The Bower would not be possible without the creative assistance and collaboration of our Strategic Partners. Together, we are able to showcase the natural beauty that is The Bower and share it with the communities that we serve.
The Bower engaged the landscape architecture firm OvS out of Washington D.C. Oehme and Van Sweden, the original partners in the firm, are noted for creating “The New American Garden”, a distinctly American landscape style using large drifts of native plantings and embracing the American meadow. “We explore the ecology, culture, and history of each landscape and fuse art, science, and humanity to distill its form and amplify its function. The result is a contextually-appropriate, high performance composition that connects people to the land”. The firm has completed residential and noted public projects, such as the Native Plant Garden and Azalea Garden at the New York Botanical Garden, multiple gardens at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and the campuses of The National World War II and Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorials. Eric Groft, principal, Robert Johnson and Carson Hale worked with us on a Site Analysis, Vision and Conceptual Design for The Bower. This planning culminated in a Master Plan we started to implement in the fall of 2019.
Larry Weaner Landscape Associates (LWLA) is nationally recognized for creating environmentally sensitive native plant landscapes. Their understanding of native plant characteristics and communities is unparalleled. Selecting native plantings for the right local conditions, as well as for their ornamental beauty, they create “dynamic, resilient landscapes that thrive with a minimum of care”. They are recipients of the Lady Bird Johnson Environmental Award and recently worked with Glenstone Museum, a new art and sculpture park in Maryland. They are working with The Bower to enhance our meadow, woods edge or savannah, and woodland intensity and diversity of native plantings. The first phase of plantings was installed in November 2020 and continues into spring 2021.
Bridgette Mayer Art Advisors is a full-service art consulting firm based in Philadelphia, PA and Jacksonville, FL. They specialize in art acquisitions, curating collections and public art programming as well as commissioning artworks for private individuals, corporations and businesses, the hospitality industry and universities.
Bridgette serves as an art advisor, gallerist, curator, artist’s coach, and advocate that has supported our interests for many years. She has been our consultant for the Call to Art for our Phase 1 sculpture procurement process.
To learn more about Bridgette Mayer, review her portfolio here.
Visit Bridgette Mayer Art Advisors to learn more.
Perry County Council of the Arts’ mission is to connect the community through the arts through its 4-core programs.
(1) The PCCA gallery store which supports 200 member artists.
(2) Landis House – a venue for workshops, exhibitions, concerts, and meetings.
(3) Arts-in-Education providing residencies and enriching arts experiences.
(4) Creative Programs, including Drop-in Art, Coffeehouses, A Novel Idea, Summer Art Camp, Youth Art Day, and Sunday Arts Hour.
Visit the Perry County Council of the Arts to learn more.
ISA certified arborist, horticulturalist, and consultant contributing to tree selection and installation at The Bower. Working with Erik Josephson over the past three years, we have installed more than 50 native trees to enhance various areas of the property.
Visit Josephon Nature Care to learn more.
bower (noun) 1. a pleasant shady place; 2. a retreat or sanctuary