchstone to the past for her. Mostly, though, Tyler has been a great place to be during retirement. The Hort Crew and the staff make all the difference and have really made the volunteering experience worthwhile.
Tyler is Karen’s garden because she does not have a garden at home. So she does not mind coming here to pull weeds and be out in the fresh air, getting exercise – because she is with her community and friends.
