Workdays 6/6/11 & 6/9/11

On Monday, we had a small crew but managed to get several things done. Nancy Palmer came and manged to get more weeding done in the Michael Moore Garden. Char Wallace finished deadheading the germander on the Inferno Strip. Kay Balzer came and finished getting the 1/2 circle garden ready for soil on Thursday. I spent my time planting a few annuals and watering.

Thursday we had a larger crew. David Hockman finished working on the pavers for the north pathway and will finish adding the frames next week. Betty Marcus had the unenviable task of removing all material from the shed and putting it in the greenhouse, so we can begin to construct our new shed. She also managed to find time to water the Inferno Strips. Becky Lewis sprayed some roses for aphids, planted some annual pots, and helped Kay Balzer unload soil for the 1/2 circle garden. Kay unloaded soil and planted the new plants in the garden with the help of Linda Guarino. Linda brought the soil in her truck and helped unload and plant.


Carol Lease worked today mostly on drip repairs. Cristine Orr and Gail Reed spent their time planting annual pots throughout the garden. Judith Chaddock cleaned the sunporch area again and brought out all the geraniums. Julie Holmes planted some annuals in pots. Nancy Palmer continued to work on the weeding in the Michael Moore Garden with the help of Hattie Braun.

Signs of several animals visiting the garden were evident this week. The tops of our beautiful variegated pink-phlox were gone, and I found many holes where tulip bulbs used to be. We have an abundance of lizards this year and I spotted this fellow sunning himself on a rock. I almost missed him.



New in the garden:
Annual pots: lobelia, petunia, geraniums, vinca, callibrochia, bacopa, salvia, alyssum, red salvia, dahlberg daisy, pennisetum grass
New in 1/2 circle garden: a variety red & purple penstemons, a variety of grasses, purple & red sage, bee balm

New blooming:
More iris including Dutch, gaura, dogwood, ox-eyed daisy, penstemons, and lambs ear, Austrian copper rose, sulfur buckwheat, and locust tree along Switzer Canyon



Special kudos:
Kay Balzer for all her hard work on getting the 1/2 circle garden up and running before the monsoons
David Hockman for putting in a difficult pathway with little help
Linda Guarino & Carol Lease for all their work on getting the drip up and running
Nancy Palmer for managing the Michael Moore Garden for the last 3 weeks in Laura's absence (finishing the pavers and weeding)

Plans for next week:
Educational piece this Thursday from Joe Harte on Pruning Tips (at the break)
Finish the north pathway
Remove some mulch from heavy areas
Finish planting annuals
Begin getting plants ready for sale (dividing larger pots of Shasta Daisy)
Water new plantings as needed
Move old shed and begin constructing new

Upcoming:
June 18, Monthly Saturday Workday 9am-12pm
June 25, Plant and Garden Sale, 11am-2pm
July 16, 10% Day at Warners, 9am-5pm

Come join us for our upcoming workdays on Mon. 9-12 and Thurs. 8-12 and Saturday 9-12. Parking on Turquoise or at the 1st Congregational Church lot. Hat and sun screen recommended. Water and snacks provided.

"Of all wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embraceable You" in spats."
Woody Allen

Thanks,
Loni

Workday 5/30/11 & 6/2/11

Wow! What a beautiful day to work in the garden. We had one of our biggest volunteer days for the season with 17 volunteers showing up to help.

Nancy Palmer, Marcia Lamkin and Rebecca Moore weeded, watered and placed sandstone pieces for a pathway in the Michael Moore Garden. Kay Balzer, Becky Lewis and Jim Woods all worked on the 1/2 circle garden. They gathered rock from Kay's property with the help of Jim Wood's trailer and then began creating the hardscape. Jim was quite a trooper with recently fracturing some ribs. Judith Chaddock, Cynthia Katte, and a new master gardener all worked on the roses. They pruned, uncovered the crown area, fed and then watered. The aphids are already abundant with our cooler/wetter spring. David Hockman continued to work on the north pathway. With a few more pavers he should be finished next week. Crys Wells and Vicki Goodwin both watered needed beds not yet on the drip and pots for our plant sale. Char Wallace finished pruning the lavender and helped with watering some roses. Marilynn VanWagner did the nasty job of pruning the germander along the inferno strip. Joe Harte pruned some trees and repaired some drip lines on the inferno strip. Linda Guarino and Carol Lease both continued to work on repairing and adding drip lines. Betty Marcus watered the south inferno strip and the corner garden. I spent my time updating the sensory pots and planting vegetable that Linda brought from her greenhouse.

