Gardens Founded in 2001 - Home in 2002

Echinacea - Photo by Laura Davis

The garden began in 2001 with the help of Norm Erickson, a Northland Hospice volunteer, at the corner of Switzer Canyon Drive and Turquoise. At that time the home had not been completed but a beautiful sign was placed on the corner. Norm continued to work on the beds on the east side of the sidewalk along Switzer Canyon Drive and in front of the home, until 2008. The rest of the gardens were developed by a core of Coconino County Master Gardeners initially led by Laura Davis and since 2007 by Loni Shapiro.

The garden crew is active from April-October and sometimes in November weather permitting. Work happens weekly throughout the garden season on Monday and Thursday mornings from 8:00 am-12:00 pm. It also is scheduled for one Saturday a month from April through October. Cancellations due to weather will be posted by 6:00 am of the workday on this blog. You must attend a spring orientation to the garden and Northland Hospice & Palliative Care in order to work. A summary of the work that has been done is included on the blog. Look for weekly postings on this blog during the garden season.
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Volunteering in the Garden

2015 Calendar

April 13, 11:30-1:30 Lunch and orientation for new volunteers at hospice and TB testing for all

April 16, 9:15-10 TB tests read and 10:00 garden orientation. First Thursday workday 9-12

April 20, First Monday workday 9-12

May 2, Saturday workday 9-12

If you are interested in volunteering, please email CrysWells@gmail.com.

Please note: TB testing is required annually for all garden volunteers.

If you have current TB results that were done by a physician or at a hospital, these may be submitted to Northland Hospice.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, please contact the volunteer coordinator Kathy Simmons (ksimmons@northlandhospice.org) to schedule a time for testing and orientation.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Workweek 6/24 & 6/27

On Monday with 4 volunteers in the garden we got many tasks done. Betty Marcus watered all the areas not on irrigation. Julie Holmes, Carol Hudenko and I worked on the corner in some nice cool weather. Betty actually got cold during the break and sat in the sun. The 3 of us weeded and cleared pine needles from the corner garden. We actually ended up with 10 bags of pine needles and probably will have 10 more on Thursday. The pine needles haven't been cleared from there in a couple of years. Once the worst is cleared we will put the rock back in place on the corner, and plant/transplant some perennials there.

I have talked with Jean Hockman about doing a Saturday garden tour this summer. We will be doing it on Saturday, August 17th at 10am. Anyone who wants to help do tours and just host is welcome.  In the meantime we still have work to do to get some of the new areas up to par for a tour. I will talk with Judith Chaddock about some options for a potluck at her home and beautiful garden sometime in August. Since it is my last year, I thought we would do it in August while some of the out of town people are still here. We may do a 2nd potluck in September and invite the HodgePodge crew. They wanted to be part of my last season, and several of the crew there help us frequently - picking up new purchases, and hauling off our bags when we have too many, and finding garden materials for us.

Wow! On Thursday we had another busy day in the garden. Most of the volunteers who came (many early to avoid the heat) worked on the corner. Sue Ordway, Rebecca Davis, Judith Chaddock, Leslie Stone, Carol Hudenko, Becky Lewis, Jane Reukema, Joe Harte, Whitney Fessler, and myself all spent part of their time working on cleaning up the corner. We also have a new volunteer - Cyndy Crowley . Weeds, sprayed on duff, and pine needles were removed and bagged. Rock was placed over the corner area and Joe trimmed dead branches off the pine trees. The corner is almost unrecognizable with its new pathway.


Cleaned-up corner on Turquoise and Switzer Canyon
Betty Marcus and Marilyn VanWaggoner watered those beds not on irrigation and new plantings, and Judith watered indoors. Becky Lewis dug up a rose to root that was growing in the middle of a lavender. Carol Lease worked on the arbor entry. She put in 12 inch pvc pipe to place the fences in so that irrigation will not be effected when they are removed in the winter.

PVC at bottom of fencing to use as a guide for placing.


Whitney found time to wash all our pots and put them away. Judith provided the snack today and brought fruit bars which really hit the spot as the temperatures climbed. Dave and Murphy were out with several residents checking out the new blooms and work in the garden. Hattie Braun stopped by to see our progress with the roses.

"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, no culture comparable to that of the garden ... But though an old man, I am but a young gardener."
-  Thomas Jefferson, Garden Book, 1811 

New Blooms:
Many daylilies, lavendar, roses (including Ketchup/Mustard), some of our shasta daisy and ox-eyed daisy, and coreopsis. Several shrubs are blooming or ready to burst - Mt. Spray, Little Leaf Mock Orange, the Twin-flower Snowberry, and the Apache Plume

Little Leaf Mock Orange
Daylilies
New in the Garden:
A revamped corner on Turquoise and Switzer
Honeysuckle vines on the new trellises

Work for the next few weeks:
Watering - inside and outside as needed (new plants - or beds not on irrigation)
Weeding - north Switzer bed
*Add some plants to the corner bed
*Irrigation - continue adding areas not on the system
*Gather rock for a native garden rock garden, and to line the new path from Switzer to the Rose garden
     Once created, fill with soil/compost, and transplant some plants from other areas of the garden
Cut down 1 more lilac
Transplant some blood grass
Reset bricks under the bench just north of the Faerie Garden
Upcoming - 2nd feed for the roses

Upcoming:
July 13    9am-5pm     Warner's 10% of Proceeds Day
July 25    9am-12pm   AmeriCorp help for the Thurs. workday
August 17 10am-12pm  Flagstaff Garden Club Tour

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