New blooming in the garden:
Ox-eyed daisy, salvia, Austrian Copper rose, some penstemons, colorful iris (pink, yellow, orange), and the hawthorn and mountain ash trees



New plants added:
Veggies - pickling cuke, zucchini, Japanese cuke, Japanese eggplant, summer squash, bunching onion, salad burnet
Sensory pots - Color/Little Zebra grass, pineapple sage, statis, alyssum
Touch/Carex,horsetail rush, white licorace, yellow strawflower
Taste/Fern leaf dill,chocolate mint, stevia, curled and Italian parsley
Smell/Chocolate mint, alyssum, Provence lavender, trailing rosemary, fragrant Persian stonecress
Tea Garden - German chamomile

Plans for next week:
Planting annual pots and hanging baskets
Finish planting perennials
Finish north pathway
Rose care - aphid control
Watering as needed
Continue adding drip lines
Get soil for front 1/2 circle

Come join us on Monday (9a-12p) or Thursday (8a-12pm). Parking is available on Turquoise just past Switzer Canyon Drive or in the 1st Congregational church lot.
Hat and sunscreen are recommended for this warm weather. Water and snacks will be provided.

"Perhaps our best hope for gardening as an art is that gardening is an activity whose never-achieved aim is progress towards a never achieved work of art."
Geoffrey Charlesworth The Opinionated Gardener 1988

Loni

Plant & Garden Sale

Olivia White Hospice Home
2nd Annual Plant & Garden Sale



When: Saturday, June 25, 11:00am-2:00pm

What: Come purchase your plants just in time for the monsoon season. Some of the plants available include yarrow, Shasta daisy, bell flower, rocky mountain and pine penstemons, daylilies, snow in summer, and lambs ear. Shrubs: blue mound spirea, forsythia, and dogwood.
In addition, we will have gently used garden equipment (pots & Tools) and art.
Also available note cards, potpourri, and seeds from the garden. Tours on request.

Where: 452 N. Switzer Canyon Drive

Parking: Parking is not available at the home. Please park on Turquoise just past Switzer Canyon Drive or at the 1st Congregational Church on Turquoise.

All proceeds benefit the gardens of Olivia White.

Workday 5/23 & 5/26

Zane Hill's new garden with the birdhouse trellis in the background.

On Saturday, Marcia Lamkin had a small crew but much was accomplished. They deadhead, cleaned bird baths, and emptied most of the dirt that needed to be removed from the front 1/2 circle garden.

On Monday, Laura Davis and Nancy Palmer worked on the MM Garden. Nancy also managed to hang the remainder of the birdhouses on the trellis. Char Wallace helped me plant tomatoes and deadheaded lavender. The tomatoes are covered with frost cloth and probably will remain that way for several weeks.


I watered, began digging some more holes for roses, and planted some seeds for greens. The weather continues to be cool and windy but we have put out some new plants for hardening off and possible planting. Those that are a bit more hardy.

Thursday was a very windy but warm day and many turned out to help in the garden. Carol Lease returned from the valley and filled bird feeders and baths, as well as working on adding lines to the drip system. Linda Guarino made some drip repairs, worked on installing new lines, and added food scraps to the compost. Julie Holmes and Crys Wells worked on digging and planting new climbing roses for the rose garden. Char Wallace worked with David Hockman on putting in the paver pathway on the north side of the house. Kay Balzer and Jim Woods worked on finishing removing soil from the 1/2 circle garden. Nancy Palmer and Marcia Lamkin worked on weeding and removing plants from the MM Garden. Nancy also worked on a sandstone pathway. I finished planting what was purchased for Zane Hill's Garden.

On Friday, Crys Wells and I finished planting the climbing roses on our new arbors.

New blooms:
Cat Mint, salvia, some pink iris, and clematis on the birdhouse trellis.



Plans for next week:
Drip lines for gardens east of house
Plant perennials
Fill bird feeders and baths
North pathway
Finish pruning roses and deadheading lavendar and germander
Water as needed

"No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden."
Hugh Johnson 1939
Thanks,
Loni

Workday 5/16 & 5/19

On Monday Kay Balzer and I worked alone in the Garden. I planted and covered some vegetables with frost cloth, weeded, and watered some of our transplants in pots. Kay spent her time digging and hauling dirt from the front 1/2 circle garden to the MMGarden. The front 1/2 circle is being revamped. The soil level was too high and of poor quality. We will add new soil and Kay will organize the redesign of that garden.

On Thursday even though we had about an inch of snow on arriving it melted quickly even in the cold. Several brave souls came bundled to work. Kay Balzer again worked on the !/2 circle digging and hauling. Linda Guarino worked on the compost and transplanted some silver buffaloberry shrubs to the native garden, in preparation for 6 new climbing roses. Judith Chaddock continued to prune roses, deadhead, and care for the plants in the sunporch. Laura Davis and Nancy Palmer came and did some planning on the MMG. Laura will be gone for 3 weeks and Nancy will assume responsibility for that garden. I worked on filling bird feeders, weeding, and cleaning up after the storms. Marcia Lamkin came late and we did some planning for the Saturday workday.

Plans for 5/21/11 Saturday workday:
Weeding a grassy area near the front of the house
Deadheading lavender and germander shrubs
Watering pots as needed
Continuing to dig rose shrub holes to plant next week
Continuing to move soil from the 1/2 circle garden

New blooms in the garden:
Many iris, a few penstemons, ajuga, baskets of gold, prairie smoke, white tulips

Donations:
Birdhouse to remember Zane from Munds Park friends of Dave and Terri Hill

Upcoming:
Workdays for next week 5/23 & 26 (see above for plans)
June 25, Plant & Garden Sale 11am-200pm
July 9, Growing, Drying and Using Herbs class for CCC 9am-12pm

"They have climate in England; we have weather."
Helena Rutherford Ely - A Woman's Hardy Garden, 1903

Happy gardening!
Loni

Workdays 5/9 & 5/12

On Monday I worked alone in the rain, snow and hail. My time was spent moving new plants back into the greenhouse that I had begun to harden off as the forecast predicted below freezing for 2 days.
On Thursday we had a large crew of 14 working in the garden. I spent a couple hours just getting things ready and giving out assignments, before walking the planned FUTS trail work to be done later this summer. It will extend from the Y to the corner of Switzer and Turquoise and should improve the look of the neighborhood (dumping area for garbage and parking extra vehicles.
While I was busy, Betty Marcus and a new volunteer Char Wallace, weeded, deadheaded and watered the large Inferno strip. Cynthia and Al Katte, chipped up deadheaded material and Al repaired the chipper and turning composter. Sue Thompson watered the potted plants and greenhouse plants. Kay Balzer and Becky Lewis had the thankless and hot task of removing plants and soil from the front 1/2 circle. Laura Davis worked on the MMG and cleaning up the trellises in the gazebo. Marilynn VanWagner worked on filling bird feeders and baths. Judith Chadwick watered the plants in the house and helped with rose pruning. Hattie Braun came and gave instruction on rose pruning and managed to prune many herself. Crys Wells and Vicki Goodwin worked on rose pruning and lavendar deadheading.
Now that the drip is turned on we need to working on adding emitters to the main lines Joanie Abbott put in last fall.

New blooms:
Chokecherry, cisterna plum, sand cherry, blue flax, many irises and a few columbine

Work for 5/19/11:
Adding emitters to the back drip lines
Continuing work on the front 1/2 circle
Continuing work on the north pathway
Digging holes for 6 roses and planting
Hanging birdhouses
Deadheading
Watering as needed
Filling birdbaths and feeders

Upcoming:
Revisiting the Rose pruning on May 26
Plant and Garden Same June 25 - 11am-2pm

Thanks,
Loni Shapiro

Workdays 5/2 & 5/5

On Monday I spent the day watering pots and getting ready for the Zane Hill dedication on Thursday.
On Thursday the weather was beautiful - in the 70's and without any significant winds. We had a large crew working on many projects and helping us get ready for the "Remembering Zane" Dedication Day. Linda Guarino and Judith Chaddock arrived early and began cleaning up the pine needle duff near the dedication area. Judith also managed many other little chores including running an errand. Linda worked on the compost area chipping up deadheaded material with Cynthia Katte. Christine Orr worked on filling all the bird feeders and baths and also did some watering. Julie Holmes, Becky Lewis, and Vicki Goodwin all watered and helped set up for the event. Kay Balzer and Rebecca Moore worked on the difficult task of clearing plants/soil from the front half-circle area. Laura Davis worked on the Tea Garden and watered our New Mexico purchases.



At 11am we began our dedication for our long time therapy dog "Zane" Hill. The dedication was attended by the Hills, their friends from Munds Park, Northland Hospice staff and volunteers, residents and staff from the Olivia White Hospice home, present and past gardeners, and some of Zane's golden friends and other 4 legged pals. Dana Prom Smith came to dedicate the garden.




The garden was dedicated, we planted a dogwood shub, and placed a brick from the gardeners. Rememberances were shared and refreshments severed including a cake with Zane's likeness. Treats were provided for his 4-legged friends and water in the dish he used. It could not have been a more beautiful day for a special friend who seemed to be there in spirit.

Other visitors:
Joanie Abbott and her crew from Foxglove Gardening to turn on the drip system

New blooms in the garden:
Honeysuckle flowering in front of the house, and many of our trees and flowering shrubs (choke cherry, cisterna plum, etc.)

Plans for next week (Mon. 9am-12/Thurs. 8am-12pm):
Pruning the roses, continue deadheading, watering back and front gardens and pots, work on the north pathway.

Thanks,
Loni

"People who keep dogs live longer on average than those wo do not. this is not some kind of pro-canine campaigning fantasy. It is a simple medical fact that the calming influence of the company of a friendly pet animal reduces blood pressue and therefor the risk of heart attack." Desmond Morris